Berrien County is seeking a grant from the state to allow for early voting in state and federal elections. Speaking to the Berrien County Board of Commissioners this week, Clerk Sharon Tyler said the grant opportunity has arisen through the Michigan Department of State and the Michigan Bureau of Elections as a result of Proposal 2 being approved by voters last year. Tyler said under the new law, voters have to be given at least nine days prior to election day to cast their ballot. The grant would cover the cost of offering that opportunity.
“I am looking at two sites, one in the north and one in the south,” Tyler said. “We have 31 jurisdictions and 59 precincts.”
Tyler said the grant pays for equipment, staff, training, and more. She would need 52 election workers spread across the two sites for those nine days. Tyler estimated the extra voting days would cost the county about $240,000.
“This was an unfunded mandate by the voters. The state of Michigan has allocated $30 million to early voting, and that’s really a drop in the bucket to 83 counties.”
Tyler said she’ll only focus on state and federal elections, and the nine days of early voting is the minimum allowed under the new election law. She told commissioners time is short to apply for the grant because the deadline is September 8. The board approved the grant application. Tyler said moving forward, the county will have to look at other grants or donations to continue early voting each year unless the state comes through with regular funding.
