SB-0752, As Passed House, June 12, 2012

SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL NO. 752

     A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled

"Michigan election law,"

by amending sections 569a, 671, 792a, and 871 (MCL 168.569a,

168.671, 168.792a, and 168.871), section 569a as added by 1985 PA

24, section 671 as amended by 1995 PA 261, section 792a as amended

by 2005 PA 71, and section 871 as amended by 2000 PA 207, and by

adding section 686b.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

     Sec. 569a. (1) In all primary elections, if there are more

names under the heading of an office than there are candidates to

be nominated and the same office appears in more than 1 precinct,

the names shall be rotated in the following manner: In printing

each set of ballots for the several election precincts, the

relative positions of the different names printed in each division

shall be changed as many times as there are candidates in that

division and as reasonably as possible a candidate's name shall not

appear at the top of the ballot more times than any other

candidate's name in that division. The names shall first be

arranged alphabetically according to surnames on each ballot used

in the precinct. In the next precinct the names shall appear in the

same order on each ballot, except that the name appearing first

under each office in the preceding precinct shall be last. The

names shall be changed in that manner in every precinct of the

city, village, township, or county.

     (2) Where Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, an

absent voter counting boards are used, each ballot form which

contains identical offices and names shall be considered board is a

separate precinct for the purposes of this section act. If a

municipality has 250 or more precincts and absent voter counting

boards are used, each ballot form which contains identical offices

and names may be considered a separate precinct for the purposes of

this section.

     (3) Notwithstanding provisions of law or charter to the

contrary, this section shall apply applies to nonpartisan general

elections and to municipal elections.

     Sec. 671. At the time of delivering the official ballots and

other election supplies to the township and city clerks or, for

city, village, or township elections, to the wards or precincts, a

sufficient number of blank forms for use by the election inspectors

in making the statement of returns of the election as required by

Senate Bill No. 752 (S-1) as amended June 12, 2012

law shall be delivered. At the same time, a sufficient number of

seals for the use of the election inspectors in sealing the ballot

boxes after the close of the election shall be delivered. A record

of the number of seals delivered to each voting precinct, and

absent voter counting board, and absent voter counting board

precinct shall be recorded and preserved.

     Sec. 686b. A political party that is not a major political

party, as defined in section 16, and that is required to nominate

candidates at a county caucus or state convention shall, at least

10 days before holding the county caucus or state convention to

nominate candidates, notify in writing the secretary of state and

the bureau of elections of the date, time, and location of the

county caucus or state convention of that political party.

     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 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. [For elections conducted

before July 1, 2014, if] a city, township, or

village decides to use absent voter counting boards, the board of

election commissioners of that city, township, or village [MAY]

establish an absent voter counting board for each election day

Senate Bill No. 752 (S-1) as amended June 12, 2012

precinct in that city, township, or village. [For elections conducted on

or after July 1, 2014, if a city, township, or village decides to use absent voter counting boards, the board of election commissioners of that city, township, or village shall establish an absent voter counting board

for each election day precinct in that city, township, or village.] The

ballot form of an

absent voter counting board shall correspond to the ballot form of

the election day precinct for which it is established. After the

polls close on election day, the county, city, township, or village

clerk responsible for producing the accumulation report of the

election results submitted by the boards of precinct election

inspectors shall format the accumulation report to clearly indicate

all of the following:

     (a) The election day precinct returns.

     (b) The corresponding absent voter counting board returns.

     (c) A total of each election day precinct return and each

corresponding absent voter counting board return.

     (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 or the digitized signatures of voters contained

in the qualified voter file as provided under section 766. If a

signature on the registration card or a digitized signature

contained in the qualified voter file and on the absent voter

ballot return envelope does not agree as provided under section

766, 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 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 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 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, or village. , school district, or any other

jurisdiction empowered to conduct an election under this act.

     Sec. 871. (1) In a precinct using paper ballots, the board of

canvassers conducting a recount pursuant to this chapter shall

conduct the recount, subject to all of the following:

     (a) The ballots in packages or ballot bags that are secured

and sealed so that a ballot cannot be removed or inserted unless

the ballot corresponds in number with the poll list delivered to

the appropriate clerk by the board of election inspectors, shall be

recounted even though the ballot box or other ballot container is

not securely sealed with the seal of record.

     (b) If the ballot box or other ballot container is securely

sealed with the seal of record, only the ballots that correspond in

number with the poll list delivered to the appropriate clerk by the

board of election inspectors shall be recounted even though the

ballots are not secured and sealed in packages or ballot bags.

     (c) If the ballot box or other ballot container is not

securely sealed or if the seal on the ballot box or other ballot

container is not the seal of record and the ballots in packages or

ballot bags are not secured and sealed so that a ballot cannot be

removed or inserted, the ballots shall not be recounted and the

original count of the ballots as reported by the board of election

inspectors shall stand as the correct count.

     (d) If the number of ballots in a secured and sealed package

or bag and the number of ballots issued on election day as shown on

the poll list do not match and the difference is not explained to

the satisfaction of the board of canvassers, the ballots shall not

be recounted and the original count of the ballots as reported by

the board of election inspectors shall stand as the correct count.

(1) (2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the The

board of canvassers conducting a recount pursuant to this chapter

shall recount all ballots of a precinct using an electronic voting

system unless 1 or more of the following circumstances exist:

     (a) The seal on the transfer case or other ballot container is

broken or bears a different number than that recorded on the poll

book, the breaking or discrepancy is not explained to the

satisfaction of the board of canvassers, and security of the

ballots has not been otherwise preserved.

     (b) The number of ballots to be recounted and the number of

ballots issued on election day as shown on the poll list or the

computer printout do not match and the difference is not explained

to the satisfaction of the board of canvassers.

     (c) The seal used to seal the ballot label assembly to a

voting device in the precinct is broken or bears a different number

than that recorded in poll records and the ballot labels or

rotation of candidates' names is different than that shown by other

voting devices in the precinct and records of the board of election

commissioners.

     (3) In a precinct in which voting machines are used, the board

of canvassers conducting a recount pursuant to this chapter shall

recount all voting machines used in the precinct unless 1 or more

of the following circumstances exist:

     (a) All voting machines used in a precinct shall not be

recounted if the sum of the numbers appearing on the public

counters of all voting machines used in the precinct exceeds the

total number of voters who voted in the precinct as shown by the

poll book, plus the number of times the machine was operated by the

inspectors of election and custodians, as shown by the record of

the board of election inspectors, and the excess is not explained

to the satisfaction of the board of canvassers by the inspectors of

election of that precinct.

     (b) A voting machine used in a precinct shall not be recounted

if the voting machine is not sealed with the seal of record in such

a manner as to render it impossible to vote on the machine or to

otherwise change the totals appearing on the individual candidate

or ballot question counters.

     (c) A voting machine used in a precinct shall not be recounted

if the number appearing on the protective counter of the voting

machine at the time of the recount does not equal the sum of the

number appearing on the protective counter at the opening of the

polls as shown by the certificate of the board of election

inspectors and the number appearing on the public counter at the

time of the recount.

(2) (4) In a precinct in which voting machines are used, which

precinct cannot be recounted under subsection (3), absent voter

ballots tallied in that precinct shall not be recounted unless

recorded separately. This section does not prohibit the recounting

of absent voter ballots tallied in a precinct using an absent voter

counting board or in a precinct in which 1 or more voting machines

are recountable, if the absent voter ballots are securely packaged

and sealed.

(3) (5) If a board of canvassers conducting a recount pursuant

to this chapter determines that the ballots of a precinct are not

eligible for recount under this section, the original return of the

votes for that precinct shall be taken as correct.

(4) (6) A board of canvassers conducting a recount pursuant to

this chapter may conduct a recount by the following means:

     (a) A manual tally of the ballots.

     (b) A tabulation of the ballots on a computer using a software

application designed to specifically count only the office or

Senate Bill No. 752 as amended February 8, 2012

                    as amended June 12, 2012

ballot question subject to the recount.

     (c) A tabulation of the ballots on a computer using the same

software application used in the precinct on election day.

     (d) Any combination of methods in subdivision (a), (b), or

(c), as determined appropriate by the board of canvassers.

(5) (7) If a board of canvassers conducting a recount pursuant

to this chapter intends to conduct a recount on a computer, the

board of canvassers shall first test the software application by

use of a test deck to determine if the program accurately counts

the votes for the office or ballot question subject to the recount.

If the test under this subsection fails to show that the software

application accurately counts the votes for the office or ballot

question subject to the recount, the board of canvassers shall use

another means prescribed in subsection (6) (4) to conduct the

recount.

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