November 14, 2013, Introduced by Rep. Lyons and referred to the Committee on Elections and Ethics.
A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled
"Michigan election law,"
by amending sections 509gg and 544c (MCL 168.509gg and 168.544c),
section 509gg as amended by 2005 PA 71 and section 544c as
amended by 2002 PA 431.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 509gg. The information described in this section that
2 is contained in a registration record is exempt from the freedom
3 of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246. The
4 secretary of state, a designated voter registration agency, or a
5 county, city, township, or village clerk shall not release a copy
6 of that portion of a registration record that contains any of the
7 following:
1 (a) The record that a person declined to register to vote.
2 (b) The office that received a registered voter's
3 application.
4 (c) A registered voter's driver's license or state personal
5 identification card number.
6 (d) Any part of a registered voter's social security number.
7 (e) (d) The
month and day of birth of a registered voter.
8 (f) (e) The
telephone number provided by the a registered
9 voter.
10 (g) (f) The
digitized signature of an elector that is
11 captured or reproduced and transmitted to the qualified voter
12 file by the secretary of state or a county, city, or township
13 clerk under section 509hh or by the secretary of state under
14 section 307 of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL
15 257.307.
16 Sec. 544c. (1) A nominating petition shall be 8-1/2 inches
17 by 14 inches in size. On a nominating petition, the words
18 "nominating petition" shall be printed in 24-point boldface type.
19 "We, the undersigned," et cetera shall be printed in 8-point
20 type. "Warning" and language in the warning shall be printed in
21 12-point boldface type. The balance of the petition shall be
22 printed in 8-point type. The name, address, and party affiliation
23 of the candidate and the office for which petitions are signed
24 shall be printed in type not larger than 24-point. The petition
25 shall be in the following form:
26 NOMINATING PETITION
1 (PARTISAN)
2 We, the undersigned, registered and qualified voters
3 of the city or township of .................. , in the county
4 (strike 1)
5 of ................... and state of Michigan, nominate,
6 ........................................................... ,
7 (Name of Candidate)
8 ........................................................... ,
9 (Street Address or Rural Route) (City or Township)
10 as a candidate of the ................... party for the
11 office of .......................... ,
12 ........................................................... ,
13 (District, if any)
14 to be voted for at the primary election to be held on
15 the ............ day of ............. , 20 ........ .
16 WARNING
17 A person who knowingly signs more petitions for the same
18 office than there are persons to be elected to the office or
19 signs a name other than his or her own is violating the
20 provisions of the Michigan election law.
21
22 Printed Street Address
23 Name and or Date of Signing
24 Signature Rural Route Zip Code Mo. Day Year
25
26 1. ____________________________________________________________
27 2. ____________________________________________________________
28 3. ____________________________________________________________
29 4. ____________________________________________________________
30 numbered lines as above
31 CERTIFICATE OF CIRCULATOR
1 The undersigned circulator of the above petition asserts
2 that he or she is qualified to circulate this petition and that
3 each signature on the petition was signed in his or her presence;
4 and that, to his or her best knowledge and belief, each signature
5 is the genuine signature of the person purporting to sign the
6 petition, the person signing the petition was at the time of
7 signing a qualified registered elector of the city or township
8 listed in the heading of the petition, and the elector was
9 qualified to sign the petition.
10 Circulator—Do not sign or date certificate until after
11 circulating petition.
12 __________________________________________________
13 (Printed Name and Signature of Circulator) (Date)
14 __________________________________________________
15 (City or Township Where Registered)
16 [or, for petitions under section 482,
17 "(City or Township Where Qualified to be
18 Registered)"]
19 __________________________________________________
20 (Complete Residence Address (Street and Number
21 or Rural Route)
22 __________________________________________________
23 (Zip Code)
24 Warning-A circulator knowingly making a false statement in
25 the above certificate, a person not a circulator who signs as a
26 circulator, or a person who signs a name other than his or her
27 own as circulator is guilty of a misdemeanor.
28 (2) The petition shall be in a form providing a space for
29 the circulator and each elector who signs the petition to print
1 his or her name. The secretary of state shall prescribe the
2 location of the space for the printed name. The failure of the
3 circulator or an elector who signs the petition to print his or
4 her name, to print his or her name in the location prescribed by
5 the secretary of state, or to enter a zip code or his or her
6 correct zip code does not affect the validity of the signature of
7 the circulator or the elector who signs the petition. A printed
8 name located in the space prescribed for printed names does not
9 constitute the signature of the circulator or elector. If an
10 elector does not include his or her signature, his or her street
11 address or rural route, or the date of signing on the petition as
12 required under subsection (1), the elector's signature is invalid
13 and shall not be counted by a filing official.
14 (3) At the time of circulation, the circulator of a petition
15 shall be a registered elector of this state. At the time of
16 executing the certificate of circulator, the circulator shall be
17 registered in the city or township indicated in the certificate
18 of circulator on the petition. However, the circulator of a
19 petition under section 482 need only be qualified to be a
20 registered elector of this state at the time of circulation and
21 at the time of executing the certificate of circulator.
22 (4) The circulator of a petition shall sign and date the
23 certificate of circulator before the petition is filed. A
24 circulator shall not obtain electors' signatures after the
25 circulator has signed and dated the certificate of circulator. A
26 filing official shall not count electors' signatures that were
27 obtained after the date the circulator signed the certificate or
1 that are contained in a petition that the circulator did not sign
2 and date.
3 (5) Except as provided in section 544d, a petition sheet
4 shall not be circulated in more than 1 city or township and each
5 signer of a petition sheet shall be a registered elector of the
6 city or township indicated in the heading of the petition sheet.
7 The invalidity of 1 or more signatures on a petition does not
8 affect the validity of the remainder of the signatures on the
9 petition.
10 (6) An individual shall not sign more nominating petitions
11 for the same office than there are persons to be elected to the
12 office. An individual who violates this subsection is guilty of a
13 misdemeanor.
14 (7) An individual shall not do any of the following:
15 (a) Sign a petition with a name other than his or her own.
16 (b) Make a false statement in a certificate on a petition.
17 (c) If not a circulator, sign a petition as a circulator.
18 (d) Sign a name as circulator other than his or her own.
19 (8) An individual who violates subsection (7) is guilty of a
20 misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00 or
21 imprisonment for not more than 93 days, or both.
22 (9) If after a canvass and a hearing on a petition under
23 section 476 or 552 the board of state canvassers determines that
24 an individual has knowingly and intentionally failed to comply
25 with subsection (7), the board of state canvassers may impose 1
26 or more of the following sanctions:
27 (a) Disqualify obviously fraudulent signatures on a petition
1 form on which the violation of subsection (7) occurred, without
2 checking the signatures against local registration records.
3 (b) Disqualify from the ballot a candidate who committed,
4 aided or abetted, or knowingly allowed the violation of
5 subsection (7) on a petition to nominate that candidate.
6 (10) If an individual violates subsection (7) and the
7 affected petition sheet is filed, each of the following who knew
8 of the violation of subsection (7) before the filing of the
9 affected petition sheet and who failed to report the violation to
10 the secretary of state, the filing official, if different, the
11 attorney general, a law enforcement officer, or the county
12 prosecuting attorney is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a
13 fine of not more than $500.00 or imprisonment for not more than 1
14 year, or both:
15 (a) The circulator of the petition, if different than the
16 individual who violated subsection (7).
17 (b) If the petition is a nominating petition, the candidate
18 whose nomination is sought.
19 (c) If the petition is a petition for a ballot question or
20 recall, the organization or other person sponsoring the petition
21 drive.
22 (11) If after a canvass and a hearing on a petition under
23 section 476 or 552 the board of state canvassers determines that
24 an individual has violated subsection (10), the board of state
25 canvassers may impose 1 or more of the following sanctions:
26 (a) Impose on the organization or other person sponsoring
27 the petition drive an administrative fine of not more than
1 $5,000.00.
2 (b) Charge the organization or other person sponsoring the
3 petition drive for the costs of canvassing a petition form on
4 which a violation of subsection (7) occurred.
5 (c) Disqualify an organization or other person described in
6 subdivision (a) from collecting signatures on a petition for a
7 period of not more than 4 years.
8 (d) Disqualify obviously fraudulent signatures on a petition
9 form on which a violation of subsection (7) occurred without
10 checking the signatures against local registration records.
11 (e) Disqualify from the ballot a candidate who committed,
12 aided or abetted, or knowingly allowed a violation of subsection
13 (7) on a petition to nominate that candidate.
14 (12) If an individual refuses to comply with a subpoena of
15 the board of state canvassers in an investigation of an alleged
16 violation of subsection (7) or (10), the board may hold the
17 canvass of the petitions in abeyance until the individual
18 complies.
19 (13) A person who aids or abets another in an act that is
20 prohibited by this section is guilty of that act.
21 (14) The provisions of this section except as otherwise
22 expressly provided apply to all petitions circulated under
23 authority of the election law.