Showing 7 posts in Legislative Updates.
Supreme Court Rules that Elections Must Abide by State Laws
The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that state legislatures must abide by the election laws of their respective states.[1] Read More ›
Categories: Election & Campaign Finance Law, Legislative Updates, U.S. Supreme Court
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Michigan Voters Pass Two Election-Related Constitutional Amendments
In this year’s midterm election, Michigan voters passed three constitutional amendments, two of which make significant changes to the state’s election process, impacting voters, candidates, and office holders. So, what do these amendments do? Let’s examine. Read More ›
Categories: Alerts and Updates, Legislative Updates
Whitmer Signs Bipartisan Election Bills Ahead of Mid-Terms
With mid-term elections right around the corner, on Friday October 7, Governor Whitmer signed a package of bills which includes a handful of changes to how clerks process ballots, including those coming from our military serving overseas. Read More ›
Categories: Alerts and Updates, Campaign Finance (MCFA), Legislative Updates, News
Sixth Circuit Rejects Michigan Lawmakers’ Challenge to State’s Term Limits Law
On November 17, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rejected a constitutional challenge brought forward by a bipartisan group of Michigan state legislators arguing that their state’s term limits violate their constitutional rights. Read More ›
Categories: 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Alerts and Updates, Candidates and Committees, Legislative Updates, News
Michigan House Bill to Require Training for All Election Challengers
As the Michigan Legislature continues to explore election reform, one bill has received near unanimous bipartisan support in the House. House Bill 4528 requires political parties, organizations, committees and their members to complete comprehensive training before serving as election challengers. Read More ›
Categories: Candidates and Committees, Legislative Updates
Michigan House Passes Election Law Reforms Addressing Reportable Conditions, Precinct Sizes, and AV Counting Boards
The Michigan House of Representatives has introduced and passed, with wide bipartisan support, a number of election reform bills. The bulk of the bills are in response to a 2019 report issued by the Michigan Office of the Auditor General (“OAG Report”). The OAG Report identified three “reportable conditions” and one “material condition”; House Bills 4127-31 attempt to correct the reportable conditions (the material condition is an internal access issue and is being resolved administratively). Separately, the House passed HB 4134 to increase the size of precincts and HB 4135 to amend the rules for absent voter counting boards. Read More ›
Categories: Alerts and Updates, Legislative Updates, News
Bill Passes Michigan Senate, Allowing Qualifying Cities and Townships to Process Absentee Ballots Prior to Election Day
Social distancing and precautionary measures taken by citizens across the state has moved voting from the ballot box to the mail box. As a result, local government officials in Michigan are anticipating record numbers of mail-in ballots for this November’s general election. According to Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, over 2.1 million absentee ballots have already been requested—far surpassing the 1.2 million requested in the 2016 presidential election.
Given this unprecedented influx of absentee voting, local government officials tasked with processing ballots have begun to express concern over the logistical issues which may arise on Election Day. In response to this concern, the Michigan Legislature has begun to take action. Read More ›
Categories: Alerts and Updates, Legislative Updates