May 3, 2017, Introduced by Reps. Hoadley, Pagan, Garrett, Chang, Rabhi, Geiss, Dianda, Clemente, Chirkun, Lasinski, Cochran, Neeley, Yanez, Hammoud, Sabo, Byrd, Brinks, Faris, Moss, Sowerby, Ellison, LaGrand, Liberati, Elder, Robinson, Durhal, Wittenberg, Santana, Peterson, Love, Green, Sneller, Phelps, Camilleri, Singh, Greig, Kivela, Schor, Zemke, Hertel, Inman, Gay-Dagnogo, Greimel and Kosowski and referred to the Committee on Elections and Ethics.
A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the state
constitution of 1963, by amending section 4 of article II and by
adding section 1a to article II, to provide for the rights of
electors.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
state of Michigan, That the following amendment to the state
constitution of 1963, to provide for the rights of electors, is
proposed, agreed to, and submitted to the people of the state:
ARTICLE II
Sec. 1a. (1) An individual who meets the qualifications of an
elector and is qualified to vote in any election in this state has
all of the following rights:
(a) The right to vote a secret ballot in all elections.
(b) The right, if serving in the uniformed services or living
overseas, to have an absentee voter ballot sent to him or her at
least 45 days before an election. As used in this subdivision,
"uniformed services" means the army, navy, air force, marine corps,
coast guard, the commissioned corps of the United States Public
Health Service, the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, a reserve component of a uniformed
service, or the Michigan National Guard.
(c) The right, once registered to vote in this state, to
remain registered and to vote by absentee voter ballot or regular
ballot in the jurisdiction in which he or she resides, immediately
upon signing a registration affidavit.
(d) The right to be automatically registered to vote if he or
she is issued a state driver license or state personal
identification card, or if he or she conducts any other business at
a secretary of state branch office, and has the right to decline to
be automatically registered to vote.
(e) The right to register to vote in person or by mail up to
and including 15 days before an election. If the fifteenth day
before an election falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday,
the right to register to vote is extended to the next business day
following the fifteenth day before an election.
(f) The right to vote by absentee voter ballot in person
during, at a minimum, the 15 days before an election. During the 15
days before an election, each city or township clerk, or his or her
deputy, shall be available in at least one location in the city or
township for a minimum of four hours each day to issue and receive
in person absentee voter ballots. Each city or township clerk may,
in his or her discretion, issue and receive in person absentee
voter ballots for a period of time longer than 15 days before an
election.
(g) The right to vote by absentee voter ballot without having
to provide a reason.
(2) All rights set forth in this section are self-executing.
(3) This section shall be liberally construed in favor of
voters' rights.
(4) If any provision of this section is found to be invalid,
unenforceable, or unconstitutional, that provision is severable
from the remaining portions of this section.
Sec.
4. The Except as otherwise
provided in this constitution
or in the constitution and laws of the United States, the
legislature shall enact laws to regulate the time, place, and
manner
of all nominations and elections, except as otherwise
provided
in this constitution or in the constitution and laws of
the
United States. The legislature shall enact laws to preserve the
purity of elections, to preserve the secrecy of the ballot, to
guard against abuses of the elective franchise, and to provide for
a system of voter registration and absentee voting. No law shall be
enacted
which that permits a candidate in any partisan primary or
partisan election to have a ballot designation except when required
for identification of candidates for the same office who have the
same or similar surnames.
Resolved further, That the foregoing amendment shall be
submitted to the people of the state at the next general election
in the manner provided by law.