The Bureau of Elections released the following information last night for local units of government to request reimbursements for their costs related to the March Presidential Primary election. The Governor recently signed Senate Bill 151, a supplemental appropriation that included $14 million to cover the costs of the March election. While numerous other line items were vetoed by the Governor in this bill, the election reimbursement funds were preserved and claims for those dollars can be filed any time prior to June 8th.
Presidential Primary Reimbursement
The presidential primary reimbursement county and city/township claim forms are available in eLearning. We have provided reimbursement guidelines and worksheets for county and local clerks to help you calculate totals for each expense type. We recommend that you print the worksheet first and then use those section totals for entry into the online form. You must type your information in the claim form in one session. There is no ability to save and edit the form later. If you need to make corrections to a submitted form, you will need to complete a new form and check the “Changes to a Previous Claim” box in the County Information section.
All claimed expenses must be attributable to the March 10, 2020 presidential primary. Additional expenses attributable to any local question can’t be claimed – for example, the cost of the local proposal-only ballot.
In order to be reimbursed, we must receive your online claim form by June 8, 2020.
In addition to the reimbursement direction, the Bureau also provided a brief update on the upcoming April 21st candidate filing deadline and the process that will be followed for any community running an election in May.
On the filing deadline, the Bureau shared the following:
Many candidates and clerks have asked about the ability to circulate and file petitions to qualify to appear on the August 4, 2020 primary ballot, with the filing deadline of April 21, 2020, approaching. As of now, this deadline remains in place. Secretary Benson continues to discuss the issue with the Governor’s office and the Legislature. We will keep you updated if there are any changes to the deadline or requirements.
This information comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed this week by a congressional candidate seeking to run in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District and news reports on that lawsuit and numerous other instances of local and judicial candidate concerns over the current law’s petition signature requirements during the current health crisis. The League continues to work with the Governor, Secretary of State, and legislative leaders to develop a solution for this situation for municipal candidates.
Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 and [email protected].
Herasanna Richards is a legislative associate handling energy, environmental, elections, and external municipal services for the League. She can be reached at [email protected] or 517-908-0309.