Michigan Election Administration Roundup: April 30, 2021

Happy Almost Election Day to all of you have elections on Tuesday! (Check here to see if you’re among them.)

Welcome to the debut of a weekly (give or take) series with updates on all things election administration in Michigan! I plan to provide updates on legislation as it moves through the legislative process; litigation; redistricting; and other assorted matters.

Census results

The U.S. Census Bureau announced the first results of the 2020 Census this past Monday: State population counts and the number of U.S. representatives apportioned to each state. The data comes four months later than usual due to COVID-19.

As expected, Michigan will have one fewer member of Congress after the 2022 election, marking the fifth consecutive Census in which Michigan has lost a seat. It could’ve been worse: many people expected Michigan to lose two districts after the 2010 Census, but instead we lost one in 2010 and one in 2020.

The data announced Monday does not include population counts for counties, cities, townships, and villages, nor does it include demographic data. All of that info will be vital to the redistricting process, and maps can’t be drawn without it. Speaking of which:

Michigan redistricting update

The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission has generally met every Thursday for three hours, although their meeting schedule is expected to increase in frequency as the year goes on. This week they discussed outreach ahead of the required statewide public hearings, as well as contracts for legal staffing and video production.

Voter suppression package

Michigan Senate Republicans recently introduced a 39-bill package which Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and others have condemned as an attack on voting rights. The Senate Elections Committee held its first hearings on some of those bills this week. The bills they discussed were:

• SB 273 — Regulating ballot drop boxes
• SB 287 — Banning prepaid postage on absentee ballot return envelopes
• SB 302 — Prohibiting voter registration of people moving to Michigan who are registered elsewhere

None of the bills were voted out of the committee and referred to the full Senate… yet. They can be voted out of a committee at a later date, or the full Senate can discharge them from the committee.

Election date consolidation

With certain exceptions, all elections in Michigan must happen on one of three or four dates during the year: the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May, August, and November each year, plus the presidential primary in March every fourth year. A series of bills passed by the House this week would replace the May and August election dates with a June election date — specifically, the third Tuesday in June. This means, among other things, that Michigan’s primary would take place in June.

The Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks has made this a legislative priority. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has included this move in her Advancing the Vote, Protecting Democracy legislative agenda. Supporters note that it will save save local communities money by reducing election costs. Critics are concerned that it might make campaigns even longer than they already are.

For most offices on the primary ballot, the filing deadline is 15 weeks before the primary; this bill would not change that, meaning that the filing deadline would move from mid-April to the first week in March. This would also impact candidates who need to get nominating petition signatures and can’t pay a filing fee (e.g. Governor, Congress, non-incumbent judicial candidates, and some municipal offices); they’d either have to collect signatures during the prior year or during the coldest part of winter.

The main bill in the package passed 63–46. There were three other bills in the package which basically made technical changes to other laws (like the school code) to reflect elimination of the May election date; those bills got slightly more votes. Most of the opposition came from Democrats, but several Dems voted yes while some Republicans (including conservatives Steve Johnson and Beau LaFave) voted no.

The legislation’s future is far from certain; Governor Gretchen Whitmer hasn’t indicated if she would sign or veto, and if she does veto, a 63–46 margin is not enough to override. Even if the change happens, it wouldn’t take effect until 2023, meaning that next year’s primary will still happen August 2.

Longer County Commission terms?

A Senate committee approved a pair of bills by Sens. Ed McBroom (R) and Jeremy Moss (D) that would extend county commissioners’ terms from two years to four. Under these bills, commissioners would be elected during presidential elections, which is also when most countywide officials are also elected (such as prosecutor, treasurer, clerk, register of deeds, sheriff, drain commissioner, and others).

Timeline for verifying initiative petition signatures

When an initiative petition is submitted to the Bureau of Elections, the Bureau must determine by whether it has enough signatures to be submitted to the legislature. Currently, the deadline for that determination is 90 days before the election. This week, the House passed a bill that would move that deadline to 100 days after the petition is filed. This bill undoubtedly is motivated by the desire to get the infamous ‘unlock Michigan’ petition to the legislature ASAP. The bill passed 60–49, with Democrats Sara Cambensy and Karen Whitsett joining all Republicans in supporting it.

Removing deceased voters from the rolls

County clerks have many responsibilities. On top of administering elections, they’re also responsible for issuing death certificates. However, city and township clerks are the ones who maintain registered voter rolls. When a person dies, the county clerk notifies the city or township clerk, who then removes their name from the voter rolls.

This week, the House unanimously passed a bill that would eliminate that extra step and allow for county clerks to remove the names of deceased voters, rather than having the municipal clerk do so.

Clubhouses as polling places?

The House passed a bill that would allow privately owned clubhouses to be used as polling places, provided that the owner affirms that they are not involved with a political committee. The bill passed 106–3, with Democrats Yousef Rabhi, Helena Scott, and Tenisha Yancey voting no and Democrat Felicia Brabec absent. The Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks has supported expanding polling place options.

Filing deadlines for some 2022 candidates

In light of the delays in Census data, a bipartisan bill by Reps. Steve Marino (R) and Rachel Hood (D) would shift the filing deadline for congressional and gubernatorial candidates to 12 weeks before the 2022 primary instead of the current 15 weeks — essentially pushing it back from April 19 to May 10 next year. The deadline used to be 12 weeks before the primary, but that was moved to 15 weeks before the primary starting with the 2014 election. This would move it back for congressional and gubernatorial candidates for the 2022 cycle only; candidates for legislature, judgeships, county commissions, and so forth would still have to file by April 19. The 12-week deadline would revert back to 15 weeks during the 2024 cycle and beyond (which, as mentioned above, could end up in March).

This bill would also address a little-known quirk in Michigan Election Law. Candidates for Governor and U.S. Senator need 15,000 valid petition signatures to qualify for the ballot — but included those 15,000, there must be at least 100 valid signatures from each of half of Michigan’s congressional districts. This bill would stipulate that 2022 gubernatorial candidates must get 100 signatures from the congressional districts as they existed in 2020 (in other words, not the new districts).

This coming week

Besides the election on Tuesday, look for the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission to continue its pre-hearing work this week. There may also be movement on the voter suppression package in the Senate. Stay tuned.