Bill Text: MI SB0452 | 2015-2016 | 98th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Elections; judicial; election procedure when court of appeals candidates are appointed to another judgeship; provide for. Amends secs. 409b, 409d & 409e of 1954 PA 116 (MCL 168.409b et seq.).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-09-09 - Referred To Committee On Elections And Government Reform [SB0452 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2015-SB0452-Introduced.html

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SENATE BILL No. 452

 

 

September 9, 2015, Introduced by Senator JONES and referred to the Committee on Elections and Government Reform.

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled

 

"Michigan election law,"

 

by amending sections 409b, 409d, and 409e (MCL 168.409b, 168.409d,

 

and 168.409e), section 409b as amended by 2012 PA 276 and sections

 

409d and 409e as amended by 1990 PA 32.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 409b. (1) To obtain the printing of the name of a

 

qualified person other than an incumbent judge of the court of

 

appeals as a candidate for nomination for the office of judge of

 

the court of appeals upon the official nonpartisan primary ballots,

 

there shall be filed with the secretary of state nominating

 

petitions containing the signatures, addresses, and dates of

 

signing of a number of qualified and registered electors residing

 

in the appellate court district as determined under section 544f.

 

The provisions of sections 544a and 544b apply. Until December 31,

 

2013, the secretary of state shall receive nominating petitions up

 

to 4 p.m. on the fourteenth Tuesday before the primary. Beginning

 

January 1, 2014, the The secretary of state shall receive

 

nominating petitions up to 4 p.m. on the fifteenth Tuesday before

 

the primary.

 

     (2) Nominating petitions filed under this section are valid

 

only if they clearly indicate for which of the following offices

 

the candidate is filing, consistent with subsection (8):

 

     (a) An unspecified existing judgeship for which the incumbent

 

judge is seeking election.

 

     (b) An unspecified existing judgeship for which the incumbent

 

judge is not seeking election.

 

     (c) A new judgeship.

 

     (3) Nominating petitions specifying a new or existing court of

 

appeals judgeship may not be used to qualify a candidate for

 

another judicial office of the same court in the same judicial

 

district. A person who files nominating petitions for election to

 

more than 1 court of appeals judgeship shall have not more than 3

 

days following the close of filing to withdraw from all but 1

 

filing.

 

     (4) In a primary and general election for 2 or more judgeships

 

where more than 1 of the categories in subsection (2) could be

 

selected, a candidate shall apply to the bureau of elections for a

 

written statement of office designation to correspond to the

 

judgeship sought by the candidate. The office designation provided

 

by the secretary of state shall be included in the heading of all

nominating petitions. Nominating petitions containing an improper

 

office designation are invalid.

 

     (5) The secretary of state shall issue an office designation

 

of incumbent position for any judgeship for which the incumbent

 

judge is eligible to seek reelection. If an incumbent judge does

 

not file an affidavit of candidacy by the deadline, the secretary

 

of state shall notify all candidates for that office that a

 

nonincumbent position exists. All nominating petitions circulated

 

for the nonincumbent position subsequent to the deadline shall bear

 

an office designation of nonincumbent position. All signatures

 

collected before the affidavit of candidacy filing deadline may be

 

filed with the nonincumbent nominating petitions.

 

     (6) An incumbent judge of the court of appeals may become a

 

candidate in the primary election for the office of which he or she

 

is the incumbent by filing with the secretary of state an affidavit

 

of candidacy not less than 134 days before the date of the primary

 

election. However, before December 31, 2013, if an incumbent judge

 

of the court of appeals was appointed to fill a vacancy and the

 

judge entered upon the duties of office less than 137 days before

 

the date of the primary election but before the fourteenth Tuesday

 

before the primary election, the incumbent judge may file the

 

affidavit of candidacy not more than 3 days after entering upon the

 

duties of office. Beginning January 1, 2014, if an incumbent judge

 

of the court of appeals was appointed to fill a vacancy and the

 

judge entered upon the duties of the office less than 137 days

 

before the date of the primary election but before the fifteenth

 

Tuesday before the primary election, the incumbent judge may file

the affidavit of candidacy not more than 3 days after entering upon

 

the duties of office. The affidavit of candidacy shall contain

 

statements that the affiant is an incumbent judge of the court of

 

appeals, is domiciled within the district, will not attain the age

 

of 70 by the date of election, and is a candidate for election to

 

the office of judge of the court of appeals.

 

     (7) In the primary and general November election for 2 or more

 

judgeships of the court of appeals in a judicial district, each of

 

the following categories of candidates shall be listed separately

 

on the ballot, consistent with subsection (8):

 

     (a) The names of candidates for the judgeship or judgeships

 

for which the incumbent is seeking election.

 

     (b) The names of candidates for the judgeship or judgeships

 

for which the incumbent is not seeking election.

 

     (c) The names of candidates for a newly created judgeship or

 

judgeships.

 

     (8) If the death, or disqualification, or appointment to

 

another judgeship of an incumbent judge triggers the application of

 

section 409d(2), then for the purposes of subsections (2) and (7),

 

that judgeship shall be regarded as a judgeship for which the

 

incumbent judge is not seeking election. The application of this

 

subsection includes, but is not limited to, circumstances in which

 

the governor appoints an individual to fill the vacancy and that

 

individual seeks to qualify as a nominee under section 409d(2).

 

     Sec. 409d. (1) In each appellate court district the candidates

 

for office of judge of the court of appeals receiving the largest

 

number of votes at any primary election, to a number equal to twice

the number of persons to be elected as set forth in the report of

 

the board of state canvassers, based on the returns from the

 

various boards of county canvassers and election precincts, or as

 

determined by the board of state canvassers as the result of a

 

recount, shall be declared the nominees for the office at the next

 

general November election. The board of state canvassers shall

 

certify the nomination to the county election commissions.

 

     (2) If, after the deadline for filing nominating petitions

 

under section 409b, there are fewer candidates for nomination or

 

nominees for the office of judge of the court of appeals than there

 

are persons to be elected at the general November election because

 

of the death, or disqualification, or appointment to another

 

judgeship of a candidate more than 65 days before the general

 

November election, then a person, whether or not an incumbent, may

 

qualify as a nominee for that office at the general November

 

election by filing nominating petitions as required by section

 

409b. However, the filing shall be made before 4 p.m. on the

 

twenty-first day following the death, or disqualification, or

 

appointment to another judgeship of the candidate or 4 p.m. on the

 

sixtieth day preceding before the general November election,

 

whichever is earlier, and the minimum number of signatures required

 

is 1,000 or 1/2 the minimum number required under section 409b,

 

whichever is less.

 

     (3) The secretary of state shall certify the nomination of

 

each person who qualifies as a nominee under subsection (2) to the

 

board of election commissioners of each county in the appellate

 

court district for the general November election.

     Sec. 409e. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a

 

judge or judges of the court of appeals shall be elected in each

 

appellate court district at the general November election in which

 

judges of the court of appeals are to be elected as provided by

 

law.

 

     (2) If there are fewer nominees for the office of judge of the

 

court of appeals than there are persons to be elected at the

 

general November election because of the death, or

 

disqualification, or appointment to another judgeship of a nominee

 

less than 66 days before the general November election, then a

 

person shall not be elected at that general November election to

 

any office of judge of the court of appeals for which there is no

 

nominee.

 

     (3) The term of office for judge of the court of appeals shall

 

be 6 years, commencing at 12 noon on January 1 next following his

 

or her election and shall continue until a successor is elected and

 

qualified.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.

 

     Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless all of the following bills of the 98th Legislature are

 

enacted into law:

 

     (a) Senate Bill No. _____ or House Bill No. _____ (request no.

 

02278'15).

 

     (b) Senate Bill No. _____ or House Bill No. _____ (request no.

 

02279'15).

 

     (c) Senate Bill No. _____ or House Bill No. _____ (request no.

02286'15).

 

     (d) Senate Bill No. _____ or House Bill No. _____ (request no.

 

02607'15).