Bill Text: MI HB5646 | 2021-2022 | 101st Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Elections: voting procedures; ranked choice voting by cities; provide for. Amends secs. 321, 576a & 580 of 1954 PA 116 (MCL 168.321 et seq.) & adds sec. 640. TIE BAR WITH: HB 5644'21, HB 5645'21
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-12-15 - Bill Electronically Reproduced 12/14/2021 [HB5646 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2021-HB5646-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL NO. 5646
A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled
"Michigan election law,"
by amending sections 321, 576a, and 580 (MCL 168.321, 168.576a, and 168.580), section 321 as amended by 2018 PA 627 and section 580 as amended by 1985 PA 160, and by adding section 640.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 321. (1) Except as provided in subsection (3) and sections 322, 327, 640, 641, 642, 644e, 644f, 644g, and 646a, the qualifications, nomination, election, appointment, term of office, and removal from office of a city officer must be in accordance with the charter provisions governing the city.
(2) Within 3 days after the last day on which a candidate for a city office may withdraw, the city clerk shall deliver to the county clerk of the county in which the city is located a list setting forth the name and address of each candidate for a city office.
(3) If the membership of the legislative body of a city governed by the home rule city act, 1909 PA 279, MCL 117.1 to 117.38, is reduced to less than a quorum, unless another method of appointing members of the legislative body is provided by the city charter, members of the legislative body are appointed as provided in this subsection. The board of county election commissioners of the county in which the largest portion of the population of the city resides shall appoint the number of members of the legislative body required to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business by the legislative body. A member of the legislative body appointed under this subsection shall hold the office only until the member's successor is elected and qualified. The successor shall must be elected at a special or regular election on the next regular election date that is not less than 60 days after the appointment is made. The successor shall serve for the balance of the unexpired term. A member who is appointed under this subsection shall not vote on the appointment of himself or herself to an elective or appointive city office.
(4) Notwithstanding another provision of law or charter to the contrary, an appointment to an elective or appointive city office made by a quorum constituted by appointments under this section expires upon the election and qualification of a sufficient number of members of the legislative body so that the elected members constitute a quorum.
Sec. 576a. In Except as otherwise provided in section 640 for ranked choice voting, in all partisan and nonpartisan primary elections, the voter shall be is entitled to vote for a number of candidates for each office equal to the number of persons individuals to be elected for that office.
Sec. 580. In Except as otherwise provided in section 640 for ranked choice voting, in counting the ballots after the closing of the polls, only those candidates having crosses or check marks marked in the squares the oval or box completely darkened next to the left of their names shall be are considered to have received votes, and any ballot upon which more votes have been recorded for candidates for any office than may, by law, be elected to that office shall must be rejected as to all names appearing on the ballot for that office only.
Sec. 640. (1) If a city authorizes in its charter the use of ranked choice voting for the election of city officers, the ranked choice voting must be conducted in accordance with the city charter as provided in this section.
(2) The ballot used at an election with ranked choice voting must allow an elector to rank a number of choices in order of preference equal to the total number of candidates for each office. However, if the voting system used by a city at the election cannot accommodate choices equal to the total number of candidates running for each office, the city clerk shall follow the procedures governing ranked choice voting that are provided for in the city charter. In addition, the ballot used must allow an elector to cast a vote for a write-in candidate.
(3) If a candidate receives a majority of the first choices, that candidate must be declared elected. Subject to subsections (4) and (5), if no candidate receives a majority of the votes, the candidate who received the fewest number of first choices must be eliminated and each vote cast for that candidate must be transferred to the next ranked candidate on the elector's ballot. If after this transfer of votes any candidate has a majority of the votes from the continuing ballots, that candidate must be declared elected. Subject to subsection (4), if no candidate receives a majority of the votes from the continuing ballots after a candidate has been eliminated and his or her votes have been transferred to the next ranked candidate, the continuing candidate with the fewest votes from the continuing ballots must be eliminated. Subject to subsection (5), all votes for that candidate must be transferred to the next ranked continuing candidate on each elector's ballot. This process of eliminating candidates and transferring their votes to the next ranked continuing candidates must be repeated until, except as otherwise provided in subsection (6), a candidate receives a majority of the votes from the continuing ballots. The ranked choice voting process is complete if no additional choices can be eliminated or there are no further choices indicated on the ballot.
(4) If the total number of votes of the 2 or more candidates credited with the lowest number of votes is less than the number of votes credited to the candidate with the next highest number of votes, those candidates with the lowest number of votes must be eliminated simultaneously and their votes transferred to the next ranked continuing candidate of each ballot in a single counting operation.
(5) If an elector skips a rank, the elector's vote must be transferred to the elector's next ranked choice.
(6) If after the ranked choice voting process described in subsection (3) is complete and the ranked choice ballot gives equal rank to 2 or more candidates, the tie must be resolved as provided in section 851.
(7) If a city authorizes in its charter the use of ranked choice voting for the election of city officers, the city clerk shall conduct a voter education campaign to familiarize electors in that city with the ranked choice voting method.
(8) If a city authorizes in its charter the use of ranked choice voting for the election of city officers, the city is responsible for any costs associated with the certification and testing of the voting system used by that city for ranked choice voting.
(9) Any voting system used by a city for ranked choice voting must be able to tally and tabulate the results and must not require anyone to perform any calculations or distribute any votes among the candidates.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect unless all of the following bills of the 101st Legislature are enacted into law:
(a) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5645 (request no. 01745'21 *).
(b) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5644 (request no. 04454'21).
