Mich. Comp. Laws » Michigan Compiled Laws / Chapter 168 / Act 116 of 1954
Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.764b (2026)

Delivery, tabulation, and acceptance of absent voter ballots; appointment, oath, credentials, and duties of assistants; collection of absent voter ballots; prohibition; noncompliance.

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MI-LEGlegislature.mi.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

MICHIGAN ELECTION LAW


Act 116 of 1954


168.764b Delivery, tabulation, and acceptance of absent voter ballots; appointment, oath, credentials, and duties of assistants; collection of absent voter ballots; prohibition; noncompliance.

Sec. 764b.

    (1) An absent voter ballot must be delivered to the clerk, or tabulated at an election day polling place or early voting site as provided under section 768a, only as authorized in the instructions for an absent voter provided in section 764a.

    (2) The clerk of a city or township may accept delivery of absent voter ballots at any location in the city or township.

    (3) The clerk of a city or township may appoint the number of assistants necessary to accept delivery of absent voter ballots at any location in the city or township. An appointment as assistant to accept delivery of absent voter ballots must be for 1 election only. An assistant appointed to receive ballots at a location other than the office of the clerk must be furnished credentials of authority by the clerk. If an absent voter's ballot is received by an assistant at any location other than the clerk's office the assistant, upon request, shall exhibit the credentials to the absent voter before the assistant accepts an absent voter ballot. An assistant, before entering upon the discharge of duties, shall take and subscribe to the oath of office as provided in section 1 of article XI of the state constitution of 1963. An assistant shall perform only the duties assigned by the clerk. An individual must not be appointed as an assistant to accept delivery of absent voter ballots who is a candidate or a member of the immediate family of a candidate whose name appears on the ballot at that election.

    (4) A clerk who receives a request from an absent voter under section 764a for assistance in returning the absent voter's absent voter ballot shall make arrangements to collect the ballot from the voter either personally or by sending an authorized assistant, if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

    (a) The clerk's office issued the absent voter ballot to that absent voter.

    (b) Upon the clerk's request, the absent voter states that the absent voter is unable to return the absent voter ballot by the other means specified in instructions (a), (b), or (c) of Step 6 under section 764a.

    (c) The absent voter telephones the appropriate clerk for assistance on or before 5 p.m. on the Friday immediately before the election.

    (d) The absent voter requests the clerk to pick up the absent voter ballot within the jurisdictional limits of the city or township in which the absent voter is registered.

    (5) Notwithstanding subsection (4), a clerk who receives a request from an absent voter under section 764a for assistance in returning the absent voter's absent voter ballot may make arrangements to collect the ballot from the voter either personally or by sending an authorized assistant, if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

    (a) The clerk's office issued the absent voter ballot to that absent voter.

    (b) Upon the clerk's request, the absent voter states that the absent voter is unable to return the absent voter ballot by the other means specified in instructions (a), (b), or (c) of Step 6 under section 764a.

    (6) The clerk shall maintain a list open to the public that contains the names and addresses of all authorized assistants appointed under this section who are available to collect absent voter ballots on or before election day in that city or township.

    (7) An absent voter ballot received by the clerk before the close of the polls on election day must not be invalidated solely because the delivery to the clerk was not in compliance with section 764a or this section, however the ballot must be considered challenged and must be marked and processed as provided in section 745.

    

    

History: Add. 1982, Act 201, Imd. Eff. July 1, 1982 ;-- Am. 1995, Act 261, Eff. Mar. 28, 1996 ;-- Am. 1996, Act 207, Imd. Eff. May 21, 1996 ;-- Am. 2018, Act 120, Eff. Dec. 31, 2018 ;-- Am. 2023, Act 81, Eff. Feb. 13, 2024

PopularName Notes:

Election Code
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases, 2000–2020 · leading case: Barrow v. City of Detroit Election Comm'n, 305 Mich. App. 649 (Mich. Ct. App. 2014).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Barrow v. City of Detroit Election Comm'n, 305 Mich. App. 649 (Mich. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 3× “764a indicates that, after voting, the absentee ballot may be delivered to the clerk or an authorized assistant at a location other than the clerk’s office; and MCL 168.764b expressly allows the clerk or a properly credentialed assistant to accept delivery of absentee ballots at…”
People v. Woods, 616 N.W.2d 211 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 6× “MCL 168.764b; MSA 6.1764(2). Defendant contacted Jenkins with the purpose of “pick[ing] up absentee ballots and getfting] permission or sworn in or whatever you have to do to be able .”
People v. Jenkins, 624 N.W.2d 457 (Mich. Ct. App. 2001). “354(1), and two Election Law violations by appointing as an assistant to accept delivery of absentee voter ballots one who was a candidate on the ballot and a member of a candidate’s immediate family, MCL 168.764b(3); MSA 6.1764(2)(3), MCL 168.”
Lantz v. Southfield City Clerk, 628 N.W.2d 583 (Mich. Ct. App. 2001). “764a provides in relevant part: The ballot must reach the clerk or an authorized assistant of the clerk before the close of the polls on election day.”
Michigan All. for Retired Americans v. Sec'y of State (Mich. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 7× “MCL 168.764b(3).11 That option, which has not been suspended during the pandemic, further mitigates the burden on voters who need assistance.”
League of Women Voters of Michigan v. Sec'y of State (Mich. Ct. App. 2020). “MCL 168.764b(1) states: “An absent voter ballot must be delivered to the clerk only as authorized in the instructions for an absent voter provided in section 764a.”
Michigan All. for Retired Americans v. Sec'y of State (Mich. Ct. App. 2020). “764a; MCL 168.764b. 3 See Proposition No. 18-3 (2018).”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.764b(1) — 1 case
League of Women Voters of Michigan v. Sec'y of State (Mich. Ct. App. 2020). “MCL 168.764b(1) states: “An absent voter ballot must be delivered to the clerk only as authorized in the instructions for an absent voter provided in section 764a.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.764b(2) — 1 case
Barrow v. City of Detroit Election Comm'n, 305 Mich. App. 649 (Mich. Ct. App. 2014). “764a indicates that, after voting, the absentee ballot may be delivered to the clerk or an authorized assistant at a location other than the clerk’s office; and MCL 168.764b expressly allows the clerk or a properly credentialed assistant to accept delivery of absentee ballots at…”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.764b(3) — 4 cases
Barrow v. City of Detroit Election Comm'n, 305 Mich. App. 649 (Mich. Ct. App. 2014). “764a indicates that, after voting, the absentee ballot may be delivered to the clerk or an authorized assistant at a location other than the clerk’s office; and MCL 168.764b expressly allows the clerk or a properly credentialed assistant to accept delivery of absentee ballots at…”
People v. Woods, 616 N.W.2d 211 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000). “MCL 168.764b; MSA 6.1764(2). Defendant contacted Jenkins with the purpose of “pick[ing] up absentee ballots and getfting] permission or sworn in or whatever you have to do to be able .”
People v. Jenkins, 624 N.W.2d 457 (Mich. Ct. App. 2001). “354(1), and two Election Law violations by appointing as an assistant to accept delivery of absentee voter ballots one who was a candidate on the ballot and a member of a candidate’s immediate family, MCL 168.764b(3); MSA 6.1764(2)(3), MCL 168.”
Michigan All. for Retired Americans v. Sec'y of State (Mich. Ct. App. 2020). “MCL 168.764b(3).11 That option, which has not been suspended during the pandemic, further mitigates the burden on voters who need assistance.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.764b(4) — 2 cases
People v. Woods, 616 N.W.2d 211 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000). “MCL 168.764b; MSA 6.1764(2). Defendant contacted Jenkins with the purpose of “pick[ing] up absentee ballots and getfting] permission or sworn in or whatever you have to do to be able .”
Michigan All. for Retired Americans v. Sec'y of State (Mich. Ct. App. 2020). “MCL 168.764b(3).11 That option, which has not been suspended during the pandemic, further mitigates the burden on voters who need assistance.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.764b(4)(c) — 1 case
Michigan All. for Retired Americans v. Sec'y of State (Mich. Ct. App. 2020). “MCL 168.764b(3).11 That option, which has not been suspended during the pandemic, further mitigates the burden on voters who need assistance.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.764b(5) — 1 case
Michigan All. for Retired Americans v. Sec'y of State (Mich. Ct. App. 2020). “MCL 168.764b(3).11 That option, which has not been suspended during the pandemic, further mitigates the burden on voters who need assistance.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.764b(7) — 1 case
Michigan All. for Retired Americans v. Sec'y of State (Mich. Ct. App. 2020). “MCL 168.764b(3).11 That option, which has not been suspended during the pandemic, further mitigates the burden on voters who need assistance.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.764b(l) — 1 case
Lantz v. Southfield City Clerk, 628 N.W.2d 583 (Mich. Ct. App. 2001). “764a provides in relevant part: The ballot must reach the clerk or an authorized assistant of the clerk before the close of the polls on election day.”
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.