Title
Resolution to Authorize the City Election Commission to Establish Receiving Boards and Appoint Election Inspectors to Serve on One or More Receiving Boards for the November 2, 2010 General Election
Memorandum
Michigan Election Law (168.679a) states that the local legislative body of a city may, by resolution, provide that at an election at which the ballots are counted at the precinct, one or more additional boards of election inspectors be appointed to serve as receiving boards. All receiving boards include at least one Republican and one Democratic Election Inspector. The receiving board acts as an intermediary step for the return of election results from the individual precincts to the City Clerk’s Office. The receiving board, under law, has the authority to review the closing documents and ensure that all ballot containers are properly sealed. The receiving board can instruct the precinct workers to make any necessary corrections prior to the delivery of the ballot containers and paperwork to the City Clerk. The City Clerk does not have the authority to correct paperwork mistakes or fix incorrectly sealed ballot containers.
On a busy election such as the upcoming General Election on November 2, 2010, the receiving board could assist election inspectors with any problems they may have encountered in their closing duties. The work of the receiving board could facilitate a faster canvass and certification of the City’s precincts and also provide a final check to ensure that ballot containers are properly sealed in the event that a recount is requested. The receiving boards will be located at City Hall with election inspectors stopping at the receiving board table prior to their delivery of election materials at the Clerk's Office window. Receiving Boards were utilized in November 2008 and greatly improved the quality of the paperwork and materials delivered to the County Board of Canvassers after an extremely long and busy Presidential Election Day.
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