CLERKS; VOTER REGISTRATION RECORDS S.B. 277 (S-2):
SUMMARY OF SUBSTITUTE BILL
IN COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 277 (Substitute S-2)
Sponsor: Senator Michael D. MacDonald
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Michigan Election Law to do the following:
-- Require the Secretary of State (SOS) to make canceled voter registration information available to county clerks.
-- Require a county clerk, at least once a month, and no later than the second business day of each month, to update the qualified voter file to cancel the voter registration of all individuals over the age of 18 who had died in the county.
-- Require city or township clerks to compare the list from a county clerk to the voter registration records in that city or township and cancel the voter registration of all deceased electors.
-- Require the SOS to send an electronic notification to the appropriate city or township clerk regarding each canceled voter registration in that city or township each time a county clerk updated the qualified voter file.
-- Require the SOS to notify each city or township clerk of any voter registration that needed to be canceled after 4 PM on the day before an election.
-- Prescribe timeframes by which a county clerk would have to carry out certain duties regarding voter registration records.
-- Require the SOS to post on the Department of State's website the total number of canceled voter registrations, broken down by year, month, county, city, and township.
Under the Law, the SOS must develop and use a process by which information obtained through the United States Social Security Administration's death master file that is used to cancel a driver license issued under the Michigan Vehicle Code, or an official State personal identification card, of a deceased Michigan resident also is used at least once a month to update the qualified voter file to cancel the voter registration of any elector determined to be deceased. The SOS must make the canceled voter registration information available to the clerk of each city or township to assist with the clerk's obligations under the Law. The bill also would require the SOS to make the canceled voter registration information to the clerk of each county.
Under the Law, at least once a month, the count clerk must forward a list of the last known address and birth date of all individuals over the age of 18 who have died in the county to the clerk of each city or township in the county. The city or township clerk must compare this list with the registration records and cancel the registration of all deceased electors. Under the bill, at least once a month, and no later than the second business day of each month, each county clerk would have to update the qualified voter file to cancel the voter registration of all individuals over the age of 18 who had died in the county.
Each time a county clerk updated the qualified voter file, the SOS would have to send an electronic notification to the appropriate city or township clerk regarding each canceled voter registration in that city or township. After receiving an electronic notification, the city or township clerk would have to compare the notification with the voter registration records in that city or township and complete the cancellation of the voter registration of each decreased elector in that city or township.
If the SOS updated the qualified voter file to cancel the voter registration of any deceased elector, the SOS would have to send an electronic notification to the appropriate city or township clerk regarding each canceled voter registration in that city or township. The SOS would have to notify each appropriate city or township clerk of any voter registration that needed to be canceled after 4 PM on the day before an election so that the clerk could cancel the voter registration.
Beginning 45 days before an election and continuing until 16 days before an election, each county clerk would have to update the qualified voter file by the close of business each Friday before the election to cancel the voter registration of all individuals over the age of 18 who had died in the county. Beginning 15 days before an election and continuing until the day before an election, each county clerk would have to update the qualified voter file by the close of business each business day before the election to cancel the voter registration of all individuals over the age of 18 who had died in the county. Each county clerk would have to notify each appropriate city or township clerk in the county of any voter registration that needed to be canceled after 4 PM on the day before an election so that the applicable clerk could cancel that registration.
At least once a month, the SOS would have to post on the Department of State website the total number of voter registrations canceled, broken down by month and year, county, city, and township.
MCL 168.509o et al. Legislative Analyst: Dana Adams
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill could have a negative fiscal impact on State and local government. The magnitude of the impact is indeterminate and would depend on a county's ability to comply with the requirement proposed in the bill.
The proposed qualified voter file update and voter registration cancellation requirements could require counties to hire additional staff, depending on a county's administrative resource capabilities. The average total cost for salary, benefits, and retirement for a State civil servant is an estimated $121,600 Gross, $65,900 General Fund/General Purpose; however, these costs may vary widely between counties.
Additionally, the Department of State could incur costs to post the total number of voter registrations canceled on a monthly basis and for the electronic notification that would be sent to a city or township clerk notifying them of a canceled voter registration. Any additional costs likely would be absorbed within the Department's annual appropriations; however, if the Department needed to hire additional staff to comply with the bill, the costs per employee would be the same as those noted above.
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.