March 19, 2009, Introduced by Senators SWITALSKI, BIRKHOLZ and GILBERT and referred to the Committee on Campaign and Election Oversight.
A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled
"Michigan election law,"
by amending sections 952 and 968 (MCL 168.952 and 168.968), section
952 as amended by 1993 PA 137 and section 968 as amended by 1989 PA
26.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 952. (1) A petition for the recall of an officer shall
meet all of the following requirements:
(a) Comply with section 544c(1) and (2).
(b) Be printed.
(c) State clearly each reason for the recall. Each reason for
the recall shall be for reasons of misfeasance, malfeasance, or
nonfeasance in office and shall be based upon the officer's conduct
during his or her current term of office. The reason for the recall
may be typewritten.
(d) Contain a certificate of the circulator. The certificate
of the circulator may be printed on the reverse side of the
petition.
(e) Be in a form prescribed by the secretary of state.
(2) Before being circulated, a petition for the recall of an
officer shall be submitted to the board of county election
commissioners of the county in which the officer whose recall is
sought resides.
(3) The board of county election commissioners, not less than
10 days or more than 20 days after submission to it of a petition
for the recall of an officer, shall meet and shall determine
whether each reason for the recall stated in the petition is of
sufficient clarity to enable the officer whose recall is sought and
the electors to identify the course of conduct that is the basis
for the recall. Failure of the board of county election
commissioners to comply with this subsection shall constitute a
determination that each reason for the recall stated in the
petition is of sufficient clarity to enable the officer whose
recall is being sought and the electors to identify the course of
conduct that is the basis for the recall.
(4) The board of county election commissioners, not later than
24 hours after receipt of a petition for the recall of an officer,
shall notify the officer whose recall is sought of each reason
stated in the recall petition and of the date of the meeting of the
board of county election commissioners to consider the clarity of
each reason.
(5) The officer whose recall is sought and the sponsors of the
recall petition may appear at the meeting and present arguments on
the clarity of each reason.
(6) The determination by the board of county election
commissioners may be appealed by the officer whose recall is sought
or by the sponsors of the recall petition drive to the circuit
court in the county. The appeal shall be filed not more than 10
days after the determination of the board of county election
commissioners.
(7) A recall petition that is determined to be of sufficient
clarity
under subsection (1) (3) or, if the determination under
subsection
(1) (3) is appealed pursuant to subsection (6), a recall
petition that is determined by the circuit court to be of
sufficient clarity is valid for 180 days following the last
determination of sufficient clarity under this section. A recall
petition that is filed under section 959 or 960 after the 180-day
period described in this subsection is not valid and shall not be
accepted pursuant to section 961. This subsection does not prohibit
a person from resubmitting a recall petition for a determination of
sufficient clarity under this section.
Sec. 968. (1) If a recall petition is filed under section 960,
the board of county canvassers in the county where the recall
petition is filed shall conduct the canvass of the recall election.
The canvass of other recall elections shall be by the board of
state
canvassers. If Except as
otherwise provided in subsection
(2), if a board of canvassers determines that a majority of the
votes are in favor of recall, the board of canvassers immediately
upon the determination shall certify the result to the officer with
whom the recall petition was filed. Upon certification, the office
is vacant. The officer with whom the recall petition was filed
shall immediately upon receipt of the certification notify the
clerk or secretary of the electoral district or, if the electoral
district is a district library district, the district library board
from which the official was recalled and the recalled official of
the results of the recall election and the date and time of the
certification.
(2) If the officer whose recall is sought is an officer of a
county, city, village, township, or school district, the board of
canvassers shall not certify as provided in subsection (1) unless
the majority of votes is in favor of recall and that majority
totals at least 1 vote more than the votes cast for the officer
whose recall is sought at the election at which the officer was
elected for that term.