Important Candidate Filing Deadline - April 24th!

As a reminder the partisan and nonpartisan candidate filing deadline is Tuesday, April 24th at 4 p.m. for the August State Primary. Those jurisdictions accepting filings this year, please make arrangements to ensure that you have adequate staff on hand to accept filings up until the deadline.

Local clerks forward copies of all affidavits submitted to the County Clerk. County Clerks, please forward copies of all affidavits submitted by candidates who seek the offices of U.S.Representative in Congress, State Representative, State Senator, and Probate Court Judge to the Department of State’s Bureau of Elections.

Candidates seeking elective township offices cannot file at the county level. Be sure to issue a receipt to all filers. Include the number of petition sheets and the number of petition signatures submitted on the receipt. And then check filings for sufficiency as soon as possible. If the filing is insufficient, immediately advise the candidate by phone and in writing. A candidate who has filed an insufficient petition can submit additional petition signatures (up to the maximum allowed) until the filing deadline elapses.

Do not accept any petition signatures or affidavits after the applicable filing deadline elapses and do not permit a candidate to alter, add information to or delete information from a petition or affidavit after the documents have been filed.

Other deadlines to note:

April 27 at 4 p.m.- Withdrawal Deadline for partisan and nonpartisan candidates (5 p.m. for judicial candidates) 

April 30 - City and township clerks must forward names and addresses of partisan and nonpartisan candidates to the county clerk

May 1 - Challenges against nominating petitions filed by partisan and nonpartisan candidates must be submitted to the filing official

May 4- Last day a recall petition can be filed in order for the recall question to appear on the August primary ballot

Review the 2018 Michigan Election Dates Booklet for a full listing of deadlines.

Security of technology means regular updates 

With ever growing news headlines focusing on the vulnerabilities of technology,  we want to remind everyone that all technological devices should be updated frequently to the most current versions.  While we insist on regular updates for the laptops used for ePollbooks on election day, we also recommend doing these updates on your office computers, tablets and cell phones you use for office email and everyday operations.  

In addition to virus and malware detection, please install updates and patches for all your software programs,  operating systems (like Microsoft Windows) and hardware and firmware from the device manufacturers (like HP, Dell, Lenovo, Apple etc.)  These updates can limit access to your computers and systems by attackers. 

The other key is diligence to “Think before you Click” on links or websites from unknown or suspicious sources. We appreciate your continued efforts for effective, efficient and safe conduct of elections.

Qualified Voter File Legacy (old) and EMP Systems Down on Sunday!

The Qualified Voter File (Legacy – old), Election Management Portal (EMP), and a portion the Michigan Voter Information Center (MVIC) will be down on Sunday, April 14th from 6:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to perform maintenance.  The QVF and EMP will be inaccessible during this time for all users.  Only portions of MVIC will be inaccessible and include the following features:  Are You Registered and Find Your Clerk.  Please note that the QVF Refresh application will be available.

QVF Refresh Software Release for April 13, 2018

The following QVF Refresh software changes were released this morning.

• Dymo label message appears when the latest software isn’t installed or the label maker is disconnected. 
• Daily AV Report accurately reflecting all av activity.
• Print Queue now shows the print date.
• AV labels showing mailing address when available.
• AV List is now properly sorting according to the Sort By request.
• Voter Registration export now in the same format as the QVF Legacy (old) csv format.

As a reminder, please use the updated QVF Refresh Troubleshooting Guide found in eLearning to assist you with setting up your printers and Dymo label printer to print out labels, notices, reports, etc.

Problems reported to QVFHelpDesk@michigan.gov  or in the QVF voicemail box are being addressed. Many times the problems reported are items others have reported. If you don't receive a response, please know we have noted the problem and are working to correct it as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience as we work through the defects you are reporting.

BOE Question of the Week:

Can a clerk notarize an Affidavit of Identity if they are not a notary?

Answer:  No!  Only a notary can notarize an Affidavit of Identity.

Have a question you'd  like to see
in the Question of the Week?  Send it to elections@michigan.gov.