May 18, 2005, Introduced by Senators THOMAS and CLARKE and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.
A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled
"Michigan election law,"
by amending section 792a (MCL 168.792a), as amended by 1996 PA 583.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 792a. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this
subsection, the absent voter ballots in a city, township, or
village that uses voting machines shall be counted by absent voter
counting boards. The board of election commissioners of a city,
township,
or village that has 2 precincts or
less fewer or
of a
city that has 500,000 or more in population may decide that the
absent voter ballots shall be counted in the manner provided in
section 791. In a city, township, or village that does not use
voting machines, the absent voter ballots may be counted by absent
voter counting boards or in the same manner as is otherwise
provided for precincts in which voting is not done on voting
machines.
(2) The board of election commissioners shall establish the
absent voter counting boards. The board of election commissioners
shall determine the number of absent voter counting boards to be
established and shall appoint the election inspectors to those
absent voter counting boards 10 days or more 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 shall 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, township, or village clerk shall determine the number of
voting machines 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 shall be assigned for counting. The clerk
shall make the determination under this subsection 2 days or more
before the election and shall not assign an absent voter counting
board more ballots than the maximum number authorized by the board
of election commissioners under subsection (2). The clerk is not
required to use all of the absent voter counting boards authorized
by the board of election commissioners under subsection (2).
(4) In a city, township, or village that uses absent voter
counting boards under this section, absent voter ballots shall be
counted in the manner provided in this section and absent voter
ballots shall not be delivered to the polling places. 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. The places shall 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. If a counting place uses
voting machines, the provisions of this section relating to placing
of absent voter ballots on voting machines apply. More than 1
absent voter counting board may be located in 1 building.
(5) The clerk of a city, township, or village that uses absent
voter counting boards shall supply each absent voter counting board
with supplies necessary to carry out their duties under this act.
The supplies shall be furnished to the city, township, or village
clerk in the same manner and by the same persons or agencies as for
other precincts.
(6) Absent voter ballots received by the clerk before election
day shall be delivered to the absent voter counting board by the
clerk at the time the election inspectors of the absent voter
counting boards report for duty, which time shall be established by
the board of election commissioners. Absent voter ballots received
by the clerk on election day shall be delivered to the absent voter
counting boards before the time set for the closing of the polls.
Absent voter ballots shall be delivered to the 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 shall 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 agree with the signatures of the voters on the
registration
cards. If a signature the signatures on the
registration card and on the absent voter ballot return envelope
does
do not agree, if the absent voter failed to sign the
envelope, or if the statement of the absent voter is not properly
executed, the clerk shall mark the envelope "rejected" and indicate
the reason for the rejection and shall place his or her name under
the notation. An envelope marked "rejected" shall not be delivered
to the absent voter counting board but shall be preserved by the
clerk until other ballots are destroyed in the manner provided in
this act. The clerk shall also comply with section 765(5).
(7) At the time of issuing or mailing absent voter ballots to
qualified applicants, the clerk of a city, township, or village
that uses absent voter counting boards shall mark the letters
"A.V." and the date of the election on the registration card of the
applicant in the precinct registration file.
(8) 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.
(9) The 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 12:01
a.m. on the day of the election.
(10) An election inspector, challenger, or any other person in
attendance at an 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:
"I (name of person 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.".
(11) The oaths administered under subsection (10) shall be
placed in an envelope provided for the purpose and sealed with the
red state seal. Following the election the oaths shall be delivered
to the city, township, or village clerk. Except as otherwise
provided in subsection (16), a person in attendance at the absent
voter counting place shall not leave the counting place after the
tallying has begun until the polls close. A person 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.
(12) At the time the board of election commissioners provide
for the use of absent voter counting boards, the board of election
commissioners may provide that the absent voter counting boards
shall record the votes contained on absent voter ballots on voting
machines. In that case, the recording of ballots shall be done by
the chairperson of the absent voter counting board or another
member designated by the chairperson. The act of casting the votes
shall be performed in the presence of and under the careful
observation and full view of all members of the absent voter
counting board, party challengers, and any other persons lawfully
present at the absent voter counting place. The vote as indicated
by the voting pointers shall not be recorded until each member of
the absent voter counting board is satisfied that the arrangement
of the voting pointers fully carries out the intent of the absent
voter as shown by the cross marks or check marks on the absent
voter ballot. A certificate that the requirements of this
subsection were met shall be made on the election inspectors'
statement of returns.
(13) As soon as absent voter ballots have been cast on a
voting machine pursuant to subsection (12), but not before 8 p.m.,
the election inspectors shall seal the operating lever of the
machine against voting and shall then proceed to determine and
record the votes cast in the manner provided in this act.
(14) Voted absent voter ballots shall be placed in a ballot
box and the ballot bag and ballot box shall be sealed in the manner
provided by this act for paper ballot precincts. The seal numbers
shall be recorded on the statement sheet and in the poll book.
(15) In a city, township, or village where challenged voters
are required to vote on absent voter ballots, each challenged voter
ballot and application for ballot, after having been voted and
properly identified, shall be placed by the voter in an absent
voter ballot return envelope. The applicable information required
on the back of the envelope shall be completed by the board of
election inspectors. The envelope shall be signed by the challenged
voter and by the chairperson of the precinct board of election
inspectors. The word "challenged" shall be written across the front
of the envelope. The envelope and application for ballot shall be
sealed and delivered to the absent voter counting place by the
clerk of the city, township, or village. Immediately after the
closing of the polls, the chairperson of the precinct board of
election inspectors shall notify the clerk of the city, township,
or village of remaining challenged voter ballots to be delivered to
the absent voter counting place. In a city, township, or village
that uses voting machines where absent voter counting boards are
not used, challenged ballots shall be counted and tallied in the
precincts, in the same manner that absent voter ballots are tallied
and counted as provided in section 791.
(16) Subject to this subsection, a local election official who
has established an absent voter counting board, the deputy or
employee of that local election official, or an employee of the
state bureau of elections may enter and leave an absent voter
counting board after the tally has begun but before the polls
close. A person described in this subsection may enter an absent
voter counting board only for the purpose of responding to an
inquiry from an election inspector or a challenger or to provide
instructions on the operation of the counting board. Before
entering an absent voter counting board, a person described in this
subsection shall take and sign the oath prescribed in subsection
(10). The chairperson of the absent voter counting board shall
record in the poll book the name of a person described in this
subsection who enters the absent voter counting board. A person
described in this subsection who enters an 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, township, or
village
clerk. , the secretary of a school board, or an
employee
of
a school district designated to conduct a school election.
(17) The secretary of state shall develop instructions
consistent with this act for the conduct of absent voter counting
boards. The secretary of state shall distribute the instructions
developed under this subsection to city and township clerks 40 days
or more before a general election in which absent voter counting
boards will be used. A 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. The instructions
developed under this subsection are binding upon the operation of
an absent voter counting board used in an election conducted by a
county,
city, township, village, school district, or any other
jurisdiction empowered to conduct an election under this act.