PRECINCT SIZE; MODIFY REQ.                                                                       S.B. 374:

                                                                                                    SUMMARY OF BILL

                                                                                     REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE

Senate Bill 374 (as reported without amendment)

Sponsor:  Senator Jeremy Moss

Committee:  Elections and Ethics

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Michigan Election Law to do the following:

-- Increase, from 2,999 active registered electors to 5,000, the maximum size of an election precinct.

-- Delete provisions specifying the number of voting machines per voters in certain sized precincts.

-- Require an election commission or the Secretary of State to consider only active registered voters when determining the number of registered voters in a precinct.

MCL 168.658 & 168.661

BRIEF RATIONALE

The implementation of early voting under Proposal 22-2 will require clerks to make several changes. Some people believe that these changes, such as requiring clerks to buy additional tabulators and equipment for each voting precinct, would burden election officials. Accordingly, it has been suggested that clerks be allowed to consolidate precincts to reduce the burdens of early voting.

                                                                            Legislative Analyst:  Abby Schneider

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill could result in some savings for local units of government by allowing multiple election precincts to consolidate into a single precinct, perhaps minimizing costs. Currently, consolidated precincts cannot exceed 2,999 active registered electors and the bill would increase that limit to 5,000 active registered electors in the newly consolidated precinct. Based on the 2020 presidential primary elections, the average cost per precinct for the estimated 5,000 precincts in Michigan totaled $3,200 per precinct which totaled $16.0 million overall. Those costs could be lower if there were fewer precincts for which the State was responsible for paying the costs of a primary election. However, Proposal 22-2 will allow multiple precincts to vote at early voting sites over a nine-day period. The nine-day early voting period likely will increase costs to hold elections and thus likely outweigh any savings achieved by the increase in the size of a precinct.

Date Completed:  6-14-23                                              Fiscal Analyst:  Joe Carrasco, Jr.

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.