Bill
SB 603
SB 603 standardizes and tightens Michigan recount rules—higher per-precinct deposits, faster filing, clearer grounds, automatic triggers, and stronger penalties for interference.
Status and scope
- Enacted as Public Act 74 of 2024; took effect April 2, 2025. (Tie‑barred with SB 604, which makes complementary changes to sentencing guidelines.)
- Amends numerous sections of the Michigan Election Law (1954 PA 116), adding sections 861a and 883a and repealing several sections (recodifying much of their content elsewhere).
- Purpose: to standardize, streamline, and tighten post‑certification recount procedures at county and statewide levels, adjust petition filing fees, clarify grounds and timelines for recounts, and strengthen procedures for handling suspected misconduct.
Main changes and key provisions
- Filing deposits (per‑precinct): increases across multiple categories to better align petitioner costs with recount expense. Examples in committee analyses: the low‑margin fee rises from $25 to $50 per precinct; higher‑margin tier fees (previously $125/$250) are increased (analyses show common proposals of $250→$500 and $125→$250). The Secretary of State must adjust deposit amounts for inflation using the Consumer Price Index beginning Jan 1, 2027 and every four years thereafter.
- Refund rule: modifies when petition or counter‑petition deposits are refunded — refunds depend on whether the recount changes the election result.
- Standing and grounds: restricts who may petition and on what basis. A candidate, a ballot‑question committee (or an elector when no committee exists) may seek a recount only for an alleged error in the canvass or return (standardized to “error” rather than broader allegations).
- Filing timelines: requires recount petitions and counter‑petitions to be filed within 48 hours of county canvass certification or of the original petition filing (respectively).
- Standardized forms: prescribes forms for candidate petitions/counter‑petitions and for ballot‑question petitions/counter‑petitions.
- Recount eligibility of precincts: narrows automatic exclusions but allows recounts of precincts previously deemed “un‑recountable” if a satisfactory explanation is provided in a sworn affidavit to the county board of canvassers.
- Recount procedure updates: permits two designated checkers at each counting table (rather than one watcher + one tallier); allows alternative recount methods if approved by the Board of State Canvassers (BSC); requires any BSC‑directed recount to follow county recount procedures.
- Automatic recount thresholds: expands/changes circumstances triggering automatic statewide recounts (e.g., analyses show a statewide automatic recount if certified margin ≤ 0.1% of votes). Also tightens triggers for state senate and representative districts (e.g., 75 and 25 votes respectively in analyses).
- Investigations and referrals: removes some investigatory duties from canvass boards and requires boards that suspect fraud/wrongdoing during a recount to refer matters to local prosecuting attorneys (for county recounts) or, with concurrence, the Attorney General (for BSC recounts).
- Criminal exposure: expands the existing felony provision so any individual who willfully interferes with a recount or recount‑related activities may be charged.
- Certification and expedited canvass timelines: makes changes to county and BSC canvassing deadlines and creates an expedited canvass requirement for statewide primaries with small unofficial differentials (analyses indicate expedited canvass if margin ≤ 1,500 votes). BSC certification is treated as final except for post‑certification court orders or BSC‑supervised recounts.
Who is affected
- Candidates, ballot‑question committees, and individual electors (standing and costs).
- County clerks, boards of county canvassers, the Secretary of State and the Board of State Canvassers (new procedures, timelines, and reporting duties).
- Local and state prosecuting authorities (referral/possible investigations).
- Local governments: potential fiscal impacts for conducting recounts; increased deposits may deter some recounts but may not cover total costs.
Fiscal and procedural impacts
- Fiscal: Indeterminate. Increased deposits may produce more fee revenue but likely insufficient to cover full recount costs; could reduce frivolous petitions. Potential modest state costs (additional BSC meetings) and variable local costs depending on recount frequency.
- Procedural/timeline: shorter filing windows (48 hours), CPI indexing of fees (from 2027, every 4 years), and expedited canvass requirements change how quickly canvass and recount work must proceed after elections.
Notes
- The bill reorganizes and recodifies various existing recount provisions; several prior sections were repealed but much of their substance was retained in new placements.
- SB 604 (tie‑bar) adjusts sentencing guidelines to reflect the expanded felony exposure created by SB 603.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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