Clare County clerk: new statewide election rule will increase county costs, staffing and coordination

Clare County Clerk Laura told the Board of Commissioners on Dec. 13 that a package of statewide election changes commonly described during the meeting as “Proposal 22-2” will significantly increase the county’s workload and costs.

The clerk said the measure requires nine days of early in-person voting for statewide and federal contests, mandates minimum daily open hours for early sites, expands the window for accepting some overseas ballots, creates a permanent absentee-voter (AV) list and requires counties to provide drop boxes and other new infrastructure. "This is going to cost the county more money. It's going to take more coordinating, planning, and executing from my office," Laura said.

County officials and clerk’s office staff said the state will not provide full funding for the additional early-voting days and domestic postage for mailed ballots and applications, and that the bulk of operational expense will fall to counties and local jurisdictions. Laura reported state estimates she had received that projected substantial increased postage costs and said the state estimate — based on the 2020 election — was roughly $11.4 million per statewide election for postage; she also said a later estimate showed an increase of $4.3 million for a subsequent presidential election cycle. The clerk cautioned the board these estimates come from state-level calculations and that more detail is expected after the first of the year.

Why it matters: county elections are administered locally but the new rules expand county duties for staffing early-vote locations, securing ballots, signature review and handling ballots arriving after election day from overseas voters. Laura said staffing early voting could require 10–12 hour days (eight hours minimum plus setup and teardown) for nine days leading up to a vote, and that this could create a recurring staffing and cost problem for small townships that lack capacity.

Details from the clerk’s presentation:

- Early voting: nine days of early voting with a minimum eight hours per day; counties should expect longer shifts when setup and security are included. The clerk said local options remain for consolidating precincts, but consolidation can cause voter confusion because a consolidated early site for a federal election could be different from a voter’s precinct site for a local election.

- Permanent absentee-voter list: under the new rules, an individual who applies may be placed on a permanent AV list and receive ballots automatically unless removed; the clerk said such automatic mailing continues until a voter fails to vote for six consecutive years (at which point mailings stop).

- Overseas/military ballots: ballots from overseas voters that are postmarked on election day must be accepted if received within six days after the election, which prevents counties from certifying immediately in some instances.

- Drop boxes and donations: the proposal requires drop boxes and allows counties, townships and municipalities to accept charitable donations to administer elections; the clerk flagged legal and perception issues around donated election resources.

- Cost and staffing: Laura said the state will fund some postage but that counties still bear logistics and other costs. She warned that some smaller jurisdictions may be unable to absorb the cost and that consolidation or county-run elections may become more likely.

Board response and next steps: Laura said she will assemble a planning committee and seek guidance from the Bureau of Elections and local clerks to design a county approach that reduces confusion and cost. She told the board she may request additional staff and asked commissioners to be prepared to discuss options for funding any added county responsibilities. "Don't be surprised if I come asking for another employee," she said.

Ending: The clerk said the state Bureau of Elections had not yet issued final recommendations at the time of the meeting; she pledged to return to the board with implementation options early next year and said she will work with township clerks, the county’s office of finance and other stakeholders before proposing funding or organizational changes.