On November 24, Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon, a Democrat, said he expects to bring HB 4507 up for a vote in the Michigan House on Monday, November 26. This bill changes the criteria for listing candidates in major party presidential primaries. The existing law requires such candidates to file. The bill alters this, so that the Secretary of State automatically places presidential candidates on the ballot if they are mentioned in the news media as candidates. No one may withdraw unless he or she swears to not being a candidate.

If this bill passes, it will have the effect of adding such candidates as Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Bill Richardson to the Michigan Democratic ballot. They had not filed because the Democratic National Committee considers the Michigan primary illegitimate because of its early (January 15) deadline.

The bill passed the Senate on November 8, but not with the required two-thirds to take effect immediately. If the bill passes the House with two-thirds on November 26, then it will return to the Senate for another vote. In the meantime, Michigan presidential primary ballots are still not being printed. When they are printed, the state will be in violation of a federal law that requires overseas absentee ballots to be mailed in time for those overseas voters to return their ballots in time to be counted.