NOTARIZE ABSENT VOTER APP. - H.B. 4642: COMMITTEE SUMMARY
House Bill 4642 (as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Nancy Cassis
House Committee: Redistricting and Elections
Senate Committee: Government Operations
Date Completed: 5-23-02
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Michigan Election Law to allow a person to use an absentee ballot if he or she were voting for the first time in a jurisdiction in which he or she had registered by mail, provided that the signature of the person on the absent voter ballot application was notarized, and the person was entitled to vote as an absent voter under Section 758 of the Law.
(Section 758 provides that to qualify to vote by absentee ballot, a voter must be 60 years old or older, or meet one of the following requirements: the voter is absent, or expects to be absent, from his or her township or city for the entire time the polls are open on election day; the voter cannot attend the polls without assistance because of a physical disability; the voter is confined to jail awaiting arraignment or trial; the voter cannot attend the polls because of the tenets of his or her religion; or the voter is an election inspector in another precinct.)
Currently, a person who registers by mail to vote in a jurisdiction in the State must vote in person the first time he or she votes in that jurisdiction. The restriction does not apply to a person entitled to vote by absentee ballot under the Federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act; a person with a disability as defined in the Federal Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act; a person who is 60 years of age or older; or a person who is entitled to vote other than in person under any other Federal law. As described above, the bill would create another exception to the current requirement.
MCL 168.509t - Legislative Analyst: George Towne
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have no fiscal impact on the State.
The bill would have a negligible fiscal impact on local units of government. With more voters qualifying for an absentee ballot, a local jurisdiction could experience slightly higher postage costs due to mailing additional absentee voter ballots.
- Fiscal Analyst: Jessica RunnelsS0102\s4742sa
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.