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HB 4698

Elections: voters; definition of identification for election purposes; expand. Amends sec. 2 of 1954 PA 116 (MCL 168.2).

2023-2024 Regular Session Introduced by Felicia Brabec and 20 co-sponsors

HB 4698 primarily clarifies acceptable photo IDs for election purposes and adds rules to delay village officers’ start dates to December 1 after elections.

laid over one day under the rules
#elections:registration #elections:voters #elections:votingprocedures
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Bill Summary · HB 4698

Summary — HB 4698

Status: Laid over one day under the rules; most recent House action — passed by the House with immediate effect (Sept. 3, 2025) and referred to Senate committee (Elections and Ethics). Fiscal impact: none reported.

Purpose / Intent

HB 4698 has had two distinct iterations in the legislative record:

  1. A 2023–2024 version amending the Michigan Election Law (MCL 168.2) to define what constitutes acceptable “identification for election purposes,” aligning statute with the state constitution (Ballot Proposal 2 of 2022) and addressing mobile/state-issued digital IDs.
  2. A 2025 version that amends the Home Rule Village Act to delay the start of village officers’ terms until December 1 and to prevent persons elected to fill vacancies from taking office until election results are certified.

Both versions aim to clarify and ensure orderly administration of elections and transitions into office.

Key provisions

Identification (earlier S-1 / Senate substitute)

  • Revises the statutory list of acceptable photo identification for voting/absentee ballot application:
    • Adds photo IDs issued by local governments and clarifies the acceptable student IDs (issued by an “educational institution” as defined in statute).
    • Continues to include passports, tribal IDs, military IDs, state-issued physical driver’s licenses and state ID cards, and out‑of‑state driver’s licenses/state IDs.
  • Excludes mobile/digital driver’s licenses and mobile state ID cards from the definition of acceptable ID for election purposes (ties to companion Senate bills SB 459, SB 460, SB 461).
  • Conditional enactment: the S‑1 substitute included an enacting section making the bill effective only if SBs 459–461 are also enacted.

Home Rule Village Act (2025 repurpose)

  • Adds Section 24e to the Home Rule Village Act:
    • All village officers elected after Dec. 31, 2024 must not commence their terms earlier than 12:00 noon on December 1 following the election (so a November election term begins Dec. 1 at noon).
    • If a village charter otherwise set an earlier start date, the Dec. 1 date controls.
    • Individuals elected to fill a vacancy may not take the oath of office until the relevant board of canvassers has certified the election results.

Who is affected

  • Identification version: Registered Michigan voters who vote in person or apply in person for absent voter ballots; local government issuers and educational institutions that produce photo IDs.
  • Village Act version: Elected village officials (presidents, trustees, clerks, treasurers, etc.), village charters, municipal clerks, and boards of canvassers.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Identification S‑1 passed the Senate (Dec. 13, 2024) and included a tie‑bar to SBs 459–461; that version required companion bills to be enacted to take effect.
  • The 2025 village-act version was introduced June 26, 2025, passed the House Sept. 3, 2025 (roll call 184: 105–0 with immediate effect) and was referred to the Senate (Elections & Ethics).
  • House Fiscal Agency consistently reports no fiscal impact.

Support / Stakeholder positions

  • Identification version: Supported by municipal clerks, voting-rights and democracy organizations (League of Women Voters, ACLU-Michigan, Common Cause Michigan, etc.). Some concerns were raised about digital/mobile ID exclusions.
  • Village term provisions: Support reported from municipal clerk associations and county clerks; testimony cited need to allow time to count servicemember/overseas ballots and to avoid swearing in before votes are fully tabulated.

Note: Because HB 4698’s subject and text have changed during the enactment process, readers should confirm the active version in the legislature (and any companion Senate bills) to determine the bill’s current operative provisions.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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