Board authorizes start of rulemaking to update recount procedures

The Board of State Canvassers voted to support draft administrative rules governing state-level recounts and to begin the rule-promulgation process under the Administrative Procedures Act.

Staff counsel Adam explained the multi-step process: submit a request for rulemaking and a regulatory impact statement, prepare the draft rule for format review by the Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules, post the rule and open a public comment period including hearings and required newspaper postings, compile comments, and submit a report to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR). He emphasized that the draft largely codifies procedures the board already follows for recounts and that the existing rules dated to 1979.

Adam said the bureau had shared the draft with several county clerks (Ingham, Oakland, Ottawa and Kent) to get feedback and expected that because initial materials are ready the process would be shorter than the typical 105-day timeline. "I would anticipate that it would be truncated, and it would not take 105 days," he said, adding an overall estimate of one to three months to reach the public-comment and hearing phase.

Board members asked for regular updates. A motion to begin the rule promulgation process and to authorize the Bureau of Elections to act on the board's behalf passed after a board vote of 'Aye.'