§ 168.822Board of county canvassers; canvass of returns, conclusion; failure to certify

election results.
 Sec. 822.
    (1) The board of county canvassers shall then proceed without delay to canvass the returns
 of votes cast for all candidates for offices voted for and all questions voted on at the election,
 according to the precinct returns, early voting returns, and absent voter counting board returns
 filed with the probate judge or presiding probate judge by the county, city, and township
 clerks, or for local elections according to the precinct returns filed with the county clerk, and
 must conclude the canvass at the earliest possible time and, except as otherwise provided in
 section 842(2), in every case no later than the fourteenth day after the election.
    (2) Subject to section 842(2), if the board of county canvassers fails to certify the results of
 any election for any officer or proposition by the fourteenth day after the election as provided,
 the board of county canvassers shall immediately deliver to the secretary of the board of state
 canvassers all records and other information pertaining to the election. Subject to section
 842(2) and (3), the board of state canvassers shall meet immediately and make the necessary
 determinations and certify the results not later than the twentieth day after the election. The
 board of county canvassers and all other county staff necessary to complete the canvass must
 be present at all times during the completion of the canvass by the board of state canvassers.
 All costs associated with the completion of the canvass must be borne by the county involved.
    (3) It is the ministerial, clerical, and nondiscretionary duty of each board of county
 canvassers, and each of the members of the board of county canvassers, to certify election
 results based solely on the statements of returns from the election day precincts, early voting
 sites, and absent voter counting boards in the county and any corrected returns.
    (4) As used in this section and section 842, "to certify" means to make a signed, written
 statement.




                                                                      Michigan Compiled Laws Complete Through PA 9 of 2026
Rendered Thursday, April 30, 2026               Page 410 of 478                               Courtesy of legislature.mi.gov