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Election law will change when voters head to the polls next year

A new election law to go into effect next year will change how Michigan voters cast ballots.
The law requires schools, village and cities to from four election dates each year and requires townships and counties to oversee school elections. Schools and villages will be required to reimburse township costs. The law also eliminates partisan village and city elections, in turn eliminating village and city primary elections.

Oceana County Clerk Becky Griffin expects the law to create additional work for her office and township clerks because county clerks now assume responsibilities for all elections.
"It's so confusing. It's not just me," Griffin said. "Schools will no longer be doing elections- it will be us."
Griffin expects citizens will be more confused because they will no longer go to their local schools to vote, but will go to the township instead.
"Consolidating the school thing is the big issue. I go along with the four dates," Griffin said.
The law also eliminates special elections except in certain circumstances, and even at that the special election must be scheduled on one of the four specific dates or 30 days before or 35 days after one of the specific dates. Governing bodies have to make their election date decisions between Sept. 1, and Dec. 31. The state is to provide training for local election officers, and Griffin is scheduled to attend a seminar on the new law next week.
Griffin also pointed out that the federal Help America Vote Act will require county clerks nationwide to one type of voting system by 2006. Currently, Oceana County has two systems- the optical scanning machines, and regular voting machines. Griffin said the federal government is providing the money for the machines and she will use the optical scanners. She did not think there was enough time to purchase and set up the machines for this year's elections, but wants them in place for 2005.