Bill Text: MI HB4700 | 2017-2018 | 99th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Elections; precinct delegates; provision related to allowing precinct delegates to file as a write-in on election day; eliminate, and modify certain references to board of primary election inspectors. Amends secs. 605, 607, 608, 625 & 737a of 1954 PA 116 (MCL 168.605 et seq.).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-12-31 - Assigned Pa 611'18 [HB4700 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2017-HB4700-Enrolled.html
STATE OF MICHIGAN 99TH LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2018
Introduced by Reps. Lilly, Webber, Calley, Kesto, Garcia, Moss and Guerra
ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 4700
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 605, 607, 608, 624a, 625, and 737a (MCL 168.605, 168.607, 168.608, 168.624a, 168.625, and 168.737a),
section 607 as amended by 1996 PA 583, sections 608 and 625 as amended by 1988 PA 116, section 624a as amended by
2018 PA 120, and section 737a as amended by 2012 PA 276.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
Sec. 605. The name of the candidate for delegate to the county convention must not be printed upon the official primary election ballot, but 1 or more names may be written in by the elector.
Sec. 607. The required number of electors who receive the highest number of votes for delegates to the fall county convention of a political party must be declared by the county clerk to be elected. If, on the canvass of the votes polled at a primary election for delegates to the fall county convention of a political party, 2 or more candidates for delegate receive an equal number of votes for the same office, and that causes a failure to elect a delegate, the election to the office must be determined as provided in section 625.
Sec. 608. (1) The county clerk shall certify the names of the electors elected as delegates, naming the political party upon whose ballot the delegates were elected.
The county clerk shall maintain a record of those elected as delegates among the records of the clerk’s office.
No later than 7 days following the primary election, the county clerk shall notify each delegate elected of his or her election as delegate.
The county clerk shall certify the following to the chairperson of the committee of each political party of the county:
The delegates elected by the political party as delegates to the county conventions.
The names of all persons nominated as candidates of a political party for county office and for state legislative office who are delegates at large under section 599(5), when those names become available to the county clerk.
As used in this section, “persons nominated as candidates of a political party for county office and for state legislative office who are delegates at large under section 599(5)” means incumbent county officials, incumbent state legislators, and unsuccessful candidates for county offices and state legislative offices who were candidates at the last prior regular or special election held for the respective office.
Sec. 624a. (1) A precinct delegate may resign his or her office upon written notice to the chairperson of the county committee and the county clerk of the county or district in which the delegate resides.
An individual who has filed an affidavit of identity for precinct delegate may withdraw his or her name from the ballot by filing a statement of withdrawal with the county clerk within 72 hours after 4 p.m. of the last day to file for the office of precinct delegate.
An individual elected to fill a delegate vacancy or elected as a precinct delegate is not qualified to participate in a convention if, at the time of the convention, that individual does not reside in the precinct from which he or she was elected. A delegate is not disqualified if the delegate no longer resides in the precinct as a result of a division or rearrangement of the precinct under section 660 or 661.
If a written complaint is made to the county clerk regarding a delegate’s qualification to hold the office, the county clerk shall check with the township or city clerk of the township or city in which the delegate indicated on the affidavit of identity as his or her place of residence. The township or city clerk shall report back to the county clerk within 48 hours as to the complaint made under this subsection. If the township or city clerk’s report shows that the delegate is not qualified to hold the office, the county clerk shall certify to the chairperson of the county committee of the political party the name of the delegate of that political party who is no longer qualified to hold the office of delegate under this subsection.
Sec. 625. A delegate ballot must be voted in the same manner as ballots bearing the names of the candidates for other county offices. The returns must be made direct to the county clerk, who shall canvass the ballots and immediately notify the successful candidates by first-class mail at the address given in their affidavit of identity. The county clerk shall, at the same time, furnish the chairperson of the county committee of each political party with the names and addresses of the delegates to the county convention of the chairperson’s political party as required in section 608. However, in case of a tie vote between the candidates for delegate in any precinct, the county clerk shall notify the candidates to appear in his or her office at a specified time, and the successful candidate must be determined by drawing in a manner similar to that provided in section 851. If a candidate is elected whose name is not printed on the ballots, the county clerk shall determine if the candidate is a registered elector in that precinct.
Sec. 737a. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the board of election inspectors shall not count a write-in vote for a person unless that person has filed a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate as provided in this section. The write-in candidate shall file the declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate with the filing official for that elective office on or before 4 p.m. on the second Friday immediately before the election. The secretary of state, immediately after the 4 p.m. filing deadline under this subsection, shall prepare and have delivered a list of all persons who have filed a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate under this subsection, if any, to the appropriate county clerks. A filing official other than the secretary of state who receives a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate or list of persons who filed a declaration of intent from another filing official under this subsection shall prepare and have delivered a list of all persons who have filed a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate to the board of election inspectors in the appropriate precincts before the close of the polls on election day.
If a candidate whose name is printed on the official ballot for the election dies or is otherwise disqualified after 4 p.m. on the second Friday immediately before the election, the requirement of filing a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate under subsection (1) does not apply to a write-in candidate. If a death or disqualification has occurred as described in this subsection, the board of election inspectors shall count all write-in votes for write-in candidates for the office sought by the deceased or disqualified candidate.
Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to a write-in candidate for precinct delegate. The board of election inspectors shall not count a write-in vote for a write-in candidate for precinct delegate unless that candidate has filed a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate as provided in this subsection. A write-in candidate for precinct delegate shall file a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate with the county clerk of the county in which that precinct is located on or before 4 p.m. on the Friday immediately before the election or with the board of election inspectors in the appropriate precinct before the close of the polls on election day. A county clerk who receives a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate from a write-in candidate for precinct delegate under this subsection shall prepare and have delivered a list of all persons who have filed a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate to the city and township clerks for the appropriate precincts before election day. A city or township clerk shall deliver a list of all persons who have filed a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate for precinct delegate to the board of election inspectors in the appropriate precincts before the close of the polls on election day.
The secretary of state shall prescribe forms for the declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate. Clerks shall maintain a supply of declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate forms in the clerk’s office and make the forms
available in the polling places during the August primary for this purpose. The declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate form must include all of the following information:
The name of the person intending to be a write-in candidate.
The elective office that the person seeks as a write-in candidate.
The residence address of the person seeking elective office as a write-in candidate.
Other information the secretary of state considers appropriate.
Clerk of the House of Representatives
Secretary of the Senate
Approved Governor
