Sec. 761. (1) If the clerk of a city or township receives an

application for an absent voter ballot from a person an individual registered to vote in that city or township and if the signature on the application agrees with the signature for the person individual contained in the qualified voter file or on the registration card as required in subsection (2), the clerk immediately upon receipt of the application or, if the application is received before the printing of the absent voter ballots, as soon as the ballots are received by the clerk, shall forward by mail, postage prepaid, or shall deliver personally 1 of the ballots or set of ballots if there is more than 1 kind of ballot to be voted to the applicant. If the clerk of a city or township receives an application for an absent voter ballot from an applicant who is a program participant, as that term is defined in section 3 of the address confidentiality program act, 2020 PA 301, MCL 780.853, then the city or township clerk shall mail an absent voter ballot to that program participant at the designated address provided to that program participant by the department of the attorney general under the address confidentiality program act, 2020 PA 301, MCL 780.851 to 780.873. Subject to the identification requirement in subsection (6), absent voter ballots may be delivered to an applicant in person at the office of the clerk. If the clerk of a city or township receives an absent voter ballot application from an individual registered to vote in that city or township and the signature on the application does not sufficiently agree with the signature for that individual contained on the master card or with the digitized signature for that individual contained in the qualified voter file, or the individual failed to sign the application, the clerk of the city or township shall proceed as provided in sections 766a and 766b.

(2) The Subject to sections 766a and 766b, the qualified voter

file must be used to determine the genuineness of a signature on an application for an absent voter ballot. Signature comparisons must be made with the digitized signature in the qualified voter file. If the qualified voter file does not contain a digitized signature of an elector, or is not accessible to the clerk, the city or township clerk shall compare the signature appearing on the application for an absent voter ballot to the signature contained on the master card. If before 8 p.m. on the day before election day the clerk of a city or township rejects an absent voter ballot application because the signature on the absent voter ballot application does not agree sufficiently with the signature on the master card or the digitized signature contained in the qualified voter file so as to identify the elector or because the elector failed to sign the absent voter ballot application, the city or township clerk shall as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 48 hours after determining the signatures do not agree sufficiently or that the signature is missing, or by 8 p.m. on the day before election day, whichever occurs first, notify the elector of the rejection by mail, telephone, or electronic mail.

(3) Subject to the identification requirement in subsection (6) and except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a person an individual may apply in person at the clerk's office before 8 p.m. on election day to vote as an absent voter. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2), section 766a, only an individual who is not a registered elector, or an individual who is not registered to vote in the city or township in which he or she is registering to vote, and who registers to vote on election day in person with the clerk of the city or township in which the individual resides may apply for and complete an absent voter

ballot in person at the clerk's office on election day. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2), section 766a, the clerk of a city or township shall not issue an absent voter ballot to a registered elector in that city or township after 4 p.m. on the day before the election. The applicant shall receive his or her absent voter ballot and vote the ballot in the clerk's office. All other absent voter ballots, except ballots delivered pursuant to an emergency absent voter ballot application under section 759b, must be mailed or delivered to the registration address of the applicant unless the application requests delivery to an address outside the city or township or to a hospital or similar institution, in which case the absent voter ballots must be mailed or delivered to the address given in the application. However, a clerk may mail or deliver an absent voter ballot, upon request of the absent voter, to a post office box if the post office box is where the absent voter normally receives personal mail and the absent voter does not receive mail at his or her registration address.

(4) Absent voter ballots must be issued in the same order in which applications are received by the clerk of a city, township, or village, as nearly as may be, and each ballot issued must bear the lowest number of each kind available for this purpose. However, this provision does not prohibit a clerk from immediately issuing an absent voter ballot to an absent voter who applies in person in the clerk's office for absent voter ballots. The clerk shall enclose with the ballot or ballots a return envelope properly addressed to the clerk and bearing upon the back of the envelope a printed statement in substantially the following form:

TO BE COMPLETED

BY THE CLERK

___________________________		___________________________
Name of Voter		Street Address or R.R. or Program Participant Identification Number
___________________________		___________________________
City or Township		County
Ward ______ Precinct ______	Date of Election _____________
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TO BE COMPLETED BY THE ABSENT VOTER

I assert that I am a United States citizen and a qualified and registered elector of the city or township named above. I am voting as an absent voter in conformity with state election law. Unless otherwise indicated below, I personally marked the ballot enclosed in this envelope without exhibiting it to any other person.individual.

I further assert that this absent voter ballot is being returned to the clerk or an assistant of the clerk by me personally; by public postal service, express mail service, parcel post service, or other common carrier; by a member of my immediate family; or by a person an individual residing in my household.

DATE:______________	SIGN HERE X_____________________________
		Signature of Absent Voter
The above form must be signed or your vote may not be counted.
AN ABSENT VOTER WHO KNOWINGLY MAKES A FALSE STATEMENT IS GUILTY
OF A MISDEMEANOR.
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TO BE COMPLETED ONLY IF VOTER IS ASSISTED IN VOTING
BY ANOTHER PERSONINDIVIDUAL

I assisted the above named absent voter who is disabled or

otherwise unable to mark the ballot in marking his or her absent voter ballot pursuant to his or her directions. The absent voter ballot was inserted in the return envelope without being exhibited to any other person.individual.

____________________	____________________	____________________
Signature of PersonIndividual	Street Address	City or Township
Assisting Voter	or R.R.
________________________________________________________________
Printed Name of Person Individual Assisting Voter
A PERSON AN INDIVIDUAL WHO ASSISTS AN ABSENT VOTER AND WHO KNOWINGLY MAKES A
FALSE STATEMENT IS GUILTY OF A FELONY.
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WARNING

PERSONS INDIVIDUALS WHO CAN LEGALLY BE IN POSSESSION OF AN ABSENT VOTER BALLOT ISSUED TO AN ABSENT VOTER ARE LIMITED TO THE ABSENT VOTER; A PERSON AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS A MEMBER OF THE ABSENT VOTER'S IMMEDIATE FAMILY OR RESIDES IN THE ABSENT VOTER'S HOUSEHOLD AND WHO HAS BEEN ASKED BY THE ABSENT VOTER TO RETURN THE BALLOT; A PERSON AN INDIVIDUAL WHOSE JOB IT IS TO HANDLE MAIL BEFORE, DURING, OR AFTER BEING TRANSPORTED BY A PUBLIC POSTAL SERVICE, EXPRESS MAIL SERVICE, PARCEL POST SERVICE, OR COMMON CARRIER, BUT ONLY DURING THE NORMAL COURSE OF HIS OR HER EMPLOYMENT; AND THE CLERK, ASSISTANTS OF THE CLERK, AND OTHER AUTHORIZED ELECTION OFFICIALS OF THE CITY OR TOWNSHIP. ANY OTHER PERSON INDIVIDUAL IN POSSESSION OF AN ABSENT VOTER BALLOT IS GUILTY OF A FELONY.

(5) An absent voter who knowingly makes a false statement on the absent voter ballot return envelope is guilty of a misdemeanor.

A person An individual who assists an absent voter and who knowingly makes a false statement on the absent voter ballot return envelope is guilty of a felony.

(6) If an elector obtains his or her absent voter ballot in person from the clerk of the city or township in which he or she is registered, the clerk of the city or township shall not provide an absent voter ballot to that elector until the elector identifies himself or herself to the clerk by presenting identification for election purposes. If an elector does not have identification for election purposes, the elector may sign an affidavit to that effect before the clerk of the city or township and be allowed to obtain his or her absent voter ballot in person from the clerk. The clerk of the city or township shall indicate to each elector who is registered in that city or township and who obtains his or her absent voter ballot in person from the clerk that the elector may sign an affidavit indicating that the elector does not have identification for election purposes in order to obtain his or her absent voter ballot in person from the clerk. However, if an elector obtains his or her absent voter ballot in person from the clerk and votes by absent voter ballot without providing identification for election purposes required under this subsection, the absent voter ballot of that elector must be prepared as a challenged ballot as provided in section 727 and must be counted as any other ballot is counted unless determined otherwise by a court of law under section 747 or 748 or any other applicable law.

Sec. 765a. (1) Subject to section 764d, if a city or township decides to use absent voter counting boards, the board of election commissioners of that city or township shall establish an absent

voter counting board for each election day precinct in that city or township. The ballot form of an absent voter counting board must correspond to the ballot form of the election day precinct for which it is established. After the polls close on election day, the county, city, or township clerk responsible for producing the accumulation report of the election results submitted by the boards of precinct election inspectors shall format the accumulation report to clearly indicate all of the following:

(a) The election day precinct returns.

(b) The corresponding absent voter counting board returns.

(2) Subject to section 764d, the board of election commissioners shall establish the absent voter counting boards. Subject to section 764d, the board of election commissioners shall appoint the election inspectors to those absent voter counting boards not less than 21 days or more than 40 days before the election at which they are to be used. Sections 673a and 674 apply to the appointment of election inspectors to absent voter counting boards under this section. The board of election commissioners shall determine the number of ballots that may be expeditiously counted by an absent voter counting board in a reasonable period of time, taking into consideration the size and complexity of the ballot to be counted pursuant to the guidelines of the secretary of state. Combined ballots must be regarded as the number of ballots as there are sections to the ballot.

(3) If more than 1 absent voter counting board is to be used, the city or township clerk shall determine the number of electronic voting systems or the number of ballot boxes and the number of

election inspectors to be used in each of the absent voter counting boards and to which absent voter counting board the absent voter ballots for each precinct are assigned for counting.

(4) In a city or township that uses absent voter counting boards under this section, absent voter ballots must be counted in the manner provided in this section and, except as otherwise provided in section 764d, absent voter ballots must not be delivered to the polling places. Subject to section 764d, the board of election commissioners shall provide a place for each absent voter counting board to count the absent voter ballots. Section 662 applies to the designation and prescribing of the absent voter counting place or places in which the absent voter counting board performs its duties under this section, except the location may be in a different jurisdiction if the county provides a tabulator for use at a central absent voter counting board location in that county. The places must be designated as absent voter counting places. Except as otherwise provided in this section, laws relating to paper ballot precincts, including laws relating to the appointment of election inspectors, apply to absent voter counting places. The provisions of this section relating to placing of absent voter ballots on electronic voting systems apply. More than 1 absent voter counting board may be located in 1 building.

(5) The clerk of a city or township that uses absent voter counting boards shall supply each absent voter counting board with supplies necessary to carry out its duties under this act. The supplies must be furnished to the city or township clerk in the same manner and by the same persons or agencies as for other precincts.

(6) Subject to section 764d, absent voter ballots received by

the clerk before election day must be delivered to the absent voter counting board by the clerk or the clerk's authorized assistant at the time the election inspectors of the absent voter counting boards report for duty, which time must be established by the board of election commissioners. Except as otherwise provided in section 764d, absent voter ballots received by the clerk before the time set for the closing of the polls on election day must be delivered to the absent voter counting boards. Except as otherwise provided in section 765(6), absent voter ballots must be delivered to the absent voter counting boards or combined absent voter counting boards in the sealed absent voter ballot return envelopes in which they were returned to the clerk. Written or stamped on each of the return envelopes must be the time and the date that the envelope was received by the clerk and a statement by the clerk that the signatures of the absent voters on the envelopes have been checked and found to sufficiently agree with the signatures of the voters on the registration cards or the digitized signatures of voters contained in the qualified voter file as provided under section 766. If it is determined after 8 p.m. on the day before election day that a signature on the registration card or a digitized signature contained in the qualified voter file and on the absent voter ballot return envelope does not sufficiently agree as provided under section 766 , or if it is determined after 8 p.m. on the day before election day that the absent voter failed to sign the envelope, or if the clerk shall proceed as provided under sections 766a and 766b. If the statement of the absent voter is not properly executed, the clerk shall mark the envelope "rejected" and the reason for the rejection and shall place his or her name under the notation. An envelope marked "rejected" must not be delivered

to the absent voter counting board or combined absent voter counting board but must be preserved by the clerk until other ballots are destroyed in the manner provided in this act. If before 8 p.m. on the day before election day the clerk of a city or township rejects an absent voter ballot return envelope because the signature on the absent voter ballot return envelope does not agree sufficiently with the signature on the master card or the digitized signature contained in the qualified voter file so as to identify the elector or because the elector failed to sign the absent voter ballot return envelope, the city or township clerk shall as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 48 hours after determining the signatures do not agree sufficiently or that the signature is missing, or by 8 p.m. on the day before election day, whichever occurs first, notify the elector of the rejection by mail, telephone, or electronic mail. The clerk shall also comply with section 765(5).

(7) This chapter does not prohibit an absent voter from voting in person within the voter's precinct at an election, notwithstanding that the voter may have applied for an absent voter ballot and the ballot may have been mailed or otherwise delivered to the voter. The voter, the election inspectors, and other election officials shall proceed in the manner prescribed in section 769. The clerk shall preserve the canceled ballots for 2 years.

(8) The absent voter counting boards and combined absent voter counting boards shall process the ballots and returns in as nearly as possible the same manner as ballots are processed in paper ballot precincts. The poll book may be combined with the absent voter list or record required by section 760, and the applications

for absent voter ballots may be used as the poll list. The processing and tallying of absent voter ballots may commence at 7 a.m. on the day of the election.

(9) An election inspector, challenger, or any other person individual in attendance at an absent voter counting place or combined absent voter counting place at any time after the processing of ballots has begun shall take and sign the following oath that may be administered by the chairperson or a member of the absent voter counting board or combined absent voter counting board:

"I (name of person individual taking oath) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I shall not communicate in any way any information relative to the processing or tallying of votes that may come to me while in this counting place until after the polls are closed.".

(10) The oaths administered under subsection (9) must be placed in an envelope provided for the purpose and sealed with the red state seal. Following the election, the oaths must be delivered to the city or township clerk. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (12), a person an individual in attendance at the absent voter counting place or combined absent voter counting place shall not leave the counting place after the tallying has begun until the polls close. Subject to this subsection, the clerk of a city or township may allow the election inspectors appointed to an absent voter counting board in that city or township to work in shifts. A second or subsequent shift of election inspectors appointed for an absent voter counting board may begin that shift at any time on election day as provided by the city or township clerk. However, an election inspector shall not leave the absent voter counting place after the tallying has begun until the polls close. If the election

inspectors appointed to an absent voter counting board are authorized to work in shifts, at no time shall there be a gap between shifts and the election inspectors must never leave the absent voter ballots unattended. At all times, at least 1 election inspector from each major political party must be present at the absent voter counting place and the policies and procedures adopted by the secretary of state regarding the counting of absent voter ballots must be followed. A person An individual who causes the polls to be closed or who discloses an election result or in any manner characterizes how any ballot being counted has been voted in a voting precinct before the time the polls can be legally closed on election day is guilty of a felony.

(11) Voted absent voter ballots must be placed in an approved ballot container, and the ballot container must be sealed in the manner provided by this act for paper ballot precincts. The seal numbers must be recorded on the statement sheet and in the poll book.

(12) Subject to this subsection, a local election official who has established an absent voter counting board or combined absent voter counting board, the deputy or employee of that local election official, an employee of the state bureau of elections, a county clerk, an employee of a county clerk, or a representative of a voting equipment company may enter and leave an absent voter counting board or combined absent voter counting board after the tally has begun but before the polls close. A person An individual described in this subsection may enter an absent voter counting board or combined absent voter counting board only for the purpose of responding to an inquiry from an election inspector or a challenger or providing instructions on the operation of the

counting board. Before entering an absent voter counting board or combined absent voter counting board, a person an individual described in this subsection must take and sign the oath prescribed in subsection (9). The chairperson of the absent voter counting board or combined absent voter counting board shall record in the poll book the name of a person an individual described in this subsection who enters the absent voter counting board or combined absent voter counting board. A person An individual described in this subsection who enters an absent voter counting board or combined absent voter counting board and who discloses an election result or in any manner characterizes how any ballot being counted has been voted in a precinct before the time the polls can be legally closed on election day is guilty of a felony. As used in this subsection, "local election official" means a county, city, or township clerk.

(13) The secretary of state shall develop instructions consistent with this act for the conduct of absent voter counting boards or combined absent voter counting boards. The secretary of state shall distribute the instructions developed under this subsection to county, city, and township clerks 40 days or more before a general election in which absent voter counting boards or combined absent voter counting boards will be used. A county, city, or township clerk shall make the instructions developed under this subsection available to the public and shall distribute the instructions to each challenger in attendance at an absent voter counting board or combined absent voter counting board. The instructions developed under this subsection are binding upon the operation of an absent voter counting board or combined absent voter counting board used in an election conducted by a county,

city, or township.

Sec. 766. (1) Upon receipt from the city or township clerk of any return envelope containing the marked ballot or ballots of an absent voter, the board of election inspectors of election shall verify the legality of the vote by doing both of the following:

(a) Examining the digitized signature for the absent voter included in the qualified voter file under section 509q or the registration record as provided in subsection (2) to see that the person individual has not voted in person, that he or she is a registered voter, and, subject to subsection (3), that the signature on the statement sufficiently agrees with the signature on the registration record.

(b) Examining the statement of the voter to see that it is properly executed.

(2) The qualified voter file must be used to determine the genuineness of a signature on an a return envelope containing an absent voter ballot. Signature comparisons must be made with the digitized signature in the qualified voter file. If the qualified voter file does not contain a digitized signature of an elector, or is not accessible to the clerk, the city or township clerk shall compare the signature appearing on an a return envelope containing an absent voter ballot to the signature contained on the master card.

(3) In determining whether an elector's signature on an absent voter ballot return envelope sufficiently agrees with the signature on file for that elector, the board of election inspectors must use the review process and standards described in section 766b.

Sec. 766a. (1) If the clerk of a city or township receives an absent voter ballot application or an absent voter ballot return

envelope 6 days or more before an election that does not contain the elector's signature or that contains a signature that does not sufficiently agree with the signature on file so as to identify the elector, the city or township clerk must notify the elector of the issue as provided under subsection (6) by the end of the next business day following the receipt of the absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope. A city or township clerk may provide notice to an elector more quickly than required under this subsection.

(2) If the clerk of a city or township receives an absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope 5 days or fewer before an election, but before 8 p.m. on the day before an election, the city or township clerk must review that absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope by the end of the day on which the application or return envelope was received by the clerk. If the city or township clerk determines that the absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope does not contain the elector's signature or contains a signature that does not sufficiently agree with the signature on file so as to identify the elector, the city or township clerk must notify the elector of the issue as provided under subsection (6) by the end of the day on which the absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope was received by the city or township clerk. A city or township clerk may provide notice to an elector more quickly than required under this subsection.

(3) For purposes of subsections (1) and (2), both of the following apply:

(a) If an absent voter ballot application or absent voter

ballot return envelope comes into the physical control of the city or township clerk's office before or during the clerk's scheduled business hours, that absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope is considered to have been received by the city or township clerk on the day of submission.

(b) If an absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope comes into the physical control of the city or township clerk's office after the end of the clerk's scheduled business hours, or if an absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope comes into the physical control of the city or township clerk's office on a day in which the clerk does not have scheduled business hours, that absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope is considered to have been received by the city or township clerk on the first subsequent day during which the clerk has scheduled business hours.

(4) If a city or township maintains 1 or more absent voter ballot application drop boxes or absent voter ballot drop boxes, the city or township clerk, his or her deputy clerk, or a sworn member of his or her staff must check each drop box in the city or township for absent voter ballot applications and absent voter ballot return envelopes before the end of each day during which the clerk has scheduled business hours. The city or township clerk, his or her deputy clerk, or a sworn member of his or her staff must retrieve each absent voter ballot application and each absent voter ballot return envelope contained in the drop box. Each absent voter ballot application and absent voter ballot return envelope retrieved by the city or township clerk, his or her deputy clerk, or a sworn member of his or her staff is considered to have been received by the clerk on the day it was retrieved. An absent voter

ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope deposited in a drop box on a day during which the city or township clerk does not have scheduled business hours is not considered to have been received by the city or township clerk until the first subsequent day during which the clerk has scheduled business hours.

(5) An absent voter ballot return envelope that is collected by a city or township clerk, or his or her authorized assistant, as provided in section 764b(4) or (5), is considered received when the city or township clerk, or his or her authorized assistant, comes into physical possession of the absent voter ballot return envelope.

(6) When notifying an elector under subsection (1) or (2) of a missing signature or of a signature that does not sufficiently agree with the signature on file, the city or township clerk must notify the elector by telephone and email. If an elector's email address is not available, the clerk must notify the elector by telephone and first-class mail.

(7) An elector may cure a missing signature or a signature that does not sufficiently agree with the signature on file by using any of the following methods:

(a) Providing to the city or township clerk a signature on the absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope with the missing signature or a signature that sufficiently agrees with the signature on file for that elector.

(b) Completing and submitting to the city or township clerk a signature cure form as prescribed by the secretary of state.

(c) Following another form or method of curing the missing signature or a signature that does not sufficiently agree with the signature on file for that elector as specified by the city or

township clerk on the city or township website or as provided in the city or township clerk's office.

(8) An elector may cure a missing signature or a signature that does not sufficiently agree with the signature on file for the elector until the polls close on election day.

(9) If requested by an elector, a city or township clerk may facilitate the curing of a missing signature or a signature that does not sufficiently agree with the signature on file for the elector by doing either of the following:

(a) Collecting a signature cure form.

(b) Providing the absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope that is missing a signature to the elector so that the elector can sign the absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope.

(10) As used in this section and section 766b, "signature on file" means the elector's signature on the master card or the elector's digitized signature contained in the qualified voter file.

Sec. 766b. (1) A city or township clerk may reject an elector's signature on an absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope only if, after reviewing the signature using the process described in this section, the city or township clerk determines that the signature does not sufficiently agree with the signature on file for the elector. A signature does not sufficiently agree with the signature on file only if the signature differs in significant and obvious respects from the signature on file. Slight dissimilarities between a signature on an absent voter ballot application or an absent voter ballot return envelope and the signature on file must be resolved in favor of the elector. An

exact signature match between a signature on an absent voter ballot application or an absent voter ballot return envelope and the signature on file is not required to determine that a signature sufficiently agrees with the signature on file.

(2) In making a determination under subsection (1) of whether an elector's signature on an absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope sufficiently agrees with the signature on file, a city or township clerk shall consider whether there are any redeeming qualities present. The bureau of elections shall provide examples of signatures with redeeming qualities and questionable signatures. Redeeming qualities include, but are not limited to, any of the following:

(a) Similar distinctive flourishes.

(b) More matching features than nonmatching features.

(d) Only part of the signature matches the signature on file, such as if only the first letters of the first and last name match.

(e) The signature is partially printed but partially matches the signature on file.

(f) The signature is a recognized diminutive of the elector's full legal name.

(g) The signature omits a middle name, replaces a middle name with an initial, or replaces a middle initial with a name.

(h) The signature style has changed slightly from the signature on file.

(3) In making a determination under subsection (1) of whether an elector's signature on an absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope sufficiently agrees with the

signature on file, a city or township clerk shall consider all of the following explanations for any discrepancies in a signature:

(a) Evidence of trembling or shaking in a signature could be health-related or the result of aging.

(b) The elector may have used a diminutive of his or her full legal name, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(i) Using initials.

(ii) Rearranging the components of his or her full legal name, such as a reversal of his or her first and last names.

(iii) Using a middle name in place of a first name.

(iv) Omitting a second name.

(d) The signature may have been written in haste.

(e) The surface of the location where the signature was made may have been rough, soft, uneven, or unstable.

(f) The age of the elector.

(g) The age of the signature or signatures contained on the master card or in the qualified voter file.

(h) The possibility that the elector has become disabled.

(i) The elector's primary language.

(j) The quality of the digitized signature contained in the qualified voter file.

(k) Any other plausible reason for the discrepancy.

(4) If after examining an elector's signature on an absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope the city or township clerk has genuine concerns about whether the elector's signature on the absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot return envelope sufficiently agrees with the

signature on file for that elector, the city or township clerk may contact the elector to address those concerns before making a determination on whether the signature sufficiently agrees with the signature on file. Any contact by a city or township clerk with an elector under this subsection does not constitute notice as required under section 766a.

Sec. 767. If upon an examination of examining the return envelope containing an absent voter's ballot or ballots , it is determined that the signature on the envelope does not sufficiently agree sufficiently with the signature on the registration card or the digitized signature contained in the qualified voter file as provided under section 766 so as to identify the voter or if the board shall have has knowledge that the person individual voting the ballot or ballots has died, or if it is determined by a majority of the board that such the vote is illegal for any other reason, then such the vote shall must be rejected, and thereupon some member of the board shall, without opening the return envelope, mark across the face of such the return envelope, "rejected as illegal", and the reason therefor. for the rejection. The statement shall must be initialed by the chairman chairperson of the board of election inspectors. Said The return envelope and the absent voter ballot or ballots contained therein shall in the return envelope must be returned to the city , or township or village clerk and retained and preserved in the manner now provided by law for the retention and preservation of official ballots voted at such an election.