June 11, 2003

CONTACT: 

Kelly Chesney

Department of State

Office of Communications

(517) 373-2520

Rep. Chris Ward

(517) 373-1784

Sen. Beverly Hamerstrom

(517) 373-3543

Consolidating school and local elections will increase awareness of elections, improve voter turnout and save taxpayer dollars, state leaders said today in unveiling legislation to modernize the process.

Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, state Rep. Christopher Ward, R-Brighton, and state Sen. Beverly Hammerstrom, R-Temperance, said the current practice of having individual school elections in addition to regularly scheduled local elections dilutes voters’ interest and discourages turnout. It drains critical dollars from cash-strapped school districts as well.

Ward is proposing legislation that consolidates all elections to four annually. It also transfers responsibility for school elections to counties and municipal election officials.

"Elections should be an invitation to participate in democracy," said Land, who is Michigan’s chief elections officer. "Unfortunately, the sheer frequency and irregularity of elections often impede voter turnout. Bringing consistency and simplicity to the process will remove the guesswork and encourage more voters to take part."

Ward, chairman of the Local Government and Urban Policy Committee, said that support for the legislation is broad and bipartisan.

"This is common-sense legislation," Ward said. "It increases voter participation, establishes regular, recognizable election days that voters can rely on; allows trained professionals to conduct elections and saves taxpayer dollars."

The nine-bill package, introduced this week, is supported by organizations such as the League of Women Voters, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Townships Association, the Michigan Municipal League, the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Great Lakes Education Project.

Hammerstrom, a longtime champion of election consolidation, emphasized that the new process will assist schools in focusing on their core mission.

"Voters in Michigan deserve to have all elections conducted by trained professionals on predetermined dates," Hammerstrom said. "As a former teacher and a former clerk, I believe school administrators should concentrate on helping teachers teach and kids learn, and leave elections to the professionals – our clerks."

The legislation’s timing is appropriate due to ongoing reform efforts at the national and state levels, according to Land.

Michigan stands to receive $45 million in federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grants this year. HAVA is designed to help states improve polling access, replace outdated equipment, and better accommodate the needs of voters who are disabled or serving overseas.

A state task force appointed by Land began gathering public input on how to spend the HAVA funds in March as part of the HAVA process.

Editor’s note: Radio actualities are available on the Department of State news line at (517) 241-2800.

RELATED LINKS

>  To "News & Headlines"

>  Michigan Department of State Bureau of Elections HAVA site www.michigan.gov/hava

>  The Federal Elections Commision HAVA site  www.fec.gov/hava/hava.htm