2024 House Bill 5572

AI Analysis – Experimental

The legislative text amends the Michigan Election Law, specifically section 552 (MCL 168.552), to enhance the procedures and responsibilities of county and city clerks regarding the certification and investigation of nominating petitions. The primary provisions mandate that clerks must immediately certify the names and addresses of party candidates whose petitions meet legal requirements to the appropriate election boards. Upon receiving a sworn complaint questioning the validity of signatures or the registration of petition circulators, the county clerk is required to initiate an investigation, which may involve forwarding petitions to local clerks for signature comparison using the qualified voter file. The county clerk must complete these investigations within seven days of receiving the complaint. Additionally, the county clerk can independently examine petitions and must make public the staff report on petition challenges at least two business days before making a final determination. The legislation also allows the Board of State Canvassers to use statistical random sampling to verify petition signatures and mandates that any obviously fraudulent signatures be referred to the Department of Attorney General for further investigation. The board must make public its staff report on petition challenges two business days before making a final determination and must declare the sufficiency or insufficiency of petitions at least 60 days before the primary election. The qualified voter file is to be used for verifying the validity and genuineness of petition signatures, with a rebuttable presumption of invalidity if the file indicates the signer was not registered to vote on the date of signing.