Legislative Analysis
TABULATE ABSENTEE BALLOTS BEFORE ELECTION DAY Phone: (517) 373-8080
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
House Bills 4755 and 4756 (H-1) as reported from committee Analysis available at
Sponsor: Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou http://www.legislature.mi.gov
Committee: Elections
Revised 8-15-23
SUMMARY:
House Bill 4756 would amend the Michigan Election Law to make several changes regarding
absent voter (AV) ballot processing and tabulation. House Bill 4755 is a companion bill that
would make complementary changes to the Code of Criminal Procedure.
House Bill 4756 would amend the Michigan Election Law to establish election day vote
centers, allow AV ballots to be tabulated on the day before election day and up to eight days
before election day in certain municipalities, and allow absent voters to insert their AV ballots
into a tabulator at their polling place or early voting site. The bill is tie-barred to House Bills
4697 1 and 4700, 2 meaning that it would not take effect unless both of those bills were enacted.
Election day vote centers
House Bill 4756 would add a new section to the Michigan Election Law that would provide
that if a city or township has processed at least 500 voter registrations on election day in either
or both of the previous two general elections, then the board of election commissioners of that
city or township could establish election day vote centers to tabulate the ballots issued to
individuals who register to vote or update their voter registration on election day. A board of
election commissioners that establishes an election day vote center would have to notify their
county clerk at least 90 days before the election. No later than the fourth day before election
day, the clerk of each city or township that establishes an election day vote center would have
to post a notice that provides the location of the election day vote center in the clerk’s office
and, if available, on the city’s or township’s website.
An election day vote center would be considered a polling place, and it would have to be
located in the same building where a city or township clerk conducts voter registration on
election day. A city or township clerk who operates an election day vote center would have to
configure the center with at least one designated tabulator and a corresponding poll book that
lists the voters who were issued a ballot for that tabulator. The county clerk would then have
to program the tabulators so that the results from those tabulators will be included in the
unofficial and official election accumulation reports, and the number of tabulators and poll
books at the election day vote center would have to conform to the way in which the county
1
House Bill 4697 would amend provisions of the Michigan Election Law that address absent voter drop boxes,
largely to incorporate changes made to the state constitution with the passage of Proposal 22-2. A summary of the
bill as passed by the House can be found here: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2023-
2024/billanalysis/House/pdf/2023-HLA-4697-F0496BCB.pdf..
2
House Bill 4700 would also amend provisions of the Michigan Election Law to amend absent voting procedures
and to incorporate changes made to the state constitution by Proposal 22-2 regarding a permanent absent voter list.
A summary of the bill as passed by the House can be found here: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2023-
2024/billanalysis/House/pdf/2023-HLA-4700-0C1E7C20.pdf.
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 clerk has programed the tabulators. The collected registration receipts and the list of electors
issued a ballot in the poll book would serve as the two required poll lists.
At least three election inspectors would have to be appointed for an election day vote center,
and a political party, incorporated organization, or organized committee of interested citizens
could have one challenger for every eight election inspectors assigned to an election day vote
center.
Only a voter who registers to vote or updates their registration on election day could cast a
ballot at an election day vote center, and they would have to use an election day vote center
located in the same building where they registered or updated their registration. After
registering, a voter would have to provide their voter registration receipt to an election
inspector and would be subject to all applicable requirements for a voter on election day.
Election inspectors would be responsible for issuing ballots to voters and entering each voter’s
name in the election day vote center poll book. Inspectors would have to allow a voter to cast
a ballot at the vote center in the same manner as a voter who is listed on the registration list in
an election-day precinct, if the individual who was issued a registration receipt and is in line at
the vote center by 8:00 p.m., including after 11:59 p.m. on election day if necessary. An
individual who is in line at a city or township clerk’s office or satellite office by 8:00 p.m. on
election day would have to be allowed to register to vote or update their voter registration and
then immediately cast a ballot at an election day vote center.
After the last voter in line casts a ballot, the election inspectors assigned to an election day vote
center would have to follow the same process required at an election day polling place.
Review and approval of AV ballots for tabulation
The bill would remove provisions that prohibit clerks from opening AV envelopes before
election day and that prohibit the tabulation of AV ballots before election day, in addition to
other provisions related to AV ballot processing on election day. It would also remove
provisions added to the Michigan Election Law in 2020 to provide for the pre-processing of
AV ballots. 3
Instead, city and township clerks would have to keep sealed and unopened AV ballot return
envelopes in their office until delivering the envelopes to either a precinct board of election
inspectors, an absent voter counting board (AVCB), or a team of election inspectors.
As close as possible to 8:00 p.m. on election day, the city or township clerk would have to
collect AV ballots from the post office at which the clerk regularly receives mail. 4 Any return
envelopes containing AV ballots received from the post office or from voters who cast an AV
ballot in person in the clerk’s office on election day would have to be reviewed and approved
3
For a summary of 2020 PA 177, which originally authorized clerks in cities or townships with a population of at
least 25,000 to begin AV ballot pre-processing on the day before election day for the 2020 general election only,
see: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2019-2020/billanalysis/House/pdf/2019-HLA-0757-059CD2C3.pdf.
2022 PA 195 amended these provisions to remove the 2020 sunset, reduce the population minimum to 10,000, and
additionally authorize pre-processing on the Sunday before election day.
4
Current law provides that AV ballots must be collected from the post office on election day but does not require
the ballots to be collected by a specified time. Under the bill, a clerk’s authorized designee could no longer collect
ballots from the post office.
House Fiscal Agency HBs 4755 and 4756 (H-1) as reported Page 2 of 9
 for tabulation before being delivered to the board of election inspectors or an AVCB for
tabulation. No more than 90 days after an election, but as soon as practicable, the clerk would
have to notify a voter whose AV ballot return envelope is received after the polls closed by
mail, telephone, or email that their AV ballot was not tabulated for that reason.
A city or township clerk would have to review each received AV ballot return envelope to
determine whether the ballot is approved for tabulation by verifying the signature on the
envelope and verifying that the individual has not already voted. If an AV ballot is approved
for tabulation, the clerk would have to write or stamp the date that the envelope was received
and indicate that the ballot is approved. If the envelope was received on election day, the clerk
would also have to write or stamp the time of receipt.
If a signature on an AV ballot return envelope is missing or insufficient, the clerk would have
to reject the ballot, notify the voter, and provide the voter with an opportunity to cure the
deficiency. If an envelope has been approved for tabulation by a clerk, a precinct board of
election inspectors or an AVCB could not make any further signature verifications for an AV
ballot return envelope.
Additionally, if a city or township does not process and tabulate AV ballots before election
day, the clerk would have to appoint at least one team of two election inspectors no more than
seven days before an election, with one inspector from each major political party, to assist the
clerk in determining whether ballots received from overseas and military voters are approved
for tabulation. Teams of election inspectors would open any envelopes that do not have the
voter’s signature on the outside, remove the signed voter certificate, and leave the ballot in the
envelope. The clerk would then copy the certificate, and the election inspectors would put the
certificate back in the envelope and reseal it. Using the copy of the certificate, the clerk would
determine whether the ballot is approved for tabulation.
Absent voter counting board agreements
Currently, if a city or township clerk enters into an agreement to establish a combined absent
voter counting board (CAVCB) with other participating cities or townships, to allow the clerk
of another city or township located in the same county to count AV ballots for both
municipalities, or to allow the county’s AVCB to count AV ballots for the city or township,
any AV ballot received by that clerk after 4:00 p.m. on the day before an election cannot be
delivered to the CAVCB or AVCB and must instead be delivered to the voter’s precinct on
election day for processing and tabulation.
Under the bill, the board of election commissioners of a city or township that enters into one
of the agreements listed above could authorize the use of an AVCB that only processes and
tabulates AV ballots approved and received between the 4:00 p.m. on the day before the
election and 8:00 p.m. on election day. The city or township would have to notify the
appropriate county clerk at least 60 days before the election.
If a city or township does not enter into such an agreement and has established its own AVCB,
AV ballots that are received by the appropriate clerk by 8:00 p.m. on election day and that are
approved for tabulation would have to be delivered to the appropriate AVCB.
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 AV ballot delivery
If a city or township establishes an AVCB, and subject to the city or township’s participation
in early AV processing and tabulation or to an agreement with another municipality or county,
the clerk of that city or township would generally have to deliver the AV ballots that have been
approved for tabulation to the AVCB by the time the election inspectors for that AVCB report
for duty on election day. All ballots received by the clerk by 8:00 p.m. on election day would
also have to be delivered to the AVCB. 5
If a city or township does not establish or participate in an AVCB for an election, the city or
township clerk would have to deliver the approved AV ballot return envelopes and their list or
record of the absent voters whose ballots were approved and delivered for tabulation to a board
of election inspectors at an election day precinct. The board of election inspectors could not
tabulate the ballots until the polls open on election day. The list or record of voters would also
have to be kept in the clerk’s office and available for public inspection during regular business
hours, along with the clerk’s received AV ballot applications.
Absent voter counting boards
The bill would remove provisions that require a city or township board of election
commissioners to establish the AVCBs for that city or township and determine the number of
ballots that can be counted by an AVCB in a reasonable period of time, pursuant to secretary
of state (SOS) guidelines. It would also remove current provisions pertaining to delivering
ballots to AVCBs, rejecting AV ballots for signature issues, allowing an individual to vote in
person after applying for and receiving an AV ballot, and regulating local election officials
entering and leaving an AVCB or CAVCB.
Instead, the bill would provide that ballots could not be left unattended during transitions
between election inspector shifts or during any point after AV ballots are returned from their
envelopes before being sealed in a ballot container. An election inspector from each major
political party would have to be present, and all policies and procedures must be followed, at
all times while AV ballots are being processed and tabulated.
There would be no limit on the number of AVCBs that could be assigned to a building, and the
Board of State Canvassers could approve high-speed tabulators and supporting software for
use as a component of an electronic voting system that could be used to tabulate AV ballots in
an AVCB.
Under House Bill 4766, a city or township that has at least 250 precincts could establish at least
one AVCB for each ballot form containing identical offices and candidate names, rather than
one AVCB for each precinct.
Processing and tabulation before election day
The board of election commissioners of a city or township with a population of at least 5,000
or of a county that establishes an AVCB to count AV ballots for a city or township could
authorize the establishment of AVCBs to process and tabulate AV ballots between 7:00 a.m.
and 8:00 p.m. on any of the eight days before election day.
5
This provision would not apply if a city or township establishes a separate AVCB for ballots received between 4:00
p.m. on the day before election day and 8:00 p.m. on election day, as described above.
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 The board of election commissioners of any city or township, regardless of population, could
authorize and establish an AVCB to process and tabulate AV ballots between 7:00 a.m. and
8:00 p.m. on the Monday before election day.
In order to tabulate AV ballots before election day, a county, city, or township clerk would
have to submit a written notice to the SOS at least 28 days before election day. At least 20 days
before an election, the SOS would have to publish on the Department of State’s website a list
of the cities and townships that have notified the SOS of their intent to process and tabulate
AV ballots before election day. If the city or township has a website, the clerk would have to
post a notice at least 18 days before the election that includes the location, dates, and hours of
the AV counting place, in addition to the number of election inspectors who will process and
tabulate AV ballots at the counting place.
If the location, dates, hours, or number of inspectors changes, the clerk would have to post a
revised notice that includes the updated information on the website as soon as possible, but at
least eleven days before the election. This notice would also have to be posted in the clerk’s
office. If the clerk changes the number of election inspectors after tabulation has begun, the
clerk would have to post the updated number on the website and in their office by 10:00 a.m.
on the day that the changes occur. If the clerk reduces the number of election inspectors but
fails to post a timely notice, the number of challengers allowed at the location would have to
remain the same as before the reduction in inspectors.
For each day of AV ballot processing and tabulation that occurs before election day, a
participating city or township clerk would have to deliver the ballots approved for tabulation
to an AVCB. A clerk could not deliver any AV ballots received on a day that early voting is
conducted to an AVCB for processing or tabulation until the following day. An AV ballot
could only be tabulated after the receipt of that ballot appears on the registration list (or an
addendum to the list) in an early voting site and after the voter history of individuals who cast
an early voting ballot on the previous day is recorded in the Qualified Voter File. If an absentee
voter cast a ballot at an early voting site, the voter’s AV ballot would have to be cancelled.
Each political party, incorporated organization, or organized committee of interested citizens
could designate one challenger for every eight election inspectors serving at an AV counting
place. If there are seven or fewer inspectors serving at a counting place, then each entity could
designate one challenger. Election officials would have to follow all instructions and
procedures adopted by the