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January 20, 2017
County Clerks Required to Accept Filings and Prepare Ballots for Upcoming ISD Meetings Convened to Fill ISD Board Positions
The statutes which govern the conduct of the biennial
meetings convened by intermediate school districts to
fill their board positions require county clerks to
accept the filings submitted for the positions and
prepare the ballots needed for the election of the
positions. (MCL 380.612 and MCL 380.614) The
following article outlines the provisions of law which
govern the conduct of the meetings and the various
duties which must be performed by Michigan’s
county clerks.
The duties a county clerk must perform to fill ISD
board positions are limited in nature and clearly
defined under the law. The duties do not have to be
considered or documented by the members of the
ISD’s “coordinating committee.”
Date of meeting: The meeting must be conducted
by the ISD on the first Monday in June in every odd-
numbered year. This year, the meetings will be
conducted on Monday, June 5, 2017.
Candidate filing deadline; filing official: A
candidate must file a petition or a $100.00
nonrefundable filing fee and an Affidavit of Identity
with the ISD’s “election coordinator” no later than
Monday, May 8, 2017. The ISD’s “election
coordinator” is the clerk of the county in which the
largest number of the district’s registered electors
reside.
Petition signature requirements: The following petition signature requirements apply if the candidate
chooses to file a petition as opposed to the $100.00
nonrefundable filing fee:
Population of ISD less than 10,000 according to
most recent federal census: minimum of 6
signatures; maximum of 20 signatures.
Population of ISD 10,000 or more according to
most recent federal census: minimum of 40
signatures; maximum of 100 signatures.
- An “Intermediate School District Nominating Petition” form is available for use by ISD candidates. County clerks are obligated to maintain a supply of the forms and distribute them to interested candidates. The form can be obtained through the commercial suppliers who handle election-related forms. The petition must be circulated on a city/township basis.
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Any registered voter who resides within the intermediate school district can sign the candidate’s petition. An ISD candidate is not required to limit the circulation of his or her petition to his or her constituent school district of residence.
- An elector of the ISD may sign as many petitions as there are positions to fill on the ISD board.
- The county clerk serving as the ISD’s filing official is responsible for determining the sufficiency of any petitions filed by ISD candidates.
Office term: ISD board members are elected to 6-
year terms. The new terms commence on July 1
following the election.
Preparation of ballots for meeting: The county
clerk serving as the ISD’s filing official is responsible
for preparing the ballots needed for the conduct of
the meeting convened by the ISD to fill its board
positions.
- The creation of a simple paper ballot which lists the candidates’ names in alphabetical order is recommended.
- Several sets of the ballots should be prepared for the conduct of the meeting in the event that those participating in the meeting must vote more than once as referenced under “Voting and canvassing” below.
- The chairperson of the meeting may accept nominations for an available position “from the floor” if no candidates filed for the position. Consequently, in an instance where no candidates file for an available ISD position, the ballot must contain several lines for the hand entry of the candidates who receive nomination at the meeting.
Conduct of meeting: The president and secretary of
the ISD are responsible for convening and
conducting any meetings held by the ISD to fill its
board positions; county clerks are not required to play
any role in the conduct of the meetings.
- The meetings are subject to the Open Meetings Act and must be publicly posted as required under the Act. The ISD is responsible for handling the posting requirements.
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The electoral body responsible for electing the ISD board seats which must be filled at the meeting comprises one representative from each constituent school district in the ISD. The board of each constituent school district is required to designate its meeting representative by resolution during the three-week period which precedes the meeting. In addition to designating the school district’s meeting representative, the resolution must identify the candidate the board supports for each ISD board position which must be filled. The statute which governs the process stipulates that the board “shall consider the resolution at not less than 1 public meeting before adopting the resolution.”
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The secretary of the ISD is required to notify the secretary of each constituent school district of the location and time of the meeting at least 10 days before the meeting. The notice must be sent by certified mail.
Candidate eligibility: The statutes which govern the
election of ISD board members stipulate that:
- not more than two members of the ISD board “shall be from the same school district unless there are fewer districts than there are positions to be filled”;
- not more than three members of the ISD board may also be serving at the same time as a member of the board of a constituent district or board of directors of a public school academy.
Ensuring compliance with the above stipulations is
the responsibility of the ISD board and the ISD
officials handling the election of the ISD board
members.
Voting and canvassing: The president and
secretary of the ISD are responsible for supervising
the voting process. The votes are canvassed at the meeting. The statutes which govern the voting
process stipulate that each constituent district
representative entitled to vote at the meeting is
required to vote for the candidate supported for each
position by the constituent board he or she
represents “at least on the first ballot taken by the
electoral body.”
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