HOUSE BILL No. 4460
April 13, 1999, Introduced by Reps. Shulman, DeWeese, Kowall, Gosselin, Voorhees, Godchaux, Birkholz, Middaugh, Schauer, Mortimer, Pappageorge, Julian, Richner, Jamnick, Bogardus, Jansen, Ehardt and Scranton and referred to the Committee on Constitutional Law and Ethics. A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled "Michigan election law," by amending sections 758 and 759 (MCL 168.758 and 168.759), sec- tion 758 as amended by 1996 PA 207 and section 759 as amended by 1995 PA 261. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 758. (1) For the purposes of this act, "absent voter" 2 means a qualified and registered elector who meets 1 or more of 3 the following requirements: 4 (a) On account of physical disability, cannot without 5 another's assistance attend the polls on the day of an election. 6 (b) On account of the tenets of his or her religion, cannot 7 attend the polls on the day of election. 02160'99 TJS 2 1 (c) Cannot attend the polls on the day of an election in the 2 precinct in which he or she resides because of being an election 3 precinct inspector in another precinct. 4 (d) Is 60 years of age or older. 5 (e) Is absent or expects to be absent from the township or 6 city in which he or she resides during the entire period the 7 polls are open for voting on the day of an election. 8 (f) Cannot attend the polls on election day because of being 9 confined in jail awaiting arraignment or trial. 10 (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to AS USED IN THIS ACT, 11 "ABSENT VOTER" MEANS A QUALIFIED AND REGISTERED ELECTOR WHO 12 WISHES TO VOTE WITHOUT ATTENDING THE POLLS ON THE DAY OF AN 13 ELECTION. ABSENT VOTER DOES NOT INCLUDE a person who has moved 14 outside of this state, regardless of length of his or her resi- 15 dence outside of this state, and who no longer maintains an 16 actual residence in this state. The storage of personal effects 17 or household goods, the ownership of property that is rented or 18 leased to others, or occasional brief visits to a former domicile 19 in this state while residing outside of this state for most of 20 the year does not constitute a residence for voting purposes in 21 this state, except for each of the following: 22 (a) A person described in section 1 of article II of the 23 state constitution of 1963 and statutes enacted under that 24 section. 25 (b) A person described in section 759a. 26 Sec. 759. (1) At any time during the 75 days before a 27 primary or special primary, but not later than 2 p.m. of the 02160'99 3 1 Saturday immediately before the primary or special primary, an 2 elector who qualifies to vote as an absent voter, as defined in 3 section 758, may apply for an absent voter ballot. The elector 4 shall apply in person or by mail with the clerk of the town- 5 ship, city, or village in which the elector is registered. An 6 application received before a primary or special primary may be 7 for either that primary only, or for that primary and the elec- 8 tion that follows. 9 (2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (1), at any 10 time during the 75 days before an election, but not later than 11 2 p.m. of the Saturday before the election, an elector who quali- 12 fies to vote as an absent voter, as defined in section 758, may 13 apply for an absent voter ballot. The elector shall apply in 14 person or by mail with the clerk of the township, city, or vil- 15 lage in which the voter is registered. 16 (3) An application for an absent voter ballot under this 17 section may be made in any of the following ways: 18 (a) By a written request signed by the voter stating the 19 statutory grounds for making the application ELECTOR AND DELIV- 20 ERED TO THE CLERK IN PERSON, BY MAIL, OR, WHERE AVAILABLE, BY 21 FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION. 22 (b) On an absent voter ballot application form provided 23 for that purpose by the clerk of the city, township, or vil- 24 lage PROVIDES THE ABSENT VOTER, AND WHICH THE ABSENT VOTER 25 RETURNS TO THE CLERK IN PERSON, BY MAIL, OR, WHERE AVAILABLE, BY 26 FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION. 02160'99 4 1 (c) On a federal postcard application THAT THE ABSENT VOTER 2 RETURNS TO THE CLERK IN PERSON, BY MAIL, OR, WHERE AVAILABLE, BY 3 FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION. 4 (4) An applicant for an absent voter ballot shall sign the 5 application. A clerk or assistant clerk shall not deliver an 6 absent voter ballot to an applicant who does not sign the 7 application. A person other than the applicant; a member of the 8 applicant's immediate family; a person residing in the 9 applicant's household; a person whose job normally includes the 10 handling of mail, but only during the course of his or her 11 employment; a registered elector requested by the applicant; or a 12 clerk, assistant of the clerk, or other authorized election offi- 13 cial shall not be in possession of a signed absent voter ballot 14 application. A registered elector who is requested by the appli- 15 cant to return his or her absent voter ballot application shall 16 sign the certificate on the absent voter ballot application. 17 (5) The clerk of the city, township, or village shall have 18 absent voter ballot application forms available in the office of 19 the clerk at all times and shall furnish an absent voter ballot 20 application form to anyone upon a verbal or written request. The 21 absent voter ballot application shall be in substantially the 22 following form: 23 "Application for absent voter ballot for: 24 25 [] The primary or special primary election to be held 26 on ..... , 19... . 02160'99 5 1 [] The election to be held on ..... , 19... . 2 (Check applicable election or elections) 3 I, .......... , a qualified and registered elector of 4 the ..... precinct of the township of .......... or village 5 of .......... or of the .......... ward of the city 6 of .......... , in the county of .......... and state of 7 Michigan, apply for an official ballot, or ballots, to be voted 8 by me at the election or elections as requested in this 9 application. 10 The statutory grounds on which I base my request are: 11 [] I expect to be absent from the community in which I am 12 registered for the entire time the polls are open on election 13 day. 14 [] I am physically unable to attend the polls without the 15 assistance of another. 16 [] I cannot attend the polls because of the tenets of my 17 religion. 18 [] I have been appointed an election precinct inspector in a 19 precinct other than the precinct where I reside. 20 [] I am 60 years of age or older. 21 [] I cannot attend the polls because I am confined to jail 22 awaiting arraignment or trial. 23 (Check applicable reason) 24 Send absent voter ballot to me at: 25 ....................................... 26 (Street No. or R.R.) 27 ....................................... 28 (Post Office) (State) 02160'99 6 1 My registered address.......................................... 2 (Street No. or R.R.) 3 ................................................. 4 (Post Office) (State) 5 Date........................................................... 6 I declare that the statements in this absent voter ballot 7 application are true. 8 ................................................. 9 (Signature) 10 WARNING 11 A person making a false statement in this absent voter 12 ballot application is guilty of a misdemeanor. It is a violation 13 of Michigan election law for a person other than those listed in 14 the instructions to return, offer to return, agree to return, or 15 solicit to return your absent voter ballot application to the 16 clerk. An assistant authorized by the clerk who receives absent 17 voter ballot applications at a location other than the office of 18 the clerk must have credentials signed by the clerk. Ask to see 19 his or her credentials before entrusting your application with a 20 person claiming to have the clerk's authorization to return your 21 application. 22 Certificate of Authorized Registered 23 Elector Returning Absent Voter 24 Ballot Application 25 I certify that my name is ...................., my address 26 is ...................., and my date of birth is ............; 27 that I am delivering the absent voter ballot application of 28 .................... at his or her request; that I did not 29 solicit or request to return the application; that I have not 02160'99 7 1 made any markings on the application; that I have not altered the 2 application in any way; that I have not influenced the applicant; 3 and that I am aware that a false statement in this certificate is 4 a violation of Michigan election law. 5 __________ ______________________________ 6 (Date) (Signature)" 7 (6) The following instructions for an applicant for an 8 absent voter ballot shall be included with each application fur- 9 nished an applicant: 10 INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLICANTS FOR ABSENT VOTER BALLOTS 11 Step 1. After completely filling out the application, sign 12 and date the application in the place designated. Your signature 13 must appear on the application or you will not receive an absent 14 voter ballot. 15 Step 2. Deliver the application by 1 of the following 16 methods: 17 (a) Place the application in an envelope addressed to the 18 appropriate clerk and place the necessary postage upon the return 19 envelope and deposit it in the United States mail or with another 20 public postal service, express mail service, parcel post service, 21 or common carrier. 22 (b) Deliver the application personally to the office of the 23 clerk, to the clerk, or to an authorized assistant of the clerk. 24 (c) In either (a) or (b), a member of the immediate family 25 of the voter including a father-in-law, mother-in-law, 26 brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, 27 grandparent, or grandchild or a person residing in the voter's 02160'99 8 1 household may mail or deliver the application to the clerk for 2 the applicant. 3 (d) In the event an applicant cannot return the application 4 in any of the above methods, the applicant may select any regis- 5 tered elector to return the application. The person returning 6 the application must sign and return the certificate at the 7 bottom of the application. 8 (7) A person who prints and distributes absent voter ballot 9 applications shall print on the application the warning, certifi- 10 cate of authorized registered elector returning absent voter 11 ballot application, and instructions required by this section. 12 (8) A person who makes a false statement in an absent voter 13 ballot application is guilty of a misdemeanor. A person who 14 forges a signature on an absent voter ballot application is 15 guilty of a felony. A person who is not authorized in this act 16 and who both distributes absent voter ballot applications to 17 absent voters and returns those absent voter ballot applications 18 to a clerk or assistant of the clerk is guilty of a misdemeanor. 02160'99 Final page. TJS