Preparing for the Election ~ Township Office
All townships in Calhoun County
Greetings from Election Central! It’s time to begin thinking about the 2008 Elections. We are happy to provide you with the attached information. We hope it will be helpful as you begin to explore signature requirements, campaign finance regulations and campaign strategy.
The campaign filing deadline for partisan candidates is: MAY 13, 2008 by 4:00 PM. A complete filing includes an Affidavit of Identity AND Partisan Nominating Petitions consisting of the appropriate number of valid signatures from registered voters in your township. (Signature requirements are based on the 2000 Census figures, refer to chart on next page.)
The campaign filing deadline for nonpartisan library board candidates is: MAY 13, 2008 by 4:00 PM. A complete filing includes an Affidavit of Identity AND either a $100 nonrefundable filing fee OR Nonpartisan Nominating Petitions consisting of 6 ~ 20 valid signatures from registered voters in your township.
The campaign filing deadline for candidates without political party affiliation filing for the November general election is: JULY 17, 2008 by 4:00 PM. A complete filing includes an Affidavit of Identity AND qualifying petitions consisting of 60 ~ 150 valid signatures from your township. (Signature requirements are based on the 2000 Census figures.)
As soon as you become a candidate, you have 10 days to form a committee and an additional 10 days to register your committee with the CountyClerk. EACH CANDIDATE MUST HAVE A STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATION ON FILE, even if you do not plan on spending or receiving any funds. A committee that does not expect to receive or spend more than $1,000.00 for any election can obtain a Reporting Waiver by checking item 10 on its Statement of Organization. A committee that maintains a Reporting Waiver is exempt from filing Campaign Statements. A Candidate Committee manual, forms and instructions can be obtained from your township or county clerk, or can be accessed on-line at the CountyClerk’s web site: www.co.calhoun.mi.us/cf.taf. (If you are an incumbent and already have a Stmt. of Organization on file, you will only need to update current information such as phone # with area code, zip code, banking information, etc.)
As a reminder, the Campaign Finance Act requires all paid advertisements having reference to an election, a candidate or a ballot question to contain an identification statement and, if applicable, a disclaimer Statement. The identification must be clear to the reader or listener and worded to include “Paid for by (name and address of person, group or committee).”
The Qualified Voter File (QVF), a statewide voter registration file, is available in our office and can be a valuable tool for your campaign. Information acquired from the QVF includes: registered voters in your district, those who voted in a previous Primary or General election, absentee voters, voters by age group, a street index of your district, or a walking list if you’re planning to go door-to-door. This information can be obtained through a Freedom of Information Request. The cost for a hard copy of the information is $.02 per name, labels are $.03 per name, or information on disk, CD or emailed in an Excel spreadsheet format is $.005 per name.
Please let us know if we can be of assistance to you. Best wishes to you this busy election year!
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TOWNSHIP OFFICES
Signatures Required for 2008 Candidates
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PARTISAN
NOMINATING
PETITIONS
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NONPARTISAN
NOMINATING
PETITIONS
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QUALIFYING
PETITIONS
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Min Max
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Min Max
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Min Max
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0 - 9,999 Population
Townships of Albion, Athens, Bedford Charter, Burlington, Clarence, Clarendon, Convis, Eckford, Fredonia, Homer, Lee, Leroy, Marengo, Marshall, Newton, Pennfield Charter, Sheridan and Tekonsha
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3 10
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9 30
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Office of Library Boards
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6 20
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10,000 - 24,999 Population
EmmettCharterTownship
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20 50
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60 150
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( MCL 168.544f )
Elective township offices shall consist of a Supervisor; Clerk; Treasurer; Trustees - not to exceed 4; and not more than 4 Constables. Elective township offices may include 6 public library directors and park commission members (MCL 168.341 & 358). To be eligible to hold a township office the person must be a resident and registered voter of the district that he or she seeks to represent and shall remain a resident and registered voter to hold his or her office, if elected. Nominations and elections for township offices, with the exception of library board candidates (see below), shall be by partisan elections. Public library directors shall be listed on the nonpartisan portion of the ballot.
The petitions shall have been signed by a number of qualified and registered electors residing within the district based upon the population of the district involved according to the most recent federal census (2000) - refer to chart above.
In order for the name of a candidate for nomination for partisan township office to appear on the official primary ballot, an Affidavit of Identity along with Partisan Nominating PetitionsMay 13, 2008, 4:00 p.m. The proper petitions for partisan candidates to use are: ‘Nominating Petitions (City/Township Partisan)’ (MCL 168.544c, 551) shall be filed with the township clerk not later than
In order for the name of a candidate to qualify for partisan township office to appear on the official general ballot, an Affidavit of Identity along with Qualifying PetitionsJuly 17, 2008, 4:00 p.m.. The proper petitions to use are: ‘Qualifying Petition - Candidate Without Party Affiliation (City/Township)’ (MCL 168.590c, 590h, 544c). shall be filed with the township clerk not later than
In order for the name of a candidate for election to a nonpartisan township office (Library board) to appear on the official general ballot, an Affidavit of Identity along with Nonpartisan Nominating Petitions(397.211). OR a $100 nonrefundable filing fee shall be filed with the township clerk not later than May 13, 2008, 4:00 p.m. The proper petitions for nonpartisan candidates to use are: ‘Nominating Petitions (City/Township Nonpartisan)’ |
