ABSENT VOTER BALLOT DROP BOX REQ. S.B. 372 (S-2):
REVISED SUMMARY
AS PASSED BY THE SENATE
Senate Bill 372 (Substitute S-2 as passed by the Senate)
Sponsor: Senator Darrin Camilleri
Committee: Elections and Ethics
Date Completed: 6-22-23 (COMPANION BILL LINK: H.B. 4697)
INTRODUCTION
The bill would amend the Michigan Election Law to codify provisions of Proposal 2022-2 (see
BACKGROUND). The bill would require each city or township to install at least one absent
voter ballot drop box for the collection of absent voter applications and ballots. It also would
require a city or township to have one drop box per 15,000 registered electors. The Secretary
of State (SOS) would have to facilitate and fund the implementation of these requirements.
In addition, the bill would modify current drop box security requirements.
BRIEF RATIONALE
Proposal 22-2 amended the State Constitution to require each municipality to provide at least
one State-funded secure drop-box per 15,000 registered voters. With several municipalities
holding elections in August and November, it has been suggested that the Law be amended
to reflect the Proposal's provisions and to further govern the Proposal's implementation.
PREVIOUS LEGISLATION
(Please note: This section does not provide a comprehensive account of all previous legislative efforts on the relevant subject matter.)
The bill is a companion bill to House Bill 4697.
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have significant costs for the State to provide absent voter drop boxes for each
municipal jurisdiction. Proposal 22-2 requires there to be one drop box per municipal
jurisdiction and at least one additional drop box for every additional 15,000 registered voters
in the jurisdiction. The State has determined the average cost of installation, video
monitoring, additional staffing costs, and development of training materials and clerk
assistance to be $8,100 per drop box. The State anticipates the purchase and installation of
an initial 1,800 drop boxes across the State to meet the minimal requirement, totaling an
estimated cost of $14.3 million, excluding staffing costs. The estimated ongoing costs
beginning in FY 2023-24 would total $2.0 million annually and consist of costs for video
monitoring and maintenance for 1,800 drop boxes. Additionally, there could be costs for the
Department of State to create, maintain, and make available a map designating the location
of each drop box in the State. The costs should be minimal and absorbable within annual
appropriations.
MCL 168.761d Legislative Analyst: Abby Schneider
Fiscal Analyst: Joe Carrasco, Jr.
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CONTENT
The bill would amend the Michigan Election Law to do the following:
-- Require a city or township to install at least one absent voter ballot drop box.
-- Allow voted absent voter ballots and completed absent voter ballot applications
to be placed in a drop box.
-- Require a city or township to have at least one absent voter ballot drop box for
every 15,000 registered electors.
-- Require SOS to facilitate and bear the cost of the procurement, distribution,
repair, and video monitoring of absent voter ballot drop boxes.
-- Require a city or township clerk to use video monitoring for certain absent voter
ballot drop boxes during the 75 days before an election and on election day.
-- Require the clerk of each city or township to ensure that absent voter ballot drop
boxes were distributed equitably throughout the city or township.
-- Require each city or township clerk to ensure that the SOS had the information
necessary to include on its website the location of each drop box.
-- Modify current requirements for indoor and outdoor absent voter ballot drop
boxes to apply to all drop boxes.
-- Require a drop box to be accessible 24 hours each day during the 40 days before
election day and be accessible until 8 p.m. on election day.
-- Require an authorized individual to collect election material from a drop box
beginning 35 days before an election.
Absent Voter Ballot Applications
Under thew Law, a city or township may install absent voter ballot drop boxes if they meet
certain requirements; however, this is not required. The bill would require each city or
township to have at least one absent voter ballot drop box that registered electors in that city
or township could use to return voted absent voter ballots and completed absent voter ballot
applications. Unless otherwise specified, the requirements for absent voter ballots placed in
a drop box would apply to completed absent voter ballot applications placed in a drop box.
This includes the following requirements.
When a city or township clerk, the clerk's deputy clerk, or a sworn member of the clerk's staff
collects absent voter ballot return envelopes from an absent voter ballot drop box, the
individual must, unless travelling to another voter ballot drop box, immediately return those
collected absent voter ballot return envelopes to the city or township clerk's office. Each time
an authorized individual collects absent voter ballot return envelopes, the individual must
document the collection. The documentation required must be preserved and maintained by
the city or township clerk for at least 22 months following the election for which the absent
voter ballot return envelopes were collected. Additionally, it must include the date the absent
voter ballot return envelopes were collected from the drop box and the name of the individual
who collected the absent voter ballot return envelopes. The bill would delete a requirement
that the documentation include the total number of absent voter ballot return envelopes
collected from the drop box.
Absent Voter Drop Boxes
If a city or township had more than 15,000 registered electors, the bill would require that city
or township to have at least one absent voter ballot drop box for every 15,000 registered
electors. In determining the number of registered voters in a city or township, the city or
township would have to use the number of its registered electors calculated 150 days before
the date of the election at which the drop boxes were to be used.
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The SOS would have to facilitate the procurement and distribution of absent voter ballot drop
boxes. The SOS would have to issue instructions regarding the application process for city or
township clerks to apply for drop boxes and for the payment or reimbursement of the
associated costs. If the clerk of a city or township applied to the SOS for one or more absent
voter ballot drop boxes, the SOS would have to facilitate the procurement and distribution of
the absent voter ballot drop boxes at no cost to the clerk of that city or township. The SOS
would have to bear the cost of delivery, installation, repair, and video monitoring (not
including video data storage) for each drop box to ensure that each drop box met the
requirements prescribed by the Law and the bill.
For an absent voter ballot drop box that was not ordered or installed in a city or township
before October 1, 2020, the city or township clerk would have to use video monitoring of that
absent voter drop box during the 75 days before each election and on election day to ensure
effective monitoring of that absent voter ballot drop box. Beginning January 1, 2026,
regardless of when an absent voter ballot drop box was ordered or installed, the city or
township clerk would have to use video monitoring of each absent voter ballot drop box during
the 75 days before each election and on election day to ensure effective monitoring of each
absent voter ballot drop box in the city or township.
A city or township could have more than the minimum number of absent voter ballot drop
boxes. Any additional drop boxes used by a city or township would have to conform to the
requirements below.
Location requirements
The clerk of each city or township would have to ensure that absent voter ballot drop boxes
were distributed equitably throughout the city or township. In determining the location for a
drop box, the clerk of the city or township would have to, at a minimum, consider all the
following:
-- Population density and distribution.
-- Proximity to public transportation and parking.
-- Accessibility, including for electors with disabilities.
-- Any other factors the clerk considered relevant.
Each city or township clerk would have to ensure that the SOS had the information necessary
to include on the Department of State's website the location of each absent voter ballot drop
box in that city or township to enable an elector to determine the location of each drop box.
Drop Box Requirements
The bill would modify current drop box requirements. Firstly, it would specify that a drop box
would have to be labeled as an absent voter ballot drop box that could be used to return
completed absent voter ballot applications and voted absent voter ballots. Secondly, it would
have to be securely locked, affixed to the ground or to another stationary object, and designed
to prevent the removal of ballot applications and ballots when locked. The bill would remove
a requirement that a drop box be secured to prevent its removal from its location if it is in an
area that it not continuously staffed.
The bill would extend current requirements for an absent voter ballot located outdoors to all
drop boxes. The drop box would have to be equipped with a slot or mailbox-style level to
allow absent voter applications and ballot return envelopes to be placed in the drop box. All
other openings on the drop box would have to be securely locked. The bill would add a
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requirement that a drop box be accessible 24 hours each day during the 40 days before
election day and be accessible until 8 p.m. on election day. The bill would allow a city or
township clerk to use video monitoring on any drop box.
Currently, a city or township clerk, the clerk's deputy clerk, or a sworn member of the clerk's
staff is required to collect, on any day in which the city or township clerk's office was open for
business, the election materials deposited in an absent voter ballot drop box beginning 15
days before each election. The bill would require an authorized individual to collect election
material from a drop box beginning 35 days before an election.
BACKGROUND
In July 2022, Promote the Vote, a coalition of Michigan organizations active in elections,
circulated a petition proposing several constitutional amendments concerning voting rights.
Among other amendments, the Proposal included a requirement that the State fund and
provide at least one drop box per 15,000 registered voters in every municipality and those
drop boxes be distributed equitably and be available 24 hours a day during the 40 days before
any election. Promote the Vote submitted the petition to the Michigan Bureau of Elections
after gathering enough signatures for the ballot initiative that became Proposal 22-2. Proposal
22-2 passed with 59.99% of the vote during the 2022 November general election. 1
1
"2022 Michigan Election results," Elections, Michigan Department of State. Retrie ved on 4-
11-23.
SAS\S2324\s372sc
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.
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Statutes affected:
Substitute (S-2): 168.761
Substitute (S-2) AND AMENDMENT(S): 168.761
Senate Introduced Bill: 168.761
As Passed by the Senate: 168.761