(1) The person processing an application submitted in person at a department of state office, a designated voter registration agency, or the office of a county clerk shall do all of the following:

    (a) Validate the application in the manner prescribed by the secretary of state.

    (b) Issue a receipt to the applicant verifying the acceptance of the application.

    (2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3), the department of state office, the designated voter registration agency, or the county clerk shall transmit the application not later than 7 days after receipt of the application to the clerk of the county, city, or township where the applicant resides.

    (3) If an application under subsection (1) is made from the twenty-first day to the fifteenth day before an election, the department of state office, the designated voter registration agency, or the county clerk shall transmit the application not later than 1 business day to the clerk of the county, city, or township where the applicant resides.

    (4) If a completed application is transmitted by the secretary of state or a designated voter registration agency to a county clerk, the secretary of state, to the extent funds are appropriated, shall compensate the county clerk for the cost of forwarding the application to the proper city or township clerk of the applicant's residence from funds appropriated to the secretary of state for that purpose.