DEPARTMENT OF STATE  
BUREAU OF ELECTIONS  
SIGNATURE MATCHING FOR ABSENT VOTER BALLOT  
APPLICATIONS AND ABSENT VOTER BALLOT ENVELOPES  
(By authority conferred on the secretary of state by sections 31, 759, 761, 765, and  
765a of the Michigan election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.31, 168.759, 168.761,  
168.765, and 168.765a)  
R 168.21 Definitions.  
Rule 1. As used in these rules:  
(a) “Election official” means the township, city, or county clerk or their staff  
responsible for verifying signatures.  
(b) “Master card” means the master card document referenced in 761(2), 1954 PA  
116, MCL 168.761, and 766(2), 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.766.  
(c) “Qualified voter file” means the voter registration database maintained by the  
Secretary of State.  
(d) “Signature on file” means the signature of the voter contained in the qualified  
voter file. If the qualified voter file does not contain the voter’s digitized signature, the  
signature of the voter contained on the master card is the signature on file. If an absent  
voter ballot application signature has been compared against the signature of the voter  
contained in the qualified voter file or on the master card and the absent voter ballot  
application signature has been determined to agree sufficiently with the signature of the  
voter contained in the qualified voter file or on the master card, the absent voter ballot  
application signature is also a “signature on file” for the purpose of this ruleset. Nothing  
in this ruleset shall be construed to allow an absent voter ballot application signature to  
be used to validate an absent voter ballot envelope signature unless the absent voter ballot  
application signature has been found to agree sufficiently with the signature of the voter  
contained in the qualified voter file or on the master card.  
History: 2022 MR 24, Eff. December 19, 2022.  
R 168.22 Sufficient agreement of voter signature; voter contact by clerk.  
Rule 2. (1) In determining for purposes of section 761(2) of the Michigan election  
law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.761, or for the purposes of 766(2), 1954 PA 116, MCL  
168.766, whether a voter’s absent voter ballot application signature or absent voter ballot  
envelope signature agrees sufficiently with the voter’s signature on file, an election  
official may determine that a signature does not agree sufficiently with the signature on  
file only after reviewing the absent voter ballot application signature or absent voter  
ballot envelope signature using the process set forth in these rules.  
(2) A voter’s signature should be considered invalid only if it differs in significant  
and obvious respects from the signature on file. Slight dissimilarities should be resolved  
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in favor of the voter. Exact matches are not required to determine that a signature agrees  
sufficiently with the signature on file.  
(3) If, after examining a voter’s absent voter ballot application signature or absent  
voter ballot envelope signature using the process set forth in these rules, an election  
official has genuine concerns about the signature’s validity, the election official may  
contact the voter to address those concerns prior to determining that a signature is not  
valid. Any efforts by the election official to contact a voter under this subsection is not  
notification for the purposes of R 168.25 that the absent voter ballot application signature  
or absent voter ballot envelope signature has been found not to agree sufficiently with the  
signature on file. An election official who is unable to determine that the absent voter  
ballot application signature or absent voter ballot envelope signature agrees sufficiently  
with the signature on file after contacting or attempting to contact the voter for  
clarification under this subsection is still bound by the notification timelines set forth in R  
168.25.  
History: 2022 MR 24, Eff. December 19, 2022.  
Editor's Note: An obvious error in R 168.22 was corrected at the request of the promulgating agency,  
pursuant to Section 56 of 1969 PA 306, as amended by 2000 PA 262, MCL 24.256. The rule containing  
the error was published in Michigan Register, 2022 MR 24. The memorandum requesting the correction  
was published in Michigan Register, 2024 MR 14.  
R 168.23 Redeeming qualities.  
Rule 3. (1) In determining whether an absent voter ballot application signature or  
absent voter ballot envelope signature agrees sufficiently with a signature on file, election  
officials shall consider whether any redeeming qualities are present. The bureau of  
elections shall provide examples of signatures with redeeming qualities and questionable  
signatures.  
(2) Redeeming qualities include, but are not limited to, the following:  
(a) Similar distinctive flourishes.  
(b) More matching features than nonmatching features.  
(c) Signature features do not match because it appears as if the voter’s hand is  
trembling or shaking.  
(d) Only part of the signature matches the signature on file, for example, if only the  
first letters of the first and last name match.  
(e) Signature is partially printed but partially matches the signature on file.  
(f) Signature is a recognized diminutive of the voter’s full legal name.  
(g) Signature omits a middle name, replaces a middle name with an initial, or  
replaces a middle initial with a name.  
(h) Signature style has changed slightly from signature on file.  
History: 2022 MR 24, Eff. December 19, 2022.  
R 168.24 Explanations for differences in signatures.  
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Rule 4. (1) Elections officials shall consider the following as possible explanations  
for the discrepancies in signatures:  
(a) Evidence of trembling or shaking in a signature could be health-related or the  
result of aging.  
(b) The voter may have used a diminutive of their full legal name, including, but  
not limited to, the use of initials, or the rearrangement of components of their full legal  
name, such as a reversal of first and last names, use of a middle name in place of a first  
name, or omitting a second last name.  
(c) The voter’s signature style may have changed slightly over time.  
(d) The signature may have been written in haste.  
(e) The surface of the location where the signature was made may have been rough,  
soft, uneven, or unstable.  
(2) In addition to the characteristics listed in R 168.23(2)(f) and (g), the elections  
official may also consider factors applicable to a particular voter, such as the age of the  
voter, the age of the signature or signatures contained in the voter’s record, the possibility  
that the voter is disabled, the voter’s primary language, and the quality of any digitized  
signature or signatures contained in the voter’s record, and any other plausible reason  
given by the voter that satisfies the clerk when following up on a questionable signature.  
History: 2022 MR 24, Eff. December 19, 2022.  
R 168.25 Timing of signature review and notification.  
Rule 5. (1) If the absent voter ballot application or the absent voter ballot envelope  
is received at least 6 calendar days prior to the election, the clerk must notify the voter of  
issues with the voter’s signature by the end of the next business day following receipt of  
the application or ballot envelope.  
(2) If the absent voter ballot application or the absent voter ballot envelope is  
received less than 5 calendar days prior to the election, an election official must review  
that absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot envelope by the end of the  
calendar day on which the absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot envelope  
was received by the clerk. If the election official determines that the voter’s signature on  
the absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot envelope does not agree  
sufficiently with the signature on file, the election official must contact the voter by the  
end of the calendar day on which the absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot  
envelope was received by the clerk.  
(3) If the absent voter ballot application or the absent voter ballot envelope is  
received by the clerk by 8 p.m. on the calendar day prior to an election, an election  
official must review the absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot envelope  
before the end of the calendar day prior to the election. If the election official determines  
that the voter’s signature on the absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot  
envelope does not agree sufficiently with the signature on file, the election official must  
contact the voter by the end of the calendar day prior to the election.  
(4) For the purposes of this rule, if the absent voter ballot application or absent  
voter ballot envelope comes into the physical control of the clerk’s office before or  
during the clerk’s scheduled business hours, that absent voter ballot application or absent  
voter ballot envelope is considered to have been received by the clerk on the day of  
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submission. If an absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot envelope comes  
into the physical control of the clerk’s office after the end of the clerk’s scheduled  
business hours, or if the absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot envelope  
comes into the physical control of the clerk’s office on a day on which the clerk does not  
have scheduled business hours, that absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot  
envelope is considered to have been received on the first subsequent day during which  
the clerk has scheduled business hours.  
(5) If a clerk’s jurisdiction maintains one or more absent voter ballot application or  
absent voter ballot envelope drop boxes, each drop box must be checked by an election  
official for any absent voter ballot applications or absent voter ballot envelopes that have  
been deposited prior to the end of the clerk’s scheduled business hours on every day  
during which the clerk has scheduled business hours. The election official checking the  
drop box must retrieve each absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot  
envelope contained in the drop box at that time. Each absent voter ballot application or  
absent voter ballot envelope retrieved at that time is considered to have been received by  
the clerk on that day. An absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot envelope  
deposited in those drop boxes on a day during which the clerk does not have scheduled  
business hours will not be considered to have been received by the clerk until the next  
day on which the clerk has scheduled business hours.  
(6) An absent voter ballot envelope that is collected by an election official through  
the procedure laid out in 764b(4) or (5), 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.764b, shall be  
considered received when the election official comes into physical possession of the  
ballot envelope.  
(7) Nothing in this rule shall prevent an election official from providing notification  
more quickly than mandated by this rule to a voter that the voter’s absent voter ballot  
application signature or absent voter ballot envelope signature has been determined not to  
agree sufficiently with the signature on file.  
(8) If the absent voter ballot application or the absent voter ballot envelope is  
missing the voter’s signature, or if the clerk determines that the voter’s signature on the  
absent voter ballot application or on the absent voter ballot envelope does not agree  
sufficiently with the voter’s signature on file, the clerk shall inform the voter using any  
and all contact information available that their absent voter ballot application or their  
absent voter ballot envelope is missing a signature or has a non-matching signature, and  
the need to cure the signature deficiency. The clerk must notify the voter by phone and  
email, and, in the absence of the voter’s email address, by United States mail.  
History: 2022 MR 24, Eff. December 19, 2022.  
R 168.26 Curing signature deficiencies.  
Rule 6. (1) Any of the following methods may be used to cure a missing or  
mismatched signature:  
(a) A voter may provide a signature on the absent voter ballot application or ballot  
envelope with the missing or mismatched signature;  
(b) A voter may complete and submit a signature cure form prescribed by the  
Secretary of State; or  
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(c) A voter may follow another form or method of curing a missing or mismatched  
signature as specified by the election official on their website or in the election official’s  
office.  
(2) A voter may cure a missing or mismatched signature up until the close of polls  
on Election Day.  
(3) If a request if made by a voter, an election official may facilitate the cure of a  
missing or mismatched signature by making arrangements to  
(a) collect a cure form; or  
(b) provide the absent voter ballot application or absent voter ballot envelope  
missing a signature to the voter so that the voter might sign the absent voter ballot  
application or absent voter ballot envelope.  
History: 2022 MR 24, Eff. December 19, 2022.  
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;