October 12, 2011, Introduced by Reps. Jacobsen, Kowall, Kurtz, Tyler and Knollenberg and referred to the Committee on Redistricting and Elections.
A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled
"Michigan election law,"
by amending section 761 (MCL 168.761), as amended by 2005 PA 71,
and by adding sections 38 and 764c.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 38. (1) The secretary of state shall develop an
2 information display that explains ballot coaching and that
3 indicates that ballot coaching is prohibited.
4 (2) The secretary of state shall provide to each residential
5 care facility in this state at least 1 information display as
6 described in subsection (1).
1 (3) The owner, operator, or facility director of a
2 residential care facility shall post the information display
3 provided by the secretary of state in a conspicuous place in the
4 residential care facility. In addition, the owner, operator, or
5 facility director of a residential care facility shall provide
6 written acknowledgement to the secretary of state that the
7 information display provided by the secretary of state is posted
8 in a conspicuous place in the residential care facility.
9 (4) As used in this section:
10 (a) "Home for the aged" means that term as defined in
11 section 20106 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL
12 333.20106.
13 (b) "Nursing home" means that term as defined in section
14 20109 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.20109.
15 (c) "Residential care facility" includes, but is not limited
16 to, all of the following:
17 (i) Home for the aged.
18 (ii) Nursing home.
19 Sec. 761. (1) If the clerk of a city, township, or village
20 receives an application for an absent voter ballot from a person
21 registered to vote in that city, township, or village and if the
22 signature on the application agrees with the signature for the
23 person contained in the qualified voter file or on the
24 registration card as required in subsection (2), the clerk
25 immediately upon receipt of the application or, if the
26 application is received before the printing of the absent voter
27 ballots, as soon as the ballots are received by the clerk, shall
1 forward by mail, postage prepaid, or shall deliver personally 1
2 of the ballots or set of ballots if there is more than 1 kind of
3 ballot to be voted to the applicant. Absent Subject to the
4 identification requirement in subsection (6), absent voter
5 ballots may be delivered to an applicant in person at the office
6 of the clerk.
7 (2) The qualified voter file shall be used to determine the
8 genuineness of a signature on an application for an absent voter
9 ballot. Signature comparisons shall be made with the digitized
10 signature in the qualified voter file. If the qualified voter
11 file does not contain a digitized signature of an elector, or is
12 not accessible to the clerk, the city or township clerk shall
13 compare the signature appearing on the application for an absent
14 voter ballot to the signature contained on the master card.
15 (3) Notwithstanding section 759, providing that no absent
16 voter applications shall be received by the clerk after 2 p.m. on
17 the Saturday before the election, and subject to the
18 identification requirement in subsection (6), a person qualified
19 to vote as an absent voter may apply in person at the clerk's
20 office before 4 p.m. on a day preceding before the
election
21 except Sunday or a legal holiday to vote as an absent voter. The
22 applicant shall receive his or her absent voter ballot and vote
23 the ballot in the clerk's office. All other absent voter ballots,
24 except ballots delivered pursuant to an emergency absent voter
25 ballot application under section 759b, shall be mailed or
26 delivered to the registration address of the applicant unless the
27 application requests delivery to an address outside the city,
1 village, or township or to a hospital or similar institution, in
2 which case the absent voter ballots shall be mailed or delivered
3 to the address given in the application. However, a clerk may
4 mail or deliver an absent voter ballot, upon request of the
5 absent voter, to a post office box if the post office box is
6 where the absent voter normally receives personal mail and the
7 absent voter does not receive mail at his or her registration
8 address.
9 (4) Absent voter ballots shall be issued in the same order
10 in which applications are received by the clerk of a city,
11 township, or village, as nearly as may be, and each ballot issued
12 shall bear the lowest number of each kind available for this
13 purpose. However, this provision does not prohibit a clerk from
14 immediately issuing an absent voter ballot to an absent voter who
15 applies in person in the clerk's office for absent voter ballots.
16 The clerk shall enclose with the ballot or ballots a return
17 envelope properly addressed to the clerk and bearing upon the
18 back of the envelope a printed statement in substantially the
19 following form:
20 TO BE COMPLETED
21 BY THE CLERK
22 ______________________________ ____________________________
23 Name of Voter Street Address or R.R.
24 ______________________________ ____________________________
25 City, Township or Village County
26 Ward ________ Precinct _______ Date of Election _____________
27 =================================================================
28 TO BE COMPLETED BY THE ABSENT VOTER
1 I assert that I am a qualified and registered elector of the
2 city, township, or village named above. I am voting as an absent
3 voter in conformity with state election law. Unless otherwise
4 indicated below, I personally marked the ballot enclosed in this
5 envelope without exhibiting it to any other person.
6 I further assert that this absent voter ballot is being
7 returned to the clerk or an assistant of the clerk by me
8 personally; by public postal service, express mail service,
9 parcel post service, or other common carrier; by a member of my
10 immediate family; or by a person residing in my household.
11 DATE: ______________ SIGN HERE: X_________________________
12 Signature of Absent Voter
13 The above form must be signed or your vote will not be counted.
14 AN ABSENT VOTER WHO KNOWINGLY MAKES A FALSE STATEMENT IS GUILTY
15 OF A MISDEMEANOR.
16 =================================================================
17 TO BE COMPLETED ONLY IF VOTER IS ASSISTED IN VOTING
18 BY ANOTHER PERSON
19 I assisted the above named absent voter who is disabled or
20 otherwise unable to mark the ballot in marking his or her absent
21 voter ballot pursuant to his or her directions. The absent voter
22 ballot was inserted in the return envelope without being
23 exhibited to any other person.
24 _______________________ __________________ ___________________
25 Signature of Person Street Address City, Twp., or
26 Assisting Voter or R.R. Village
27 _________________________________________________________________
1 Printed Name of Person Assisting Voter
2 A PERSON WHO ASSISTS AN ABSENT VOTER AND WHO KNOWINGLY MAKES A
3 FALSE STATEMENT IS GUILTY OF A FELONY.
4 =================================================================
5 WARNING
6 PERSONS WHO CAN LEGALLY BE IN POSSESSION OF AN ABSENT VOTER
7 BALLOT ISSUED TO AN ABSENT VOTER ARE LIMITED TO THE ABSENT VOTER;
8 A PERSON WHO IS A MEMBER OF THE ABSENT VOTER'S IMMEDIATE FAMILY
9 OR RESIDES IN THE ABSENT VOTER'S HOUSEHOLD AND WHO HAS BEEN ASKED
10 BY THE ABSENT VOTER TO RETURN THE BALLOT; A PERSON WHOSE JOB IT
11 IS TO HANDLE MAIL BEFORE, DURING, OR AFTER BEING TRANSPORTED BY A
12 PUBLIC POSTAL SERVICE, EXPRESS MAIL SERVICE, PARCEL POST SERVICE,
13 OR COMMON CARRIER, BUT ONLY DURING THE NORMAL COURSE OF HIS OR
14 HER EMPLOYMENT; AND THE CLERK, ASSISTANTS OF THE CLERK, AND OTHER
15 AUTHORIZED ELECTION OFFICIALS OF THE CITY, TOWNSHIP, VILLAGE, OR
16 SCHOOL DISTRICT. ANY OTHER PERSON IN POSSESSION OF AN ABSENT
17 VOTER BALLOT IS GUILTY OF A FELONY.
18 (5) An absent voter who knowingly makes a false statement on
19 the absent voter ballot return envelope is guilty of a
20 misdemeanor. A person who assists an absent voter and who
21 knowingly makes a false statement on the absent voter ballot
22 return envelope is guilty of a felony.
23 (6) If an elector obtains his or her absent voter ballot in
24 person from the clerk of the city, township, or village in which
25 he or she is registered, the clerk of the city, township, or
26 village shall not provide an absent voter ballot to that elector
27 until the elector identifies himself or herself to the clerk by
1 presenting an official state identification card issued to that
2 elector under 1972 PA 222, MCL 28.291 to 28.300, an operator's or
3 chauffeur's license issued to that elector under the Michigan
4 vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.1 to 257.923, or other
5 generally recognized picture identification card. If an elector
6 does not have an official state identification card, operator's
7 or chauffeur's license, or other generally recognized picture
8 identification card, the elector may sign an affidavit to that
9 effect before the clerk of the city, township, or village and be
10 allowed to obtain his or her absent voter ballot in person from
11 the clerk. However, if an elector obtains his or her absent voter
12 ballot in person from the clerk and votes by absent voter ballot
13 without providing the identification required under this
14 subsection, the absent voter ballot of that elector shall be
15 prepared as a challenged ballot as provided in section 727.
16 Sec. 764c. If a city, township, or village has access to the
17 ballot tracker program provided by the state, the clerk of that
18 city, township, or village shall utilize the ballot tracker
19 program and allow voters to track their absent voter ballots
20 online.