What to know about special elections for state offices in Michigan

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer confirmed this month there will be a special election for a vacant state Senate seat after months of speculation, although an official announcement has yet to be made.

Former state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet left Michigan’s 35th Senate District, which comprises parts of Midland, Bay and Saginaw counties, when she was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives almost four months ago. As voters wait to choose her replacement, here’s a rundown of what the process entails.

The governor’s timeline

If a lawmaker vacates their seat in the state Legislature in the middle of their term, it’s at the sole discretion of the governor to call a special election under state law. Otherwise, filling the seat could be pushed until the next regularly scheduled election, which would take place in the next even-numbered year, and the seat would remain empty until then.

Special elections are run similarly to general elections, with candidates having to file for the race, and there will be a special primary election and special general election. The timeline of those events is up to the governor, although state law does require the primary be held not less than 45 days before the general election. 

Like any election, special elections are essential to providing residents with representation in government. Despite the current vacancy, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks told the Michigan Independent in a January interview the office is still being staffed with people who can answer questions for constituents of the 35th Senate District and connect them with state services if needed.

Since becoming governor in 2019, Whitmer has taken 17 days on average to call for special elections, according to MIRS News. The 35th Senate District has been vacant the longest during her tenure.

Other Michigan governors have waited longer to schedule a special election: In 2017, a candidate to fill the seat vacated by Democratic Rep. John Conyers filed a federal lawsuit against Republican Gov. Rick Snyder for setting the election for Conyers’ replacement in  Michigan’s 13th Congressional District for the regular general election date the following year. The lawsuit was thrown out on the grounds that Snyder was within his rights to set the election as he saw fit, and the seat was left vacant for 11 months.

In the case of the 35th Senate district, a swing district that voted for McDonald Rivet, a Democrat, and Republican President Donald Trump in the last election, the outcome of a special election is critical to the political dynamics of the Legislature.

The Senate currently has a 19-18 split, with Democrats holding on to a slim majority, while Republicans hold the gavel in the House. If Republicans were to win the Senate seat, the chamber would be evenly split, with Democratic Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist able to cast tie-breaking votes as ex officio president of the Senate.

“If [Whitmer] were to run a special election, it could possibly then result in having a 50-50 split in the Senate,” Midland County Clerk Ann Manary told the Michigan Independent. “And so whether or not she wants to risk a Republican taking that seat, I don’t know. It’s politics.”

Clerk work: Time, money and resources

Officials responsible for administering special elections in vacant districts learn of the schedule of events at the same time as the public, according to local clerks who spoke with the Michigan Independent. Once the governor’s office makes the announcement, they said, it’s all hands on deck to begin preparing ballots, arranging precincts for in-person voting and more.

Manary said it’ll take significant resources to conduct a special election, but she’s confident that her office will be ready.

“[Whitmer’s] office will lay out the plan and the dates and the filing deadlines and all that good stuff, and we’ll do what we do, which is elections,” Manary said. “So we’ll make it work.”

Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, who is a former state House member, said he’s in favor of pushing special elections to the next regularly scheduled election date because it’s expensive to run a separate special election, and there’s not always enough time to plan in advance.

When the 13th House District, representing part of Macomb County, had a special election last year, it occurred within weeks of the presidential primary. Forlini estimated it might have cost the county between $30,000 and $40,000 to run the special election, in addition to the costs of the presidential primary they were already preparing for. He said the close proximity of the two elections also confused voters.

“Last year, when we had overlapping elections, some people didn’t bother with the second one or the first because they thought they already voted,” Forlini said.

Less voter engagement

Voters are typically less interested in special elections, the clerks said. In regularly scheduled elections, voters cast ballots in a number of races and on ballot proposals, but there’s usually only one race to consider during a special election.

Michigan elections have evolved over the years with the addition of early in-person voting, which allows people to come into a local precinct and submit their ballot up to nine days before Election Day, as well as no-reason absentee voting, which allows anyone to request a ballot and return it via mail or secured drop box. Manary said these additional options may add a boost to voter turnout.

“I still don’t think that it’s going to be off the charts,” Manary said. “Like, we’re not going to see a 70% voter turnout, like we would normally see in a November election, for a special election. We’ll be lucky to get to 40%.”