SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION WRITE-IN CANDIDATE FILING DEADLINE
House Bill 4237
Sponsor: Rep. Chris Ward
Committee: Local Government and Urban Policy
Complete to 2-20-03
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 4237 AS INTRODUCED 2-18-03
House Bill 4237 would amend the Michigan Election Law to specify that write-in candidates for school board elections would be required to file a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate 21 days prior to the election.
Currently under the law, all candidates (except precinct delegates) who intend to be write-in candidates must file their declarations of intent on or before 4 p.m. on the Friday immediately preceding the election. Immediately after the deadline, the secretary of state prepares and delivers to the appropriate county clerks, a list of all people who have filed declarations of intent to be a write-in candidate. Other filing officials who receive declarations of intent also are required to compile a list, and then deliver it to the board of election inspectors in the appropriate precinct before the close of the polls on election day. (Under the law, candidates for precinct delegate may file before the 4 p.m. Friday deadline, or they may file a declaration of intent with the election inspectors in the appropriate precinct before the polls close on election day.)
Under the bill, these provisions would be retained, however the bill specifies that they would not apply to a write-in candidate who seeks to serve on a school board. The bill prohibits the board of election inspectors from counting a write-in vote for a school board candidate, unless the write-in candidate has filed a declaration of intent with the appropriate filing official on or before 4 p.m. on the twenty-first day immediately preceding the election. The filing officials who received the declaration of intent would be required to prepare and deliver a list of all write-in candidates to the board of election inspectors in the appropriate school district before the close of the polls on election day.
MCL 168.737a
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This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.