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Livonia election commission proposes two-day early voting at City Hall; council to formalize plan
Summary
City clerk presented a plan for two days of early voting (the weekend before each local election) at City Hall lobby, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.; council agreed to put the required resolution on the regular agenda for public explanation and final action.
The Livonia City Clerk told City Council that the election commission unanimously approved a limited early-voting plan for local elections: two days (Saturday and Sunday) immediately before each election, with hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., to be held in the City Hall lobby.
The clerk said state law does not require early voting for local elections — it is required only for state and federal contests — but the commission sought a compromise to offer additional local hours without staffing the full nine days used during statewide elections. The commission voted unanimously to present the two-day plan to council and requested a council resolution to adopt it.
Clerk explained the operational reasoning and turnout data: after early-voting rollouts for the presidential cycle last year, the city saw more than 9,000 voters use early voting for that election; Livonia has about 25,548 voters on its permanent ballot list and more than 10,000 on a permanent-application list. Typical turnout for city elections is in the 19–21% range, the clerk told council, and staffing the full nine-day early-voting window for a local election was judged not to be cost-effective.
Under the proposed process, the early-voting site would be staffed by City Hall personnel on the weekend (City Hall is closed on weekends but staff would work), and the city would retain the ability for voters to cast absentee ballots over the counter the week before the election. The clerk described additional options: voters on the permanent ballot list receive a mailed ballot, which they may return by mail, drop at City Hall, or bring to the early-voting site to be run through the tabulator; emergency absentee ballots are issued through 4 p.m. on the Monday before the election.
Councilmembers asked procedural questions and requested the required resolution be placed on the regular meeting agenda so clerks can explain the plan publicly. No final council resolution was adopted at the study session; councilmember motions placed the item on the regular agenda for final action.
