Legislative Analysis
Phone: (517) 373-8080
ABSENTEE BALLOTS
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
House Bill 4700 (H-2) as passed by the House Analysis available at
Sponsor: Rep. Carrie A. Rheingans http://www.legislature.mi.gov
House Bill 4701 as passed by the House
Sponsor: Rep. Jason Morgan
Committee: Elections
Complete to 6-17-23
SUMMARY:
House Bill 4700 would amend the Michigan Election Law to reflect a change made to the state
constitution that granted Michigan voters the right to be placed on a permanent absent voter
(AV) list. 1 House Bill 4701 is a companion bill that would make a complementary change to
the Code of Criminal Procedure.
House Bill 4700 would amend the Michigan Election Law to implement the permanent absent
voter list and to make several other changes regarding absentee voting. The bill is tie-barred to
House Bill 4594,2 a bill that would establish an online AV ballot tracking system, and Senate
Bill 387, a bill that would allow AV ballot tabulation before election day, which means that
HB 4700 could not go into effect unless both of those bills were also enacted.
Absent voter ballot application
Under the bill, an individual who submits an AV ballot application before a primary election,
including a presidential primary, could either use that application for the primary election only
or for the primary and all following elections in that year. Registered voters would also have
the right to receive an AV ballot for each election by submitting a single absent voter ballot
application that covers all future elections.
A registered elector could submit an absent voter ballot application in any of the following
ways:
• By mail or email to the appropriate city or township clerk.
• By using the online absent ballot application provided by the secretary of state (SOS).
• In person at their local clerk’s office until 4:00 p.m. on the day before election day.
• To the city or township clerk on election day, if the elector is registering to vote or is
updating their voter registration address and completes their ballot in the clerk’s office.
City and township clerks would be required to provide an electronic absentee ballot application
or mail an application with a postage prepaid return envelope upon an individual’s request.3
1
This right was placed in the Michigan Constitution with the passage of Ballot Proposal 22-2. For a summary of
Proposal 22-2, see https://www.house.mi.gov/hfa/PDF/Alpha/Ballot_Proposal_2_of_2022.pdf.
2
For a summary of HB 4594 as reported, see http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2023-
2024/billanalysis/House/pdf/2023-HLA-4594-CF6BF046.pdf.
3
Currently, the Michigan Election Law requires clerks to provide a physical AV ballot application form upon an
individual’s request but do not have to provide prepaid postage.
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 The SOS, a county clerk, and a city or township clerk could also provide an absentee ballot
application by either of those methods without a registered elector’s request.
For a presidential primary election, the SOS would have to revise the application form to
require a presidential primary elector to indicate a political party ballot selection when
requesting an AV ballot. The SOS would also have to provide a separate form for a presidential
primary elector who previously applied for an AV ballot that would allow them to indicate or
change their political party ballot selection when requesting an absentee ballot. 4
The instructions provided on an AV ballot application would have to specify that the return
envelope includes prepaid postage. The application would also provide space for an email
address and telephone number.
An individual could submit a voter registration application and an AV ballot application at the
same time, and immediately after the voter registration application is approved, the appropriate
clerk would have to verify the AV ballot application for that individual and issue an AV ballot.
If an individual submits a voter registration application and an AV ballot application at the
same time at a clerk’s office on election day, they would have to vote the AV ballot at the
clerk’s office.
An individual who registers to vote or updates their voter registration on election day could
apply for and complete an AV application in person at their local clerk’s office. The individual
would then be able to vote the ballot and return it to the clerk in the AV return envelope. An
individual who is in line at 8:00 p.m. on election day would have to be allowed to register or
update address and vote, including after midnight if necessary.
Received AV ballot applications
A city or township clerk who receives an application for an AV ballot would have to
immediately determine if the applicant is registered to vote in that city or township and if the
signature on the application sufficiently matches what is on file for that voter. The digital image
of an elector’s signature on a Michigan driver’s license or personal ID card, in addition to an
electronic image of the elector’s physical signature, would constitute an acceptable signature
for an absentee ballot application.
If a county clerk receives a completed application for an absentee ballot, they would have to
immediately forward it to the appropriate city or township clerk.
If a city or township clerk receives a completed application from an individual registered to
vote in a different city or township, the clerk would have to immediately contact the individual
to determine where they reside and should be registered to vote. If the individual is registered
in a different city or township, the clerk would have to electronically forward the application
to the clerk of the city or township in which the individual is registered.
4
This provision is similar to section 759c of the Michigan Election Law, which would be repealed by HB 4700.
Current law requires the SOS to either revise the form or provide a separate form, while the bill would require the
SOS to do both. See also the related House Bill 4699.
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 AV ballot delivery
Clerks would have to include a postage prepaid absentee ballot envelope when providing an
absentee ballot. Absentee ballots would generally have to be mailed or delivered to the address
on the applicant’s voter registration, unless the applicant requests that the ballots be sent to a
different address or the ballot is delivered in person at a clerk’s office. An elector could request
the ballot to be delivered to a P.O. box if the P.O. box, rather than their registration address, is
where they normally receive personal mail.
A clerk could not send an absentee ballot to an applicant by first-class mail after 5:00 p.m. on
the fourth day before an election. 5 If a city or township clerk receives an absent voter ballot
application after the deadline for a clerk to mail an absentee ballot and the clerk does not
otherwise promptly provide a ballot to the applicant, the clerk would have to immediately
notify the applicant by telephone, email, or text message, as available, that their application for
an absentee ballot was rejected as not timely received and would have to notify the applicant
of alternative voting methods available for that election. 6 If the applicant does not provide an
email address or telephone number, the clerk would have to notify the applicant by mail.
Under the bill, AV ballots cast by a voter who does not have identification for election
purposes 7 when obtaining an AV ballot from their local clerk’s office and who has signed an
affidavit to that effect would no longer be processed as challenged. Electors could obtain a
ballot in person after providing identification for election purposes or signing an affidavit until
4:00 p.m. on the day before election day, and an elector who is in line at this time would have
to be issued an absentee ballot. 8
Verification
Currently, boards of election inspectors determine the legality of an absentee vote. Under HB
4700, city and township clerks would instead determine whether an AV ballot is approved for
tabulation by verifying that the elector is a registered elector who did not vote in person in that
election and that the signature on the absentee ballot return envelope sufficiently matches the
signature on file for that elector.
A clerk could determine that a signature on an absentee ballot application or absentee ballot
envelope does not sufficiently match the signature on file for that elector only if it is
significantly and obviously different from their signature on file. Slight dissimilarities would
have to be resolved in favor of the elector, and an exact match would not be required.
If the information is verified, the ballot would generally have to be approved for tabulation and
such a record would have to be included in the Qualified Voter File (QVF). Otherwise, the
ballot would have to be rejected.
5
Current law provides that a clerk cannot mail a ballot after 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before the election.
6
An electronic notification of rejection of an application would be considered sufficient notification, as long as the
necessary information is provided. Additional notice could be provided by any other method of contact.
7
Identification for election purposes is defined in section 2 of the Election Law and generally includes official IDs
issued by a state, the U.S. government, the military, or a high school or institution of higher education. The full list
can be found here: https://www.michigan.gov/sos/-/media/Project/Websites/sos/05mcalpine/photo_id_flyer.pdf.
More information on Michigan’s voter ID laws can be found here: https://www.michigan.gov/sos/elections/upcoming-
election-information/voters/election-day/a-guide-to-voter-idaffidavit-at-the-polls . See also related House Bill 4698.
8
These provisions would apply to an individual who applies for an AV ballot through any means and receives the
ballot in person at a clerk’s office.
House Fiscal Agency HBs 4700 (H-2) and 4701 as passed by the House Page 3 of 7
 Signature curing
If a clerk determines that the signature on an absentee ballot application or return envelope is
missing or insufficient, they would have to reject the application or return envelope and provide
the elector with notice of the rejection and the opportunity to cure the deficiency. Clerks would
be required to notify electors by telephone, email, or text message, if available, of all of the
following: 9
• The nature of the deficiency that resulted in the rejection of the absentee ballot
application or return envelope.
• The need to cure the deficiency in order for the application to be accepted or for the
ballot to be tabulated.
• How to cure the deficiency.
• The deadline to cure the deficiency, which would be 4:00 p.m. on the fourth day before
the election for a deficiency with an AV ballot application to receive a mailed AV
ballot or 5:00 p.m. on the third day after an election for a deficiency with an AV ballot
return envelope.
• The alternative methods of voting if the deficiency is not cured.
Cure form
Electors could complete and submit a cure form prescribed by the SOS that allows them to
cure a signature deficiency by signing the statement required for the absent voter ballot
application or return envelope. (The SOS would have to modify the statement to reflect that
the elector is signing a cure form for the application or return envelope rather than the original
application or envelope.) The SOS would also be able to instruct clerks with other options to
cure a signature deficiency.
The cure form would have to be returnable and receivable electronically, in person, or by mail
with prepaid postage. An elector could submit an electronic image of their signature rather than
a physical signature if they will return the cure form electronically.
City and township clerks would be able to physically collect completed cure forms, and clerks
would have to accept a cure form if the signature on the form sufficiently matches what is on
file for that elector. If the applicant cures the deficiency before the deadline, the clerk would
be required to send them an absentee ballot with a prepaid return envelope. If the signature on
a cure form does not match the signature on file, the clerk would have to reject the cure form
and contact the elector to provide information on other options to cure the deficiency and on
alternative methods available for voting in that election.
Signature cure deadlines
Electors would have to be given an opportunity to cure a signature deficiency until 5:00 p.m.
on the third day after the election. If an absentee ballot return envelope is eligible to be cured
but is not cured by the close of the polls on election day, then the return envelope would have
to be retained at the clerk’s office and could not be turned over to the board of election
inspectors or to an absent voter counting board.
9
An electronic notification of the rejection would be considered sufficient notification, as long as the necessary
information is provided. Additional notice could be provided by any other method of contact.
House Fiscal Agency HBs 4700 (H-2) and 4701 as passed by the House Page 4 of 7
 If an absent voter ballot return envelope is cured after the close of the polls but before 5:00
p.m. on the third day after the election, the ballot would have to be accepted and tabulated, as
long as the individual did not vote in person in that election. Return envelopes not cured by the
5:00 p.m. deadline would remain rejected.
By the sixth day after election day, each city and township clerk would have to deliver all cured
absentee ballot return envelopes to the county clerk in a ballot container. The ballots in the
cured envelopes would be tabulated by the county clerk in a county canvass.
Acceptance and rejection deadlines
Clerks would no longer be required to issue AV ballots in the same order that applications are
received. However, House Bill 4700 would provide deadlines for when an application must be
processed.
Beginning 45 days before an election, a clerk would have to make a reasonable effort to verify
or reject an AV ballot application or return envelope by the end of the next business day after
the day of receipt if the clerk received the application or return envelope at least six calendar
days before the election. If the clerk determines that there is a signature deficiency, they would
have to notify the elector, as provided above, by the end of the next business day.
If an absentee ballot application or return envelope is received five or fewer days before an
election, including on election day, the clerk would have to verify or reject the application or
return envelope by the end of the day that it was received. If the clerk determines that there is
a signature deficiency on the application or return envelope, the clerk would have to notify the
elector, as provided above, by the end of the day.
If the clerk determines that the elector’s signature on an absent voter ballot application is
missing or does not sufficiently match the signature on file after 4:00 p.m. on the fourth day
before the election, the elector would have to be notified of the rejection of their application.
An AV ballot application or return envelope would be considered received by a clerk on the
day it comes into the physical control of the clerk’s office before or during the clerk’s scheduled
business hours, or, if it arrives at the clerk’s office after hours, the first subsequent day on
which the clerk has scheduled business hours. An application or return envelope retrieved from
a drop box would be considered received on the day of retrieval, if retrieved during the clerk’s
business hours, or the first subsequent day on which the clerk has scheduled business hours if
it is retrieved after hours. An absentee ballot return envelope personally collected by a clerk or
assistant would be considered retrieved when the election official comes into physical
possession of the envelope.
MCL 168.759 et seq.
House Bill 4701 would amend the sentencing guidelines provisions of the Code of Criminal
Procedure to update a reference to the Michigan Election Law to reflect a paragraph numbering
change that would be made by HB 4700. The bill cannot go into effect unless HB 4700 is also
enacted.
MCL 777.11d
House Fiscal Agency HBs 4700 (H-2) and 4701 as passed by the House Page 5 of 7
FISCAL IMPACT:
House Bill 4700 would codify in statute provisions of Proposal 22-2 AV ballot applications
and ballots that entail significant costs to the state and to local units of government. While
some of these costs are already incurred