October 24, 2007, Introduced by Reps. Griffin, Corriveau, Byrum, Valentine, Ebli, Clemente, Brown, Meadows, Condino, Lindberg, Donigan, Simpson, Johnson, Young, LeBlanc, Bennett, Miller, Tobocman and Dean and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Investigations.
A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled
"Michigan election law,"
by amending sections 613a, 614a, 615a, 616a, 624g, 641, and 759a
(MCL 168.613a, 168.614a, 168.615a, 168.616a, 168.624g, 168.641, and
168.759a), as amended by 2007 PA 52, and by adding sections 495a,
562b, 618, 619, and 620a; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 495a. (1) If an elector declared a party preference or no
party preference as previously provided under this act for the
purpose of voting in a statewide presidential primary election, a
clerk or authorized assistant to the clerk may remove that
declaration from the precinct registration file and the master
registration file of that elector and the precinct registration
list, if applicable.
(2) Beginning on the effective date of the amendatory act that
added this sentence, a person making a request under the freedom of
information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246, is not entitled
to receive a copy of a portion of a voter registration record that
contains a declaration of party preference or no party preference
of an elector. Beginning on the effective date of the amendatory
act that added this sentence, a clerk or any other person shall not
release a copy of a portion of a voter registration record that
contains a declaration of party preference or no party preference
of an elector.
Sec. 562b. (1) Before an individual may be elected as a
delegate to the state convention or national convention of a
political party, that individual shall sign an affidavit including
1 of the following:
(a) The name of a candidate for president of the United States
of that individual's political party that he or she is bound to
vote for at each stage of the nominating process until the end of
the first ballot at the national convention of that political party
unless otherwise released from that commitment under subsection
(3). The requirements of this subdivision are met only if the
designated presidential candidate's name appears on the
presidential primary election ballot.
(b) A statement that the individual is uncommitted regarding
the candidates for president of the United States.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3), an individual
elected as a delegate to the state convention or national
convention of a political party is bound to vote at each stage of
the presidential nomination process until the end of the first
ballot at the national convention of that political party for the
candidate for president of the United States that he or she
designated a commitment to by written affidavit as required in
subsection (1), if any, before his or her election.
(3) A delegate to the state convention or national convention
is bound to vote for the presidential candidate the delegate is
committed to under subsection (2) unless the delegate is released
from that commitment by written notice to the chairperson of the
state central committee by the presidential candidate or the
presidential candidate publicly withdraws from contention for that
party's nomination.
(4) An individual seeking election as a delegate to the state
convention, or his or her designee, shall file the affidavit
required under subsection (1) with the county chairperson or the
chairperson of the district committee. The county chairperson or
the chairperson of the district committee shall file a copy of that
affidavit with the chairperson of the state central committee.
(5) An individual who has not filed an affidavit under
subsection (4) and who is seeking election as a delegate to the
national convention, or his or her designee, shall file the
affidavit required under subsection (1) with the chairperson of the
state central committee.
Sec.
613a. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection
(2),in 2008 when no statewide presidential primary
shall be
conducted, a statewide presidential primary election shall be
conducted
under this act on January 15,
2008, and on the fourth
Tuesday
in February in each following presidential election year.
(2)
Not later than 4 p.m. on November 14, 2007, the
chairperson
of each participating political party shall notify the
secretary
of state if his or her political party will be using a
method
other than the results of the January 15, 2008 presidential
primary
to select delegates to his or her respective national
convention
to nominate a candidate for president of the United
States
in 2008. At 4 p.m. on November 15, 2007, the secretary of
state
shall determine, based upon the information provided by the
participating
political parties under this subsection, whether the
participating
political parties in this state will be using a
method
other than the results of the January 15, 2008 presidential
primary
to select delegates to their respective national
conventions
to nominate a candidate for president of the United
States
in 2008. If the secretary of state determines that all
participating
political parties are using a method other than the
results
of the January 15, 2008 presidential primary, the secretary
of
state shall cancel the presidential primary that would otherwise
be
held on January 15, 2008, and any ballots for that presidential
primary
shall be destroyed. Upon request of the secretary of state,
the
chairpersons of the participating political parties shall
provide
the secretary of state with the information necessary for
the
secretary of state to make the determination required by this
subsection.
(2) (3)
A political party that received 5% or less
than 20% of
the
total vote cast in this state nationwide
for the office of
president in the last presidential election shall not participate
in the presidential primary election.
(3) (4)
Except as otherwise provided in this
section and
sections
614a, 615a, to 616a, 624g, 641, 759a, 759c, and
879a, the
statewide presidential primary election shall be conducted under
the
provisions of this act that govern the conduct of a primary
election
other than a presidential general
primary elections.
(5)
Nothing in this section or sections 614a to 616a shall be
interpreted
to diminish or impair the state and federal
constitutional
rights of a participating political party or give
this
state, its political subdivisions and agencies, or its courts
jurisdiction
or authority over the application or interpretation by
a
participating political party of the party's state or national
rules,
regulations, policies, and procedures. Each participating
political
party shall be the sole and exclusive arbiter of the
application
and interpretation of its state and national rules,
regulations,
policies, and procedures.
Sec. 614a. (1) Not later than 4 p.m. on the second Friday in
November of the year before the presidential election, the
secretary of state shall issue a list of the individuals generally
advocated by the national news media to be potential presidential
candidates for each party's nomination by the political parties for
which a presidential primary election will be held under section
613a.
(2)
Not later than 4 p.m. on the
eighteenth Tuesday before the
presidential
primary on the Tuesday
following the second Friday in
November of the year before the presidential election, the state
chairperson
of each participating political party for which a
presidential primary election will be held under section 613a shall
file with the secretary of state a list of individuals whom they
consider
to be potential presidential candidates for nomination by
that
participating political party.
in the next presidential
election
year. The secretary of state shall make the lists received
under
this subsection available to the public on an internet
website
maintained by the department of state. In compiling the
list
of individuals to be filed with the secretary of state under
this
subsection, the chairperson of each participating political
party
shall consider all of the following:
(a)
References to an individual as a candidate for nomination
by
the participating political party for the office of president of
the
United States in state and national news media, including, but
not
limited to, the internet.
(b)
Presidential campaign activity by the individual or his or
her
campaign organization in this state and nationally.
(c)
Support for the individual as a candidate for president of
the
United States by the general public and by members of the
participating
political party in this state and nationally.
(3) (2)
After the issuance of the list under subsection (1)
and
after receipt of the list of
candidates names from the state
chairperson
of each participating political party under subsection
(1)
(2), the secretary of state shall notify each potential
presidential candidate on the lists of the provisions of this act
relating to the presidential primary election.
Sec.
615a. (1) The secretary of state shall prescribe the form
of
the official presidential primary ballot for each participating
political
party. Except as otherwise provided
in this section, the
secretary of state shall cause the name of a presidential candidate
notified by the secretary of state under section 614a to be printed
on
the appropriate presidential primary ballot for that
participating
under the appropriate political party heading. A
presidential candidate notified by the secretary of state under
section 614a may file an affidavit with the secretary of state
indicating
his or her political party preference if different than
the
participating political party preference contained in the
notification
from the secretary of state notification and the
secretary of state shall cause that presidential candidate's name
to
be printed on under the appropriate party heading on the
presidential
primary ballot. for that participating political
party.
If the affidavit of a presidential candidate indicates that
the
candidate has no political party preference or indicates a
political
party preference for a political party other than a
participating
political party, the secretary of state shall not
cause
that presidential candidate's name to be printed on a ballot
for
the presidential primary. A presidential
candidate notified by
the secretary of state under section 614a may file an affidavit
with the secretary of state indicating that he or she does not wish
to
have his or her name printed on a the presidential primary
ballot
and the secretary of state shall not cause have that
presidential
candidate's name to be printed on a the presidential
primary
ballot. for the presidential
primary. A presidential
candidate shall file an affidavit described in this subsection with
the
secretary of state no later than 4 p.m. on the fourteenth
Tuesday
before the presidential primary second
Friday in December
of the year before the presidential election year or the affidavit
is considered void.
(2) The name of an individual who is not listed as a potential
presidential
candidate for a participating political party under
section
614a shall be printed on the ballot for the appropriate
participating
political party for the presidential
primary under
the appropriate political party heading if he or she files a
nominating petition with the secretary of state no later than 4
p.m.
on the twelfth Tuesday before the presidential primary second
Friday in December of the year before the presidential election
year. The nominating petition shall contain valid signatures of
registered and qualified electors equal to not less than 1/2 of 1%
of the total votes cast in the state at the previous presidential
election
for the presidential candidate of the participating
political
party for which the individual is seeking the this
nomination. However, the total number of signatures required on a
nominating petition under this subsection shall not exceed 1,000
times the total number of congressional districts in this state. A
signature on a nominating petition is not valid if obtained before
August
15 October 1 of the year before the presidential election
year in which the individual seeks nomination. To be valid, a
nominating petition must conform to the requirements of this act
regarding nominating petitions, but only to the extent that those
requirements do not conflict with the requirements of this
subsection.
(3)
The names of the presidential candidates on under each
participating
political party ballot heading shall
be rotated on
the
ballot. by precinct. Each The ballot
shall contain a space for
an elector to vote uncommitted.
(4)
Ballots for each participating political party shall be
printed
on paper of the same color.
Sec. 616a. (1) The board of state canvassers shall canvass the
returns received from the boards of county canvassers and certify
the statewide and congressional district results of the
presidential primary election to the secretary of state.
(2) The secretary of state shall certify the statewide and
congressional district results of the presidential primary election
to the chairperson of the state central committee of each
participating political party.
(3) Notwithstanding sections 831 and 847 or an administrative
rule promulgated pursuant to section 794c, after the canvass by the
board of state canvassers under subsection (1), the secretary of
state may authorize the immediate release of all ballots, ballot
boxes, voting machines, and equipment used in each precinct of a
city that conducts a city election in the first week of April if
both of the following requirements are met:
(a) The county clerk certifies that no defect in or mechanical
malfunction of a voting machine, voting device, ballot, or other
election equipment or material was discovered or alleged before the
date of the completion of the state canvass.
(b) The county clerk certifies that no other election for
offices or questions appeared on the same election equipment used
in the precinct for the presidential primary election.
Sec. 618. The allocation of all delegates and alternates to a
national convention shall be made by the state central committee of
each party. All delegates shall be registered electors of this
state. Delegates elected from congressional districts shall be
registered electors of those districts. All national convention
delegates shall be chosen according to procedures and any other
qualifications as may be established by the state central committee
of that political party. The procedures and qualifications may
include, but are not necessarily limited to, guarantees that
discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, age,
national origin, or economic status does not occur.
Sec. 619. (1) National convention delegates elected under this
act shall be elected on a basis that ensures that the proportion of
the total national convention delegation that is uncommitted or is
committed to each presidential candidate equals, as near as is
practicable, the proportion of the popular vote that was cast as
uncommitted or for each respective presidential candidate of the
particular political party's total popular vote at the presidential
primary election. The determination of these proportions shall only
include the votes cast as uncommitted, or for a particular
presidential candidate if the total vote cast as uncommitted, or
for that particular presidential candidate, equals at least the
percentage determined by state political party rule of the total
vote cast for all presidential candidates or as uncommitted for
that political party at that presidential primary election.
(2) Before an individual may be elected as a delegate to the
national convention of a political party, that individual shall
file an affidavit as required under section 562b. If the individual
names a presidential candidate in the affidavit under section
562b(1)(a), that individual shall also be certified by the
presidential candidate or the presidential candidate's designee as
a delegate committed to that presidential candidate. A national
convention delegate shall be bound to vote for the presidential
candidate for whom he or she designated commitment, if any, under
section 562b and as certified by the presidential candidate or the
presidential candidate's designee under this section before the
delegate is elected as a national delegate until the end of the
first ballot at the national convention. However, a national
convention delegate is released from that commitment by the
withdrawal of that presidential candidate from contention for that
party's nomination or by written release of that presidential
candidate to the chairperson of the national convention, whichever
is earliest.
(3) If a vacancy occurs in the elected delegation, it shall be
filled by an alternate selected by the caucus for the candidate to
whom the original delegate was committed, and the alternate shall
be required to meet the same qualifications of the delegate being
replaced.
(4) A person who is a delegate at large to a state convention
of his or her political party only by virtue of being a member of
the state legislature as provided in section 595a shall not
participate in the selecting of delegates to his or her political
party's national convention. This subsection does not prohibit that
person from participating in other convention business. Neither
this provision nor any other provision of law shall be understood
to restrict the opportunity of any registered elector in this
state, including all public officials, to be elected as a delegate
to any county, district, state, or national convention of the
elector's political party.
Sec. 620a. For purposes of this act, a state political party
shall follow state law pertaining to the selection of delegates if
required to follow state law by a state or national political party
rule. If there is no such state or national political party rule, a
requirement of this act pertaining to the selection of delegates
applicable after the election of delegates to the county convention
shall not apply to a political party if that requirement conflicts
with a rule of that political party.
Sec.
624g. (1) If the presidential primary is not canceled by
the
secretary of state under section 613a(2), the The state
shall
reimburse each county, city, and township for the cost of
conducting a presidential primary election. The reimbursement shall
not exceed the verified account of actual costs of the election.
(2) Payment shall be made upon presentation and approval of a
verified account of actual costs to the department of treasury,
local
government audit division, after the state treasurer
department of treasury and the secretary of state agree as to what
constitutes
valid costs of conducting a presidential primary an
election. Reimbursable costs do not include salaries of permanent
local officials; the cost of reusable supplies and equipment; or
costs attributable to local special elections held in conjunction
with
the presidential primary. The department of treasury and the
department
of state shall disapprove costs not
in compliance with
this section.
(3) The state shall also compensate each city and township for
the processing of voter identification cards required for the sole
purpose of changing or adding an elector's designation of a
political party preference or no political party preference.
Compensation shall not be paid to a city or township for the
processing of voter identification cards required for original
voter registration applications or voter registration applications
changing an elector's address. The secretary of state shall
equitably distribute funds appropriated to implement this
subsection upon receipt of an annual verified account of actual
costs from each city and township stating the number of voter
identification cards processed as specified by this subsection.
(4) (3)
The legislature shall appropriate
from the general
fund of this state an amount necessary to implement this section.
In 2008, when no statewide presidential primary election shall be
held, the funds appropriated by the legislature to implement this
section shall instead be divided and used to fund state police
troopers and any program in this state that deals with the
prohibition on hiring illegal immigrants.
(5) (4)
To qualify for reimbursement, a
county, city, or
township
shall submit its verified account of actual costs to the
department
of treasury no later than 90 days
after the date of the
presidential primary.
(6) (5)
Not later than 90 days after the department
of
treasury state receives
a verified account of actual costs, the
department
of treasury, after consultation with the department of
state , shall pay or disapprove the verified account.
Sec. 641. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section and
sections 642 and 642a, an election held under this act shall be
held on 1 of the following regular election dates:
(a) The February regular election date, which is the fourth
Tuesday in February.
(b) The May regular election date, which is the first Tuesday
after the first Monday in May.
(c) The August regular election date, which is the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in August.
(d) The November regular election date, which is the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
(2) If an elective office is listed by name in section 643,
requiring the election for that office to be held at the general
election, and if candidates for the office are nominated at a
primary election, the primary election shall be held on the August
regular election date.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection and
subsection (4), a special election shall be held on a regular
election date. A special election called by the governor under
section 145, 178, 632, 633, or 634 to fill a vacancy or called by
the legislature to submit a proposed constitutional amendment as
authorized in section 1 of article XII of the state constitution of
1963 may, but is not required to be, held on a regular election
date.
(4) A school district may call a special election to submit a
ballot question to borrow money, increase a millage, or establish a
bond if an initiative petition is filed with the county clerk. The
petition shall be signed by a number of qualified and registered
electors of the district equal to not less than 10% of the electors
voting in the last gubernatorial election in that district or 3,000
signatures, whichever number is lesser. Section 488 applies to a
petition to call a special election for a school district under
this section. In addition to the requirements set forth in section
488, the proposed date of the special election shall appear beneath
the petition heading, and the petition shall clearly state the
amount of the millage increase or the amount of the loan or bond
sought and the purpose for the millage increase or the purpose for
the loan or bond. The petition shall be filed with the county clerk
by 4 p.m. of the twelfth Tuesday before the proposed date of the
special election. The petition signatures shall be obtained within
60 days before the filing of the petition. Any signatures obtained
more than 60 days before the filing of the petition are not valid.
If the special election called by the school district is not
scheduled to be held on a regular election date as provided in
subsection (1), the special election shall be held on a Tuesday. A
special election called by a school district under this subsection
shall not be held within 30 days before or 35 days after a regular
election date as provided in subsection (1). A school district may
only call 1 special election pursuant to this subsection in each
calendar year.
(5) The secretary of state shall direct and supervise the
consolidation of all elections held under this act.
(6)
In 2008 only, the February regular election date as
provided
in subsection (1) shall instead be January 15, 2008 if a
presidential
primary is held under section 613a on January 15,
2008.
(6) (7)
This section shall be known and may
be cited as the
"Hammerstrom election consolidation law".
Sec. 759a. (1) A member of the armed services or an overseas
voter who is not registered, but possessed the qualifications of an
elector under section 492, may apply for registration by using the
federal postcard application. The department of state, bureau of
elections, is responsible for disseminating information on the
procedures for registering and voting to absent armed services and
overseas voters.
(2) Each of the following persons who is a qualified elector
of a city, village, or township in this state and who is not a
registered voter may apply for an absent voter ballot:
(a) A civilian employee of the armed services outside of the
United States.
(b) A member of the armed services outside of the United
States.
(c) A citizen of the United States temporarily residing
outside the territorial limits of the United States.
(d) A citizen of the United States residing in the District of
Columbia.
(e) A spouse or dependent of a person described in
subdivisions (a) through (d) who is a citizen of the United States
and who is accompanying that person, even though the spouse or
dependent is not a qualified elector of a city, village, or
township of this state, if that spouse or dependent is not a
qualified and registered elector anywhere else in the United
States.
(3) Upon receipt of an application under this section that
complies with this act, a city, village, or township clerk shall
forward to the applicant the absent voter ballots requested, the
forms necessary for registration, and instructions for completing
the forms. If the ballots are not yet available at the time of
receipt of the application, the clerk shall immediately forward to
the applicant the registration forms and instructions, and forward
the ballots as soon as they are available. If the ballots and
registration forms are received before the close of the polls on
election day and if the registration complies with the requirements
of this act, the absent voter ballots shall be delivered to the
proper election board to be voted. If the registration does not
comply with the requirements of this act, the clerk shall retain
the absent voter ballots until the expiration of the time that the
voted ballots must be kept and shall then destroy the ballots
without opening the envelope. The clerk may retain registration
forms completed under this section in a separate file. The address
in this state shown on a registration form is the residence of the
registrant.
(4) The size of a precinct shall not be determined by
registration forms completed under this section.
(5) A member of the armed services or an overseas voter, as
described in subsection (2), who registers to vote by federal
postcard application under subsection (1), and who applies to vote
as an absent voter by federal postcard application is eligible to
vote as an absent voter in any local or state election, including
any school election, occurring in the calendar year in which the
federal postcard application is received by the city, village, or
township clerk, but not in an election for which the application is
received by the clerk after 2 p.m. of the Saturday before the
election. A city or township clerk receiving a federal postcard
application shall transmit to a village clerk and school district
election coordinator, where applicable, the necessary information
to enable the village clerk and school district election
coordinator to forward an absent voter ballot for each applicable
election in that calendar year to the qualified elector submitting
the federal postcard application. A village clerk receiving a
federal postcard application shall transmit to a city or township
clerk, where applicable, the necessary information to enable the
city or township clerk to forward an absent voter ballot for each
applicable election in that calendar year to the qualified elector
submitting the federal postcard application. If the local elections
official rejects a registration or absent voter ballot application
submitted on a federal postcard application by an absent armed
services or overseas voter, the election official shall notify the
armed services or overseas voter of the rejection.
(6)
For a presidential primary, the secretary of state shall
do
all of the following:
(a)
Prescribe procedures for contacting an elector who is a
member
of the armed services or an overseas voter, as described in
subsection
(2), and who is eligible to receive an absent voter
ballot
or who applies for an absent voter ballot for the
presidential
primary, offering the elector the opportunity to
select
a participating political party ballot for the presidential
primary.
(b)
Prescribe procedures to protect or safeguard the
confidentiality
of an elector's participating political party
ballot
selection ascertained under this section consistent with
section
615c.
(6) (7)
Under the uniformed and overseas
citizens absentee
voting act, 42 USC 1973ff to 1973ff-6, the state director of
elections shall approve a ballot form and registration procedures
for electors in the armed services and electors outside the United
States, including the spouses and dependents accompanying those
electors.
(7) (8)
As used in this section,
"armed services" means any of
the following:
(a) The United States army, navy, air force, marine corps, or
coast guard.
(b) The United States merchant marine.
(c) A reserve component of an armed service listed in
subdivision (a) or (b).
(d) The Michigan national guard as defined in section 105 of
the Michigan military act, 1967 PA 150, MCL 32.505.
Enacting section 1. It is the intent of the legislature that
the statewide presidential primary election scheduled for January
15, 2008 be canceled and that a statewide presidential primary
election shall not occur in this state in 2008.
Enacting section 2. Sections 19, 615c, and 759c of the
Michigan election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.19, 168.615c, and
168.759c, are repealed.