HOUSE BILL No. 4554


     April 17, 2001, Introduced by Reps. Sheltrown, Gieleghem, Lipsey, Neumann, Adamini, Rich Brown, Anderson, Kolb,
Minore, Whitmer, Rivet, Clark, Shackleton, Spade, Switalski, Garza and Bogardus and referred to the Committee on Redistricting
and Elections.


        A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled

   "Michigan election law,"

   by amending sections 509t and 761 (MCL 168.509t and 168.761),

   section 509t as amended by 1998 PA 21 and section 761 as amended

   by 1996 PA 207.

               THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

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           Sec. 509t.  (1) Notwithstanding  any other  ANOTHER provi-

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      sion of law to the contrary, a person who is a qualified elector

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      in this state and who registers to vote in a manner consistent

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      with the national voter registration act of 1993  ,  is consid-

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      ered a registered voter under this act.

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           (2) A person who registers to vote in a jurisdiction in this

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      state by mail shall vote in person if that person has not

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      previously voted in person in that jurisdiction.  This subsection

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      does not apply to any of the following registered voters:


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           (a) A person entitled to vote by absentee ballot under the

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      uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act, Public Law

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      99-410, 100 Stat. 924.

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           (b) A person  who has  WITH a disability as defined in sec-

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      tion 103 of the persons with disabilities civil rights act, 1976

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      PA 220, MCL 37.1103.  , or 

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           (C) A PERSON who is 60 years of age or older.

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           (D)  (c)  A person who is entitled to vote other than in

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      person under any other federal law.

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           (E) IF THE PERSON SIGNS AND HAS NOTARIZED THE NOTARY FORM AS

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      PROVIDED IN SECTION 761, A PERSON WHO IS ENTITLED TO VOTE AS AN

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      ABSENT VOTER UNDER SECTION 758.

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           (3) This section does not preclude this state from prosecut-

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      ing a violation of this act that is also a violation of  any  A

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      federal election or voting rights law.

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           Sec. 761.  (1) If the clerk of a city, township, or village

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      receives an application for an absent voter ballot from a person

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      registered to vote in that city, township, or village and if the

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      signature on the application agrees with the signature on the

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      registration card, the clerk immediately upon receipt of the

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      application or, if the application is received before the print-

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      ing of the absent voter ballots, as soon as the ballots are

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      received by the clerk, shall forward by mail  , postage prepaid,

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      or shall  OR deliver personally  1 of the ballots or set of bal-

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      lots if there is more than 1 kind of ballot to be voted  AN

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      ABSENT VOTER BALLOT to the applicant.  Absent voter ballots  AN





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      ABSENT VOTER BALLOT may be delivered to an applicant in person at

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      the office of the clerk.

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           (2) Notwithstanding section 759, providing that  no  THE

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      CLERK SHALL NOT ACCEPT absent voter applications  shall be

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      received by the clerk  after 2 p.m. on the Saturday before the

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      election, a person qualified to vote as an absent voter may apply

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      in person at the clerk's office before 4 p.m. on a day

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       preceding  BEFORE the election, except Sunday or a legal

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      holiday, to vote as an absent voter.  The applicant shall receive

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      his or her absent voter ballot and vote the ballot in the clerk's

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      office.  All other absent voter ballots, except ballots delivered

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       pursuant to  IN ACCORDANCE WITH an emergency absent voter ballot

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      application under section 759b, shall be mailed or delivered to

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      the registration address of the applicant unless the application

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      requests delivery to an address outside the city, village, or

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      township or to a hospital or similar institution.  , in which

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      case  IF THE APPLICATION REQUESTS DELIVERY TO AN ADDRESS OUTSIDE

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      THE CITY, VILLAGE, OR TOWNSHIP OR TO A HOSPITAL OR A SIMILAR

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      INSTITUTION, the absent voter  ballots  BALLOT shall be mailed or

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      delivered to the address given in the application.  However, a 

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      A clerk may mail or deliver an absent voter ballot, upon request

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      of the absent voter, to a post office box if the post office box

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      is where the absent voter normally receives personal mail and the

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      absent voter does not receive mail at his or her registration

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      address.

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           (3) Absent voter ballots shall be issued in the same order,

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      INSOFAR AS IS POSSIBLE, in which applications are received by the



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      clerk of a city, township, or village.  , as nearly as may be,

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      and each  EACH ballot issued shall bear the lowest number  of

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      each kind  available.  for this purpose.  However, this provision

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      does not prohibit a  A clerk  from  MAY immediately
    issuing 

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      ISSUE an absent voter ballot to an absent voter who applies in

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      person in the clerk's office for AN absent voter  ballots 

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      BALLOT.  The clerk shall enclose with the ABSENT VOTER ballot  or

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      ballots  a return envelope properly addressed to the clerk and

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      bearing upon the back of the envelope a printed statement in sub-

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      stantially the following form:

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                               TO BE COMPLETED
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                                 BY THE CLERK

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      ______________________________  _________________________________
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               Name of Voter                Street Address or R.R.

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      ______________________________  _________________________________
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        City, Township, or Village                  County

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      Ward _______  Precinct _______  Date of Election_________________

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      =================================================================
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                     TO BE COMPLETED BY THE ABSENT VOTER
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            I assert that  I am a qualified and registered elector of

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      the city, township, or village named above.  I am voting as an

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      absent voter in conformity with  state  THE MICHIGAN election

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      law.  Unless otherwise indicated below, I personally marked the

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      ballot enclosed in this envelope without  exhibiting  SHOWING it

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      to  any other  ANOTHER person.

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            I further assert that this  THIS absent voter ballot is

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      being returned to the clerk or an assistant of the clerk by me

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      personally; by public postal service, express mail service,





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      parcel post service, or other common carrier; by a member of my

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      immediate family; or by a person residing in my household.

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        DATE:_____         SIGN HERE:  X______________________________ 
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                                        Signature of Absent Voter

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      The above form must be signed or your vote will not be counted.
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      AN ABSENT VOTER WHO KNOWINGLY MAKES A FALSE STATEMENT IS GUILTY
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      OF A MISDEMEANOR.

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      =================================================================

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             TO BE COMPLETED ONLY IF VOTER IS ASSISTED IN VOTING
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                              BY ANOTHER PERSON
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           I assisted the above named absent voter who is disabled or

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      otherwise unable to mark the ballot in marking his or her absent

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      voter ballot  pursuant to  FOLLOWING his or her directions.  The

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      absent voter ballot was inserted in the return envelope without

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      being  exhibited to any other  SHOWN TO ANOTHER person.

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      ____________________ ______________________ ___________________________
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       Signature of Person Street Address or R.R. City, Twp.,     ZIP CODE
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         Assisting Voter                           or Village

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      A PERSON WHO ASSISTS AN ABSENT VOTER AND WHO KNOWINGLY MAKES A
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      FALSE STATEMENT IS GUILTY OF A FELONY.

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      =======================================================================


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                                      WARNING
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           PERSONS WHO CAN LEGALLY BE IN POSSESSION OF AN ABSENT VOTER

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      BALLOT ISSUED TO AN ABSENT VOTER ARE LIMITED TO THE ABSENT VOTER;

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      A PERSON WHO IS A MEMBER OF THE ABSENT VOTER'S IMMEDIATE FAMILY

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      OR RESIDES IN THE ABSENT VOTER'S HOUSEHOLD AND WHO HAS BEEN ASKED

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      BY THE ABSENT VOTER TO RETURN THE BALLOT; A PERSON WHOSE JOB IT

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      IS TO HANDLE MAIL BEFORE, DURING, OR AFTER BEING TRANSPORTED BY A

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      PUBLIC POSTAL SERVICE, EXPRESS MAIL SERVICE, PARCEL POST SERVICE,

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      OR COMMON CARRIER, BUT ONLY DURING THE NORMAL COURSE OF HIS OR

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      HER EMPLOYMENT; AND THE CLERK, ASSISTANTS OF THE CLERK, AND OTHER


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      AUTHORIZED ELECTION OFFICIALS OF THE CITY, TOWNSHIP, VILLAGE, OR

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      SCHOOL DISTRICT.  ANY OTHER PERSON IN POSSESSION OF AN ABSENT

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      VOTER BALLOT IS GUILTY OF A FELONY.

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            (4) A clerk may use absent voter ballot envelop stock pur-

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      chased before March 28, 1996 for the remainder of the 1996 calen-

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      dar year if both of the following requirements are satisfied:

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           (a) The warning in subsection (3) that describes persons who

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      can legally be in possession of an absent voter ballot is affixed

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      to the outside of the envelope.

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           (b) All other instructions required under subsection (3)

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      regarding persons assisting the absent voter are inserted into

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      the absent voter ballot envelope. 

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           (4) IF AN APPLICANT FOR AN ABSENT VOTER BALLOT REGISTERED TO

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      VOTE BY MAIL AS PROVIDED IN SECTION 509V AND THE APPLICANT HAS

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      NOT SUBSEQUENTLY VOTED IN PERSON IN THAT JURISDICTION, THE CLERK

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      SHALL DELIVER TO THE APPLICANT A NOTARY FORM IN ADDITION TO THE

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      ABSENT VOTER BALLOT.  THE APPLICANT SHALL SIGN AND HAVE NOTARIZED

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      THE NOTARY FORM AND DELIVER THE NOTARY FORM TO THE CLERK ALONG

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      WITH THE ABSENT VOTER BALLOT.  IF THE APPLICANT DOES NOT DELIVER

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      THE NOTARY FORM ALONG WITH THE ABSENT VOTER BALLOT, THE ABSENT

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      VOTER BALLOT SHALL NOT BE COUNTED.

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           (5) An absent voter who knowingly makes a false statement on

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      the absent voter ballot return envelope is guilty of a

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      misdemeanor.  A person who assists an absent voter and who know-

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      ingly makes a false statement on the absent voter ballot return

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      envelope is guilty of a felony.





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