February 10, 2005, Introduced by Reps. Bieda, Condino, Gleason, Gillard, Wojno, Vagnozzi, Hunter, Ward, Lipsey, Kolb, Alma Smith, Leland and Anderson and referred to the Committee on House Oversight, Elections, and Ethics.
A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled
"Michigan election law,"
by amending sections 662, 672, 674, and 720 (MCL 168.662, 168.672,
168.674, and 168.720), section 662 as amended by 2004 PA 92 and
section 674 as amended by 1996 PA 207, and by adding section 720a.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 662. (1) The legislative body in each city, village, and
township
shall designate and prescribe the place or places of
holding an election, including early voting, if applicable, for a
city, village, or township election, and shall provide a suitable
polling place in or for each precinct located in the city, village,
or township for use at each election. Except as otherwise provided
in this section, school buildings, fire stations, police stations,
and other publicly owned or controlled buildings shall be used as
polling places. If it is not possible or convenient to use a
publicly owned or controlled building as a polling place, the
legislative body of the city, township, or village may use as a
polling place a building owned or controlled by an organization
that is exempt from federal income tax as provided by section
501(c), other than section 501(c)(4), (5), or (6), of the internal
revenue
code of 1986, 26 USC 501, or any a
successor statute. The
legislative body of a city, township, or village shall not
designate as a polling place a building that is owned by a person
who is a sponsor of a political committee or independent committee.
A city, township, or village shall not use as a polling place a
building that does not meet the requirements of this section. As
used in this subsection, "sponsor of a political committee or
independent committee" means a person who is described as being a
sponsor under section 24(3) of the Michigan campaign finance act,
1976 PA 388, MCL 169.224, and includes a subsidiary of a
corporation or a local of a labor organization, if the corporation
or labor organization is considered a sponsor under section 24(3)
of the Michigan campaign finance act, 1976 PA 388, MCL 169.224.
(2) The legislative body in each city, village, and township
shall make arrangements for the use, rental, or erection of
suitable buildings for use as polling places if publicly owned or
controlled buildings are not available, and shall have the polling
places equipped with the necessary facilities for lighting and with
adequate facilities for heat and ventilation. The legislative body
may
establish a central polling place or places for 6 precincts or
less
if it is possible and convenient for the electors to
vote at
the central polling place. The legislative body may abolish other
polling places not required as a result of the establishment of a
central polling place.
(3) The legislative body of a city, village, or township may
establish a polling place at a for profit or nonprofit residence or
facility in which 150 persons or more aged 62 or older reside or at
an apartment building or complex in which 150 persons or more
reside. A township board may provide polling places located within
the limits of a city that has been incorporated from territory
formerly a part of the township, and the electors of the township
may cast their ballots at those polling places. If 2 contiguous
townships utilize a combined township hall or other publicly owned
or controlled building within 1 of the township's boundaries and
outside of the other township's boundaries, and there is not
another publicly owned or controlled building or a building owned
or controlled by an organization that is exempt from federal income
tax, as provided by section 501(c), other than 501(c)(4), (5), or
(6), of the internal revenue code of 1986, 26 USC 501, available or
suitable for a polling place within the other township, then each
township board may provide a polling place in that publicly owned
building for 1 or more election precinct.
(4) The legislative body of a city, village, or township shall
not establish, move, or abolish a polling place less than 60 days
before an election unless necessary because a polling place has
been damaged, destroyed, or rendered inaccessible or unusable as a
polling place.
(5) The legislative body of a city, village, or township shall
ensure that a polling place established under this section is
accessible and complies with the voting accessibility for the
elderly and handicapped act and the help America vote act of 2002.
(6) As used in this section, "accessible" means the removal or
modification of policies, practices, and procedures that deny an
individual with a disability the opportunity to vote, including the
removal of physical barriers as identified in section 261(b) of the
help America vote act of 2002, 42 USC 15421, so as to ensure
individuals with disabilities the opportunity to participate in
elections in this state.
Sec.
672. At every Except as
provided in this section for
early
voting, at each election, there shall
be a board of at least
3
not less than 3 election
inspectors of election, constituted as
in
this chapter provided, in and appointed
for each election
precinct. Not less than a majority of the election inspectors shall
be present in the precinct polling place during the time the polls
are open. If a city, village, or township provides early voting,
not less than 1 election inspector shall be appointed and present
in each polling place during the time the polls are open.
Sec.
674. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to
the
contrary and subject to this section Except as provided in
section 672, the city and township board of election commissioners
and the village board of election commissioners for village
elections
only, at least not less
than 21 days but not more than
40
days before each election, but in no case and not
less than 5
days before the date set for holding election inspector training
schools, of
instruction, shall appoint for each election precinct
at least 3 election inspectors and as many more as in its opinion
is required for the efficient, speedy, and proper conduct of the
election. The board of election commissioners may appoint as
election inspector an individual on the list submitted by a major
political party under section 673a who is qualified to serve under
section 677. An appointment of an election inspector under this
section is void if a properly completed application for that
election inspector is not on file in the clerk's office as
prescribed in section 677.
(2) The board of election commissioners shall designate 1
appointed election inspector as chairperson. The board of election
commissioners shall appoint at least 1 election inspector from each
major political party and shall appoint an equal number, as nearly
as possible, of election inspectors in each election precinct from
each major political party. The board of election commissioners may
appoint election inspectors in an election precinct from minor
political parties. Not later than 2 business days following the
appointment of election inspectors under subsection (1) for
elections in which a federal or state office appears, the board of
election commissioners shall notify by certified mail, personal
service, or electronic transmission capable of determining date of
receipt the county chair of each major political party of the names
and political party affiliations of appointed election inspectors
and the precincts to which those inspectors were appointed. A board
of election commissioners shall not appoint a person as an election
inspector if that person declares a political party preference for
1 political party but is a known active advocate of another
political party. As used in this section, "a known active advocate"
means a person who meets 1 or more of the following:
(a) Is a delegate to the convention or an officer of that
other party.
(b) Is affiliated with that party through an elected or
appointed government position.
(c) Has made documented public statements specifically
supporting by name the other political party or its candidates in
the same calendar year as the election for which the appointment is
being made. As used in this subdivision, "documented public
statements" means statements reported by the news media or written
statements with a clear and unambiguous attribution to the
applicant.
(3) The county chair of a major political party may challenge
the appointment of an election inspector based upon the
qualifications of the election inspector, the legitimacy of the
election inspector's political party affiliation, or whether there
is a properly completed declaration of political party affiliation
in the application for that election inspector on file in the
clerk's office. The challenge shall be in writing, specifically
identify
the reason for the challenge, and include any available
documentation supporting the challenge. The county chair of the
political party shall file a challenge under this subsection with
the board of election commissioners not later than 4 business days
following receipt of the board of election commissioners' notice of
appointed election inspectors under subsection (2).
(4) Upon receipt of a challenge under subsection (3), the
board
of election commissioners shall determine whether if the
appointee has the necessary qualifications by reviewing the
application
or any other official records, such as voter
registration
records, or whether if the applicant has a
properly
completed certification of political party affiliation in the
application. If the challenge alleges that the appointee is a known
active advocate of a political party other than the one on the
appointee's application, the board of election commissioners
immediately shall provide the appointee with a copy of the
challenge by certified mail, personal service, or electronic
transmission capable of determining date of receipt. The appointee
may respond to the challenge within 2 business days after receiving
a
copy of the challenge. A response shall be by affidavit sworn
statement addressing the specific reasons for the challenge.
Failure to respond shall result in revocation of the appointment.
Within 2 business days after receiving the challenge or a response
from the appointee, whichever is later, the board of election
commissioners shall make a final determination and notify the
appointee and the county chair of the political party of the
determination.
(5) If a vacancy occurs in the office of chairperson or in the
office of election inspector before election day, the chairperson
of
the board of election commissioners shall designate some other
another properly qualified applicant or election inspector as
chairperson
or some other another qualified applicant as election
inspector, as applicable, subject to this section. If a vacancy
occurs in the office of chairperson on election day, the remaining
election inspectors shall designate 1 of the election inspectors as
chairperson.
Sec.
720. (1) On the day of any an
election, the polls shall
be
opened open
at 7 o'clock in the forenoon, a.m. and shall be
continuously
open until 8 o'clock in the afternoon and no longer
p.m. Every Each qualified elector
present and in line at the
polls
at the hour prescribed for the closing thereof time
shall
be allowed to vote.
(2) In a jurisdiction conducting early voting under section
720a, the clerk conducting the election shall designate the hours
the polls will open and close. The polls shall be open not less
than 4 hours on each early voting day. Not less than 72 hours
before early voting begins, the clerk shall post the hours that the
polls will be open at the clerk's office and at each early voting
polling place. The clerk shall provide notice to electors of the
location of each early voting polling place and the dates and hours
the early voting polling place will be open. The notice to electors
shall substantially comply with the form in section 653a.
Sec. 720a. (1) If the legislative body of a city, township, or
village approves early voting, a city, township, or village may
provide early voting for an election.
(2) In a city, township, or village providing early voting,
the clerk shall designate the date on which early voting shall
begin. Early voting shall begin not more than 17 days before a
primary, general, or special election and end at 2 p.m. on the
Saturday before the election. If the seventeenth day before an
election falls on a legal holiday, early voting shall begin on the
next day that is not a legal holiday. If designated by the clerk,
early voting days shall include Saturday and Sunday.
(3) The secretary of state shall cooperate with a jurisdiction
conducting early voting and provide technical assistance to a
jurisdiction requesting technical assistance.
(4) Subject to this section, a jurisdiction conducting early
voting shall follow the provisions of this act regarding all of the
following:
(a) Selection of a polling place.
(b) Election inspectors.
(c) Challenges to voters.
(d) Poll book and poll list.
(e) Notices, instructions, and placards.
(f) Security of a voting machine or other voting system.
(g) Ballot security, ballot containers, ballot counting, and
ballot preservation.
(5) A poll book and poll list for each precinct shall be
maintained for early voting in accordance with section 735. The
poll book shall be divided by date and separate records maintained
for each day of early voting. The poll book and poll list may be
maintained electronically.
(6) Early voting ballots shall be processed in the same manner
as ballots cast on election day and shall not be counted until the
polls close on election day.
(7) Each day of early voting, the chair of the board of
election inspectors for each precinct shall sign and include in the
poll book a certification statement verifying that the number of
electors requesting a ballot as determined by the poll book and
poll list is the same as the number of ballots cast.
(8) "Early voting", as used in this act, means a program that
permits a qualified and registered elector to vote in person at a
polling place designated by the clerk conducting the election
during a period of time before the date of a primary, general, or
special election.