ONLINE ABSENT VOTER BALLOT APP. H.B. 4570 (H-1):
SUMMARY OF BILL
REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE
House Bill 4570 (Substitute H-1 as reported without amendment)
Sponsor: Representative Julie M. Rogers
Senate Committee: Elections and Ethics
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Michigan Election Law to require the Secretary of State (SOS) to provide and maintain an online absent voter ballot application that allowed qualified and registered electors to request an absent voter ballot for local elections. When signing and submitting the application, an elector could use a stored digital signature after verifying identifying information or a manual signature.
BRIEF RATIONALE
Currently, the SOS maintains an online absent voter ballot application portal that allows voters to request an absent voter ballot; however, this maintenance is not a statutory requirement. According to testimony before the Senate Committee on Elections and Ethics, the online absent voter application portal has created a secure and convenient way for voters to access absent voter ballots. Accordingly, it has been suggested that the SOS be required to maintain the online absent voter ballot portal.
PREVIOUS LEGISLATION
(This section does not provide a comprehensive account of previous legislative efforts on this subject matter.)
The bill is similar to House Bill 5945 from the 2021-2022 Legislative Session.
Legislative Analyst: Abby Schneider
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would result in additional technology programming costs to develop an online absent voter application system. The Department of State's ongoing appropriation for information technology may be sufficient for this additional cost but the cost has not yet been determined. The bill would have no fiscal impact on local units of government.
Date Completed: 11-2-23 Fiscal Analyst: Joe Carrasco, Jr.
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.