Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.590h (2026)
Qualifying petition; size; type size; form; reference to political party prohibited; prohibited conduct; violations; misdemeanor; felony; penalties.
MICHIGAN ELECTION LAW
Act 116 of 1954
168.590h Qualifying petition; size; type size; form; reference to political party prohibited; prohibited conduct; violations; misdemeanor; felony; penalties.
Sec. 590h.
(1) A qualifying petition for a candidate without political party affiliation must be the same size and printed in the same type sizes as required in section 544c. The petition must be in the following form:
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QUALIFYING PETITION |
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(CANDIDATE WITHOUT PARTY AFFILIATION) |
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We, the undersigned, registered and qualified voters of the |
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city or township of ............, in the county of .......... |
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(strike 1) |
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and state of Michigan, nominate, |
............................., |
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(Name of Candidate) |
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................................. |
............................, |
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(Street Address or R.R.) |
(City or Township) |
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as a candidate without party affiliation for the office of |
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........................................................... in |
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(Title of Office and District) |
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order that the name of the candidate be placed without party |
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affiliation on the ballot for the election to be held on |
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the .............. day of ............ , 20.... . |
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WARNING |
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Whoever knowingly signs more petitions for the same office than there are persons to be elected to the office or signs a name other than his or her own is violating the Michigan election law.
(2) The balance of the qualifying petition form must be substantially as set forth in section 544c. A qualifying petition for a candidate without party affiliation must not contain a reference to a political party.
(3) An individual shall not knowingly sign more 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 qualifying petition with a name other than his or her own.
(b) Make a false statement in a certificate on a qualifying petition.
(c) If not a circulator, sign a qualifying 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 qualifying petition with multiple names. An individual who violates this subsection is guilty of a felony.
(7) If an individual signs a qualifying petition in violation of this section, any signature by that individual on the petition is invalid and must not be counted.
History: Add. 1988, Act 116, Imd. Eff. May 2, 1988 ;-- Am. 2002, Act 431, Imd. Eff. June 6, 2002 ;-- Am. 2018, Act 650, Imd. Eff. Dec. 28, 2018
Compiler's Notes:
Section 2 of Act 116 of 1988 provides:
"If any portion of this amendatory act or the application of this amendatory act to any person or circumstances shall be found to be invalid by a court, the invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions or applications of this amendatory act which can be given effect without the invalid portion or application, if the remaining portions are not determined by the court to be inoperable, and to this end this amendatory act is declared to be severable."
In the form in subsection (1), the phrase "We, the undersigned, registered and qualified voters" evidently should read "We, the undersigned, registered and qualified electors".
PopularName Notes:
Election Code