pa043102

Act No. 431

Public Acts of 2002

Approved by the Governor

June 6, 2002

Filed with the Secretary of State

June 6, 2002

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 6, 2002

STATE OF MICHIGAN

91ST LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2002

Introduced by Rep. Richner

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 5466

AN ACT to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled "An act to reorganize, consolidate, and add to the election laws; to provide for election officials and prescribe their powers and duties; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state departments, state agencies, and state and local officials and employees; to provide for the nomination and election of candidates for public office; to provide for the resignation, removal, and recall of certain public officers; to provide for the filling of vacancies in public office; to provide for and regulate primaries and elections; to provide for the purity of elections; to guard against the abuse of the elective franchise; to define violations of this act; to provide appropriations; to prescribe penalties and provide remedies; and to repeal certain acts and all other acts inconsistent with this act," by amending sections 46, 544c, 590h, and 646a (MCL 168.46, 168.544c, 168.590h, and 168.646a), section 544c as amended by 1999 PA 219, section 590h as added by 1988 PA 116, and section 646a as amended by 1990 PA 7.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 46. As soon as practicable after the state board of canvassers has, by the official canvass, ascertained the result of an election as to electors of president and vice-president of the United States, the governor shall certify, under the seal of the state, to the United States secretary of state, the names and addresses of the electors of this state chosen as electors of president and vice-president of the United States. The governor shall also transmit to each elector chosen as an elector for president and vice-president of the United States a certificate, in triplicate, under the seal of the state, of his or her election.

Sec. 544c. (1) A nominating petition shall be 8-1/2 inches by 14 inches in size. On a nominating petition, the words "nominating petition" shall be printed in 24-point boldface type. "We, the undersigned," et cetera shall be printed in 8-point type. "Warning" and language in the warning shall be printed in 12-point boldface type. The balance of the petition shall be printed in 8-point type. The name, address, and party affiliation of the candidate and the office for which petitions are signed shall be printed in type not larger than 24-point. The petition shall be in the following form:

NOMINATING PETITION

(PARTISAN)

We, the undersigned, registered and qualified voters of the city or township of

(strike 1)

, in the county of ..........................................................................................

and state of Michigan, nominate,

(Name of Candidate)

(Street Address or Rural Route) (City or Township)

as a candidate of the .......................................... party for the office of .......................................... ,

(District, if any)

to be voted for at the primary election to be held on the ...................... day of ...................... , 20..... .

WARNING

A person who knowingly signs more petitions for the same office than there are persons to be elected to the office or signs a name other than his or her own is violating the provisions of the Michigan election law.

Printed Street Address

Name and or Date of Signing

Signature Rural Route Zip Code Mo. Day Year

numbered lines as above

CERTIFICATE OF CIRCULATOR

The undersigned circulator of the above petition asserts that he or she is qualified to circulate this petition and that each signature on the petition was signed in his or her presence; and that, to his or her best knowledge and belief, each signature is the genuine signature of the person purporting to sign the petition, the person signing the petition was at the time of signing a qualified registered elector of the city or township listed in the heading of the petition, and the elector was qualified to sign the petition.

Circulator--Do not sign or date certificate until after circulating petition.

______________________________________________________________

(Printed Name and Signature of Circulator) (Date)

______________________________________________________________

(City or Township Where Registered)

[or, for petitions under section 482,

"(City or Township Where Qualified to be Registered)"]

______________________________________________________________

(Complete Residence Address (Street and Number or Rural Route)

______________________________________________________________

(Zip Code)

Warning-A circulator knowingly making a false statement in the above certificate, a person not a circulator who signs as a circulator, or a person who signs a name other than his or her own as circulator is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(2) The petition shall be in a form providing a space for the circulator and each elector who signs the petition to print his or her name. The secretary of state shall prescribe the location of the space for the printed name. The failure of the circulator or an elector who signs the petition to print his or her name, to print his or her name in the location prescribed by the secretary of state, or to enter a zip code or his or her correct zip code does not affect the validity of the signature of the circulator or the elector who signs the petition. A printed name located in the space prescribed for printed names does not constitute the signature of the circulator or elector.

(3) At the time of circulation, the circulator of a petition shall be a registered elector of this state. At the time of executing the certificate of circulator, the circulator shall be registered in the city or township indicated in the certificate of circulator on the petition. However, the circulator of a petition under section 482 need only be qualified to be a registered elector of this state at the time of circulation and at the time of executing the certificate of circulator.

(4) The circulator of a petition shall sign and date the certificate of circulator before the petition is filed. A circulator shall not obtain electors' signatures after the circulator has signed and dated the certificate of circulator. A filing official shall not count electors' signatures that were obtained after the date the circulator signed the certificate or that are contained in a petition that the circulator did not sign and date.

(5) Except as provided in section 544d, a petition sheet shall not be circulated in more than 1 city or township and each signer of a petition sheet shall be a registered elector of the city or township indicated in the heading of the petition sheet. The invalidity of 1 or more signatures on a petition does not affect the validity of the remainder of the signatures on the petition.

(6) An individual shall not sign more nominating petitions for the same office than there are persons to be elected to the office. An individual who violates this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(7) An individual shall not do any of the following:

(a) Sign a petition with a name other than his or her own.

(b) Make a false statement in a certificate on a petition.

(d) Sign a name as circulator other than his or her own.

(8) An individual who violates subsection (7) is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00 or imprisonment for not more than 93 days, or both.

(9) If after a canvass and a hearing on a petition under section 476 or 552 the board of state canvassers determines that an individual has knowingly and intentionally failed to comply with subsection (7), the board of state canvassers may impose 1 or more of the following sanctions:

(a) Disqualify obviously fraudulent signatures on a petition form on which the violation of subsection (7) occurred, without checking the signatures against local registration records.

(b) Disqualify from the ballot a candidate who committed, aided or abetted, or knowingly allowed the violation of subsection (7) on a petition to nominate that candidate.

(10) If an individual violates subsection (7) and the affected petition sheet is filed, each of the following who knew of the violation of subsection (7) before the filing of the affected petition sheet and who failed to report the violation to the secretary of state, the filing official, if different, the attorney general, a law enforcement officer, or the county prosecuting attorney is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00 or imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both:

(a) The circulator of the petition, if different than the individual who violated subsection (7).

(b) If the petition is a nominating petition, the candidate whose nomination is sought.

(c) If the petition is a petition for a ballot question or recall, the organization or other person sponsoring the petition drive.

(11) If after a canvass and a hearing on a petition under section 476 or 552 the board of state canvassers determines that an individual has violated subsection (10), the board of state canvassers may impose 1 or more of the following sanctions:

(a) Impose on the organization or other person sponsoring the petition drive an administrative fine of not more than $5,000.00.

(b) Charge the organization or other person sponsoring the petition drive for the costs of canvassing a petition form on which a violation of subsection (7) occurred.

(c) Disqualify an organization or other person described in subdivision (a) from collecting signatures on a petition for a period of not more than 4 years.

(d) Disqualify obviously fraudulent signatures on a petition form on which a violation of subsection (7) occurred without checking the signatures against local registration records.

(e) Disqualify from the ballot a candidate who committed, aided or abetted, or knowingly allowed a violation of subsection (7) on a petition to nominate that candidate.

(12) If an individual refuses to comply with a subpoena of the board of state canvassers in an investigation of an alleged violation of subsection (7) or (10), the board may hold the canvass of the petitions in abeyance until the individual complies.

(13) A person who aids or abets another in an act that is prohibited by this section is guilty of that act.

(14) The provisions of this section except as otherwise expressly provided apply to all petitions circulated under authority of the election law.

Sec. 590h. (1) A qualifying petition for a candidate without political party affiliation shall be the same size and printed in the same type sizes as required in section 544c. The petition shall be in the following form:

QUALIFYING PETITION

(CANDIDATE WITHOUT PARTY AFFILIATION)

We, the undersigned, registered and qualified electors of the city or township of

(strike 1)

, in the county of .......................................................................................... ,

and state of Michigan, nominate

(Name of Candidate)

(Street Address or R.R.) (City or Township)

as a candidate without party affiliation for the office of

(Title of Office and District)

in order that the name of the candidate be placed without party affiliation on the ballot for the election to be held on

the ...................... day of ...................... , 20..... .

WARNING

Whoever knowingly signs more petitions for the same office than there are persons to be elected to the office or signs a name other than his or her own is violating the Michigan election law.

(2) The balance of the qualifying petition form shall be substantially as set forth in section 544c. A qualifying petition for a candidate without party affiliation shall not contain a reference to a political party.

(3) A person shall not knowingly sign more petitions for the same office than there are persons to be elected to the office or sign a name other than his or her own on the petition.

Sec. 646a. (1) If a local officer is to be elected at a general November election or on the first Monday of April in an odd numbered year, candidates for the local office shall be nominated in the manner provided by law or charter. If the candidates are to be nominated at a fall primary election, the primary shall be held on the same day as is provided by law for holding the county or state primary election before that election, except as provided in section 646b. If the candidates are to be elected in April, the primary shall be held on the third Monday in February. If candidates for the local office are to be nominated at caucuses, the caucuses shall be held on a date before the date set for the above mentioned primary election or on the Saturday preceding the day of the primary election as determined by the local legislative body at least 20 days preceding the date of the caucus. If candidates are nominated by filing petitions or affidavits, they shall be filed at a time provided by charter but not later than the date of the primary. If a local primary election is to be held on the same day as a state or county primary election, the last day for local candidates to file nominating petitions shall be the same as the last date to file petitions for state and county offices. The names of all local candidates and titles of office shall be certified to the county clerk by the local clerk within 5 days after the last day for filing petitions, and certification of nominees shall be made to that clerk within 5 days after the date on which the primary or caucus was held.

(2) If a local or county question is to be voted on at a primary, special, or general election at which state officers are to be voted for, the ballot wording of the question shall be certified to the local or county clerk at least 70 days before the election. If the wording is certified to a clerk other than the county clerk, the clerk shall certify the ballot wording to the county clerk at least 68 days before the election. Petitions to place a county or local question on the ballot at the election shall be filed with the clerk at least 14 days before the date the ballot wording must be certified to the local clerk. For the year 2002, the certification and filing deadlines prescribed by this subsection do not apply to a local or county ballot question that is required to be placed on the ballot by state statute.

(3) The provisions of this section apply notwithstanding any provisions of law or charter to the contrary, unless an earlier date for the filing of affidavits or petitions, including nominating petitions, is provided in a law or charter, in which case the earlier filing date is controlling.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Secretary of the Senate.

Approved

Governor.

Printed	Street Address
Name and	or		Date of Signing
Signature	Rural Route	Zip Code	Mo. Day Year