QVF; REMOVING DECEASED VOTERS H.B. 4491 (H-1):
SUMMARY OF HOUSE-PASSED BILL
IN COMMITTEE
House Bill 4491 (Substitute H-1 as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Andrew Fink
House Committee: Elections and Ethics
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Michigan Election Law to do the following:
-- Require county clerks to update the qualified voter file (QVF) by the second business day of each month to cancel the voter registration of all individuals over 18 years of age who had died in the county.
-- Require the Secretary of State (SOS) to send an electronic notification to the appropriate city or township clerk regarding each canceled voter registration in that city or town each time a county clerk updated the QVF.
-- Require each county clerk to update the QVF weekly, beginning 45 days before an election, and daily, beginning 15 days before an election.
-- Require the SOS to make canceled voter registration information available to each county clerk.
Qualified Voter File; Deaths
The Law requires the SOS to direct and supervise the establishment and maintenance of a statewide QVF. The QVF is the official file for conducting all elections held in Michigan.
At least once a month, each county clerk must forward a list of the last known address and birth date of all individuals over 18 years of age who have died in the county to the clerk of each city or township within the county. The city or township clerk must compare this list with the voter registration records in that city or township and cancel the voter registration of each deceased elector.
Instead, under the bill, at least once a month, and not later than the second business day of each month, each county clerk would have to update the QVF to cancel the voter registration of all individuals over 18 years of age who had died in the county. Each time a county clerk updated the QVF, the SOS would have to send an electronic notification to the appropriate city or township clerk regarding each canceled voter registration in that city or township.
After receiving an electronic notification, the city or township clerk would have to compare the electronic notification with the voter registration records in that city or township and complete the cancellation of the voter registration of each deceased elector in that city or township.
If the SOS updated the QVF to cancel the voter registration of any deceased elector, the SOS would have to send an electronic notification to the appropriate city or township clerk regarding each canceled voter registration in that city or township. The SOS would have to notify each appropriate city or township clerk of any voter registration that needed to be canceled after 4 PM on the day before an election so that the city or township clerk could cancel the voter registration.
Beginning 45 days before an election and continuing until 16 days before an election, each county clerk would have to update the QVF by the close of business each Friday before the election to cancel the voter registration of all individuals over 18 years of age who had died in the county. Beginning 15 days before an election and continuing until the day before an election, each county clerk would have to update the QVF by the close of business each business day before the election to cancel the voter registration of all individuals over 18 years of age who had died in the county. Each county clerk would have to notify each appropriate city or township clerk in the county of any voter registration that needed to be canceled after 4 PM on the day before an election so that the city or township clerk could cancel the voter registration.
Availability of Death Information
The Law requires the SOS to develop and use a process by which information obtained through the United States Social Security Administration's death master file that is used to cancel a driver license or an official State personal identification card of a deceased State resident is used at least once a month to update the QVF to cancel the a deceased elector's voter registration. The SOS must make the canceled voter registration information available to the clerk of each city or township to assist with the clerk's obligations in canceling a deceased elector's voter registration. Under the bill, the SOS also would have to make this information available to each county clerk.
MCL 168.509o & 168.510 Legislative Analyst: Stephen P. Jackson
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government.
Fiscal Analyst: Joe Carrasco, Jr.
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.