SENATE BILL No. 1299

 

 

April 28, 2010, Introduced by Senators CROPSEY, McMANUS, KUIPERS and BISHOP and referred to the Committee on Campaign and Election Oversight.

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled

 

"Michigan election law,"

 

by amending section 395 (MCL 168.395).

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 395. Whenever a candidate of a political party, after

 

having been nominated to the office of justice of the supreme court

 

or having filed an affidavit according to section 392a, shall die,

 

withdraw, remove from the state, or become disqualified for any

 

reason, the state central committee of any party which is thereby

 

left without a candidate nominated or indorsed by that party shall

 

meet forthwith and, by a majority vote of the members thereof,

 

shall select a candidate to fill the vacancy thereby caused. The

 

name of the candidate so selected shall be immediately certified by


 

the chairman and the secretary of said committee to the secretary

 

of state and to the board of election commissioners for each

 

county, whose duty it is to prepare the official ballots, and said

 

board shall cause to be printed or placed upon said ballots, in the

 

proper place, the name of the candidate so selected to fill the

 

vacancy.

 

     (1) The candidates for the office of justice of the supreme

 

court receiving the largest number of votes at any primary

 

election, to a number equal to twice the number of persons to be

 

elected as set forth in the report of the board of state

 

canvassers, based on the returns from the various county boards of

 

canvassers and election precincts or as determined by the board of

 

state canvassers as the result of a recount, shall be declared the

 

nominees for the office at the next general election. The board of

 

state canvassers shall certify the nomination to the county

 

election commissions.

 

     (2) If, after the deadline for filing nominating petitions

 

under section 392, there are fewer candidates for nomination or

 

nominees for the office of justice of the supreme court than there

 

are persons to be elected at the general November election because

 

of the death or disqualification of a candidate more than 65 days

 

before the general November election, then a person, whether or not

 

an incumbent, may qualify as a nominee for that office at the

 

general November election by filing nominating petitions as

 

required by section 392. However, the filing shall be made before 4

 

p.m. on the twenty-first day following the death or

 

disqualification of the candidate or 4 p.m. on the sixtieth day


 

preceding the general November election, whichever is earlier, and

 

the minimum number of signatures required is 1/2 the minimum number

 

required under section 392.

 

     (3) The secretary of state shall certify the nomination of

 

each person who qualifies as a nominee under subsection (2) to the

 

board of election commissioners specified by section 687 for the

 

general November election.

 

     (4) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (5), a justice

 

or justices of the supreme court shall be elected at the general

 

election in which justices of the supreme court are to be elected

 

as provided by law.

 

     (5) If there are fewer nominees for the office of justice of

 

the supreme court than there are persons to be elected at the

 

general November election because of the death or disqualification

 

of a nominee less than 66 days before the general November

 

election, then a person shall not be elected at that general

 

November election to any office of justice of the supreme court for

 

which there is no nominee.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless all of the following bills of the 95th Legislature are

 

enacted into law:

 

     (a) Senate Bill No. 1296.                                  

 

         

 

     (b) Senate Bill No. 1297.                                  

 

         

 

     (c) Senate Bill No. 1298.                                  

 

         


 

     (d) Senate Bill No. 1300.