A local lawmaker who served as a longtime township clerk before taking office has put forward legislation she says will give local governments the flexibility needed to make elections more efficient and effective.

State Representative Ann Bollin, who served as the Brighton Township clerk for 16 years, said her plan will help elections run more smoothly following the reforms approved by voters through Proposal 3 of 2018. Bollin says with the addition of no-reason absentee voting, local clerks have already experienced a significant increase in the number of people voting absentee, versus going to a polling location. Simply put, she says if there aren’t as many people voting in person, then as many poll workers and election equipment aren’t needed to accommodate them. Bollin’s plan would allow a local city or township to expand the size of its election precincts to account for the drop-off in the number of people voting in person. Current law limits election precincts to 2,999 registered voters. Under House Bill 5032, precincts would be allowed to contain up to 5,000 registered voters. The legislation would also allow local governments to consolidate precincts in certain situations outside of the November general election. To consolidate precincts, the local governing body would have to approve a resolution.

Bollin’s plan would also expand the number of buildings available for local governments to designate as polling locations. Currently, school buildings, fire stations, police stations and other publicly owned buildings must be used as polling locations. If it is not possible or convenient to use a publicly owned building, then a township or city could opt to use a building owned by a non-profit entity. House Bill 5031 would expand the options to include a privately-owned building, as long as it is not owned by a person who sponsors a political or independent committee.

Bollin says the reforms give communities the flexibility they need to make common sense adjustments in order to operate efficiently and effectively. She says right now, local cities and townships have very limited options when it comes to selecting a suitable polling location – adding if the places where polling is allowed by law don’t want to host an election, it puts everyone in a tough spot.

The bills have been referred to the House Elections and Ethics Committee for consideration. In response to the proposed legislation, Director of Communications for Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson Jake Rollow tells WHMI “ At this time we are neutral on the legislation. We would like to work with the sponsor and stakeholders to further assess the effects of changes to precincts and polling locations”. (JM)