Legislative Analysis
Phone: (517) 373-8080
AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION PROCEDURES
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
House Bill 4983 as enrolled
Analysis available at
Sponsor: Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou http://www.legislature.mi.gov
House Bill 4984 as enrolled
Sponsor: Rep. Phil Skaggs
House Bill 4985 as enrolled House Bill 4986 as enrolled
Sponsor: Rep. Emily E. Dievendorf Sponsor: Rep. Jimmie Wilson, Jr.
House Committee: Elections
Senate Committee: Elections and Ethics
Complete to 11-8-23 (Enacted as Public Acts 268 and 260 to 262 of 2023)
SUMMARY:
House Bills 4983, 4984, 4985, and 4986 would modify Michigan’s automatic voter registration
procedures and clarify an individual’s ability to opt out of automatic registration. The bills
would take effect June 30, 2025.
Currently, the Michigan Election Law requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to automatically
register all qualified electors who submit applications or change of address applications for
driver’s licenses or state personal ID cards (or enhanced versions of those forms of ID) to vote,
as long as the elector does not opt out of registration. 1 The SOS can only register applicants
who indicate on the form that they are citizens of the United States. (An applicant for a license
or ID card must present documentation verifying their legal presence in the United States,
identity, and Michigan residency.)
The SOS must add the required information to the Qualified Voter File (QVF) and forward the
name of each voter automatically registered to their respective city or township clerk. The SOS
may not transmit any information to the QVF if the individual opts out of voter registration.
House Bill 4983 would amend the Michigan Election Law to require the following information
to be added to the QVF for each individual who applies for a Michigan-issued driver’s license,
applies for a state ID card, or is issued a graduated license, if they are of sufficient age to
register to vote, provide documentation demonstrating their United States citizenship, and are
not already registered to vote:
• The individual’s name, residence address, and date of birth.
• The individual’s driver’s license number, state ID card number, or a similar number
issued by a designated voter registration agency.
• The individual’s digitized signature, if available.
As is current law, the SOS would have to electronically forward an individual’s information to
their city or township clerk so that the clerk can register the individual.
1
The passage of Proposal 3 of 2018 added the right to automatic voter registration when registering for a driver’s
license or personal ID card to the Michigan Constitution. 2018 PA 603 amended the Michigan Election Law to
implement this change and others made by Proposal 3:
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2017-2018/billanalysis/House/pdf/2017-HLA-1238-7DD61512.pdf.
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 The SOS would then have to send a notice by nonforwardable mail to the individual’s address
that does all of the following:
• Informs the individual that they have been registered to vote.
• Provides information on how the individual can cast an absentee ballot.
• Includes a postage prepaid and preaddressed return form for the individual to decline
the registration, in a form prescribed by the SOS.
• Includes an explanation of the eligibility requirements to register to vote and a
statement that the individual must decline the registration if they are not eligible.
• Includes a statement that the individual may choose to decline the registration even if
they meet the eligibility requirements and that their declining would be confidential
and only used for the purposes of voter registration statistics.
• Includes a statement that if the individual does not decline the registration and remains
registered to vote, the office at which they were registered remains confidential and
may only be used for voter registration purposes.
If the notice is returned to the SOS as undeliverable, then the appropriate city or township clerk
would have to mail the notice that is required by the Michigan Election Law when a clerk
receives reliable information that a registered voter has moved.
To decline the automatic voter registration, the individual would have to complete and return
the notice. If an individual declines the registration and has not voted in an election, they would
be considered never to have been registered to vote, and all information added to the QVF for
that individual would have to be removed. If an individual has voted in an election and then
declines the registration, the SOS would have to contact the individual to determine whether
the individual wishes to remain registered to vote or decline the registration. If an individual
returns the notice without selecting the option to decline the voter registration, they would
remain registered to vote. The SOS would also have to develop procedures for processing new
automatic voter registrations for individuals who have previously declined the registration.
Each eligible individual who indicates on an application that they are a United States citizen
but does not provide documentation demonstrating their citizenship would also be offered the
opportunity to be automatically registered. Instead of receiving a notice providing the
opportunity to decline the automatic registration, they would have to opt out on the application
itself, as is currently done. 2
If an individual becomes automatically registered to vote, the QVF would have to include an
indication as such for that individual, including a designation that the individual has indicated
that they are a United States citizen but did not provide documentation (if applicable).
The SOS would also have to use the procedures described above to automatically preregister
any eligible individual who applies for a driver’s license, state ID card, or a change of address. 3
(The notice sent by the SOS would be modified to reflect that the individual has been
preregistered and not fully registered to vote.)
2
House Bills 4984 and 4985, described below, would specifically require space on a license or ID card application to
be provided to decline the use of the application as a voter registration application.
3
House Bill 4569 would allow certain individuals to preregister to vote if they are at least 16 years of age. For a
summary of the bill as passed by the House, see:
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2023-2024/billanalysis/House/pdf/2023-HLA-4569-F76237B9.pdf.
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 The bill would specify that the SOS could not register or preregister an individual who provides
documentation demonstrating that they are not a United States citizen.
Monthly reports
The SOS would have to publicize monthly data reports on the following information,
subcategorized by sex and age without including any personally identifying information:
• The number of individuals who completed voter registration or preregistration after
applying for a driver’s license or state ID, applying for a change of address, or being
issued a graduated license and providing documentation of their citizenship.
• The number of eligible individuals who declined voter registration or preregistration.
• The number of individuals who indicated without providing documentation that they
are a United States citizen when becoming registered or preregistered to vote.
• The number of individuals who indicated without providing documentation that they
are a United States citizen and declined voter registration or preregistration.
• The number of individuals whose registration or preregistration were updated in
accordance with the act’s requirement that the SOS use the address provided on a
driver’s license or state ID as the applicant’s residence in the QVF.
Automatic voter registration agencies
If the SOS verifies that a state agency collects sufficient information through its regular course
of business to confirm an individual’s eligibility to register to vote or update an existing
registration, it could designate that agency as an automatic voter registration agency. A
designated automatic voter registration agency would retain its designation unless it no longer
collects sufficient information for those purposes.
A designated automatic voter registration agency would have to establish, with the SOS, a
procedure and schedule to automatically electronically transmit information to the SOS for
individuals who are eligible to register or preregister or to update registration information in
the QVF. The SOS would also have to develop procedures for processing records that do not
include a digitized image of an individual’s signature. Subject to any instruction issued and
determined to be necessary by the SOS to conform with a designated state agency transaction,
the SOS and clerk of each city and township would have to comply with the bill’s procedures
for automatic registrations and preregistrations (as described above).
If the SOS receives information from a designated automatic voter registration agency for an
individual who is already registered or preregistered to vote, the SOS would have to update the
QVF with the most recent address or name received from the state agency. The SOS would
then have to notify the individual of the change by forwardable mail to the new address and
provide a postage prepaid and preaddressed return form for the individual to verify or correct
the information. If the individual returns the notice to indicate that the change was an error, the
SOS would have to immediately revert the updated information in the QVF to the prior record.
Medicaid applications
As part of an application for Medicaid coverage, the Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS) would have to automatically electronically transmit the following information to the
SOS for each individual who is eligible to register or preregister to vote and who is a verified
United States citizen, subject to compliance with all applicable federal laws and regulations:
• The individual’s name, address, and date of birth.
• The individual’s digitized signature, if available.
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 • The individual’s driver’s license number or state ID number, a similar number issued
by a designated voter agency, or the last four digits of the individual’s Social Security
number.
The procedures followed by the SOS and local clerks to process the information for automatic
voter registration and preregistration purposes would be subject to any instructions issued by
the SOS as necessary to conform with the structure of a DHHS application.
Tribal nations
An Indian nation or tribe in Michigan could request SOS approval to allow its governing body,
an election board, an election official, or another designated representative to electronically
submit the following information to the SOS to register and preregister tribal members to vote
or to update an individual’s existing information, subject to compliance with all applicable
federal laws and regulations:
• The individual’s name, address, and date of birth.
• The individual’s digitized signature, if available.
• The individual’s driver’s license number or state ID number, a similar number issued
by a designated voter agency, or the last four digits of the individual’s Social Security
number.
If a nation or tribe requests to transmit information to the SOS and the governing body, election
board, election official, or other designated representative collects sufficient information to
confirm an eligibility for registration or update an existing registration, then the SOS would
have to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the nation or tribe regarding the
transmission and processing of information for voter registration.
The procedures followed by the SOS and local clerks to process information for automatic
voter registration and preregistration purposes would be subject to any instructions issued by
the SOS as necessary to conform with any Indian nation or tribal procedures.
Department of Corrections
The SOS and Michigan Department of Corrections would have to coordinate to ensure that
eligible individuals are automatically registered to vote with the ability to decline voter
registration when they are released from incarceration. The required notice and procedures
would have to be modified to reflect the fact that the individual would not be registered to vote
until released on parole or discharged after completing their maximum sentence, and both the
SOS and Department of Corrections would be responsible for ensuring that an individual does
not become registered to vote until they are eligible.
For any individual who is released from incarceration and is not otherwise subject to these
provisions, the Department of Corrections and the SOS would have to establish a procedure
and schedule for automatically and electronically transmitting registration information to the
SOS for individuals who are eligible to register or preregister to vote, in accordance with the
bill’s requirements for a designated automatic voter registration agency.
Additional provisions
If an individual who is ineligible to vote becomes automatically registered and votes or
attempts to vote in an election held after their registration becomes effective, the individual
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 would be presumed to have a defense for a violation of the act. 4 (This defense would not apply
to an individual who knowingly and willfully makes a false statement to effectuate voter
registration or an individual who intentionally acts to register to vote or vote knowing that they
are not entitled to vote.)
The bill is tie-barred to House Bill 4569, a bill that would allow eligible individuals who are at
least 16 years old to preregister to vote, meaning that it cannot go into effect unless HB 4569
is also enacted.
MCL 168.493a et seq.
House Bill 4984 would amend the Michigan Vehicle Code to require an application for a
driver’s license to include space for an applicant to indicate that they are a citizen of the United
States but do not have documentation of their citizenship. The bill would also require the
application to include space to allow such an applicant to decline the use of the application as
a voter registration application.
Additionally, the bill would provide that if an individual’s application for a driver’s license is
used for automatic voter registration or preregistration and the individual provides
documentation demonstrating that they are a United States citizen, a printed notice provided to
the applicant at the end of the license application transaction would have to include a notice
that the application will be used for automatic voter registration and that the individual will
receive the notice required by HB 4983. If the applicant has indicated that they are a United
States citizen but has not provided documentation, then the notice would have to indicate that
it serves as a receipt verifying the voter registration application.
MCL 257.307
House Bill 4985 would amend 1972 PA 222, the state personal identification card act, to
require an application for a state ID card to include space for an applicant to indicate that they
are a citizen of the United States but do not have documentation of their citizenship. The bill
would also require the application to include space to allow such an applicant to decline the
use of the application as a voter registration application.
MCL 28.291
House Bill 4986 would amend the Enhanced Driver License and Enhanced Official State
Personal Identification Card Act to remove a provision stating that an application for an
enhanced license or enhanced state ID card must allow the applicant to indicate that they
decline to use the application as a voter registration application.
MCL 28.305
House Bills 4984, 4985, and 4986 are each tie-barred to House Bill 4983, meaning that none
of those bills can go into effect unless HB 4983 is also enacted.
4
Section 932a(c) of the Michigan Election Law provides that a person who is not a qualified and registered elector
who willfully offers to vote or attempts to vote at an election in Michigan, or a person who aids or counsels an
unqualified or unregistered person to vote or offer to vote at an election, is guilty of a felony.
House Fiscal Agency