June 24, 2008, Introduced by Senator SWITALSKI and referred to the Committee on Campaign and Election Oversight.
A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled
"Michigan election law,"
by amending sections 301 and 305 (MCL 168.301 and 168.305), section
301 as amended by 2005 PA 71 and section 305 as amended by 2004 PA
287.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 301. (1) Unless a particular power or duty of an election
official or a particular election procedure is specifically
governed by a provision of this chapter, a school district election
is governed by the provisions of this act that generally govern
elections.
(2)
Except as provided in section 305, the school district
election
coordinator for a school district shall conduct Unless the
county clerk and city or township clerk agree to a different
arrangement under section 305, each regular election and each
special election that is requested by the school board to submit a
ballot question or to fill a vacancy on the school board shall be
conducted in the same manner that elections for state or county
offices are conducted under this act.
(3) In addition to receiving requests from the school board to
hold special elections, the school district election coordinator
shall do all of the following:
(a) Receive filing fees or nominating petitions and affidavits
of identity from candidates for school board and petitions for
special elections.
(b)
Procure the necessary qualified voter file precinct lists.
(b) (c)
Certify candidates.
(c) (d)
Receive ballot proposal language.
(e)
Issue absent voter ballots.
(3)
A school district election coordinator who is a county
clerk
may delegate, if the city or township clerk agrees, all or a
portion
of the school district election coordinator's duties to
that
city or township clerk. The school district election
coordinator
shall not delegate duties to any person not named in
this
section.
(4)
A school district election coordinator who is a county
clerk
may delegate the following duties to the city or township
clerk,
who shall perform the following duties:
(4) A county, city, or township clerk who conducts a school
district election under this chapter shall do all of the following:
(a) Distribute, receive, and process absent voter ballot
applications for a school election.
(b) Issue absent voter ballots.
(c) (b)
Make voting systems available for
the conduct of a
school election.
(d) Procure the necessary qualified voter file precinct lists.
(e) (c)
Make available to the school
district election
coordinator the list of election inspectors for that city or
township if the school district election coordinator is not
conducting the school district election.
(f) (d)
Notify school district electors of
precinct and
polling place location changes.
(5) If the county clerk agrees to conduct a school district
election for a school district pursuant to an agreement under
section 305, the city or township clerk shall do all of the
following:
(a) Make voting systems available to the county clerk for the
conduct of the school district election.
(b) Make available to the county clerk the list of election
inspectors for that city or township.
(6) (5)
If the county clerk is the
school district election
coordinator
agrees to conduct a school district election for a
school district pursuant to an agreement under section 305, the
county election commission shall establish that school district's
election precincts and polling place locations in accordance with
this act.
Sec.
305. (1) Within 30 days after the effective date of this
chapter
the amendatory act that
amended this section, the school
district election coordinating committee for each school district
shall
hold an initial a meeting. Within 14 days after convening the
initial
meeting, the school district
election coordinating
committee shall file a report with the secretary of state that sets
forth the arrangements that are agreed upon for the conduct of the
school district's elections. Each school district election
coordinating committee member shall sign the report and retain a
copy.
(2)
After filing its initial report under subsection (1), a
school district election coordinating committee shall meet at 2-
year intervals to review and, if necessary, alter the election
arrangements set forth in its previous report. After each review, a
school district election coordinating committee shall either notify
the secretary of state in writing that its previous report is not
being altered or file with the secretary of state a report with the
alterations. Election arrangements made by the clerks of the
jurisdictions participating in the school district election
coordinating committee meeting are binding on the participating
jurisdictions for at least 2 years after the report is filed, and
each jurisdiction continues to be bound until an altered report is
filed.
(3) The arrangements agreed upon by a school district election
coordinating committee for the conduct of the school district's
elections shall accomplish at least both of the following:
(a) If a school district election is held on the same day as
an election of a jurisdiction that overlaps with the school
district, an elector wishing to vote in both elections shall not be
required to vote at 2 different locations.
(b)
If, before the filing of an initial a report under
subsection (1) or of the notice or altered report after its 2-year
review,
a county clerk and a city or township clerk notifies the
school
district election coordinating committee that the city or
township
clerk, in consultation with the city council or township
board,
as applicable, has decided to participate in the conduct of
the
school district's elections, enter
into an agreement to alter
the election arrangements for conducting a school district election
under section 301, the school district election coordinating
committee
shall include that city or township clerk agreement in
its
initial or an altered report. as the person conducting the
school
district's elections in the clerk's city or township.
(4) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this chapter, if a
city or township is holding an election for elective office or on a
ballot question at the same time that a school district located in
whole or part in the city or township is holding an election, the
city or township clerk shall also conduct the school district
election within his or her jurisdiction. If a city or township
clerk is conducting a school election under this subsection, the
clerk shall use the same precincts that are used for state and
federal elections as the precincts for the school district
election. If these precincts change the polling place location for
school district electors, the clerk shall notify those school
district electors of the location of the different polling place. A
city or township clerk with the consent of the school district
election coordinator may use the school election precincts and
polling places. A city or township clerk conducting an election
under this subsection may consolidate election precincts in the
manner provided in section 659.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect January
1, 2009.