ELECTION CHALLENGERS S.B. 1068 (S-4):
SUMMARY AS PASSED BY THE SENATE
Senate Bill 1068 (Substitute S-4 as passed by the Senate)
Sponsor: Senator Jeremy Moss
Committee: Elections and Ethics
Date Completed: 12-30-24
INTRODUCTION
The bill would identify the rights of election challengers, allow challengers to serve in more
than one voting site, expand the number of challengers that could serve at each type of voting
site, and specify permitted and prohibited actions. Election challengers are registered electors
appointed by political parties and interested organizations or groups of citizens to oversee the
electoral process. Challengers may observe the election process at polling places, early voting
sites, and absent voter counting boards and make challenges, such as identifying errors made
during the electoral process. The bill would codify several current practices concerning election
challenges, such as requiring a challenger to bear a credential and requiring each location
where challengers were permitted to designate a challenger liaison.
Additionally, the bill would require an elector who challenged another elector's voter
registration to submit a reliable information affidavit and modify inactive voter file provisions.
It would establish specific requirements for challengers in city or township clerks' offices and
absent voter counting places. It would modify the processes through which an election
inspector would interact with challenges and through which an elector who requested an
absent voter ballot could vote in-person. It also would shorten the period during which an
elector could update the elector's address.
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill could create costs for the State's correctional system. The bill specifies that a person
would be guilty of perjury for knowingly giving a false answer to questions regarding
citizenship, age, or registered address information when a voter's right to vote was
challenged. The bill is silent on the penalty for perjury; however, according to the Penal Code,
the penalty for perjury can be a sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment.
New arrests and convictions under the bill could increase resource demands on law
enforcement, court systems, community supervision, jails, and correctional facilities. Based
on 2023 data, the average cost to State government for felony probation supervision is
approximately $4,600 per probationer per year. For any increase in prison intakes the average
annual cost of housing a prisoner in a State correctional facility is an estimated $48,700.
MCL 168.509r et al. 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:
-- Prescribe the rights of election challengers, including the right to challenge a
voter based on the voter's age, citizenship, or registration location.
-- Expand, from 30 to 60 days, the maximum time during which an incorporated
nonprofit organization or organized committee of interested citizens could
inform a clerk of its intention to appoint election challengers.
-- Probit a candidate up for election or nomination from serving as an election
challenger in any location where the candidate's name appeared on any ballot
that was issued or processed.
-- Allow an election inspector at an early voting site to serve as a challenger during
the early voting period but not on election day.
-- Allow a challenger to serve in more than one voting site.
-- Expand the maximum number of challengers that an organization or committee
could appoint at each type of voting site at any one time.
-- Require, in each location where challengers were permitted, the clerk,
chairperson, or supervisor of the voting site to serve as a challenger liaison.
-- Require challengers to follow the direction of a clerk or challenger liaison.
-- Require each entity that appointed a challenger to provide to its challengers a
credential, in a form prescribed by the Secretary of State (SOS).
-- Prescribe permitted and prohibited actions of an election challenger, generally
allowing observation of election proceedings and prohibiting interference.
-- Require a clerk to provide space for challengers within the public area of the
clerk's office that enabled challengers to observe electors requesting and being
issued absent voter ballots.
-- Allow a challenger in a clerk's office to challenge the right of an elector in the
office to be issued an absent voter ballot and to challenge election processes.
-- Require the supervisor of an absent voter counting place to provide space for
challengers within the counting place that enabled challengers to observe the
processing and tabulation of absent voter ballots from a reasonable distance.
-- Allow a challenger in an absent voter counting place to challenge an absent voter
ballot that was missing a ballot stub, an absent voter ballot with a stub number
that did not match the number issued to the elector, an election process that was
not being properly performed, or an improper completion of a ballot envelope's
clerk signature section.
-- Allow an elector to return an absent voter ballot to an early voting site.
-- Require an election inspector to confirm with a clerk that an absent voter ballot
was not received or accepted before an elector who wished to vote in person and
had not surrendered an absent voter ballot could vote in-person.
-- Shorten the time during which an elector could return a card verifying or
updating the elector’s address to a clerk, from 30 days to 15 days before an
election.
-- Require an elector to submit to a clerk a reliable information affidavit if the
elector challenged the voter registration of another elector in the same
municipality.
Additionally, the bill would repeal Section 729 and Section 732 of the Law. Section 729
requires a challenged elector to take an oath to answer questions confirming or denying the
elector's qualifications and prescribe the penalty of perjury for an elector found to be lying.
Section 732 allows challengers who have signed authority to be present in a room containing
a ballot box.
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Rights of Challengers; Generally
The bill would specify that a challenger would have the right to challenge any individual
attempting to vote if the challenger knew or had good reason to believe that the individual
was ineligible due to either of the following:
-- The elector was not a citizen of the United States.
-- The elector was not at least 18 years of age and would not be that age on election day.
Generally, a challenger would have to know or have reason to believe that the individual being
challenged met at least one of the criteria described above and would have to articulate
specific facts supporting the challenge to the challenger liaison (see Credentialed Election
Challengers) for the challenge to be permissible. If a challenger did not identify the specific
criteria that the individual being challenged failed to meet, or did not articulate specific facts
supporting the challenge, the challenge would be impermissible. An election inspector would
not be required to record such a challenge.
A challenger would not have the right to challenge the eligibility of any individual attempting
to vote for any reason other than those reasons described above. An impermissible reason
for challenging an individual's eligibility to vote would include any of the following:
-- The individual's race or ethnic background.
-- The individual's sexual orientation or gender identity.
-- The individual's physical or mental disability.
-- The individual's need for assistance in the voting process.
-- The individual's manner of dress.
-- The individual's support for or opposition to a candidate, political party, or ballot question.
-- The appearance or impression of any of the traits described above.
-- Any other characteristic or appearance of a characteristic that was not relevant to an
individual's qualification to vote.
The bill would specify that, on election day, at an election day vote center, or at an early
voting site, a challenger would not have the right to challenge the eligibility of any individual
attempting to vote based on the challenger's assertion that the individual did not reside in
the precinct, city, or township where the individual was attempting to vote. Challenges
asserting that an individual who was registered to vote did not reside in the precinct, city, or
township would have to be made before election day in accordance with the procedures
requiring reliable information affidavits (see Pre-Election Challenges).
Credentialed Election Challengers & Challenger Liaisons
Under the bill, provisions referring to an incorporated organization would instead refer to an
incorporated nonprofit organization.
Generally, political parties, incorporated organizations, or organized committees of citizens
interested in the adoption or defeat of a ballot question or in the security of elections may
designate or nominate election challengers. Generally, between 20 and 30 days before an
election an incorporated organization or an organized committee of interested citizens may
file with the clerk of the municipality in which an election is to be held a statement verbalizing
the organization's or committee's intention to appoint challengers. The bill would expand this
period from 20 to 60 days.
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A challenger must be a registered elector in the State. Additionally, a candidate for an election
or for nomination cannot serve as a challenger at the election where the individual is a
candidate. The bill would specify that the candidate could not serve as a challenger in any
location where the candidate's name appeared on any ballot that was issued or processed.
Further, the Law provides that an individual appointed as an election inspector must not act
as a challenger at any time during the election day. Under the bill, this provision would apply
to an election inspector at an election day precinct, election day vote center, absent vote
counting place, or combined absent vote counting place; however, an individual serving as
an election inspector at an early voting site could serve as a challenger during the early voting
period.
Currently, a challenger may be designated to serve in more than one precinct. The designating
entity must indicate the precinct the challenger will serve. Under the bill, a challenger also
could be designated to serve in more than one clerk's office, early voting site, election day
center, absent voter counting place, or combined absent voter counting place. The entity
would have to indicate the challenger's locations.
Entities permitted to designate challengers may designate up to two challengers to serve in
a precinct at a time and one challenger to serve at each counting board. The bill would delete
this provision. Instead, under the bill, each entity that could appoint challengers would be
allowed the following maximum number of challengers at each location at any one time:
-- One challenger at a city or township clerk's office during the 40 days before and on election
day.
-- Two challengers at an election day precinct polling place.
-- One challenger for every eight election inspectors at an election day vote center.
-- Two challengers at an early voting site; however, if an early voting site had more than
one station for checking in electors, each entity that appointed challengers would be
allowed one additional challenger for each additional check-in station at the early voting
site.
-- During the processing and tabulation of absent voter ballots at an absent voter counting
place or combined absent voter counting place before or on election day, and on any days
required after election day to complete the processing and tabulation, one challenger for
every eight election inspectors at the counting place, or, if there were seven or fewer
election inspectors, one challenger.
In each location where challengers were permitted, one individual would have to be
designated as a challenger liaison. At a clerk's office, the clerk or the clerk's designee would
be the challenger liaison. At a precinct polling place, the precinct chairperson or the precinct
chairperson's designee would be the challenger liaison. At an early voting site, election day
vote center, absent voter counting place, or combined absent voter counting place, the
supervisor or the supervisor's designee would be the challenger liaison.
The bill would provide that challengers would have to follow the directions of the clerk
regarding the challengers' conduct at a city and township clerk's office and would have to
follow the directions of the challenger liaison regarding the challengers' conduct at polling
places, election day vote centers, early voting sites, absent voter counting places, and
combined absent voter counting places. Clerks and election inspectors could give directions
to challengers regarding how the challengers were to issue challenges without disrupting the
issuing of ballots, voting, or processing and tabulation of ballots, including directions
regarding where the challenger was located. A clerk or election inspector could require a
challenger who violated the Law or who failed to follow the directions relating to the
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challenger's conduct to leave the clerk's office, precinct polling place, election day vote center,
early voting site, absent voter counting place, or combined absent voter counting place.
Each challenger present at a location described above would have to possess a credential, in
a form prescribed by the SOS, issued by the entity that appointed the challenger. The
credential would have to be signed by the chairperson or presiding officer of the political party,
incorporated nonprofit organization, or organized committee of interested citizens appointing
the challenger and would have to indicate the name of the entity that appointed the
challenger, the name of the challenger, and the date of the election and location or precinct
where the challenger was authorized to serve. Upon arriving at a clerk's office, precinct polling
place, election day vote center, early voting site, absent voter counting place, or combined
absent voter counting place, a challenger would have to present the challenger's credential
to the challenger liaison. The credential could be digital and could be presented on a telephone
or other electronic device. Challengers could not wear or display the challenger's credential
at a clerk's office, precinct polling place, election day vote center, or early voting site.
Credentialed Challengers; Permitted Actions
If a challenger did not impede an elector or election inspector in any way and the challenger
allowed the clerk and each election inspector sufficient room to perform their duties, a
challenger could do any of the following:
-- Be present to observe election-related activities at any time a permitted location was open
to the public; however, a challenger would not be permitted in nonpublic areas of a clerk's
office or in areas of an absent voter counting place or combined absent voter counting
place that contained electronic voting system servers that stored and accumulated election
results and associated technology to administer the equipment.
-- Make challenges, which would have to be directed to the challenger liaison.
-- Observe opening and closing procedures at precinct polling places, early voting sites, and
election day vote centers, if the challenger did not touch or handle any of the equipment,
and the challenger did not impede an election inspector in completing the election
inspector's duties.
-- Observe the election and ballot tabulation process from a reasonable distance.
-- Use an electronic device, as long as the electronic device was not disruptive and was not
used to take photographs or make video or audio recordings, other than photographs or
video recordings of posted election results.
-- Take notes about the election process.
-- Notify the challenger liaison of any perceived violation of election law by third parties,
including campaigning within 100 feet of any entrance to a building in which a precinct
polling place or early voting site was located, improper handling of a ballot by an elector,
or any violation of election procedure by an individual.
-- Remain in a precinct, election day vote center, early voting site, absent voter counting
place, or combined absent voter counting place after the polls or early voting site closed,
or the end of tabulation, and until the election inspectors completed the election
inspectors' duties.
The bill would provide that, before a challenger could be restricted from access to an electronic
voting system server used for a high-speed tabulation system, there would have to be either
1) no electronic adjudication in use or, if there were electronic adjudication in use, 2) the
electronic adjudication screen would have to be connected to and located a sufficient distance
from the electronic voting system server so that it was isolated but would still allow
challengers to monitor the electronic adjudication screen.
Additionally, a challenger could observe applications to vote, voter registration lists, and other
printed materials used to conduct elections, if the challenger did not do any of the following:
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-- Touch or handle any of those materials.
-- Impede or delay the voting process.
-- Impede an election inspector in completing the election inspector's duties.
A credentialed challenger also could be located behind the processing table and view the poll
book as ballots were issued to electors and the name of each elector was entered into the poll
book.
Regarding absentee ballots, if the poll