SENATE BILL NO. 199 February 2, 1999, Introduced by Senators HAMMERSTROM, BULLARD, SIKKEMA, EMERSON and SHUGARS and referred to the Committee on Government Operations. A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled "Michigan election law," by amending sections 758, 759, and 759b (MCL 168.758, 168.759, and 168.759b), section 758 as amended by 1996 PA 207 and section 759 as amended by 1995 PA 261. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 758.(1) For the purposes ofAS USED IN this act, 2 "absent voter" means a qualified and registered elector who 3meets 1 or more of the following requirements;4(a) On account of physical disability, cannot without5another's assistance attendWISHES TO VOTE WITHOUT ATTENDING the 6 polls on the day of an election. 7(b) On account of the tenets of his or her religion, cannot8attend the polls on the day of election.00113'99 KKR 2 1(c) Cannot attend the polls on the day of an election in the2precinct in which he or she resides because of being an election3precinct inspector in another precinct.4(d) Is 60 years of age or older.5(e) Is absent or expects to be absent from the township or6city in which he or she resides during the entire period the7polls are open for voting on the day of an election.8(f) Cannot attend the polls on election day because of being9confined in jail awaiting arraignment or trial.10(2) Subsection (1) does not apply toABSENT VOTER DOES NOT 11 INCLUDE a person who has moved outside of this state, regardless 12 of length of his or her residence outside of this state, and who 13 no longer maintains an actual residence in this state. The stor- 14 age of personal effects or household goods, the ownership of 15 property that is rented or leased to others, or occasional brief 16 visits to a former domicile in this state while residing outside 17 of this state for most of the year does not constitute a resi- 18 dence for voting purposes in this state, except for each of the 19 following: 20 (a) A person described in section 1 of article II of the 21 state constitution of 1963 and statutes enacted under that 22 section. 23 (b) A person described in section 759a. 24 Sec. 759. (1) At any time during the 75 days before a pri- 25 mary or special primary, but not later than 2 p.m. of the 26 Saturday immediately before the primary or special primary, an 27 elector who qualifies to vote as an absent voter, as defined in 00113'99 3 1 section 758, may apply for an absent voter ballot. The elector 2 shall apply in person or by mail with the clerk of the township, 3 city, or village in which the elector is registered. An applica- 4 tion received before a primary or special primary may be for 5 either that primary only, or for that primary and the election 6 that follows. 7 (2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (1), at any 8 time during the 75 days before an election, but not later than 2 9 p.m. of the Saturday before the election, an elector who quali- 10 fies to vote as an absent voter, as defined in section 758, may 11 apply for an absent voter ballot. The elector shall apply in 12 person or by mail with the clerk of the township, city, or vil- 13 lage in which the voter is registered. 14 (3) An application for an absent voter ballot under this 15 section may be made in any of the following ways: 16 (a) By a written request signed by thevoter stating the17statutory grounds for making the applicationELECTOR. 18 (b) On an absent voter ballot application form provided for 19 that purpose by the clerk of the city, township, or village. 20 (c) On a federal postcard application. 21 (4) An applicant for an absent voter ballot shall sign the 22 application. A clerk or assistant clerk shall not deliver an 23 absent voter ballot to an applicant who does not sign the 24 application. A person other than the applicant; a member of the 25 applicant's immediate family; a person residing in the 26 applicant's household; a person whose job normally includes the 27 handling of mail, but only during the course of his or her 00113'99 4 1 employment; a registered elector requested by the applicant; or a 2 clerk, assistant of the clerk, or other authorized election offi- 3 cial shall not be in possession of a signed absent voter ballot 4 application. A registered elector who is requested by the appli- 5 cant to return his or her absent voter ballot application shall 6 sign the certificate on the absent voter ballot application. 7 (5) The clerk of the city, township, or village shall have 8 absent voter ballot application forms available in the office of 9 the clerk at all times and shall furnish an absent voter ballot 10 application form to anyone upon a verbal or written request. The 11 absent voter ballot application shall be in substantially the 12 following form: 13 "Application for absent voter ballot for: 14 15 [] The primary or special primary election to be held on 16..... , 19..._______________ [DATE]. 17 [] The election to be held on..... , 19...18 _______________ [DATE]. 19 (Check applicable election or elections) 20 I, .......... , a qualified and registered elector of 21 the ..... precinct of the township of .......... or village 22 of .......... or of the .......... ward of the city 23 of .......... , in the county of .......... and state of 24 Michigan, apply for an official ballot, or ballots, to be voted 25 by me at the election or elections as requested in this 26 application. 00113'99 5 1The statutory grounds on which I base my request are:2[] I expect to be absent from the community in which I am3registered for the entire time the polls are open on election4day.5[] I am physically unable to attend the polls without the6assistance of another.7[] I cannot attend the polls because of the tenets of my8religion.9[] I have been appointed an election precinct inspector in a10precinct other than the precinct where I reside.11[] I am 60 years of age or older.12[] I cannot attend the polls because I am confined to jail13awaiting arraignment or trial.14(Check applicable reason)15 Send absent voter ballot to me at: 16 ....................................... 17 (Street No. or R.R.) 18 ....................................... 19 (Post Office) (State) 20 My registered address.......................................... 21 (Street No. or R.R.) 22 ................................................. 23 (Post Office) (State) 24 Date........................................................... 25 I declare that the statements in this absent voter ballot 26 application are true. 27 ................................................. 28 (Signature) 29 WARNING 00113'99 6 1 A person making a false statement in this absent voter 2 ballot application is guilty of a misdemeanor. It is a violation 3 of Michigan election law for a person other than those listed in 4 the instructions to return, offer to return, agree to return, or 5 solicit to return your absent voter ballot application to the 6 clerk. An assistant authorized by the clerk who receives absent 7 voter ballot applications at a location other than the office of 8 the clerk must have credentials signed by the clerk. Ask to see 9 his or her credentials before entrusting your application with a 10 person claiming to have the clerk's authorization to return your 11 application. 12 Certificate of Authorized Registered 13 Elector Returning Absent Voter 14 Ballot Application 15 I certify that my name is ...................., my address 16 is ...................., and my date of birth is ............; 17 that I am delivering the absent voter ballot application of 18 .................... at his or her request; that I did not 19 solicit or request to return the application; that I have not 20 made any markings on the application; that I have not altered the 21 application in any way; that I have not influenced the applicant; 22 and that I am aware that a false statement in this certificate is 23 a violation of Michigan election law. 24 __________ ______________________________ 25 (Date) (Signature)" 26 (6) The following instructions for an applicant for an 27 absent voter ballot shall be included with each application 28 furnished an applicant: 00113'99 7 1 INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLICANTS FOR ABSENT VOTER BALLOTS 2 Step 1. After completely filling out the application, sign 3 and date the application in the place designated. Your signature 4 must appear on the application or you will not receive an absent 5 voter ballot. 6 Step 2. Deliver the application by 1 of the following 7 methods: 8 (a) Place the application in an envelope addressed to the 9 appropriate clerk and place the necessary postage upon the return 10 envelope and deposit it in the United States mail or with another 11 public postal service, express mail service, parcel post service, 12 or common carrier. 13 (b) Deliver the application personally to the office of the 14 clerk, to the clerk, or to an authorized assistant of the clerk. 15 (c) In either (a) or (b), a member of the immediate family 16 of the voter including a father-in-law, mother-in-law, 17 brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, 18 grandparent, or grandchild or a person residing in the voter's 19 household may mail or deliver the application to the clerk for 20 the applicant. 21 (d) In the event an applicant cannot return the application 22 in any of the above methods, the applicant may select any regis- 23 tered elector to return the application. The person returning 24 the application must sign and return the certificate at the 25 bottom of the application. 26 (7) A person who prints and distributes absent voter ballot 27 applications shall print on the application the warning, 00113'99 8 1 certificate of authorized registered elector returning absent 2 voter ballot application, and instructions required by this 3 section. 4 (8) A person who makes a false statement in an absent voter 5 ballot application is guilty of a misdemeanor. A person who 6 forges a signature on an absent voter ballot application is 7 guilty of a felony. A person who is not authorized in this act 8 and who both distributes absent voter ballot applications to 9 absent voters and returns those absent voter ballot applications 10 to a clerk or assistant of the clerk is guilty of a misdemeanor. 11 Sec. 759b. (1)AnyA registered elector may apply for AN 12 absent voterballotsBALLOT at any timeprior toBEFORE 4 13 p.m. on election day ifhe shall have become physically dis-14abled or shall be absent from the city or township because of15sickness or death in the family whichAN EVENT has occurred at a 16 timewhich hasTHAT made it impossible to apply for absent 17 voter ballots by the statutory deadline. The application shall 18 be called an emergency absent voter BALLOT application. 19 (2) Emergency absent voter BALLOT applications may be made 20 by letter or on a form PRESCRIBED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE AND 21 provided by the clerk. The application shall set forth that the 22 voter is qualified to vote in the election, stating the statu-23tory reason for applying for an emergency absent voter ballot24 and thatthe reason for applying after the statutory deadline25 AN EVENT occurred at such a time to make it impossible to file an 26 application for AN absent voterballotsBALLOT by the statutory 27 deadline. THE SECRETARY OF STATE SHALL PRESCRIBE A STANDARD 00113'99 9 1 EMERGENCY ABSENT VOTER BALLOT APPLICATION FORM, INCLUDING THE 2 SIZE OF THE FORM AND THE COLOR OF PAPER UPON WHICH THE FORM IS 3 PRINTED. 4 (3)AnyA person intentionally making a false statement in 5suchAN EMERGENCY ABSENT VOTER BALLOT application is guilty of 6 a felony.AnyA person aiding or abettinganyANOTHER person 7 to make a false statementon suchIN AN EMERGENCY ABSENT VOTER 8 BALLOT application is guilty of a felony. 9 (4) Upon receipt by the clerk of a valid application for an 10 emergency absent voter ballot, the clerk may deliver the ABSENT 11 VOTER ballots to the applicant in person, through a deputy or an 12 election assistant, orhe may deliver themat his OR HER office 13 to a person named by the applicant in the EMERGENCY ABSENT VOTER 14 BALLOT application. The ABSENT voter may return the ABSENT VOTER 15 ballots to the clerkin the sealed envelope provided therefor16 in any manner.he sees fit. ToHOWEVER, TO be valid,ballots17must be returnedTHE ABSENT VOTER SHALL RETURN THE ABSENT VOTER 18 BALLOTS to the clerk IN THE SEALED ENVELOPE PROVIDED FOR THAT 19 REASON AND in time to be delivered to the pollsprior toBEFORE 20 8 p.m. on election day. 00113'99 Final page. KKR