House Bill 4897

Sponsor: Rep. Gerald Law

Committee: Constitutional Law and Ethics

Complete to 7-25-00

A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 4897 AS INTRODUCED 9-28-99

Currently, the Michigan Election Law requires, among other things, that before entering the voting station, each elector be offered instruction in the proper method of voting on the electronic voting system. The bill would amend the act to require that before the polls opened on election day, the board of election inspectors designate one election inspector to be the inspector in charge of offering instruction in the proper method of voting on the electronic voting system. The board also would be required to put the name of the designated inspector in charge of instruction in the poll book, and he or she would be required to offer to each elector, before he or she entered the voting station, the opportunity for instruction in voting on the system, and to inform each elector about the process for requesting help once the elector entered the voting station. After the polls closed, the designated inspector would be required to sign a certificate in the poll book stating that he or she had offered instruction on the operation of the voting system to each elector and, upon the elector's request, had provided that instruction.

Currently, the act also requires that the board of state canvassers conduct field tests of all new voting systems as part of the required certification process for such systems. The field test must involve Michigan electors and election officials in simulated election day conditions, and the test must be designed to gauge voter reaction to the system, any problems that voters have with the system, and the number of voting stations required for the efficient operation of an election based on the required vendor's statement. The bill would amend the act to require that a test of a new voting system also determine the adequacy of instructional materials provided by the vendor in order to ensure that voters were properly prepared to vote on the new voting system. The bill also would require that an election official make appropriate materials available in each precinct for the required instruction.

MCL 168.795a and 168.797a

Analyst: S. Ekstrom

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.