HB-6061, As Passed House, July 14, 2004

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE BILL No. 6061

 

June 30, 2004, Introduced by Rep. Gaffney.

        

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                 A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled                                             

                                                                                

    "Michigan election law,"                                                    

                                                                                

    by amending section 759a (MCL 168.759a), as amended by 1999 PA              

                                                                                

    216; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.                                  

                                                                                

                THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:                      

                                                                                

1       Sec. 759a.  (1) A member of the armed services or an                        

                                                                                

2   overseas voter who is not registered, but possessed the                     

                                                                                

3   qualifications of an elector under section 492, other than the              

                                                                                

4   requirement of residing in the city, township, or village on or             

                                                                                

5   before the thirtieth day before the next regular, primary, or               

                                                                                

6   special election, may apply for registration by using the federal           

                                                                                

7   postcard application.  The department of state, bureau of                   

                                                                                

8   elections, is responsible for disseminating information on the              

                                                                                

9   procedures for registering and voting to absent armed services              

                                                                                

10  and overseas voters.                                                        

                                                                                


                                                                                

1       (2)  (1) Except as provided in subsection (5), each  Each of                

                                                                                

2   the following persons who is a qualified elector of a city,                 

                                                                                

3   village, or township in this state and who is not a registered              

                                                                                

4   voter may apply for an absent voter ballot:  pursuant to                    

                                                                                

5   section 504:                                                                

                                                                                

6       (a) A civilian employee of the armed services outside of the                

                                                                                

7   United States.                                                              

                                                                                

8       (b) A member of the armed services outside of the United                    

                                                                                

9   States.                                                                     

                                                                                

10      (c) A citizen of the United States temporarily residing                     

                                                                                

11  outside the territorial limits of the United States.                        

                                                                                

12      (d) A citizen of the United States residing in the District                 

                                                                                

13  of Columbia.                                                                

                                                                                

14      (e) A spouse or dependent of a person described in                          

                                                                                

15  subdivisions (a) through (d) who is a citizen of the United                 

                                                                                

16  States and who is accompanying that person,  notwithstanding                

                                                                                

17  that  even though the spouse or dependent is not a qualified                

                                                                                

18  elector of a city, village, or township of this state,  as long             

                                                                                

19  as  if that spouse or dependent is not a qualified and registered           

                                                                                

20  elector anywhere else in the United States.                                 

                                                                                

21      (2) A citizen described in subsection (1) other than a                      

                                                                                

22  person described in subsection (1)(b) or a spouse or dependent of           

                                                                                

23  such a person described in subsection (1)(b) shall include, with            

                                                                                

24  an application for an absent voter ballot or registration, an               

                                                                                

25  affidavit in a form and manner approved by the state director of            

                                                                                

26  elections stating either of the following:                                  

                                                                                

27      (a) His or her qualifications as an elector at the time he or               


                                                                                

1   she departed from the United States or began residing in the                

                                                                                

2   District of Columbia and affirming that he or she has not                   

                                                                                

3   relinquished his or her citizenship or established residence for            

                                                                                

4   voting in any other place.                                                  

                                                                                

5       (b) That he or she is a spouse or dependent of a person                     

                                                                                

6   described in subsection (1)(a), (c), or (d), that he or she meets           

                                                                                

7   the qualifications as an elector other than residency in this               

                                                                                

8   state, and that he or she has not established a residence for               

                                                                                

9   voting in any other place.                                                  

                                                                                

10      (3) Upon receipt of an application under this section that                  

                                                                                

11  complies with this act, a city, village, or township clerk shall            

                                                                                

12  forward to the applicant the absent voter ballots requested, the            

                                                                                

13  forms necessary for registration, and instructions for completing           

                                                                                

14  the forms.  If the ballots are not yet available at the time of             

                                                                                

15  receipt of the application, the clerk shall immediately forward             

                                                                                

16  to the applicant the registration forms and instructions, and               

                                                                                

17  forward the ballots as soon as they are available.  If the                  

                                                                                

18  ballots and registration forms are received before the close of             

                                                                                

19  the polls on election day and if the registration complies with             

                                                                                

20  the requirements of this act, the absent voter ballots shall be             

                                                                                

21  delivered to the proper election board to be voted.  If the                 

                                                                                

22  registration does not comply with the requirements of this act,             

                                                                                

23  the clerk shall retain the absent voter ballots until the                   

                                                                                

24  expiration of the time that the voted ballots must be kept and              

                                                                                

25  shall then destroy the ballots without opening the envelope.  The           

                                                                                

26  clerk may retain registration forms completed under this section            

                                                                                

27  in a separate file.  The address in this state shown on a                   


     House Bill No. 6061 as amended July 6, 2004

   

1   registration form is the residence of the registrant.                       

                                                                                

2       (4) The size of a precinct shall not be determined by                       

                                                                                

3   registration forms completed under this section.                            

                                                                                

4       (5)  A person described in subsection (1)(a) and (b) and a                  

                                                                                

5   spouse or dependent of that person who is accompanying that                 

                                                                                

6   person is registered to vote in a special primary or special                

                                                                                

7   general election if he or she was registered to vote under this             

                                                                                

8   section in the primary or general election immediately preceding            

                                                                                

9   the special primary or special general election.  The city or               

                                                                                

10  township clerk who received that person's completed registration            

                                                                                

11  forms in the primary or general election shall forward to that              

                                                                                

12  person at his or her last known address an absent voter ballot              

                                                                                

13  for the special primary or special general election immediately             

                                                                                

14  upon the clerk's receipt of the absent voter ballots for the                

                                                                                

15  special primary or special general election.  A qualified                   

                                                                                

16  elector, including a member of the armed services or an overseas            

                                                                                

17  voter who registers to vote by federal postcard application under           

                                                                                

18  subsection (1), who applies to vote as an absent voter by federal           

                                                                                

19  postcard application is eligible to vote as an absent voter in              

                                                                                

20  any local or state election, including any school election,                 

                                                                                

21  occurring in the calendar year in which the federal postcard                

                                                                                

22  application is received by the city, village, or township clerk,            

                                                                                

23  but not in an election for which the application is received by             

                                                                                

24  the clerk after 2 p.m. of the Saturday before the election.  A              

                                                                                

25  city or township clerk receiving a federal postcard application             

                                                                                

26  shall transmit to a village clerk and [school district election            

                                                                                

27  coordinator], where applicable, the necessary information to enable         


     House Bill No. 6061 as amended July 6, 2004

   

1   the village clerk and [school district election coordinator] to forward     

                                                                                

2   an absent voter ballot for each applicable election in that                 

                                                                                

3   calendar year to the qualified elector submitting the federal               

                                                                                

4   postcard application.  If the local elections official rejects a            

                                                                                

5   registration or absent voter ballot application submitted on a              

                                                                                

6   federal postcard application by an absent armed services or                 

                                                                                

7   overseas voter, the election official shall notify the armed                

                                                                                

8   services or overseas voter of the rejection.                                

                                                                                

9       (6)  Pursuant to  Under the uniformed and overseas citizens                 

                                                                                

10  absentee voting act, Public Law 99-410, 100 Stat. 924, the state            

                                                                                

11  director of elections shall approve a ballot form and                       

                                                                                

12  registration procedures for electors in the armed services and              

                                                                                

13  electors outside the United States, including the spouses and               

                                                                                

14  dependents accompanying those electors.                                     

                                                                                

15      (7) As used in this section, "armed services" means any of                  

                                                                                

16  the following:                                                              

                                                                                

17      (a) The United States army, navy, air force, marine corps, or               

                                                                                

18  coast guard.                                                                

                                                                                

19      (b) The United States merchant  marines  marine.                            

                                                                                

20      (c) A reserve component of an armed service listed in                       

                                                                                

21  subdivision (a) or (b).                                                     

                                                                                

22      (d) The Michigan national guard as defined in section 105 of                

                                                                                

23  the Michigan military act, 1967 PA 150, MCL 32.505.                         

                                                                                

24      Enacting section 1.  Section 504 of the Michigan election                   

                                                                                

25  law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.504, is repealed.