Casting absentee votes on paper ballots or ballot cards; count; recording; voting and processing absent voters' ballots; inspection of rejected ballot.

MCL 168.798c

in effect

168.798c. Casting absentee votes on paper ballots or ballot cards; count; recording; voting and processing absent voters' ballots; inspection of rejected ballot. Sec. 798c. (1) Absentee votes may be cast on paper ballots or ballot cards or both. Absent voter ballots may be counted in the various voting precincts or may be counted by absent voter counting boards. Absentee votes cast on paper ballots may be recorded by election inspectors on ballot cards for counting by tabulating equipment. (2) In an election held under this act, absent voters' ballots may be voted and processed in the manner provided by this chapter. (3) If electronic tabulating equipment rejects an absent voter ballot due to programming required under section 795, the rejected ballot shall be inspected to confirm the presence of the error before the ballot is processed. A vote for each elective office or ballot question in which an error is confirmed shall not be counted. Add. 1967, Act 155, Imd. Eff. June 30, 1967; Am. 1969, Act 186, Imd. Eff. Aug. 5, 1969; Am. 1990, Act 109, Imd. Eff. June 18, 1990; Am. 2004, Act 92, Imd. Eff. Apr. 26, 2004 [Compiler] Act 269 of 2001, which was approved by the Governor and filed with the Secretary of State on January 11, 2002, provided for the amendment of MCL 168.31, 168.73, 168.283, 168.393, 168.509y, 168.509aa, 168.561a, 168.624, 168.624a, 168.686, 168.706, 168.727, 168.737, 168.745, 168.769, 168.782b, 168.795, 168.795c, 168.797a, 168.798c, 168.799a, 168.803, 168.804, 168.842, and 168.931 of, the addition of Sec. 701 to, and the repeal of Sec. 509 of, Act 116 of 1954, known as the Michigan Election Law. A petition seeking a referendum on Act 269 of 2001 was filed with the Secretary of State. The Board of State Canvassers officially declared the sufficiency of the referendum petition on May 14, 2002. Const 1963, art 2, sec 9, provides that no law as to which the power of referendum properly has been invoked shall be effective thereafter unless approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon at the next general election. A referendum on Act 269 of 2001 was presented to the electors at the November 5, 2002, general election as Proposal 02-1, which read as follows: [Compiler] “A REFERENDUM ON PUBLIC ACT 269 OF 2001--AN ACT TO AMEND CERTAIN SECTIONS OF MICHIGAN ELECTION LAW [Compiler] Public Act 269 of 2001 would: [Compiler] --Eliminate “straight party” vote option on partisan general election ballots. [Compiler] --Require Secretary of State to obtain training reports from local election officials. [Compiler] --Require registered voters who do not appear on registration list to show picture identification before voting a challenged ballot. [Compiler] --Require expedited canvass if presidential vote differential is under 25,000. [Compiler] --Require ballot counting equipment to screen ballots for voting errors to ensure the accurate tabulation of absentee ballots. Permit voters in polls to correct errors. [Compiler] --Provide penalties for stealing campaign signs or accepting payment for campaign work while being paid as a public employee to perform election duties. [Compiler] Should this law be approved? [Compiler] Yes __________ [Compiler] No __________” [Compiler] Act 269 of 2001 was not approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon at the November 5, 2002, general election. [PopularName] Election Code

Source: Michigan Legislature (legislature.mi.gov)URL: https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-168-798cFetched: 10/20/2026