The following opinion is presented on-line for informational use only and does not replace the official version. (Mich Dept of Attorney General Web Site - www.ag.state.mi.us) STATE OF MICHIGAN
JENNIFER M. GRANHOLM, ATTORNEY GENERAL
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW:
ELECTIONS:
SECRETARY OF STATE:
Voter registering to vote at address different from that on voter's driver's license
Section 509o(3) of the Michigan Election Law does not prohibit a voter from registering to vote at an address different from that listed on his or her driver's license.
Opinion No. 7010
March 1, 1999
Honorable Elizabeth S. Brater
State Representative
The Capitol
Lansing, MI
Honorable Laura Baird
State Representative
The Capitol
Lansing, MI
You have asked whether section 509o(3) of the Michigan Election Law prohibits a voter from registering to vote at an address different from that listed on his or her driver's license and, if so, whether that restriction unconstitutionally infringes upon a voter's voting rights.
Public elections are governed by the Michigan Election Law (election law), 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.1 et seq; MSA 6.1001 et seq. In response to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), 42 USC 1973gg-1 et seq, the state Legislature made significant changes to Michigan's election law. Among other things, 1994 PA 441 requires the Secretary of State to "direct and supervise the establishment and maintenance of a statewide qualified voter file" (QVF) as the official statewide file for conducting elections. Section 509o(1).
Under the election law, a qualified voter may register to vote only at his or her official residence for voting purposes. MCL 168.11; MSA 6.1011. See also, Wilkins v Ann Arbor City Clerk, 385 Mich 670, 694; 189 NW2d 423 (1971). For voting purposes, a voter's residence "'mean[s] that place at which a person habitually sleeps, keeps his or her personal effects and has a regular place of lodging. [If] a person [has] more than 1 residence, . . . that place at which the person resides the greater part of the time shall be his or her official residence for the purposes of [the Michigan Election Law].'" Id. at 675.
Section 509v of the election law outlines where a qualified voter may register to vote:
(1) A person who is not registered to vote at the address where he or she resides may apply to register to vote by submitting an application at any of the following locations:
(a) The office of the clerk of a county or the office of the clerk of the city or township in which the applicant resides, during regular office hours of that clerk.
(b) A department of state office.
(c) A designated voter registration agency when submitting an application, recertification, renewal, or change of address at the voter registration agency.
(2) A person who is not registered to vote at the address where he or she resides may apply for registration by submitting a completed mail registration application. A person may request a mail registration application from and submit the application to any of the following:
(a) The secretary of state.
(b) The clerk of the county, city, or township in which the applicant resides.
(c) A designated voter registration agency.
Under federal election law, states must designate certain state agencies and offices as sites where voters can register for federal elections, including (1) state agencies and offices that provide public assistance, and (2) those that house state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities. 42 USC � 1973gg-5. Consistent with this requirement, Michigan has designated executive departments, state agencies, and other offices as "designated voter registration agencies" for registration for state elections. Section 509u of the election law; Executive Order No. 1995-1.
Section 509o(3) of the election law, which is the subject of your question, provides, in pertinent part, that:
The secretary of state or a designated voter registration agency shall not allow a person to indicate a different address than the address in either the secretary of state's or designated voter registration agency's files to be placed in the qualified voter file.
The primary rule governing the interpretation of statutes is to ascertain and give effect to the Legislature's intent. White v City of Ann Arbor, 406 Mich 554, 562; 281 NW2d 283 (1979). Perhaps the best source for ascertaining the Legislature's intent is the actual language used by the Legislature in the act. People v Dunn, 104 Mich App 419, 426; 304 NW2d 856 (1981). In examining the provisions of an act to determine the Legislature's intent, the statute is to be construed as a whole, harmonizing, and giving effect to all of its provisions. Stowers v Wolodkzko, 386 Mich 119, 133; 191 NW2d 355 (1971); Binkley v Asire, 335 Mich 89, 96; 55 NW2d 742 (1952). Finally, a statute should be construed if at all possible so as to avoid constitutional infirmity. Dep't of Natural Resources v Seaman, 396 Mich 299, 315; 240 NW2d 206 (1976).
It is clear from an examination of the text of section 509o(3) that the Legislature did not intend to include local clerks within the prohibition contained in the second sentence of that subsection. That sentence is limited by its terms to registration applications taken by the Secretary of State or by a designated voter registration agency. It pointedly omits any reference to county, city, township or village clerks ("local clerks"). In contrast, in the first sentence of section 509o(3), the Legislature did include local clerks in its directive that a signed application be obtained as a necessary predicate for registration in the QVF.1 The juxtaposition of the two sentences in section 509o(3), one that includes the local clerks in its mandate and the other that does not, must be presumed to be deliberate. It is presumed that the Legislature did not intend to do a useless thing; thus, a court must construe the statute so as to give effect to all of its provisions as reasonably possible. Hengartner v Chet Swanson Sales, Inc, 132 Mich App 751, 755; 348 NW2d 15 (1984). Therefore, section 509o(3) does not preclude local clerks from accepting voter registration applications reciting addresses different from those listed on the applicant's driver's license.
Moreover, registration by local clerks is not the only manner by which a voter can register to vote at an address which differs from that listed in the Secretary of State's or designated voter registration agency's files. If a person registers for federal elections in a manner that complies with the NVRA, 42 USC � 1973gg-1 et seq, the election law accepts such federal registration as registration for purposes of state elections. Section 509t of the election law. The NVRA permits registration by mail utilizing a form that does not require registration at an address consistent with that listed on an applicant's driver's license. See, 42 USC �� 1973gg-2, 1973gg-4, 1973gg-7(b). Therefore, a person who registers to vote by mail in accordance with the NVRA is considered a registered voter under state law, even if they have registered at an address which differs from that listed on their driver's license. Section 509t of the election law.
It is my opinion, therefore, that section 509o(3) of the Michigan Election Law does not prohibit a voter from registering to vote at an address different from that listed on his or her driver's license.
In light of this conclusion, it is not necessary to address your question concerning the constitutionality of section 509o(3) of the Michigan Election Law.
JENNIFER M. GRANHOLM
Attorney General
1 This part of section 509o(3) provides:
The secretary of state, a designated voter registration agency, or a county, city, township or village clerk shall not place a name of an individual into the qualified voter file unless that person signs an application as prescribed in section 509r(3).