Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.745 (2026)

Ballot of challenged voter; endorsement, rejection.

✓ current as of July 2026

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MICHIGAN ELECTION LAW

Act 116 of 1954

168.745 Ballot of challenged voter; endorsement, rejection.

Sec. 745.

Whenever at any election the ballot of any person who has been challenged as an unqualified voter and who has taken the oath provided by law in such case to be taken shall be received by the inspectors of election, said inspectors shall cause to be plainly endorsed on said ballot, with pencil, before depositing the same in the ballot box, the number corresponding to the number placed after such voter's name on the poll lists without opening the same: Provided, That in case a ballot shall be so folded, defaced, printed or prepared that such number cannot be legibly and permanently written on the back thereof, said inspectors shall refuse to accept such ballot.

History: 1954, Act 116, Eff. June 1, 1955

Compiler's Notes:

Act 269 of 2001, which was approved by the Governor and filed with the Secretary of State on January 11, 2002, provided for the amendment of MCL 168.31, 168.73, 168.283, 168.393, 168.509y, 168.509aa, 168.561a, 168.624, 168.624a, 168.686, 168.706, 168.727, 168.737, 168.745, 168.769, 168.782b, 168.795, 168.795c, 168.797a, 168.798c, 168.799a, 168.803, 168.804, 168.842, and 168.931 of, the addition of Sec. 701 to, and the repeal of Sec. 509 of, Act 116 of 1954, known as the Michigan Election Law. A petition seeking a referendum on Act 269 of 2001 was filed with the Secretary of State. The Board of State Canvassers officially declared the sufficiency of the referendum petition on May 14, 2002. Const 1963, art 2, sec 9, provides that no law as to which the power of referendum properly has been invoked shall be effective thereafter unless approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon at the next general election. A referendum on Act 269 of 2001 was presented to the electors at the November 5, 2002, general election as Proposal 02-1, which read as follows:

“A REFERENDUM ON PUBLIC ACT 269 OF 2001—AN ACT TO AMEND CERTAIN SECTIONS OF MICHIGAN ELECTION LAW

Public Act 269 of 2001 would:

—Eliminate “straight party” vote option on partisan general election ballots.

—Require Secretary of State to obtain training reports from local election officials.

—Require registered voters who do not appear on registration list to show picture identification before voting a challenged ballot.

—Require expedited canvass if presidential vote differential is under 25,000.

—Require ballot counting equipment to screen ballots for voting errors to ensure the accurate tabulation of absentee ballots. Permit voters in polls to correct errors.

—Provide penalties for stealing campaign signs or accepting payment for campaign work while being paid as a public employee to perform election duties.

Should this law be approved?

Yes __________

No __________”

Act 269 of 2001 was not approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon at the November 5, 2002, general election.

PopularName Notes:

Election Code

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 4 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2007–2026 · leading case: In Re Request for Advisory Opinion Regarding Constitutionality of 2005 Pa 71, 740 N.W.2d 444 (Mich. 2007).

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In Re Request for Advisory Opinion Regarding Constitutionality of 2005 Pa 71, 740 N.W.2d 444 (Mich. 2007). · cites it 2× “" The ballot cast by a challenged voter is marked (and the mark subsequently concealed) with a number corresponding to the voter's poll list number, and is counted as a regular ballot.”

Muhith Mahmood v. City of Hamtramck (Mich. Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 6× “” This case is a quagmire, but at bottom, the contested absentee ballots were counted as part of a recount, and the plaintiff was seeking to have the Wayne County Board of Canvassers certify the results of the recount, while the intervenor was seeking to have the contested…”

Promote the Vote v. Sec'y of State (Mich. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 5× “” -5- An election inspector must identify, as provided in MCL 168.745 and MCL 168.746, a challenged ballot.”

Philip M O'Halloran Md v. Sec'y of State (Mich. 2024). “727(2) then provides as follows: Upon a challenge being made under subsection (1), an election inspector shall immediately do all of the following: (a) Identify as provided in [MCL 168.745] and [MCL 168.746] a ballot voted by the challenged individual, if any.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.