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HOUSE BILL NO. 6214
A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled
"Michigan election law,"
by amending sections 42, 46, and 842 (MCL 168.42, 168.46, and
168.842), section 42 as amended by 1999 PA 216, section 46 as
amended by 2023 PA 269, and section 842 as amended by 2024 PA 74.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 42. (1) In the year in which presidential electors are to 1
be elected under section 43, or appointed, each political party in 2
this state shall choose at its fall state convention a number of 3
July 03, 2026, Introduced by Reps. Rheingans, Byrnes, Koleszar, Wooden, Foreman, Skaggs,
Price, Martus, McKinney, B. Carter, Tsernoglou, MacDonell, Andrews, Steckloff, Conlin,
Grant, Dievendorf, Pohutsky, Morgan, Longjohn, Weiss, Young, McFall, Farhat, Wil son,
Arbit, Scott, T. Carter, Brixie, Hope, Breen, Neeley, Wegela, Myers -Phillips, Mentzer,
Glanville, Edwards, Xiong, Hoskins, Puri and Coffia and referred to Committee on
Government Operations.
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candidates for electors of president President and vice-president 1
Vice President of the United States equal to the number of senators 2
and representatives in congress Congress that this state is 3
entitled to elect. The chairperson and the secretary of the state 4
central committee of each political party shall, within 1 business 5
day after the conclusion of the state convention, forward by 6
registered or certified mail a certificate containing the names of 7
the candidates for presidential electors to the secretary of state. 8
(2) The Except as otherwise provided in this subsection and 9
subsection (3), the candidates for electors of president President 10
and vice-president Vice President who shall be are considered 11
elected are those whose names have been certified to the secretary 12
of state by that political party receiving the greatest number of 13
votes for those offices at the next November election. If the 14
agreement among the states to elect the President by national 15
popular vote governs the appointment of electors for President and 16
Vice President in this state, the candidates for electors of 17
President and Vice President who shall be appointed are those whose 18
names have been certified to the secretary of state by that 19
political party that nominated the national popular vote winner as 20
specified in the agreement among the states to elect the President 21
by national popular vote. 22
(3) If the agreement among the states to elect the President 23
by national popular vote governs the appointment of electors for 24
President and Vice President in this state, all of the following 25
apply: 26
(a) As soon as practicable after this state conducts a 27
statewide popular election for President and Vice President of the 28
United States, and no later than the twentieth day after that 29
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election, the board of state canvassers shall complete the canvass 1
of the returns for each presidential slate and determine the number 2
of popular votes cast in this state for each presidential slate, 3
with the outcome determined solely by the vote of the electors of 4
this state casting ballots in the election. 5
(b) As soon as practicable after completing the canvass and 6
determination under subdivision (a), and not less than 6 days 7
before the date that the electors for President and Vice President 8
of the United States convene under section 47, the board of state 9
canvassers shall make a final determination of the number of 10
popular votes cast in this state for each presidential slate in the 11
election as provided under the agreement, with the outcome 12
determined solely by the vote of the electors of this state casting 13
ballots in the election. 14
(c) The board of state canvassers shall communicate to the 15
chief election official of each other member state an official 16
statement of the final determination by the board of state 17
canvassers under subdivision (b) within 24 hours after the 18
determination as provided in the agreement. 19
(d) As soon as practicable after this state conducts a 20
statewide popular election for President and Vice President of the 21
United States, and not less than 6 days before the date that the 22
electors for President and Vice President of the United States 23
convene under section 47, the board of state canvassers shall, as 24
provided in the agreement, do all of the following: 25
(i) Determine the number of votes for each presidential slate 26
in each state in which votes were cast in a statewide popular 27
election. 28
(ii) Add the votes for each presidential slate in each state 29
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determined under subparagraph (i) together to determine the national 1
popular vote total for each presidential slate. 2
(iii) Certify the determination under subparagraph (ii) as the 3
national popular vote total for each presidential slate. 4
(iv) Designate and certify the presidential slate with the 5
largest national popular vote total under subparagraph (iii) as the 6
national popular vote winner, or, if there is a tie for the largest 7
national popular vote total under subparagraph (iii) among 2 or more 8
presidential slates, designate and certify that there is a tie for 9
the national popular vote winner. 10
(v) Transmit the certifications under subparagraphs (iii) and 11
(iv) to the secretary of state and the governor. 12
(e) As soon as practicable after the certifications under 13
subdivision (d) are made, and not less than 6 days before the date 14
that the electors for President and Vice President of the United 15
States convene under section 47, the governor shall do all of the 16
following: 17
(i) If there was not a tie for the national popular winner 18
under subdivision (d), the governor shall, as provided under the 19
agreement, certify the appointment in this state as the electors 20
for President and Vice President of the United States the elector 21
slate associated with the national popular vote winner determined 22
under subdivision (d). If there is a tie for the national popular 23
vote winner under subdivision (d), the governor shall, as provided 24
under the agreement, certify the appointment in this state as the 25
electors for President and Vice President of the United States the 26
electors nominated under subsection (1) associated with the 27
presidential slate determined to have received the highest number 28
of votes in this state under subdivision (b). 29
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(ii) Issue a certificate of ascertainment of appointment of 1
electors documenting the certifications under subparagraph (i) that 2
includes all of the following: 3
(A) The names of the electors of this state who are certified 4
as appointed as the electors for President and Vice President of 5
the United States under subparagraph (i). If there was not a tie for 6
the national popular vote winner under subdivision (d), the 7
certificate must indicate that the electors were associated with 8
the presidential slate certified as the national popular vote 9
winner under subdivision (d) and must also include both the 10
national popular vote total determined for that presidential slate 11
under subdivision (d) and the total number of popular votes for 12
that presidential slate in this state as determined under 13
subdivision (b). If there is a tie for the national popular vote 14
winner under subdivision (d), the certificate must indicate that 15
the electors were associated with the presidential slate determined 16
to have received the highest number of popular votes in this state 17
under subdivision (b) and must also include both the total number 18
of popular votes for that presidential slate in this state as 19
determined under subdivision (b) and the national popular vote 20
total as determined for that presidential slate under subdivision 21
(d). 22
(B) The names of the candidates for elector for each elector 23
slate associated with a presidential slate other than the 24
presidential slate in sub-subparagraph (A), the national popular 25
vote total as determined under subdivision (d) for each of the 26
other presidential slates, and the total number of popular votes in 27
this state as determined under subdivision (b) for each of the 28
other presidential slates. 29
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(C) The great seal of this state. 1
(D) At least 1 security feature, as determined by the 2
governor, for the purpose of verifying the authenticity of the 3
certificate. The secure components of any security feature used are 4
confidential and not subject to disclosure under the freedom of 5
information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246. 6
(iii) Immediately after issuing a certificate of ascertainment 7
of appointment of electors under subparagraph (ii), transmit the 8
certificate to the Archivist of the United States by the most 9
expeditious delivery method available. 10
(iv) As soon as practicable after issuing a certificate of 11
ascertainment of appointment of electors under subparagraph (ii), 12
but not later than the date that the electors for President and 13
Vice President of the United States convene under section 47, 14
transmit 6 duplicate-originals of the certificate to the electors 15
for President and Vice President of this state and 1 duplicate-16
original of the certificate to the secretary of state. 17
(4) As used in this subsection and subsection (3): 18
(a) "Agreement" means the agreement among the states to elect 19
the President by national popular vote. 20
(b) "Chief election official", "elector slate", "presidential 21
slate", "state", and "statewide popular election" mean those terms 22
as defined in the agreement. 23
(c) "Member state" means a state in which the agreement is in 24
effect and governs the appointment of electors for President and 25
Vice President in that state. 26
Sec. 46. (1) As Except as otherwise provided in section 42(3), 27
as soon as practicable after the board of state canvassers has, by 28
the official canvass, ascertained the result of an election as to 29
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the electors of President and Vice President of the United States, 1
but not less than 6 days before the date on which the electors for 2
President and Vice President of the United States are to convene 3
under section 47, the governor shall issue a certificate of 4
ascertainment of appointment of electors that does all of the 5
following: 6
(a) Sets forth the names of the electors appointed and the 7
canvass or other determination under the laws of this state of the 8
number of votes given or cast for each individual whose appointment 9
any or all votes have been given or cast. 10
(b) Bears the seal of this state. 11
(c) Contains at least 1 security feature, as determined by the 12
governor, for the purpose of verifying the authenticity of the 13
certificate. The secure components of any security feature used are 14
confidential and not subject to disclosure under the freedom of 15
information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246. 16
(2) Immediately Except as otherwise provided in section 42(3), 17
immediately after issuing the certificate of ascertainment of 18
appointment of electors under subsection (1), the governor shall 19
transmit to the Archivist of the United States, by the most 20
expeditious method available, the certificate of ascertainment of 21
appointment of electors. The Except as otherwise provided in 22
section 42(3), the governor shall also transmit to each elector the 23
electors chosen as an elector electors for President and Vice 24
President of the United States, on or before the date on which the 25
electors are to convene under section 47, 6 duplicate-originals of 26
the certificate. 27
(3) Subject to this subsection, the fact that a recount 28
petition has been filed, or that a recount is pending, has no 29
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effect on the governor's authority or responsibility to issue a 1
certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors as required 2
under subsection (1). However, if a mandatory recount of all 3
precincts in this state is required under section 880a, the 4
governor shall not issue the certificate of ascertainment of 5
appointment of electors required under subsection (1) until the 6
completion and certification of the recount or until 3 p.m. on the 7
sixth day before the date on which the electors for President and 8
Vice President of the United States are to convene under section 9
47, whichever occurs first. If the recount is completed and 10
certified before 3 p.m. on the sixth day before the date on which 11
the electors for President and Vice President of the United States 12
are to convene under section 47, the certificate of ascertainment 13
of appointment of electors issued by the governor must reflect the 14
certified result of that recount. If the recount is not completed 15
and certified before 3 p.m. on the sixth day before the date on 16
which the electors for President and Vice President of the United 17
States are to convene under section 47, the certificate of 18
ascertainment of appointment of electors issued by the governor 19
must reflect the original certification of the results of the 20
election. 21
(4) If a recount is completed by 11:59 p.m. on the second day 22
before the date on which the electors for President and Vice 23
President of the United States are to convene under section 47, and 24
the result of that recount, as certified by the board of state 25
canvassers, alters the winner of the presidential election as 26
reflected on the certificate of ascertainment of appointment of 27
electors issued by the governor under subsection (1), an affected 28
candidate for President or Vice President of the United States may 29
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have the certification reviewed by the supreme court, or may seek 1
other judicial relief from the supreme court related to the 2
certification including, but not limited to, an order directing the 3
governor to issue a superseding certificate of ascertainment of 4
appointment of electors that reflects the updated and certified 5
results of the presidential election. An action under this 6
subsection must be filed with the supreme court within not later 7
than 24 hours after the certification of the completed recount. A 8
plaintiff filing an action in the supreme court under this 9
subsection must request an expedited hearing and that the supreme 10
court issue an order granting any judicial relief by 4 p.m. on the 11
day before the date on which the electors for President and Vice 12
President of the United States are to convene under section 47. If 13
the supreme court issues an order by the day before the date on 14
which the electors are to convene under section 47 that requires 15
the governor to issue a superseding certificate of ascertainment 16
consistent with the certified results of the recount, the governor 17
must issue that superseding certificate of ascertainment before the 18
date on which the electors are to convene under section 47. 19
(5) If a recount is completed by 11:59 p.m. on the second day 20
before the date on which the electors for President and Vice 21
President of the United States are to convene under section 47, and 22
the result of that recount, as certified by the board of state 23
canvassers, alters the winner of the presidential election as 24
reflected on the certificate of ascertainment of appointment of 25
electors issued by the governor under subsection (1), and the 26
supreme court does not issue an order under subsection (4) before 4 27
p.m. on the day before the date on which the electors are to 28
convene under section 47, the governor must issue a superseding 29
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certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors that 1
reflects the updated and certified results of the presidential 2
election, as determined by the recount and certified by the board 3
of state canvassers, no later than 11:59 p.m. on the day before the 4
date on which the electors are to convene under section 47. 5
(6) A superseding certificate of ascertainment of appointment 6
of electors issued by the governor under this section replaces and 7
supersedes any prior certificate of ascertainment of appointment of 8
electors issued under this section, must be transmitted consistent 9
with the requirements under subsection (2) for the certificate of 10
ascertainment of appointment of electors, and is conclusive with 11
respect to the determination of electors for President and Vice 12
President of the United States appointed by this state. 13
Sec. 842. (1) Except as otherwise provided under subsection 14
(2), the board of state canvassers, for the purpose of canvassing 15
the returns and ascertaining and determining the result of an 16
election, shall meet on or before the twentieth day after the 17
election. The secretary of the board of state canvassers shall 18
appoint the day of the meeting, which must be as soon as 19
practicable after the receipt of the returns from the boards of 20
county canvassers, and shall notify the other members of the board. 21
Except as otherwise provided under subsections (2) and (3), the 22
board shall complete the canvass and announce the board's 23
determination not later than the twentieth day after the election. 24
The board may at the time of its meeting canvass the returns for 25
any office for which the returns have been received. 26
(2) If Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if the 27
unofficial election returns show that the election of electors of 28
President and Vice President of the United States is determined by 29
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a vote differential between the first place and second place 1
candidates for President and Vice President of the United States of 2
less than 25,000 votes, the secretary of state shall direct the 3
boards of county canvassers to canvass returns on an expedited 4
schedule. The Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the 5
secretary of state may direct the boards of county canvassers to 6
complete the canvass and certify the statements as required by law 7
not later than the tenth day after the election. If the agreement 8
among the states to elect the President by national popular vote 9
governs the appointment of electors of President and Vice President 10
in this state in a particular year, the secretary of state shall, 11
not later than August 1 of that year, calculate and determine the 12
cost of conducting an expedited canvass of the returns, and post 13
the results of that cost calculation on the department of state's 14
website. If the agreement among the states to elect the President 15
by national popular vote governs the appointment of electors of 16
President and Vice President in this state, a candidate for 17
President of the United States who is on the ballot in this state 18
may, not later than 2 days after the election, request an expedited 19
canvass of the returns that is accompanied by the payment of the 20
cost for conducting the expedited canvass of the returns as 21
determined by the secretary of state. Upon receipt of a request for 22
an expedited canvass of the returns as provided under this 23
subsection that is accompanied by the payment for the cost of 24
conducting the expedited canvass of the returns, the secretary of 25
state shall direct the board of county canvassers to complete the 26
canvass and certify the statements as required by law not later 27
than the tenth day after the election. 28
(3) The secretary of the board of state canvassers may appoint 29
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the day for the board of state canvassers to conduct the expedited 1
canvass of the returns as required under subsection (2) and 2
determine the results of that election. The day appointed for the 3
expedited canvass must be as soon as practicable after receipt of 4
the returns from the boards of county canvassers, but the board of 5
state canvassers shall complete the canvass and announce the 6
board's determination no later than the thirteenth day after the 7
election. 8
(4) If any statewide primary election has an unofficial vote 9
differential of 1,500 votes or less, the secretary of state shall 10
direct the board of state canvassers to canvass the returns of that 11
statewide primary election on an expedited schedule and shall 12
appoint the day for the board of state canvassers to conduct the 13
expedited canvass. 14
(5) It is the ministerial, clerical, and nondiscretionary duty 15
of the board of state canvassers, and each of the members of the 16
board of state canvassers, to certify election results based solely 17
on the certified statements of votes from counties. 18
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect 19
unless Senate Bill No. ____ (request no. S03716'25) or House Bill 20
No. 6213 (request no. H03716'25) of the 103rd Legislature is 21
enacted into law. 22