CHALLENGERS; ELECTION CANDIDATE                                                                                                   S.B. 290 & 291:

                                                                                                                                                                SUMMARY OF INTRODUCED BILL

                                                                                                                                                                                                                IN COMMITTEE

Senate Bills 290 and 291 (as introduced 3-24-21)

Sponsor:   Senator Rick Outman

Committee:   Elections

Date Completed:   5-12-21

CONTENT

Senate Bill 290 would amend the Michigan Election Law to do the following:

 --     Allow a political party that had a candidate on the ballot or candidate who was on a ballot to designate challengers.

 --     Require a challenger in a precinct to wear, at all times, a visible identification badge provided by the designating political part or candidate.

 --     Prescribe the information that would have to be included on a challenger's identification badge.

 --     Repeal Section 173 of the Law.

Senate Bill 291 would amend the sentencing guidelines in the Code of Criminal Procedure to remove the felony repealed by Senate Bill 290.

Senate Bill 291 is tie-barred to Senate Bill 290.

Senate Bill 290 is described in greater detail below.

Under the Election Law, at an election, a political party or an incorporated organization or organized committee of citizens interested in the adoption or defeat of a ballot question being voted for or upon at the election or interested in preserving the purity of elections and in guarding against the abuse of the election franchise, may designate challengers. Under the bill, instead, a political party that had a candidate on the ballot, or candidate whose name was on the ballot, could designate challengers.

Generally, a political party, an incorporated organization, or organized committee of interested citizens may designate not more than two challengers to serve in a precinct at any time, and not more than one challenger to serve at each counting board. A challenger may serve in more than one precinct. The political party, incorporated organization, or organized committee of interested citizens must indicate which precincts the challenger will serve when designating challengers. If more than one challenger is serving in a precinct at any one time, only one of them may initiate a challenge. The bill would remove the references to "incorporated organization" and "organized committee of interested citizens" in these provisions and replace them with "candidate".

Under the bill, at all times while serving as a challenger in a precinct, an individual would have to wear a visible identification badge provided by the political party or candidate that included all of the following:

 --       The words "challenger".

 --       The name of the challenger.

 --       The name of the political party or candidate that designated the challenger to serve.

 --       The city or township, and precinct number or numbers in that city or