§ 168.303Candidate for school board member; name on official ballot; nominating

petition; form; signature violations; felony or misdemeanor; penalties; filing fee;
 withdrawal.
 Sec. 303.
    (1) Subject to subsection (8), for an individual's name to appear on the official ballot as a
 candidate for school board member, the candidate shall file a nominating petition and the
 affidavit required by section 558 with the school district filing official not later than 4 p.m. on


                                                                     Michigan Compiled Laws Complete Through PA 9 of 2026
Rendered Thursday, April 30, 2026               Page 86 of 478                               Courtesy of legislature.mi.gov

 the fifteenth Tuesday before the election date. The nominating petition must be signed by the
 following number of electors of the school district:
    (a) If the population of the school district is less than 10,000 according to the most recent
 federal census, a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 20.
    (b) If the population of the school district is 10,000 or more according to the most recent
 federal census, a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 100.
    (2) The nominating petition must be substantially in the form prescribed in section 544c,
 except that the petition must be nonpartisan and must include the following opening
 paragraph:
  We, the undersigned, registered and qualified voters
  of
  _______________________________________________________
  and residents of the _______________________________, the
                                                                           (legal name of school district)
  county of _____________________________, state of Michigan,
                                                                           (city or township)
  nominate
  __________________________________________________
                                                                           (name of candidate)
  _______________________________                                          ________________________,
  (street address)                                                         (city or township)
  a registered and qualified elector of the district as a member of the
  board of education of the school district for a term of ______ years,
  expiring ______, to be voted for at the election to be held on the
  ______ day of ___________, ______.
                                                                           (month) (year)
 (3) An individual shall not knowingly sign more nominating petitions for the same office than
 there are persons to be elected to the office. An individual who violates this subsection is
 guilty of a misdemeanor.
    (4) An individual shall not do any of the following:
    (a) Sign a nominating petition with a name other than his or her own.
    (b) Make a false statement in a certificate on a nominating petition.
    (c) If not a circulator, sign a nominating petition as a circulator.
    (d) Sign a name as circulator other than his or her own.
    (5) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (6), an individual who violates subsection
 (4) is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00 or imprisonment
 for not more than 93 days, or both.
    (6) An individual shall not sign a nominating petition with multiple names. An individual
 who violates this subsection is guilty of a felony.
    (7) If an individual signs a nominating petition in violation of this section, any signature by
 that individual on the petition is invalid and must not be counted.
    (8) Instead of filing nominating petitions, a candidate for school board member may pay a
 nonrefundable filing fee of $100.00 to the school district filing official. If this fee is paid by
 the due date for a nominating petition, the payment has the same effect under this section as
 the filing of a nominating petition.


                                                                Michigan Compiled Laws Complete Through PA 9 of 2026
Rendered Thursday, April 30, 2026           Page 87 of 478                              Courtesy of legislature.mi.gov

   (9) A nominating petition filed under this chapter is subject to the examination and
 investigation process prescribed in section 552 as to its sufficiency and the validity and
 genuineness of the signatures on the nominating petition, and to the other procedures
 prescribed in that section relevant to a petition filed under this chapter.
   (10) After a nominating petition is filed or filing fee is paid for a candidate for school board
 member, the candidate is not permitted to withdraw unless a written withdrawal notice, signed
 by the candidate, is filed with the school district filing official not later than 4 p.m. of the third
 day after the last day for filing the nominating petition. If the school district filing official is
 not a county clerk, the school district filing official shall notify the county clerk of the
 candidates' names and addresses not later than 3 days after the last day for filing a withdrawal
 notice.