Sec. 765.

(1) A clerk who receives an absent voter ballot return envelope containing the marked ballots of an absent voter shall not open that envelope before delivering the envelope to the board of election inspectors as provided in this section. The city or township clerk shall safely keep in his or her office until election day any absent voter ballot return envelopes received by the clerk before election day containing the marked ballots of an absent voter.

(2) Before the opening of the polls on election day or as soon after the opening of the polls as possible, the clerk shall deliver the absent voter ballot return envelopes to the chairperson or other member of the board of election inspectors in the absent voter's precinct, together with the signed absent voter ballot applications received by the clerk from any voters of that precinct and the clerk's list or record kept relative to those absent voters. However, if higher numbered ballots are used under section 717, the clerk shall retain the applications and lists in his or her office and shall keep the applications and lists open to public inspection at all reasonable hours. Absent voter ballots must not be tabulated before the opening of the polls on election day.

(3) The city or township clerk, or authorized designee of the clerk, shall call for and receive absent voter ballots from the post office at which the city or township clerk regularly receives mail addressed to the city or township clerk on election day. Any envelopes containing absent voter ballots that are received from the post office or from voters who voted by absentee ballot in person in the clerk's office on election day must be delivered to the board of election inspectors or the absent voter counting boards to be tabulated.

(4) If a marked absent voter ballot is received by the clerk after the close of the polls, the clerk shall plainly mark the envelope with the time and date of receipt and shall file the envelope in his or her office.

(5) On or before 8 a.m. on election day, the clerk shall post in the clerk's office or otherwise make public the number of absent voter ballots the clerk distributed to absent voters and the number of absent voter ballot return envelopes containing the marked ballots of absent voters received by the clerk before election day and to be delivered to the board of election inspectors or the absent voter counting boards under this act. On or before 9 p.m. on election day, the clerk shall post in the clerk's office or otherwise make public the number of absent voter ballot return envelopes containing the marked ballots of absent voters received by the clerk on election day and delivered to the board of election inspectors, under subsection (3), along with the total number of absent voter ballot return envelopes containing the marked ballots of absent voters received by the clerk both before and on election day and delivered to the board of election inspectors or the absent voter counting boards under this act. As soon as possible after all precincts in the city or township are processed, the clerk shall post in the clerk's office or otherwise make public the number of absent voter ballot return envelopes containing the marked ballots of absent voters received by the election inspectors at the precincts on election day, along with the total number of absent voter ballot return envelopes containing the marked ballots of absent voters received in the city or township for that election. This subsection applies only to elections in which a federal or state office appears on the ballot.

History: 1954, Act 116, Eff. June 1, 1955 ;-- Am. 1995, Act 261, Eff. Mar. 28, 1996 ;-- Am. 1996, Act 207, Imd. Eff. May 21, 1996 ;-- Am. 2018, Act 120, Eff. Dec. 31, 2018 ;-- Am. 2018, Act 127, Imd. Eff. May 3, 2018 ;-- Am. 2018, Act 603, Imd. Eff. Dec. 28, 2018 Popular Name: Election Code