(Source: MIRS.news, Published 12/04/2023) The cost for one special election held in both Westland and Warren has been estimated to run a total of $285,000, according to numbers provided by the two city clerks.
In Warren, Clerk Sonja Djurovic Buffa estimated somewhere around the ballpark of $110,000 to run a special election.
City of Westland Clerk Richard LeBlanc said Westland’s cost would be closer to $175,000.
Westland's collective bargaining agreements include a paid day off for all city employees on election days, which he said would add approximately $65,000 in cost.
Both Buffa and LeBlanc are charged with running special elections to fill now-vacant state House seats, after former Reps. Lori Stone and Kevin Coleman won their respective races for Warren and Westland mayor.
With two special elections set for Jan. 30 and April 16, those numbers will double.
LeBlanc said he believes the cost in his city will be surprising to the state.
Buffa said the question of funding was her top priority going into meetings with the state earlier last week.
Initially, during conversations with Michigan Bureau of Elections Director Jon Brater, he said the cost of putting on this year’s two special elections would fall to county and municipal governments without legislative change.
When Buffa initially asked who was paying, the answer was to wait for legislative approval.
Democratic Rep. Veronica A. Paiz (D-Harper Woods) introduced a bill back in January that would require the state to reimburse municipalities who participate in a special election within 90 days from the General Fund.
Another option could be a beginning-of-the-year supplemental to fund the elections. Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) did not opine on that possibility when asked by MIRS, but when asked if an elections supplemental would receive bipartisan support, he was less than hopeful.
“I would bet that the Republican minority in the House is probably not happy that these seats are being filled at all, so I don't know how much bipartisan goodwill there is on this,” he said. “But it's possible.”
But even if legislation is implemented or a supplemental comes before the Jan. 30 primary, clerks close to the districts have said timing will make it a challenge for them to prepare.
“We will do whatever we need to,” Buffa said.
She said the ability to consolidate precincts during the special elections, which she received clarity on being able to do, will help slightly.
But she and LeBlanc both said holding the special elections during existing dates, like the Feb. 27 presidential primary, could have helped alleviate budget concerns, as it is already being reimbursed and has been budgeted for.
Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini called the current situation with regard to the special elections a recipe for confusion and chaos, in a guest column he did for The Macomb Daily.
The city of Warren sits in Macomb County, along with a large portion of the 13th House district, which was vacated by Stone.
He said the back-to-back primaries will cause confusion for both voters and clerks, with voters potentially requesting a January ballot when they want a February one, or vice versa, along with possibly having a vote discounted if they return a ballot in the wrong envelope.
This could result in calls to overturn an election if more uncounted ballots are opened later on, he said.
Buffa said in meetings with the state, they discussed how to best discern different ballots between the two elections, with the possibility of using different colored return envelopes thrown around.
But Forlini said the two elections also place a much greater burden on clerks.
“Many times, decisions and laws are made without fully considering that actual humans will need to carry out these decisions under very adverse conditions,” he said.
When looking at why the decision was made, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told the press at an elections scrum last week that it’s “important that we move swiftly, so that these two communities can have representation in the legislature.”
She referred back to her own state Senate election, which was a special election called by former Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Whitmer said at that time, the election was called very quickly, “and I think that was a good thing for my community.”
When one reporter joked that it was “pretty good for you too,” Whitmer joked back, “you know what? It’s not about me.”
Moss said the timeline this year is consistent with other special elections, including that called when former Rep. Sheldon Neeley became mayor of Flint.
“What the governor has done has been very consistent across the board,” he said. “This is obviously a decision that members made to run for these offices, and it has an impact, including on election administration at the local level.”
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said that anytime there is a special election, it’s going to put strain on Michigan’s clerks, “and our job is just to make sure we’re ready to make it operational.”
She said her team was not involved in the discussions.
“We just let her know what was possible,” she said.
