TrustVoting Atlas

clerk; certificate; duties of village clerk; use of qualified voter file.
 Sec. 961.
    (1) A recall petition shall be filed with the filing officer provided in section 959 or 960. The
 filing official shall give a receipt showing the date of filing, the number of recall petition
 sheets filed, and the number of signatures claimed by the filer. This shall constitute the total
 filing, and additional recall petition sheets for this filing shall not be accepted by the filing
 official.
    (2) Within 7 days after a recall petition is filed, the filing official with whom the recall
 petition was filed shall examine the recall petition. The filing official shall determine if the
 recall petition is in proper form and shall determine the number of signatures of the recall
 petition. In determining the number of signatures, the filing official shall not count signatures
 on a recall petition sheet if 1 or more of the following apply:
    (a) The execution of the certificate of circulator is not in compliance with this act.
    (b) The heading of the recall petition sheet is improperly completed.
    (c) The reasons for recall are different than those determined under section 951a by the
 board of state canvassers or the Michigan court of appeals or under section 952 by the board
 of county election commissioners or the circuit court to be factual and of sufficient clarity to
 enable the officer whose recall is sought and the electors to identify the course of conduct
 which is the basis for this recall.
    (d) The signature was obtained before the date of determination as provided under section
 951a(8) by the board of state canvassers or the Michigan court of appeals, whichever occurs
 later, or as provided under section 952(8) by the board of county election commissioners or
 the circuit court, whichever occurs later, or more than 60 days before the filing of the recall
 petition.
    (3) If the filing official determines that the form of the recall petition is improper or that the
 number of signatures is less than the minimum number required in section 955, the filing
 official shall proceed as provided in section 963(1).
    (4) If the filing official determines that the number of signatures is in excess of the
 minimum number required in section 955, the filing official shall determine the validity of the
 signatures by verifying the registration of signers under subsection (6) and may determine the
 genuineness of signatures under subsection (7) or shall forward each recall petition sheet to the
 clerk of the city or township appearing on the head of the recall petition sheet. However, the
 recall petition shall not be forwarded to the secretary of a school district.
    (5) The city or township clerk shall determine the validity of the signatures by verifying the
 registration of signers under subsection (6) and may determine the genuineness of signatures


                                                                    Michigan Compiled Laws Complete Through PA 9 of 2026
Rendered Thursday, April 30, 2026              Page 465 of 478                              Courtesy of legislature.mi.gov

 under subsection (7). Within 15 days after receipt of the recall petition, the city or township
 clerk shall attach to the recall petition a certificate indicating the number of signers on each
 recall petition sheet that are registered electors in the city or township and in the governmental
 unit for which the recall is sought. The certificate shall be on a form approved by the secretary
 of state and may be a part of the recall petition sheet. If the recall petition is for the recall of a
 village official, the county clerk shall forward the recall petition to the clerk of the village, and
 the duties and responsibilities of the city or township clerk as set forth in this section shall be
 performed by the village clerk.
    (6) The qualified voter file shall be used to determine the validity of recall petition
 signatures by verifying the registration of signers. If the qualified voter file indicates that, on
 the date the elector signed the recall petition, the elector was not registered to vote, there is a
 rebuttable presumption that the signature is invalid. If the qualified voter file indicates that, on
 the date the elector signed the recall petition, the elector was not registered to vote in the city
 or township designated on the recall petition, there is a rebuttable presumption that the
 signature is invalid.
    (7) The qualified voter file shall be used to determine the genuineness of a challenged
 petition signature appearing on a recall petition. Signature comparisons shall be made with the
 digitized signature in the qualified voter file. If the qualified voter file does not contain a
 digitized signature of an elector, the official with whom the recall petition was filed shall
 compare the challenged signature to the signature on the master card.