Michigan Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules

611 W. Ottawa Street

Lansing, MI 48909

Phone: 517-335-8658 Fax: 517-335-9512

AGENCY REPORT TO THE

JOINT COMMITEE ON ADMNINISTRATIVE RULES (JCAR)

1. Agency Information

Agency name:

State

Division/Bureau/Office:

Elections & Campaign Finance

Name of person completing this form:

Adam Fracassi

Phone number of person completing this form:

517-241-3280

E-mail of person completing this form:

FracassiA@michigan.gov

Name of Department Regulatory Affairs Officer reviewing this form:

Doug Novak

2. Rule Set Information

MOAHR assigned rule set number:

2021-61 ST

Title of proposed rule set:

Signature Matching Standards for Absent Voter Ballot Applications and Absent Voter Ballot

Envelopes

3. Purpose for the proposed rules and background:

To create process for determining whether signatures on absent voter ballot applications or ballot

return envelopes agree sufficiently with signature on file.

4. Summary of proposed rules:

MCL 24.242 and 24.245

Agency Report to JCAR-Page 2

Before receiving an absent voter ballot, a voter must submit an application which is signed by the

voter. The signature on the application is compared by the local clerk and their staff to the signature

on file in the Qualified Voter File. If the signature is determined to sufficiently match the signature

on file, the voter will be sent an absent voter ballot. The voter must then return the ballot in the

envelope provided by the clerk which is signed. That signature is then compared to the absent voter

ballot application and/or the qualified voter file.

Currently, city and township clerks review each of these signatures. The rule is designed to provide

uniform standards for city and township clerks to utilize when comparing the signature in order to

determine if the signature on the absent voter ballot application and envelope sufficiently matches the

signature contained in the voter’s registration profile.

5. List names of newspapers in which the notice of public hearing was published and

publication dates:

Marquette Mining Journal (September 17, 2021)

Flint Journal (September 17, 2021)

Kalamazoo Gazette (September 17, 2021)

6. Date of publication of rules and notice of public hearing in Michigan Register:

9/15/2021

7. Date, time, and location of public hearing:

10/1/2021 09:00 AM at Cadillac Place Room L-150 , 3044 W. Grand Blvd. Detroit, MI 48202

8. Provide the link the agency used to post the regulatory impact statement and cost-benefit

analysis on its website:

https://ARS.apps.lara.state.mi.us/Transaction/RFRTransaction?TransactionID=1319

9. List of the name and title of agency representative(s) attending public hearing:

Adam Fracassi (Bureau of Elections – Designated Agency Representative)

Doug Novak (Department of State – Regulatory Affairs Officer)

Jonathan Brater (Bureau of Elections – Director)

Brian Remlinger (Bureau of Elections – Law Fellow)

10. Persons submitting comments of support:

see attached

11. Persons submitting comments of opposition:

see attached

12. Identify any changes made to the proposed rules based on comments received during the

public comment period:

MCL 24.242 and 24.245

Agency Report to JCAR-Page 3

Name &

Comments made at Written

Agency Rationale Rule number

Organization public hearing

Comments

for change

& citation

changed

1

Rep. Ann

Bollin

Identified that the Rep. Ann Bollin R 168.21

proposed ruleset WrittenIdentified

did not

incorporate

that the proposed

ruleset did not

references to the incorporate

voter registration references to the

master card.

voter registration

master card.R

168.21Added a

subsection

defining master

card and edited the

subsection

defining

“signature on file”

to explicitly

include the

signature on the

voter registration

master card.

MCL 24.242 and 24.245

Agency Report to JCAR-Page 4

Expresses

2

Rep. Ann

Bollin

Rep. Ann Bollin R 168.21

concern that, as

concern that, as WrittenExpresses

drafted, the

ruleset allowed a drafted, the ruleset

signature on an

absentee voter

allowed a

signature on an

ballot application absentee voter

that had not been ballot application

verified against that had not been

the signature in verified against

the Qualified

Voter File to

serve as a

signature for

verifying a

the signature in the

Qualified Voter

File to serve as a

signature for

verifying a

signature on an

absent voter

signature on an

absent voter ballot

ballot envelope. envelope.R 168.21

Added language

clarifying that

signatures on

absent voter ballot

applications can

only be used to

verify signatures

on absent voter

ballot envelopes if

the signature on

the application has

been checked

against and

determined to

match the

signature in the

Qualified Voter

File.

3

Shira Roza, on

behalf of

Identifies an

inconsistency in statutory reference

Added a second

R 168.22(1)

Promote the

Vote

the statute

references and

to clarify that the

ruleset applies to

the language used both absent voter

in the ruleset.

ballot applications

and absent voter

ballot envelopes.

MCL 24.242 and 24.245

Agency Report to JCAR-Page 5

Expresses

4

Sen. Ruth

Johnson

Adds language

R 168.22(1)

concern that the clarifying that the

ruleset would

prevent an

election officials

retain discretion to

election official make the final

from rejecting a determination

signature that the regarding a

official believes signature’s

is invalid by

validity, and

requiring a the

clarifying that the

election official ruleset sets out a

to presume the

validity of the

signature.

process to follow

in determining

validity but does

not require

election officials

to accept

signatures the

election official

believes is invalid.

5

Ronna

Expresses

Adds a subsection R 168.22(3)

McDaniel, on

behalf of the

Republican

National

concern that the explicitly

draft ruleset

clarifying the

would require an ability of the clerk

obviously non-

matching

signature to be

to contact a voter

prior to making a

determination

Committee

accepted if there regarding the

was only one validity of a

major difference signature.

from the

signature on file,

rather than

multiple

differences.

MCL 24.242 and 24.245

Agency Report to JCAR-Page 6

6

Sen. Ruth

Johnson

Expresses

Clarifies that

redeeming

qualities must be

considered when

R 168.23(1)

concern that a

clearly non-

matching

signature must be determining

accepted if a

whether a

redeeming feature provided signature

is present.

matches the

signature on file,

but that the

presence of a

redeeming quality

does not require an

election official to

accept an

obviously invalid

signature.

7

Shira Roza, on

behalf of

Promote the

Vote

Shira Roza, on

Removes the

R 168.24(d)

behalf of Promote reference to

the VoteWritten provisional ballot

Identifies concern envelopes to

that the

clarify the

subsection will be subsection applies

interpreted to

apply only to

absent voter

ballot envelopes,

rather than both

envelopes and

absent voter

ballot

to both envelopes

and applications.

applications. R

168.24(d)

Removes the

reference to

provisional ballot

envelopes to

clarify the

subsection

applies to both

envelopes and

applications.

MCL 24.242 and 24.245

Agency Report to JCAR-Page 7

8

Shira Roza, on

behalf of

Identifies

possible

Added subsections R 168.25

clearly specifying

Promote the

Vote

ambiguity in the timelines for

use of the term

“immediately”

various election

official

without providing responsibilities

a definition of

“immediately.”

Expresses

under the ruleset

9

Shira Roza, on

behalf of

Adds language

clarifying that all

R 168.26(1)

concern that a

Promote the

Vote

uniform signature clerks must accept

cure process will the signature cure

not be available form created by

across the state. the Secretary of

State.

10

Mark

Expresses

Adds a subsection R 168.26(3)

McWilliams, on

behalf of

Disability

Rights

concern that the clarifying that

ruleset does not clerks are

explicitly provide permitted to make

protections for

voters with

disabilities.

the same

Michigan

accommodations

for the signature

cure process that

they may make for

collecting absent

voter ballot

envelopes.

13.Date report completed:

12/1/2021

MCL 24.242 and 24.245