Section 168.641 - Regular election date; special election; report; direction and supervision of election consolidation; short title of section.
MICHIGAN ELECTION LAW (EXCERPT)
Act 116 of 1954
168.641 Regular election date; special election; report; direction and supervision of election consolidation; short title of section.
Sec. 641.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section and sections 642 and 642a, beginning January 1, 2005, an election held under this act shall be held on 1 of the following regular election dates:
(a) The February regular election date, which is the fourth Tuesday in February.
(b) The May regular election date, which is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May.
(c) The August regular election date, which is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in August.
(d) The November regular election date, which is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
(2) If an elective office is listed by name in section 643, requiring the election for that office to be held at the general election, and if candidates for the office are nominated at a primary election, the primary election shall be held on the August regular election date.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection and subsection (4), a special election shall be held on a regular election date. A special election called by the governor under section 145, 178, 632, 633, or 634 to fill a vacancy or called by the legislature to submit a proposed constitutional amendment as authorized in section 1 of article XII of the state constitution of 1963 may, but is not required to be, held on a regular election date.
(4) A school district may call a special election to submit a ballot question to borrow money, increase a millage, or establish a bond if an initiative petition is filed with the county clerk. The petition shall be signed by a number of qualified and registered electors of the district equal to not less than 10% of the electors voting in the last gubernatorial election in that district or 3,000 signatures, whichever number is lesser. Section 488 applies to a petition to call a special election for a school district under this section. In addition to the requirements set forth in section 488, the proposed date of the special election shall appear beneath the petition heading, and the petition shall clearly state the amount of the millage increase or the amount of the loan or bond sought and the purpose for the millage increase or the purpose for the loan or bond. The petition shall be filed with the county clerk by 4 p.m. of the twelfth Tuesday before the proposed date of the special election. The petition signatures shall be obtained within 60 days before the filing of the petition. Any signatures obtained more than 60 days before the filing of the petition are not valid. If the special election called by the school district is not scheduled to be held on a regular election date as provided in subsection (1), the special election shall be held on a Tuesday. A special election called by a school district under this subsection shall not be held within 30 days before or 35 days after a regular election date as provided in subsection (1). A school district may only call 1 special election pursuant to this subsection in each calendar year.
(5) The secretary of state shall make a report to the house and senate committees that consider election issues by December 1, 2006. The secretary of state shall report about the special elections held under this subsection, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(a) The number of times a special election has been held.
(b) Which school districts have held special elections.
(c) Information about the success rate of the ballot question submitted at the special elections.
(d) Information about voter turnout, including the percentage and number of registered voters who voted in each special election.
(6) The secretary of state shall direct and supervise the consolidation of all elections held under this act.
(7) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Hammerstrom election consolidation law”.
History: 1954, Act 116, Eff. June 1, 1955 ;-- Am. 2003, Act 298, Eff. Jan. 1, 2005 ;-- Am. 2005, Act 71, Imd. Eff. July 14, 2005
Compiler's Notes: Enacting section 4 of Act 71 of 2005 provides:"Enacting section 4. If any portion of this amendatory act or the application of this amendatory act to any person or circumstances is found invalid by a court, the invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions or applications of this amendatory act that can be given effect without the invalid portion or application, if the remaining portions are not determined by the court to be inoperable, and to this end this amendatory act is declared to be severable."See Green Party of Michigan, et al v Terri Lynn Land, case no. 08-10149, March 26, 2008.
Popular Name: Election Code