SENATE BILL No. 1463

September 26, 2002, Introduced by Senator BYRUM and referred to the Committee on Government

Operations.

A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled

"Michigan election law,"

by amending section 792a (MCL 168.792a), as amended by 1996 PA

583.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

1 Sec. 792a. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsec-

2 tion, the absent voter ballots in a city, township, or village

3 that uses voting machines shall be counted by absent voter count-

4 ing boards. The board of election commissioners of a city, town-

5 ship, or village that has 2 precincts or less or of a city that

6 has 500,000 or more in population may decide that the absent

7 voter ballots shall be counted in the manner provided in section

8 791. In a city, township, or village that does not use voting

9 machines, the absent voter ballots may be counted by absent voter

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1 counting boards or in the same manner as is otherwise provided

2 for precincts in which voting is not done on voting machines.

3 (2) The board of election commissioners shall establish the

4 absent voter counting boards. The board of election commission-

5 ers shall determine the number of absent voter counting boards to

6 be established and shall appoint the election inspectors to those

7 absent voter counting boards 10 days or more before the election

8 at which they are to be used. Sections 673a and 674 apply to the

9 appointment of election inspectors to absent voter counting

10 boards under this section. The board of election commissioners

11 shall determine the number of ballots that may be expeditiously

12 counted by an absent voter counting board in a reasonable period

13 of time, taking into consideration the size and complexity of the

14 ballot to be counted pursuant to the guidelines of the secretary

15 of state. Combined ballots shall be regarded as the number of

16 ballots as there are sections to the ballot.

17 (3) If more than 1 absent voter counting board is to be

18 used, the city, township, or village clerk shall determine the

19 number of voting machines or the number of ballot boxes and the

20 number of election inspectors to be used in each of the absent

21 voter counting boards and to which absent voter counting board

22 the absent voter ballots for each precinct shall be assigned for

23 counting. The clerk shall make the determination under this sub-

24 section 2 days or more before the election and shall not assign

25 an absent voter counting board more ballots than the maximum

26 number authorized by the board of election commissioners under

27 subsection (2). The clerk is not required to use all of the

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1 absent voter counting boards authorized by the board of election

2 commissioners under subsection (2).

3 (4) In a city, township, or village that uses absent voter

4 counting boards under this section, absent voter ballots shall be

5 counted in the manner provided in this section and absent voter

6 ballots shall not be delivered to the polling places. The board

7 of election commissioners shall provide a place for each absent

8 voter counting board to count the absent voter ballots. Section

9 662 applies to the designation and prescribing of the absent

10 voter counting place or places in which the absent voter counting

11 board performs its duties under this section. The places shall

12 be designated as absent voter counting places. Except as other-

13 wise provided in this section, laws relating to paper ballot pre-

14 cincts, including laws relating to the appointment of election

15 inspectors, apply to absent voter counting places. If a counting

16 place uses voting machines, the provisions of this section relat-

17 ing to placing of absent voter ballots on voting machines apply.

18 More than 1 absent voter counting board may be located in 1

19 building.

20 (5) The clerk of a city, township, or village that uses

21 absent voter counting boards shall supply each absent voter

22 counting board with supplies necessary to carry out their duties

23 under this act. The supplies shall be furnished to the city,

24 township, or village clerk in the same manner and by the same

25 persons or agencies as for other precincts.

26 (6) Absent voter ballots received by the clerk before

27 election day shall be delivered to the absent voter counting

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1 board by the clerk at the time the election inspectors of the

2 absent voter counting boards report for duty, which time shall be

3 established by the board of election commissioners. Absent voter

4 ballots received by the clerk on election day shall be delivered

5 to the absent voter counting boards before the time set for the

6 closing of the polls. Absent voter ballots shall be delivered to

7 the absent voter counting boards in the sealed absent voter

8 ballot return envelopes in which they were returned to the

9 clerk. Written or stamped on each of the return envelopes shall

10 be the time and the date that the envelope was received by the

11 clerk and a statement by the clerk that the signatures of the

12 absent voters on the envelopes have been checked and found to

13 agree with the signatures of the voters on the registration

14 cards. If a signature on the registration card and on the absent

15 voter ballot return envelope does not agree, if the absent voter

16 failed to sign the envelope, or if the statement of the absent

17 voter is not properly executed, the clerk shall mark the envelope

18 "rejected" and the reason for the rejection and shall place his

19 or her name under the notation. An envelope marked "rejected"

20 shall not be delivered to the absent voter counting board but

21 shall be preserved by the clerk until other ballots are destroyed

22 in the manner provided in this act. The clerk shall also comply

23 with section 765(5).

24 (7) At the time of issuing or mailing absent voter ballots

25 to qualified applicants, the clerk of a city, township, or vil-

26 lage that uses absent voter counting boards shall mark the

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1 letters "A.V." and the date of THE election on the registration

2 card of the applicant in the precinct registration file.

3 (8) This chapter does not prohibit an absent voter from

4 voting in person within the voter's precinct at an election, not-

5 withstanding that the voter may have applied for an absent voter

6 ballot and the ballot may have been mailed or otherwise delivered

7 to the voter. The voter, the election inspectors, and other

8 election officials shall proceed in the manner prescribed in

9 section 769. The clerk shall preserve the canceled ballots for 2

10 years.

11 (9) The absent voter counting boards shall process the bal-

12 lots and returns in as nearly as possible the same manner as bal-

13 lots are processed in paper ballot precincts. The poll book may

14 be combined with the absent voter list or record required by sec-

15 tion 760, and the applications for absent voter ballots may be

16 used as the poll list. The processing and tallying of absent

17 voter ballots may commence at 7 12:01 a.m. on the day of the

18 election.

19 (10) An election inspector, challenger, or any other person

20 in attendance at an absent voter counting place at any time after

21 the processing of ballots has begun shall take and sign the fol-

22 lowing oath, that WHICH may be administered by the chairperson

23 or a member of the absent voter counting board:

24 "I (name of person taking oath) do solemnly swear (or

25 affirm) that I shall not communicate in any way any information

26 relative to the processing or tallying of votes that may come to

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1 me while in this counting place until after the polls are

2 closed.".

3 (11) The oaths administered under subsection (10) shall be

4 placed in an envelope provided for the purpose and sealed with

5 the red state seal. Following the election the oaths shall be

6 delivered to the city, township, or village clerk. Except as

7 otherwise provided in subsection (16), a person in attendance at

8 the absent voter counting place shall not leave the counting

9 place after the tallying has begun until the polls close. A

10 person who causes the polls to be closed or who discloses an

11 election result or in any manner characterizes how any ballot

12 being counted has been voted in a voting precinct before the time

13 the polls can be legally closed on election day is guilty of a

14 felony.

15 (12) At the time the board of election commissioners provide

16 for the use of absent voter counting boards, the board of elec-

17 tion commissioners may provide that the absent voter counting

18 boards shall record the votes contained on absent voter ballots

19 on voting machines. In that case, the recording of ballots shall

20 be done by the chairperson of the absent voter counting board or

21 another member designated by the chairperson. The act of casting

22 the votes shall be performed in the presence of and under the

23 careful observation and full view of all members of the absent

24 voter counting board, party challengers, and any other persons

25 lawfully present at the absent voter counting place. The vote as

26 indicated by the voting pointers shall not be recorded until each

27 member of the absent voter counting board is satisfied that the

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1 arrangement of the voting pointers fully carries out the intent

2 of the absent voter as shown by the cross marks or check marks on

3 the absent voter ballot. A certificate that the requirements of

4 this subsection were met shall be made on the election

5 inspectors' statement of returns.

6 (13) As soon as absent voter ballots have been cast on a

7 voting machine pursuant to subsection (12), but not before 8

8 p.m., the election inspectors shall seal the operating lever of

9 the machine against voting and shall then proceed to determine

10 and record the votes cast in the manner provided in this act.

11 (14) Voted absent voter ballots shall be placed in a ballot

12 box and the ballot bag and ballot box shall be sealed in the

13 manner provided by this act for paper ballot precincts. The seal

14 numbers shall be recorded on the statement sheet and in the poll

15 book.

16 (15) In a city, township, or village where challenged voters

17 are required to vote on absent voter ballots, each challenged

18 voter ballot and application for ballot, after having been voted

19 and properly identified, shall be placed by the voter in an

20 absent voter ballot return envelope. The applicable information

21 required on the back of the envelope shall be completed by the

22 board of election inspectors. The envelope shall be signed by

23 the challenged voter and by the chairperson of the precinct board

24 of election inspectors. The word "challenged" shall be written

25 across the front of the envelope. The envelope and application

26 for ballot shall be sealed and delivered to the absent voter

27 counting place by the clerk of the city, township, or village.

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1 Immediately after the closing of the polls, the chairperson of

2 the precinct board of election inspectors shall notify the clerk

3 of the city, township, or village of remaining challenged voter

4 ballots to be delivered to the absent voter counting place. In a

5 city, township, or village that uses voting machines where absent

6 voter counting boards are not used, challenged ballots shall be

7 counted and tallied in the precincts, in the same manner that

8 absent voter ballots are tallied and counted as provided in sec-

9 tion 791.

10 (16) Subject to this subsection, a local election official

11 who has established an absent voter counting board, the deputy or

12 employee of that local election official, or an employee of the

13 state bureau of elections may enter and leave an absent voter

14 counting board after the tally has begun but before the polls

15 close. A person described in this subsection may enter an absent

16 voter counting board only for the purpose of responding to an

17 inquiry from an election inspector or a challenger or to provide

18 instructions on the operation of the counting board. Before

19 entering an absent voter counting board, a person described in

20 this subsection shall take and sign the oath prescribed in sub-

21 section (10). The chairperson of the absent voter counting board

22 shall record in the poll book the name of a person described in

23 this subsection who enters the absent voter counting board. A

24 person described in this subsection who enters an absent voter

25 counting board and who discloses an election result or in any

26 manner characterizes how any ballot being counted has been voted

27 in a precinct before the time the polls can be legally closed on

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1 election day is guilty of a felony. As used in this subsection,

2 "local election official" means a county, city, township, or vil-

3 lage clerk, the secretary of a school board, or an employee of a

4 school district designated to conduct a school election.

5 (17) The secretary of state shall develop instructions con-

6 sistent with this act for the conduct of absent voter counting

7 boards. The secretary of state shall distribute the instructions

8 developed under this subsection to city and township clerks 40

9 days or more before a general election in which absent voter

10 counting boards will be used. A city or township clerk shall

11 make the instructions developed under this subsection available

12 to the public and shall distribute the instructions to each chal-

13 lenger in attendance at an absent voter counting board. The

14 instructions developed under this subsection are binding upon the

15 operation of an absent voter counting board used in an election

16 conducted by a county, city, township, village, school district,

17 or any other jurisdiction empowered to conduct an election under

18 this act.

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