defined.
Sec. 931.
(1) An individual who violates 1 or more of the following subdivisions is guilty of a
misdemeanor:
(a) An individual shall not, either directly or indirectly, give, lend, or promise valuable
consideration to or for any individual as an inducement to influence the manner of voting by
an individual relative to a candidate or ballot question or as a reward for refraining from
voting.
(b) An individual shall not, either before, on, or after an election, for the individual's own
benefit or on behalf of any other individual, receive, agree, or contract for valuable
consideration for 1 or more of the following:
(i) Voting or agreeing to vote, or inducing or attempting to induce another to vote, at an
election.
(ii) Refraining or agreeing to refrain, or inducing or attempting to induce another to refrain,
from voting at an election.
(iii) Doing anything prohibited by this act.
(iv) Both distributing absent voter ballot applications to voters and receiving signed
applications from voters for delivery to the appropriate clerk or assistant of the clerk. This
subparagraph does not apply to an authorized election official.
(c) An individual shall not solicit any valuable consideration from a candidate for
nomination for, or election to, an office described in this act. This subdivision does not apply
to requests for contributions of money by or to an authorized representative of the political
party committee of the organization to which the candidate belongs. This subdivision does not
apply to a regular business transaction between a candidate and any other person that is not
intended for, or connected with, the securing of votes or the influencing of voters in
connection with the nomination or election.
(d) An individual shall not, either directly or indirectly, discharge or threaten to discharge an
employee of the individual for the purpose of influencing the employee's vote at an election.
(e) A priest, pastor, curate, or other officer of a religious society shall not for the purpose of
influencing a voter at an election, impose or threaten to impose upon the voter a penalty of
excommunication, dismissal, or expulsion or command or advise the voter under pain of
religious disapproval.
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(f) In a city, township, village, or school district that has a board of election commissioners
authorized to appoint inspectors of election, an inspector of election, a clerk, or other election
official who accepts an appointment as an inspector of election shall not fail to report at the
polling place designated on election morning at the time specified by the board of election
commissioners, unless excused as provided in this subdivision. An individual who violates this
subdivision is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $10.00 or
imprisonment for not more than 10 days, or both. An inspector of election, clerk, or other
election official who accepts an appointment as an inspector of election is excused for failing
to report at the polling place on election day and is not subject to a fine or imprisonment under
this subdivision if 1 or more of the following requirements are met:
(i) The inspector of election, clerk, or other election official notifies the board of election
commissioners or other officers in charge of elections of the inability to serve at the time and
place specified, 3 days or more before the election.
(ii) The inspector of election, clerk, or other election official is excused from duty by the
board of election commissioners or other officers in charge of elections for cause shown.
(g) An individual shall not willfully fail to perform a duty imposed upon that individual by
this act or disobey a lawful instruction or order of the secretary of state as chief state election
officer or of a board of county election commissioners, board of city election commissioners,
or board of inspectors of election.
(h) A delegate or member of a convention shall not solicit a candidate for nomination before
the convention for money, reward, position, place, preferment, or other valuable consideration
in return for support by the delegate or member in the convention. A candidate or other
individual shall not promise or give to a delegate money, reward, position, place, preferment,
or other valuable consideration in return for support by or vote of the delegate in the
convention.
(i) An individual elected to the office of delegate to a convention shall not accept or receive
any money or other valuable consideration for the individual's vote as a delegate.
(j) An individual shall not, while the polls are open on an election day, solicit votes in a
polling place or within 100 feet from an entrance to the building in which a polling place is
located.
(k) An individual shall not keep a room or building for the purpose, in whole or in part, of
recording or registering bets or wagers, or of selling pools upon the result of a political
nomination, appointment, or election. An individual shall not wager property, money, or thing
of value, or be the custodian of money, property, or thing of value staked, wagered, or pledged
upon the result of a political nomination, appointment, or election.
(l) An individual shall not participate in a meeting or a portion of a meeting of more than 2
individuals, other than the individual's immediate family, at which an absent voter ballot is
voted.
(m) An individual, other than an authorized election official, shall not, either directly or
indirectly, give, lend, or promise any valuable consideration to or for an individual to induce
that individual to both distribute absent voter ballot applications to voters and receive signed
absent voter ballot applications from voters for delivery to the appropriate clerk.
(2) An individual who violates a provision of this act for which a penalty is not otherwise
specifically provided in this act is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(3) An individual or an individual's agent who knowingly makes, publishes, disseminates,
circulates, or places before the public, or knowingly causes directly or indirectly to be made,
published, disseminated, circulated, or placed before the public, in this state, either orally or in
writing, an assertion, representation, or statement of fact concerning a candidate for public
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office at an election in this state, that is false, deceptive, scurrilous, or malicious, without the
true name of the author being subscribed to the assertion, representation, or statement if
written, or announced if unwritten, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(4) As used in this section, "valuable consideration" includes, but is not limited to, money,
property, a gift, a prize or chance for a prize, a fee, a loan, an office, a position, an
appointment, or employment.§ 168.931Prohibited conduct; violation as misdemeanor; "valuable consideration"
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Primary source. The text above is the canonical statute body as it appears in this revision of the atlas. Verify against the official gazette before quoting in litigation or formal advice. Spot an error? Suggest a correction.