State Seeks Poll Workers for Nov. 8 Election – Here’s How You Can Help

We’re sharing this from our friends at the Michigan Department of State. It’s a call to action for more election workers for the upcoming Nov. 8 general election.

The Michigan Department of State is seeking help in addressing our state’s critical need for more poll workers for the November Election in Michigan. Local clerks are seeking workers with skills in organization, customer service, project management and computer software and technology, and typically hire and train workers one to two months in advance of Election Day – so now is the best time to share this opportunity.

Please help spread the word and encourage residents and supporters in your communities to sign-up through the state’s non-partisan poll worker recruitment program, Democracy MVP. Those interested can get started and sign up at Michigan.gov/DemocracyMVP.

There is also a stakeholder toolkit (also available online here) that communities can use in promoting the need for poll workers. This toolkit contains sample graphics and language available for your use in promoting this opportunity, as well as a list of Frequently Asked Questions about working elections in Michigan and the Democracy MVP program.

Get all the details at Michigan.gov/DemocracyMVP.

Here are the details to becoming an election worker and getting paid to do so:

If you are interested in serving, complete the below steps to join the Democracy MVP team! 

Please note: Democracy MVP does not recruit or hire election challengers or poll watchers. What’s the difference?

Once submitted, your information will be provided to local election clerks looking to hire workers for upcoming elections. Learn more about the interest form
Complete the election inspector interest form

Step 2: Apply with a local clerk directly.
You can increase your chance of being hired to serve as an election inspector on Election Day by contacting a local clerk directly. Learn more about applying at clerk’s offices.

Step 3: Wait to be contacted 
Applying as an election inspector is applying for a job. This means you may be contacted by a local clerk to be hired, or you may not! For updates on your application, please contact the local clerk’s office where you applied directly. Learn more about the hiring process.

The League Weighs in on Senate Elections Package

This term, Senate Republicans unveiled their 39-bill package to address concerns with elections security, operations, and access stemming from the 2020 elections.  Our members on The League’s Elections Subcommittee reviewed the bills based on our interpretation of our role as stewards of the community and administrators of the electoral experience.

The subcommittee anchored our positions in our principles of community wealth building and how these bills affect our achievement within the pillars of learning, belonging, economics, sustainability, infrastructure, public health, and trust are all enhanced and encouraged by strong elections and electoral participation. You can view the MML Summary of Bill Positions from the 2021 Senate Elections Package here. 

The Michigan Municipal League has also been engaged in the last two weeks of testimony in the Senate Elections Committee. The League submitted testimony this week to support our positions in opposition on SBs 273 and SBs 286 and to express support in concept to SBs 278 + 300. You can view the testimony here.

Herasanna Richards is a legislative associate handling energy, environmental, elections, and external municipal services for the League. She can be reached at hrichards@mml.org or 517-908-0309.

August Primary Ballot Mailing & Presidential Primary Reimbursement Reminder

The Secretary of State is mailing absent voter ballot applications in advance of the August Election to registered voters in the state. The state will not send absent voter ballot applications to voters on local permanent absent voter ballot application lists, understanding that clerks are already sending applications to these voters. Additionally, we are aware that several clerks plan to send absent voter ballot applications to all of their registered voters for August and so the state will not send to those individuals either.

Clerks should consult with their own legal counsel before sending applications, but the Bureau’s view is that local and county clerks are not prohibited from sending applications to all registered voters.

Because voters can begin applying for AV ballots on Thursday, May 21, and mindful of postal delays in some areas, the state is sending the mailing at this time to supplement local efforts to encourage as many voters as possible to apply for and cast ballots by mail in the August election. All applications sent by the state will be dual August/November applications with voter information pre-printed on the application (including QVF barcode) and will include a cover letter and instructions for returning ballots by mail, e-mail, or in-person.

Clerks are also reminded that June 8, 2020 is the deadline to submit a reimbursement claim for the March 10 Presidental Primary. As of yesterday, only 58 counties and 761 local jurisdictions had submitted their presidential primary reimbursement form.

  • The city/township claim forms are available here and in eLearning.
  • You can also use the reimbursement guidelines and worksheets for the county and local clerks to help you calculate totals for each expense type.
    • We recommend that you print the worksheet first and then use those section totals for entry into the online form. You must type your information in the claim form in one session. There is no ability to save and edit the form later. If you need to make corrections to a submitted form, you will need to complete a new form and check the “Changes to a Previous Claim” box in the County Information section.

All claimed expenses must be attributable to the March 10, 2020 presidential primary. Additional expenses attributable to any local question can’t be claimed – for example, the cost of the local proposal-only ballot.

Herasanna Richards is a legislative associate handling energy, environmental, elections, and municipal services for the League. She can be reached at hrichards@mml.org or 517-908-0309.

Procedure For Digital Collection & Submission of Candidate Petition Signatures Now Available

The Bureau of Elections has released complete regulations for digital signature collection for collecting and submitting signatures by e-mail as soon as possible. These include the following:

  • There are special blank countywide nominating partisan and countywide nominating non-partisan petitions for use in this election only, on the BOE website.
  • If a person wishes to download, print, and sign an electronic petition, any person in the household (including a signer) may be a witness and sign the circulator certificate, or the signature may be witnessed remotely using two-way audio and video technology between the signer and the circulator. For more information regarding remote witnessing, see the Governor’s Executive Order 2020-41 – issued April 8, 2020.
  • Petition signers/circulators may print and sign the petition, then photograph and scan the signature page to the candidate, as long as the complete sheet (including signatures) is visible.
  • Candidates who qualify may also file their petitions with the filing official via email. The petitions must be scanned into a single .pdf file. In limited instances, multiple files may be allowed, if necessary due to limits on file size transfer.
  • Whether candidates choose to file petitions in person or via email, their original submission must contain the minimum number of signatures to file for office. Candidates may combine sheets gathered on physical paper and sheets gathered through email to meet the minimum threshold.

Digital signature collection is only allowed for races on the August 2020 primary ballot that do not allow for a filing fee and does not include petition signatures for ballot proposals. Eligible races include US Congress, US Senate, non-incumbent judges, and any city office for which the city charter does not allow the option to file with a fee.

For these races, the filing deadline is extended to May 8 at 5 p.m., and the signature requirement is reduced by 50%. You can read about all changes in the court order here.

Read full guidance for the collection and submission of petition signatures here.  and the bulletin from the Secretary of State here.

Herasanna Richards is a legislative associate handling energy, environmental, elections, and external municipal services for the League. She can be reached at hrichards@mml.org or 517-908-0309.

 

April 21st Candidate Filing Deadline Extended; 50% of Signatures by May 8

This morning, a US District Court Judge Terrence Berg issued a court order that changes the April 21 filing deadline and rules for some candidates. This ruling is in response to a lawsuit filed against the State argued Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order presented barriers to qualifying for the ballot. 

You can review the full decision and order here

The order only affects the following offices that do not include an option to file with a filing fee including cities and village offices where the charter does not allow for the option to file with a fee. All other offices will maintain the April 21 filing deadline. 

Candidates must have also filed a statement of organization with the Michigan Campaign Finance Act before March 10, 2020 qualify for the filing deadline extension and other changes. 

For federal, judicial, city and village offices and candidates only, the order:

  • Extends the filing deadline to May 8 at 5:00 p.m. The deadline for all other offices (those with the option to pay a fee instead of signatures) remains April 21 at 4:00 p.m.
  • Reduces the signature requirement by 50 percent. For example, For example, candidates for certain city council positions subject to the April 21, 2020 deadline need only gather one hundred signatures.
  • Allows candidates to collect signature images and submit petition sheets electronically.

The Bureau of Elections is reviewing the order and has 72 hours to develop a procedure that allows the collection and submission of ballot petition signatures in digital form by electronic means. Additional information will be provided to the county, township and city clerks directly as soon as available. 

Herasanna Richards is a legislative associate handling energy, environmental, elections, and external municipal services for the League. She can be reached at hrichards@mml.org or 517-908-0309.

Deadline Announced for Presidential Primary Reimbursements & Other Election News

The Bureau of Elections released the following information last night for local units of government to request reimbursements for their costs related to the March Presidential Primary election.  The Governor recently signed Senate Bill 151, a supplemental appropriation that included $14 million to cover the costs of the March election.  While numerous other line items were vetoed by the Governor in this bill, the election reimbursement funds were preserved and claims for those dollars can be filed any time prior to June 8th.

Presidential Primary Reimbursement

The presidential primary reimbursement county and city/township claim forms are available in eLearning. We have provided reimbursement guidelines and worksheets for county and local clerks to help you calculate totals for each expense type. We recommend that you print the worksheet first and then use those section totals for entry into the online form. You must type your information in the claim form in one session. There is no ability to save and edit the form later. If you need to make corrections to a submitted form, you will need to complete a new form and check the “Changes to a Previous Claim” box in the County Information section.

All claimed expenses must be attributable to the March 10, 2020 presidential primary. Additional expenses attributable to any local question can’t be claimed – for example, the cost of the local proposal-only ballot.

In order to be reimbursed, we must receive your online claim form by June 8, 2020.

In addition to the reimbursement direction, the Bureau also provided a brief update on the upcoming April 21st candidate filing deadline and the process that will be followed for any community running an election in May.

On the filing deadline, the Bureau shared the following:

Many candidates and clerks have asked about the ability to circulate and file petitions to qualify to appear on the August 4, 2020 primary ballot, with the filing deadline of April 21, 2020, approaching. As of now, this deadline remains in place. Secretary Benson continues to discuss the issue with the Governor’s office and the Legislature. We will keep you updated if there are any changes to the deadline or requirements.

This information comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed this week by a congressional candidate seeking to run in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District and news reports on that lawsuit and numerous other instances of local and judicial candidate concerns over the current law’s petition signature requirements during the current health crisis.  The League continues to work with the Governor, Secretary of State, and legislative leaders to develop a solution for this situation for municipal candidates.

Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 and chackbarth@mml.org.

Herasanna Richards is a legislative associate handling energy, environmental, elections, and external municipal services for the League. She can be reached at hrichards@mml.org or 517-908-0309.

Whitmer signs Executive Order prioritizing absentee voting in May 5 elections

By Executive Order 2020-27, Gov. Whitmer will be temporarily suspending the rules and procedures relating to the May 5, 2020 elections so that these elections may be conducted by absent voter ballot to the greatest extent possible. Rules and procedures relating to the withdrawal of ballot proposals from the May 5, 2020 elections will also be suspended to better enable jurisdictions to move those elections to the August 4, 2020 election date.

At this time, conducting an in-person election would force voters and poll workers to be exposed to an unacceptably high risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19. Each jurisdiction must maintain at least one location on election day where any voter can appear in person to receive and submit a ballot, including an individual with a disability that inhibits the individual from voting an absent voter ballot remotely.

Because all registered electors in Michigan have the right to vote by absent voter ballot under section 4 of article 2 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963, conducting the May 5, 2020 elections by absent voter ballot provides a viable alternative to in-person voting at polling locations. Doing so permits Michigan voters to exercise their democratic rights while minimizing their exposure to the imminent and severe threat posed by COVID-19. And enabling jurisdictions to delay elections currently scheduled for May 5, 2020, where possible will further limit the disruption and harm caused by this pandemic.

The details of the Executive Order is below:

  1. To protect the public health, safety, and welfare of this state and its residents, strict compliance with rules and procedures under chapter 28 of the Michigan Election Law (“Election Law”), 1954 PA 116, as amended, MCL 168.641 to 168.799a (conducting an election at a polling place) and under chapter 29 of the Election Law, MCL 168.801 to 168.813 (canvassing of the vote by inspectors of an election at a polling place) is temporarily suspended for elections on May 5, 2020, so that those elections may be conducted as specified in this order.\

 

  1. Elections on May 5, 2020, must be conducted to the greatest extent possible by absent voter ballots issued and submitted without in-person interaction. Each jurisdiction must maintain at least one (1) location on election day where any voter can appear in-person to receive and submit a ballot, including an individual with a disability that inhibits the individual from voting an absent voter ballot remotely. A local clerk, county clerk, or election administrator with an election on May 5, 2020 must immediately begin preparations to conduct that election primarily by mail, including the preparation of postage-prepaid absent voter ballot return envelopes for the return of voted ballots.

 

  1. An individual possessing the qualifications of an elector under section 492 of the Election Law, MCL 168.492, who is not registered to vote but wants to register and vote in the May 5, 2020 election, is strongly encouraged to register online or by mail not later than Monday, April 20, 2020, and is strongly discouraged from going in-person to the office of the clerk of the township or city in which the individual resides to apply to register to vote. An individual can register to vote either online (by visiting mvic.sos.state.mi.us/registervoter) or by mail (using the form available at michigan.gov/documents/MIVoterRegistration_97046_7.pdf).

 

  1. Notwithstanding section 3 of this order, an individual possessing the qualifications of an elector under section 492 of the Election Law, MCL 168.492, who is not registered to vote but wants to register and vote in the May 5, 2020 election after. April 20, 2020, may apply to register to vote at the office of the clerk of the city or township in which the individual resides during any hours in which the clerk’s office is open, as provided in chapter 23 of the Election Law, MCL 168.491 to 168.530, and as provided in sections 5 and 6 of this order.

 

  1. An individual seeking to register to vote in-person at the office of the clerk of the city or township in which the individual resides is strongly encouraged to contact the clerk’s office before doing so. To facilitate the timely processing of applications to register to vote and to minimize social interaction, beginning on April 21, 2020, and continuing through May 5, 2020, a township or city clerk may accept copies of applications to register to vote and residency verifications by mail, email, or facsimile for purposes of registration and verification by the clerk.

 

  1. A clerk processing an in-person application to register to vote, any in-person voting in the clerk’s office, and any individuals in the clerk’s office must use best practices to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and must comply with any applicable restrictions or requirements to that effect.

 

  1. Any application to register to vote that is properly submitted beginning on the effective date of this order and continuing through May 5, 2020, by a voter residing in a jurisdiction holding an election on May 5, 2020, must also be considered a request for an absent voter ballot for the May 5, 2020 election.

 

  1. Strict compliance with rules and procedures under section 646a of the Election Law, MCL 168.646a, is temporarily suspended for the limited purpose of permitting a political subdivision of this state that has certified a ballot question for placement on the ballot on May 5, 2020, to withdraw the ballot question. Removal of the question must be by the same method used by the local legislative body to certify the question to the ballot (such as by the adoption or rescission of a resolution or ordinance). If the county clerk is notified of the withdrawal by March 27, 2020, the ballot question must not be canvassed for the May 5, 2020 election. Ballot questions removed from a May 5, 2020 election may be submitted to voters at the August 4, 2020, or a later election date.

 

  1. The Department of State may assist local clerks, county clerks, and election administrators with: the mailing of absent voter ballot applications with a postage-prepaid, pre-addressed return envelope to each registered voter within any jurisdiction conducting a May 5, 2020 election; the preparation of postage-prepaid absent voter ballot return envelopes; the coordination of county and state assistance in processing ballots; changes to election dates; and other local clerk functions to the extent local jurisdictions are unable to perform them.

 

  1. This order is effective immediately.

The full Executive Order is available here: EO 2020-27.

Herasanna Richards is a legislative associate handling energy, environmental, elections, and external municipal services for the League. She can be reached at hrichards@mml.org or 517-908-0309.

Watch Our First Monday Morning Live Chat on Facebook

(Click here to watch the Facebook Live video)

MMLive logoWe covered a lot of ground in the Michigan Municipal League’s first ever – Monday Morning Live broadcast on Facebook Live.

And while the live broadcast that took place 10:30 a.m. this morning is over you can still watch it anytime on the League’s Facebook page here.

Go here to watch it.

Our first one was today and featured a chat led by the League’s Matt Bach, director of communications, with our Lansing legislative team – Chris Hackbarth, John LaMacchia and Jennifer

Our first Monday Morning Live broadcast took place this morning and featured (from left) the League's Matt Bach, John LaMacchia, Chris Hackbarth and Jennifer Rigterink. Tune in for our next one 10:30 a.m. Dec. 3 on the League's facebook page.

Our first Monday Morning Live broadcast took place this morning and featured (from left) the League’s Matt Bach, John LaMacchia, Chris Hackbarth and Jennifer Rigterink. Tune in for our next one 10:30 a.m. Dec. 3 on the League’s facebook page.

Rigterink.

Our next two scheduled Monday Morning Live broadcasts are Monday, Dec. 3 and Monday, Dec. 17.

It’s an active time right now in Lansing with the Lame Duck period of the state Legislature getting underway now and continuing for the next few weeks.

On our first chat, we talked about the November election results, what we’re hearing may or may not come up during Lame Duck, what Proposal 1 legalizing recreational marijuana in Michigan means for our communities and what the first part of next year will be like for our Legislative team.

We also answered several questions from those watching the Live feed, including one question about breed-specific legislation. Jennifer handled that one.

2018 Election Produced Interesting Results

 

election-results-600x250

For the first time in 32 years, Democrats won all three constitutional offices (Governor, Attorney General and Secretary of State). Gretchen Whitmer won the Governor’s race by over nine points. The Attorney General contest went early into the morning, but has now been called for Dana Nessel. And a Democrat will hold the Secretary of State office for the first time in 24 years with Jocelyn Benson’s win. Democrats also carried the State Education Boards (MSU, UM and WSU), and regained a majority on the State Board of Education.

At the state level, Republicans maintained control of the House (58-52) and Senate (22-16), although by slimmer margins than they currently hold. In federal races, incumbent Debbie Stabenow (D) prevailed over challenger John James (R) and will continue to serve in the U.S. Senate. In the U.S. Congress, Elissa Slotkin (D) won a hard fought race against incumbent Mike Bishop (R) in the MI 8th, and Haley Stevens (D) prevailed over Lena Epstein (R) in the MI 11th.

State Senate
Going into the election, Republicans had a super-majority with 27 of the 38 seats in the Michigan Senate. With 84 percent turnover and seven new members never having served in the House or Senate previously, the Republicans will maintain their majority and return with 22 seats in January.

Campaign 2018 – Michigan State Senate (38)

Democrat Seats Republican Seats
16 22
Brinks (Kent)
McMorrow (Oakland)
Polehanki (Wayne)
McCann (Kalamazoo)
Bayer (Oakland)

State House
Republicans held 63 of the 110 seats in the Michigan House headed into Tuesday’s midterm election. They will maintain majority (58-52). Republican Reps. Iden, Inman, Crawford, all ended up winning very close contests, and Gregory Markkanen picked up a seat in the House 110th, making a huge difference for Republicans and maintaining a majority.

Democrats did win 6 seats, but picked up 5, as they lost the House District 110th seat by 500 votes.  They are as follows:

Campaign 2018 – Michigan House of Representatives (110)

Democrat Seats Republican Seats
52 58
Witwer (Eaton)
Kolezar (Wayne)
Manoogian (Oakland)
Kuppa (Oakland)
Pohutsky (Wayne)
Morgan (Calhoun/Kzoo)

*NOTE: All races were based on reported numbers that have not been certified/canvassed and reporting errors can occur

Proposals (all passed)

Prop 1 – Legalizes recreational marijuana

Prop 2 – Changes redistricting process to a citizen’s commission

Prop 3 – Creates new voting reforms (same day registration, early voting)

Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 and chackbarth@mml.org.

Election Day Polling Place Line Survey

The Michigan Secretary of State’s Bureau of Elections has partnered with the Bipartisan Policy Center to solicit municipal clerk participation in a Line Data Collection Program on election day this year.

A similar study was conducted during the 2016 election with participation by communities in 55 counties across the state.

One sheet of paper for each precinct is all that is necessary. An election inspector writes the number of voters in line when the polls open and then the number in line at the top of each hour.

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/sos/Line_Study_Survey_535174_7.pdf

The Bureau of Elections will distribute the form, collect completed forms, send them to Bipartisan Policy Center and MIT and finally return the results to the local communities.

BPC/MIT will analyze the data and return a spreadsheet and graph for each precinct to the Bureau of Elections and they will send the material to you.

Election officials have used the results to make the case for additional precincts and resources and to deflect unfounded charges that lines exist when they don’t.

If interested, please contact the Bureau of Elections to participate at elections@Michigan.gov.

Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 and chackbarth@mml.org.