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SB-963, As Passed Senate, June 16, 2026
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SENATE BILL NO. 963
A bill to provide for language assistance for elections; to
provide for the powers and duties of certain state and local
governmental officers and entities; to create the language access
advisory council; and to provide for remedies.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. This act may be cited as the "language assistance for 1
elections act". 2
Sec. 3. As used in this act: 3
(a) "Limited English proficiency" means an individual who does 4
not speak English as that individual's primary language and who 5
May 13, 2026, Introduced by Senators CHANG, CAMILLERI, GEISS, MOSS, SANTANA,
SINGH, CAVANAGH, SHINK, KLINEFELT, POLEHANKI, BRINKS, IRWIN, WOJNO,
BAYER, CHERRY, HERTEL, MCCANN and ANTHONY and referred to Committee on
Elections and Ethics.
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speaks, reads, or understands the English language less than very 1
well. 2
(b) "Local government" means a county, or a city or township 3
that conducts an election. 4
(c) "Michigan voting and elections database and institute" 5
means the Michigan voting and elections database and institute 6
created in section 5 of the voting and elections database and 7
institute act. 8
(d) "Voting-eligible population" means the population of 9
individuals with United States citizenship who are 18 years of age 10
or older. 11
Sec. 5. (1) A local government must provide language 12
assistance for elections conducted in that local government if that 13
local government meets either of the following conditions: 14
(a) Before January 1, 2030, has more than 5% of the voting-15
eligible population in that local government who speak a single 16
shared language other than English and have limited English 17
proficiency, or, beginning January 1, 2030, has a voting-eligible 18
population of at least 600 individuals in that local government who 19
speak a single shared language other than English and have limited 20
English proficiency. 21
(b) Before January 1, 2030, has a voting-eligible population 22
of more than 10,000 in that local government who speak a single 23
shared language other than English and have limited English 24
proficiency, or, beginning January 1, 2030, has a voting-eligible 25
population of at least 100 individuals in that local government who 26
speak a single shared language other than English and have limited 27
English proficiency and also comprise 2.5% or more of the voting-28
eligible population in the local government. 29
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(2) If a local government that is required to provide language 1
assistance for elections conducted in that local government under 2
this section enters into an agreement with the county in which that 3
local government is located authorizing the county to conduct early 4
voting for that local government as provided under section 720g of 5
the Michigan election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.720g, the county 6
must comply with the language assistance requirements for that 7
local government during the early voting period. 8
(3) Not later than January 31 of each odd-numbered year, the 9
secretary of state shall post on the department of state's website 10
both of the following based on data made available by the United 11
States Census Bureau or the American Community Survey, or, if that 12
data is insufficient, data of comparable quality collected by a 13
governmental entity or the Michigan voting and elections database 14
and institute: 15
(a) A list of each local government that is required under 16
this section to provide language assistance for elections under 17
subsection (1). 18
(b) A list of each language in which the local governments 19
listed in subdivision (a) are required to provide language 20
assistance for elections. 21
(4) At least 10 days before the secretary of state posts the 22
information on the department of state's website under subsection 23
(3), the director of elections shall provide that information to 24
the clerk of each local government in this state. If a local 25
government is added to the information posted on the department of 26
state's website under subsection (3), the secretary of state must 27
do all of the following: 28
(a) Notify that local government of the language assistance 29
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requirements. 1
(b) Require that local government to implement the language 2
assistance requirements not later than the next state primary 3
election date. 4
(c) Provide in the covered language all voting materials 5
produced by the secretary of state relevant to that local 6
government. 7
(d) Issue guidance on implementing the language assistance 8
requirements described in subsection (2). 9
(5) If the secretary of state determines under this section 10
that language assistance for elections must be provided in a local 11
government, the secretary of state must do all of the following: 12
(a) Except as otherwise provided under this subdivision, 13
provide translations for voter-facing materials in each designated 14
language as translated by a certified translator, including 15
registration and voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance, 16
ballots, absent voter ballot applications, signage at clerks' 17
offices, polling places, and early voting sites, and other 18
materials designated by the language access advisory council, as 19
created under section 6. The secretary of state shall annually 20
provide to the language access advisory council a list of materials 21
suggested for translation. If a local government requires language 22
assistance for elections that is not provided by the secretary of 23
state under this subsection, that local government is required to 24
submit language to the secretary of state no later than 82 days 25
before the election, and if that language is not submitted to the 26
secretary of state by the local government as required under this 27
subdivision, that local government is required to provide the 28
language assistance for elections as required under this 29
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subdivision. 1
(b) Ensure that all materials provided in a designated 2
language are translated by a certified translator and do not rely 3
solely on any automatic translation service, are of an equal 4
quality to the English counterparts, and accurately convey the 5
intent and essential meaning of the original text or communication 6
in the most widely used dialect. 7
(c) Provide to that local government, and to the county in 8
which that local government is located if that local government has 9
entered into an agreement with the county in which that local 10
government is located authorizing the county to conduct early 11
voting for that local government as provided under section 720g of 12
the Michigan election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.720g, a voting 13
system technology that produces ballots on demand and a voter 14
assist terminal that displays a translated ballot for the voter to 15
mark using the electronic interface on the voter assist terminal 16
and that prints a translated ballot reflecting the voter's votes 17
for tabulation. 18
(d) Subject to this subdivision, reimburse that local 19
government for additional costs associated with logic and accuracy 20
testing on tabulators conducted by that local government, or, if 21
approved by the governing body of the local government, directly 22
contract with a vendor to do logic and accuracy testing on 23
tabulators in that local government. The secretary of state shall 24
not prohibit the clerk of a local government or a board of election 25
commissioners from using any source to prepare the chart of 26
predetermined results and test decks with those predetermined 27
results used in that preliminary logic and accuracy testing if the 28
chart of predetermined results and test decks with those 29
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predetermined results meet the required standards under law. A 1
clerk of a local government or a board of election commissioners 2
may use any source to print test ballots if the source is capable 3
of printing ballots that are designed to be scanned properly by 4
voting equipment, and may use any source to conduct logic and 5
accuracy testing if that logic and accuracy testing is limited to 6
only placing test ballots in voting equipment and comparing the 7
results to the chart of predetermined results, and does not involve 8
any additional examination of or access to voting equipment. 9
(6) If the secretary of state provides language assistance for 10
elections to a local government under subsection (5), that local 11
government must use all of the language assistance for elections 12
provided by the secretary of state. 13
(7) If the secretary of state determines under this section 14
that language assistance for elections must be provided in a local 15
government, the secretary of state shall provide to the clerk of 16
that local government access to either a live interpreter or a 17
virtual system, along with any necessary equipment that can be used 18
for providing language interpretation to electors. The secretary of 19
state shall provide to the clerks in any other local government 20
access to a virtual system on request. The live interpreter or 21
virtual system described in this subsection must be provided in the 22
clerk's office for the period beginning 45 days before the election 23
and continuing through election day, in early voting sites during 24
the early voting period, and in election day polling places on 25
election day. 26
(8) The secretary of state must produce electronic copies of 27
the specified election materials that the secretary of state makes 28
public in each language that has been designated under subsection 29
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(1). 1
(9) Nothing in this section prohibits a local government from 2
voluntarily providing language assistance for elections beyond that 3
language assistance for elections required in this section if the 4
local government determines that language assistance for elections 5
would be beneficial for the limited English proficiency residents 6
in that local government. 7
(10) This section takes effect January 1, 2028. 8
Sec. 6. (1) The language access advisory council is created in 9
the department of state. 10
(2) The language access advisory council consists of the 11
following members who shall be appointed by the secretary of state: 12
(a) One clerk who is selected from a list of nominees 13
submitted by the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks. 14
(b) One clerk who is selected from a list of nominees 15
submitted by the Michigan Association of County Clerks. 16
(c) One member from each group that is eligible for language 17
assistance for elections under this act. 18
(3) The secretary of state shall appoint the members of the 19
language access advisory council no later than May 1, 2027. 20
(4) If a vacancy occurs on the language access advisory 21
council, the secretary of state shall fill the vacancy in the same 22
manner as the original appointment. 23
(5) The members of the language access advisory council shall 24
meet 1 or more times annually, as directed by the secretary of 25
state, to advise the secretary of state on implementing the 26
provisions of section 5. 27
(6) The language access advisory council shall annually 28
approve a list of voter-facing materials that must be translated 29
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into each designated language by a certified translator, including 1
the required materials provided in section 5(5)(a). 2
Sec. 7. (1) Except as otherwise provided under subsection (5), 3
before commencing a civil action against the secretary of state or 4
a local government that alleges a violation of section 5, a 5
prospective plaintiff must send by certified mail a notification 6
letter to the secretary of state or, for a local government, the 7
clerk and chief administrative officer of the local government that 8
asserts that the secretary of state or the local government may be 9
in violation of section 5. The notification letter must explain in 10
detail each alleged violation of section 5 and propose a remedy for 11
each alleged violation of section 5. 12
(2) Within 30 days after receiving a notification letter under 13
subsection (1), the secretary of state, or the clerk of the local 14
government and the chief administrative officer or chief executive 15
officer of that local government, along with legal counsel or any 16
other individual the secretary of state or the local government 17
wishes to attend, may meet with the prospective plaintiff and the 18
prospective plaintiff's representatives to prepare and agree on a 19
written plan to address the alleged violations of section 5 by the 20
secretary of state or the local government. If the secretary of 21
state or the local government does not meet with the prospective 22
plaintiff, the prospective plaintiff may file a cause of action as 23
provided under subsection (5). If the secretary of state or the 24
local government agrees to meet with the prospective plaintiff to 25
prepare and agree on a plan to address the alleged violations, the 26
prospective plaintiff or the prospective plaintiff's 27
representatives must participate in the meeting. The written plan 28
described in this subsection must be in writing, be approved by the 29
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secretary of state or, for a local government, by a resolution of 1
the governing body of the local government, and do all of the 2
following: 3
(a) Identify each alleged violation of section 5 by the 4
secretary of state or the local government. 5
(b) Identify a specific remedy for each alleged violation of 6
section 5 by the secretary of state or the local government or 7
state that the parties agree that no remedy is appropriate for 1 or 8
more of the alleged violations. 9
(c) Establish specific measures that the secretary of state or 10
the local government must take to facilitate any needed approvals 11
to implement each specific remedy. 12
(d) Provide a schedule for the needed approvals and the 13
implementation of each specific remedy. 14
(3) If a prospective plaintiff and the secretary of state or 15
the local government agree on a written plan that complies with 16
subsection (2), and that written plan is approved by the secretary 17
of state or, for a local government, by a resolution of the 18
governing body of the local government, no cause of action may be 19
filed by the prospective plaintiff unless the secretary of state or 20
the local government fails to comply with the requirements of the 21
written plan. 22
(4) If a prospective plaintiff and the secretary of state or 23
the local government do not agree on a written plan as described 24
under subsection (2), the prospective plaintiff may file a cause of 25
action as provided under subsection (5). 26
(5) Subject to subsections (1) to (4), any individual 27
aggrieved by a violation of section 5, any entity whose membership 28
includes individuals aggrieved by a violation of section 5, any 29
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entity whose mission would be frustrated by a violation of section 1
5, any entity that would expend resources in order to fulfill its 2
mission as a result of a violation of section 5, or the attorney 3
general may file a cause of action against a local government as 4
provided under section 12(1) or against the secretary of state as 5
provided under section 12(2) if any of the following requirements 6
are met: 7
(a) The party gave written notice as required under subsection 8
(1) and the secretary of state or the local government did not meet 9
and approve a written plan as provided under subsection (2). 10
(b) Another party has already submitted a notification letter 11
under subsection (1) that alleges a substantially similar violation 12
of section 5 and that party is eligible to bring a cause of action 13
under this subsection. 14
(c) After a party submitted a notification letter under 15
subsection (1), the secretary of state or the local government 16
failed to implement a written plan as provided under subsection 17
(2). 18
(d) The party is seeking preliminary relief with respect to an 19
upcoming election as provided under section 13. 20
Sec. 8. (1) Subject to subsection (4), if, pursuant to a 21
process commenced by a notification letter under section 7, a local 22
government enacts or implements a remedy to a potential violation 23
of this act, the department of state shall reimburse the 24
prospective plaintiff who sent the notification letter from the 25
Michigan voting rights assistance fund, as created in section 15 of 26
the state voting rights act, or, if there is insufficient money in 27
the Michigan voting rights assistance fund, from other money 28
appropriated to the department of state for this purpose, for the 29
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reasonable costs to generate the notification letter under section 1
7. 2
(2) If a local government enacts or implements a remedy to a 3
potential violation of this act, either in response to a 4
notification letter received under section 7 or on its own 5
volition, the department of state shall reimburse that local 6
government from the Michigan voting rights assistance fund, as 7
created in section 15 of the state voting rights act, or, if there 8
is insufficient money in the Michigan voting rights assistance 9
fund, from other money appropriated to the department of state for 10
this purpose, for the reasonable costs to evaluate whether the 11
remedy was necessary to prevent a potential violation of this act. 12
(3) The department of state shall reimburse a local government 13
from the Michigan voting rights assistance fund, as created in 14
section 15 of the state voting rights act, or, if there is 15
insufficient money in the Michigan voting rights assistance fund, 16
from other money appropriated to the department of state for this 17
purpose, for the reasonable costs incurred to evaluate whether a 18
remedy is necessary to prevent a possible violation of this act. 19
The department shall provide reimbursement under this subsection 20
only if both of the following requirements are met: 21
(a) The costs were incurred by the local government in 22
response to a notification letter received under section 7. 23
(b) The department of state determines, on request from the 24
local government, that a reasonable plaintiff, with reasonable 25
investigation before sending the notification letter, would have 26
known the allegations in the notification letter lacked legal or 27
factual merit. 28
(4) Subject to subsection (6), the amount of reimbursement 29
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provided under subsection (1), (2), or (3) must not exceed 1
$50,000.00. This amount must be adjusted annually by an amount 2
determined by the state treasurer to reflect the cumulative annual 3
percentage increase in the United States Consumer Price Index for 4
the immediately preceding calendar year and rounded to the nearest 5
$100.00 increment. 6
(5) A request for reimbursement made by a prospective 7
plaintiff or a local government under subsection (1) or (2) must be 8
transmitted to the department of state not later than 90 days after 9
the enactment or implementation of the remedy. A request for 10
reimbursement made by a local government under subsection (3) must 11
be transmitted to the department of state not later than 90 days 12
after the local government receives a determination by the 13
department of state that the allegations in the notification letter 14
lacked legal or factual merit. The request for reimbursement must 15
be substantiated with financial documentation, including, as 16
applicable, detailed invoices for expert analysis and reasonable 17
attorney fees calculated using a lodestar methodology. A 18
prospective plaintiff or local government that does not receive 19
satisfactory reimbursement within 120 days after the request for 20
reimbursement may file a declaratory judgment action to obtain a 21
clarification of rights. 22
(6) A local government may seek reimbursement only under 23
subsection (2) or (3), and not subsections (2) and (3), regarding a 24
notification letter. 25
(7) As used in this section, "United States Consumer Price 26
Index" means the United States Consumer Price Index for all urban 27
consumers as defined and reported by the United States Department 28
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 29
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Sec. 9. (1) In any action brought under this act, the court 1
has broad authority to order adequate remedies that are tailored to 2
address the violation. The ordered remedies must be only as 3
extensive as reasonably necessary to remedy the violation. Subject 4
to subsection (3), adequate remedies include, but are not limited 5
to, any of the following: 6
(a) Requiring the establishment and conducting of a 7
comprehensive program that ensures an equal opportunity for 8
citizens in the local government who are entitled to language 9
assistance under this act to participate in the electoral process. 10
(b) Adding voting days or hours. 11
(c) Ordering a special election on either a regular election 12
date as provided under section 641 of the Michigan election law, 13
1954 PA 116, MCL 168.641, or on another date, as determined by the 14
court, if necessary to remedy a violation. 15
(d) Imposing nominal or compensatory damages. 16
(e) Subject to this subdivision, imposing punitive damages in 17
the form of a civil fine. The civil fine must be deposited into the 18
Michigan voting rights assistance fund created in section 15 of the 19
state voting rights act. When assessing the amount of punitive 20
damages, the court shall take into consideration the severity of 21
the violation, the number of violations, whether the local 22
government has previous violations, the number of registered 23
electors in the local government, the local government's ability to 24
pay the punitive damages, and any other factors the court considers 25
necessary. The court shall provide an explanation in any order 26
requiring the payment of punitive damages on why punitive damages 27
were required and how the court determined the amount of those 28
punitive damages. Punitive damages may be ordered only if the court 29
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finds any of the following: 1
(i) The violation is intentional. 2
(ii) The local government or an official of a local government 3
demonstrated a disregard for the voting rights of qualified 4
electors in the local government. 5
(iii) After being notified of an alleged violation under section 6
7(1), the local government failed to take any action under section 7
7(2). 8
(iv) The local government violated a court order issued under 9
this act, article II of the state constitution of 1963, the federal 10
voting rights act of 1965, 52 USC 10301 to 10314, 10501 to 10508, 11
and 10701 to 10702, or any other law applicable to or affecting 12
voting rights. 13
(v) After addressing any violation of this act, article II of 14
the state constitution of 1963, or any other law applicable to or 15
affecting voting rights, the local government subsequently violated 16
this act, article II of the state constitution of 1963, or any 17
other law applicable to or affecting voting rights. 18
(vi) Punitive damages are reasonably necessary to ensure 19
compliance with this act. 20
(f) Any other form of declaratory or injunctive relief that, 21
in the court's judgment, is tailored to address the violation. 22
(g) Retaining jurisdiction for a period of time the court 23
considers appropriate. 24
(2) In any action brought under this act, the court shall 25
consider remedies proposed by any parties and interested nonparties 26
and shall not provide deference or priority to a proposed remedy 27
offered by the defendant or the local government simply because the 28
remedy has been proposed by the defendant or the local government. 29
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(3) In any action brought under this act, the court has the 1
authority to order remedies that may be inconsistent with other 2
provisions of state or local law, when the inconsistent provisions 3
of law would otherwise preclude the court from ordering an adequate 4
remedy. 5
Sec. 11. In any action brought under this act, the court shall 6
award reasonable attorney fees and litigation costs, including 7
expert witness fees and expenses, to the any of the following: 8
(a) A party that filed the action and prevailed in the action. 9
The party that filed the action is considered to have prevailed if, 10
as a result of the action, the party against whom the action was 11
filed has yielded some or all of the relief sought in the action. 12
(b) A party that defended an action and prevailed in the 13
action if the written response by the local government under 14
section 7(2) details why no violation occurred and the court finds 15
no violation occurred for the same or substantially similar reasons 16
provided in the local government's written response under section 17
7(2). 18
Sec. 12. (1) Any individual or entity identified in section 19
7(5) or the attorney general may file an action against a local 20
government in the circuit court of the county in which the local 21
government is located or in the court of claims to compel 22
compliance with and seek an appropriate remedy under this act. 23
(2) Any individual or entity identified in section 7(5) or the 24
attorney general may file an action against the secretary of state 25
in the court of claims to compel compliance with and seek 26
appropriate remedy under this act. 27
Sec. 13. Because of the frequency of elections, the severe 28
consequences and irreparable harm of holding elections under 29
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unlawful conditions, and the expenditure to defend potentially 1
unlawful conditions that benefit incumbent officials, actions 2
brought under this act are subject to expedited pretrial and trial 3
proceedings and must receive an automatic calendar preference. In 4
any action alleging a violation of section 5 in which a plaintiff 5
party seeks preliminary relief with respect to an upcoming 6
election, the court shall grant relief if the court determines, 7
after a hearing at which all parties may present arguments and 8
offer evidence, that the plaintiffs are more likely than not to 9
succeed on the merits and it is possible to implement an adequate 10
remedy that would resolve the alleged violation in the upcoming 11
election. 12
Sec. 15. Nothing in this act shall be interpreted to conflict 13
with federal law or suggest that voters have fewer rights than 14
granted under federal law, including, but not limited to, section 15
203 of the federal voting rights act of 1965, 52 USC 10503. 16
Enacting section 1. This act does not take effect unless all 17
of the following bills of the 103rd Legislature are enacted into 18
law: 19
(a) Senate Bill No. 961. 20
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(b) Senate Bill No. 962. 22