Bill Text: MI HB4816 | 2015-2016 | 98th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Elections; registration; deadline for registering to vote; revise to 10 days before date of election. Amends secs. 497, 498, 500a & 500d of 1954 PA 116 (MCL 168.497 et seq.) & repeals sec. 497a of 1954 PA 116 (MCL 168.497a).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-08-19 - Printed Bill Filed 08/19/2015 [HB4816 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2015-HB4816-Introduced.html

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HOUSE BILL No. 4816

 

August 18, 2015, Introduced by Rep. Wittenberg and referred to the Committee on Elections.

 

     A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled

 

"Michigan election law,"

 

by amending sections 497, 498, 500a, and 500d (MCL 168.497,

 

168.498, 168.500a, and 168.500d), section 497 as amended by 1989 PA

 

142, section 498 as amended by 2005 PA 71, and section 500a as

 

amended by 1995 PA 87; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 497. (1) A person who is not registered to vote but

 

possesses the qualifications of an elector as set forth provided in

 

section 492 , may apply for registration to the clerk of the

 

county, township, city, or village in which he or she resides on a

 

day other than Saturday, Sunday, a legal holiday, or the day of a

 

regular, primary, school, or special election. Registrations Voter

registrations accepted between the thirtieth tenth day preceding

 

before an election and the day of the election, unless the

 

thirtieth tenth day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday,

 

in which event voter registration shall be accepted during the

 

following day, are not valid for the election but are valid for a

 

subsequent regular, primary, school, or special elections that are

 

held so that not less than 30 days intervene between election that

 

is held more than 10 days after the date the person registered and

 

the date of the election.to vote.

 

     (2) Except as otherwise provided in sections 499a to 499c,

 

500a to 500j , and 504, an application for registration 509v, a

 

voter registration application shall not be executed at a place

 

other than the office of the county, township, city, or village

 

clerk or a public place or places designated by the clerk or deputy

 

registrar for receiving registrations, but the voter registration

 

applications. However, a clerk or deputy registrar assistant clerk

 

may receive an a voter registration application wherever he or she

 

may be. If a county, township, city, or village clerk does not

 

regularly keep his or her office open daily during certain hours,

 

the clerk shall is not be required to be at his or her office for

 

the purpose of receiving voter registration applications for

 

registration on a particular day nor during specific hours of a

 

day, except as provided in section 498. Registrations A voter

 

registration taken after the time of closing registrations before

 

an election need not be processed until the date immediately

 

following that election . A registration and shall not be placed in

 

a precinct registration file until the date immediately following

 

that election. If a person registers to vote at a time that

 

registrations are closed for an election, the person shall be given

 

a notice, signed by the clerk, on a form developed by the secretary

 

of state, informing him or her that he or she is not eligible to

 

vote in the election and indicating the first date on which he or

 

she is eligible to vote. Except as provided in sections 500a to

 

500j, the provisions of this section relating to registration shall

 

apply.

 

     Sec. 498. (1) The governing body of a township, city, or

 

village may provide by resolution that in that township, city, or

 

village the clerk shall be at the clerk's office, or in some other

 

convenient place designated by the clerk, during the hours

 

designated by the governing body on the thirtieth tenth day

 

preceding an election or primary election in the township, city, or

 

village, unless the thirtieth tenth day falls on a Saturday,

 

Sunday, or legal holiday, in which event voter registration shall

 

be accepted during the same hours on the following day.

 

     (2) In a township, city, or village in which the clerk does

 

not maintain regular daily office hours, the township board or the

 

legislative body of the city or village may require that the clerk

 

of the township, city, or village shall be at the clerk's office or

 

other designated place for the purpose of receiving voter

 

registration applications for registration on the days which that

 

the board or legislative body designates, but not more than 5 days

 

before the last day for voter registration.

 

     (3) The clerk of each township, city, and village shall give

 

public notice of the days and hours that the clerk will be at the

 

clerk's office or other designated place for the purpose of

 

receiving voter registrations before an election or primary

 

election by publication of the notice, except as provided in

 

subsection (4) and section 497(2), in a newspaper published or of

 

general circulation in the township, city, or village and, if

 

considered advisable by the township, city, or village clerk, by

 

posting written or printed notices in at least 2 of the most

 

conspicuous places in each election precinct. Except as provided in

 

subsection (4), the publication or posting shall be made not less

 

than 7 days before the last day for receiving voter registrations.

 

The notice of voter registration shall include the offices to be

 

filled that will appear on the ballot. If the notice of voter

 

registration is for an election that includes a ballot proposal, a

 

caption or brief description of the ballot proposal along with the

 

location where an elector can obtain the full text of the ballot

 

proposal shall be stated in the notice.

 

     (4) Notice of voter registration for a school millage election

 

that will be held pursuant to section 36 of the general property

 

tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.36, shall be is required to be

 

published once and shall be made not less than 5 days before the

 

last day for receiving voter registrations. as provided in section

 

497a.

 

     (5) A county clerk may enter into an agreement with the clerk

 

of 1 or more townships or cities in the county or the clerks of 1

 

or more cities or townships in a county may enter into an agreement

 

to jointly publish the notice required in subsection (3). The

 

notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in

 

the cities and townships listed in the notice.

 

     Sec. 500a. (1) The secretary of state or the secretary of

 

state's agent shall afford a person who appears in a department of

 

state branch office or a person who applies for renewal of an

 

operator's or chauffeur's license under section 307 of the Michigan

 

vehicle code, Act No. 300 of the Public Acts of 1949, being section

 

257.307 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.307, an

 

opportunity to complete an application to register to vote a voter

 

registration application or to change the person's voting

 

registration name or address, if the applicant possesses the

 

qualifications of an elector on the date of application or will

 

possess the qualifications at the next election. This subsection

 

does not require a registered elector to periodically reregister or

 

to renew his or her registration. The application for registration

 

voter registration application made under this section shall

 

contain all of the following:

 

     (a) The name of the applicant.

 

     (b) The residence address of the applicant, including the

 

street and number or rural route and box number and apartment

 

number, if any.

 

     (c) The city or township and county of residence of the

 

applicant, and the school district of the applicant, if known.

 

     (d) The date of birth of the applicant.

 

     (e) The birthplace of the applicant.

 

     (f) The driver's license or state personal identification card

 

number of the applicant, if available.

 

     (g) A statement that the applicant has the qualifications of

 

an elector as of the date of applying for registration, or will

 

have the qualifications of an elector at the next election.

 

     (h) A statement that the registration is not effective until

 

processed by the clerk of the city or township in which the

 

applicant resides.

 

     (i) A statement that the applicant, if qualified, may vote at

 

an election occurring not less than 30 10 days after the date of

 

completing the application.

 

     (j) A space to indicate the applicant's last place of

 

registration, if any.

 

     (k) A statement authorizing the cancellation of registration

 

at the applicant's last place of registration.

 

     (l) A space for the applicant to sign and certify to the truth

 

of the statements on the application.

 

     (2) The applicant shall sign the voter registration

 

application. Upon receipt of receiving the application, the agent

 

shall sign the application, stamp the application with a validation

 

stamp, and provide the applicant with a receipt verifying the voter

 

registration application. The agent shall promptly forward the

 

application to the county clerk of the applicant's residence or to

 

a city or township clerk designated by the secretary of state.

 

     Sec. 500d. A person who has properly completed an application

 

for registration a voter registration application at an office of

 

the secretary of state or his or her agent shall be permitted to

 

vote in all elections occurring not less than 30 10 days after

 

making the application if the clerk determines the person is

 

qualified and the voter identification card is not returned by the

 

post office as provided by section 500c. If the clerk determines

 

the person is not qualified, the clerk immediately shall send a

 

notice to the applicant at the address stated in the application

 

stating the determination and the reasons therefor. the person is

 

not qualified. A person shall be permitted to vote if he or she

 

presents at the polls a validated voter registration application

 

receipt and the clerk determines the person is qualified.

 

     Enacting section 1. Section 497a of the Michigan election law,

 

1954 PA 116, MCL 168.497a, is repealed.

 

     Enacting section 2. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.