When an elected seat becomes vacant, for whatever reason, the Governor has the power to call special election. In the McCotter example we witness unexpected costs when an elected seat becomes vacant.
There is another scenario of a potential vacant seat and the need for special election which may manifest August 7, 2012 and this is in the Michigan 13th Congressional District race.
In this race are two sitting State Senators, Bert Johnson and Glenn Anderson. If one of these candidates is successful in the Primary election, it means the Democratic Congressional candidate will face off with the Republican candidate and the special election would be held sometime in the beginning of next Spring.
Offering another plausible scenario, even if one of the current sitting State Senators won the August Primary, the Republican candidate, Harry Sawicki could win the General Election, leaving both sitting State Senators in their offices.
Assuming the former scenario, this leaves many cities with the unexpected incurred costs of a special election and questions of how these cities are going to pay for it.
For Anderson's Senate District there are: Garden City, Livonia, Redford Township and Westland.
For Johnson's Senate District there are: Detroit, Highland Park, Hamtramck, Harper Woods and all five of the Grosse Pointe communities.
The next State Senate race is 2014.
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| Hamtramck City Clerk Ed Norris |
Speaking with a representative from Governor Snyder's office, Mr. Norris' statement that the state does not reimburse special state elections was verified.
Daniel Baxter Director of Detroit Clerk's office gave an estimated cost for State Senate 2 District special election to be in the range of $100,000 to $150,000 for Detroit. The last special election for Detroit was 2009 where the citywide election cost was $1,000,000.
Garden City Clerk's office provided its special election cost range between $15,000 to $17,000. The city just announced that it would be holding a special election September 5th.
State Representative Shanelle Jackson is exempt from these scenarios as a viable candidate.
In the event John Conyers, Jr. is successful in his re-election bid, the cities will not face unexpected incurred costs of a special election.
168.634 Vacancy in office of state senator or representative; special or general election; selection and certification of candidate; separate ballot; notice. Sec. 634.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, when a vacancy occurs in the office of senator or representative in the state legislature, the governor may call a special election in that senatorial or representative district or direct that the vacancy be filled at the next general election.
(2) If the vacancy occurs after the primary election and before the following general election the governor may direct that the vacancy be filled at that election. If the governor directs that the vacancy be filled at the following general election, the executive committee of the county committee of each political party, if the county comprises 1 or more representative districts, or, if the district is comprised of more than 1 county, then the executive committee of the county committee of the respective political parties of each county in the district, may select, by a majority vote, a candidate for that office, and shall certify the name of the candidate to the county board of election commissioners of the county or counties comprising that representative district within 21 days after the vacancy occurs and at least 10 days before the general election. Upon certification, the candidate certified shall be the nominee of that party at that general election to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term with the same force and effect as if the person was nominated at a primary election as otherwise provided in this act. If the ballots for that election have already been printed before the certification, then the board of election commissioners shall cause the names of the candidates to be printed on a separate ballot, which ballot shall be counted, canvassed, and returned as other ballots cast at that election.
(3) If the governor directs that the vacancy be filled at the next general election, the secretary of state shall give notice of that decision similar to the notice provided for in section 651.
Thaddeus McCotter's resignation from Congress will cost taxpayers about $650,000 in special election costs, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley said Tuesday in announcing the "unfortunate" conclusion the state must hold an election to fill the rest of his term.
With six months left in his decade in Congress, McCotter's abrupt exit last Friday followed a petition signature fraud investigation and revelation Thursday in The News that he had pitched a tawdry TV pilot written after his failed presidential bid. Absentee ballots for the Aug. 7 primary election have gone out, forcing the state to call a Sept. 5 special primary and Nov. 6 general election for the remainder of the Livonia Republican's term.
"We find it unfortunate that the resignation came so late that it's not possible to hold the special primary election on the same day as our normal primary," Calley said Tuesday, acting on behalf of Gov. Rick Snyder, who is out of the state.
The state will not reimburse municipalities in Wayne and Oakland counties for the election, nor will McCotter be expected to pitch in, Calley said.
The burden is particularly perplexing for local communities that will no longer be in the 11th Congressional District after this year. Redford Township, for example, would hold the Sept. 5 special election. But its Aug. 7 and Nov. 6 elections are for a choosing a representative in the redrawn 13th District, which includes Redford Township under the once-a-decade redistricting process.
The cost for the special election would be about $30,000 for just a few weeks of representation, Redford Township Clerk Garth Christie said.
"That's a foolhardy way to spend our money," Christie said after learning of the new election he must pull off. "We are not getting value for our tax dollar."
Oakland County officials estimate their costs alone would be about $100,000 to print new ballots and for election supplies. Local officials would be on the hook to pay for election inspectors, overtime, publication costs and postage for absentee ballots.
Confounding the problem is the special election would apply to constituents in the current 11th District congressional seat, though the voter databases and ID cards have been adjusted to reflect the new redistricting boundaries in place for the upcoming Aug. 7 primary elections.
"That will absolutely create a logistical nightmare for us," said Joe Rozell, Oakland County director of elections.
In Waterford Township, three of the 29 precincts are in the current 11th District, whereas the entire township is in the new 11th District boundaries in place for the term starting in 2013.
An election typically costs the township about $40,000 and a special primary election for three precincts is something the township hasn't budgeted for and would be a logistical "nightmare," said Kari Vlaeminck, township clerk.
Candidates on the Aug. 7 ballot are running for the term that begins in 2013. Dr. Syed Taj, a Canton Township trustee, and Bill Roberts, a Lyndon LaRouche activist, are vying for the Democratic nomination.
Kerry Bentivolio, a former teacher, veteran and reindeer farmer, is the only candidate on the GOP primary ballot. Former state Sen. Nancy Cassis, R-Novi, and the Rev. Drexel Morton, a Lutheran pastor from Canton, have launched write-in GOP campaigns.
Bentivolio said he'll run for the special election. Morton also has said he'll try to make the July 20 deadline to file 1,000 petition signatures.
No Democrat immediately stepped forward. Roberts said he wasn't sure. And Taj is focused on his current Aug. 7 primary, according to his campaign.
"Thaddeus McCotter is costing the taxpayers of this state a lot money," said Natalie Mosher, Taj's campaign manager. "Shame on him. What a quitter." Mosher lost to McCotter in 2010.
A McCotter spokesman did not return a call for comment.
With the November ballot including an election for the remainder of the 2012 term in addition to election for term that begins in 2013, it's possible voters will have an option of different candidates. That means the winner could potentially serve less than two months in Congress before being replaced in January by the other winner.
Betsy McRae, deputy clerk for Redford Township, said she wonders why McCotter couldn't have fulfilled his term and avoided the headaches for his constituents.
"I don't get why he did it," she said. "Why couldn't he stick it out? Why couldn't he continue representing?
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