CHALLENGERS; TRAINING S.B. 292 (S-2):
SUMMARY OF SUBSTITUTE BILL
IN COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 292 (Substitute S-2)
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Michigan Election Law to do the following:
-- Require the Secretary of State (SOS) to establish a comprehensive training curriculum for each political party that sought to designate election challengers.
-- Require challengers to have attended election challenger training within the last two years in order to serve as a challenger in an election.
-- Require a challenger to submit and sign an affidavit that attested to having attended the training to the political party, incorporated organization, or organized committee of interested citizens that had conducted the training.
-- Require a political party, incorporated organization, or organized committee of interested citizens to provide election challenger training for individuals seeking to serve as challengers for that entity.
-- Require the election challenger training provided by a political party, incorporated organization, or organized committee of interested citizens to include the comprehensive training curriculum established by the SOS.
-- Require an entity to retain a signed affidavit for at least two years.
Secretary of State; Comprehensive Training Curriculum
The Law prescribes the duties of the SOS pertaining to elections, the promulgation of rules, and other functions pertaining to the office. The bill would require the SOS to establish a comprehensive training curriculum for each political party, incorporated organization, or organized committee of interested citizens that sought to designate election challengers at an election, regarding the powers, rights, and duties of election challengers.
Election Challengers; Training
Currently, a challenger must be registered to vote in Michigan. Except where otherwise provided, a challenger may not also be a candidate for nomination or election to an office in the election in which he or she is a candidate. A candidate for the office of delegate to a county convention may serve as a challenger in a precinct other than the one in which he or she is a candidate. An individual appointed as an election inspector at an election cannot act as a challenger at any time during the election day. In addition to these provisions, under the bill, a challenger could not serve as a challenger at any election unless he or she had attended, within the last two years, election challenger training and submitted a signed affidavit that attested to having attended the training to the political party, incorporated organization, or organized committee of interested citizens that conducted the training.
If a political party, incorporated organization, or organized committee of interested citizens sought to designate challengers at an election, the political party, incorporated organization, or organized committee of interested citizens would have to provide election challenger training for those individuals who sought to be election challengers for that political party, incorporated organization, or organized committee of interested citizens. The training would have to include the comprehensive training curriculum established by the SOS regarding the powers, rights, and duties of election challengers.
After completing the training, the individual who sought to be an election challenger would have to sign and submit to the political party, incorporated organization, or organized committee of interested citizens that had conducted the training an affidavit attesting that he or she attended the training. The election challenger training for an individual would be valid for two years from the date the signed affidavit was submitted to and filed with the political party that conducted the training. Additionally, a political party, incorporated organization, or organized committee of interested citizens would be required to retain a signed affidavit for at least two years.
MCL 168.31 et al. Legislative Analyst: Dana Adams
FISCAL IMPACT
There could be additional costs for the Department of State to establish a comprehensive training curriculum for each political party, incorporated organization, or organized committee of interested citizens to designate election challengers at an election. The Department likely would incur costs beyond current appropriations to develop the required comprehensive training curriculum and training materials, along with the costs associated with providing any necessary trainings. The costs are indeterminate and would depend on the number of trainings ultimately required, the material costs for those trainings, as well as possible travel costs for staff associated with providing those trainings.
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.