Oakland, Mich.  (Monday, July 2, 2007) - Dumping BBs in a metal bucket to illustrate just how much school districts are spending on stand-alone school elections, Ruth Johnson said districts must have a single school board election date.

"Each of these BBs represents $1,000 or two computers for our kids," the Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds told the Senate Campaign and Election Oversight Committee. She dumped thousands of BBs in a bucket to illustrate the $8-10 million that could have been better spent on kids in the classroom.

Johnson has been a vocal proponent of requiring local schools to "piggyback" school board elections onto existing municipal elections, making school elections virtually free. Michigan's consolidated election law has led to improvements. Voters have a single polling location, absentee ballot applications are handled more consistently and voter turnout has improved.

"The Legislature assigned districts an even-year November date, but the majority of them formally opted to hold their own stand-alone elections in May," Johnson said. "We need a single date for school board candidates."

Several school districts in Oakland County have already moved to "piggyback" or at least partially combine, their school board elections.

The committee, chaired by Sen. Michelle McManus, (R-Lake Leelanau) along with panel member Sen. Gilda Jacobs (D-Huntington Woods)  listened to nearly three hours of testimony on Friday, June 29 at the Troy Marriott. Issues ranged from legislative term limits to "early" voting. Several local clerks testified about the need for true consolidation of school elections.

Johnson, who has been vocal about troubled voting machines that local cities and townships were forced to purchase after Florida's "hanging chads" controversy, said problems remain.

"Unfortunately, this brand new, 'state-of-the-art' equipment has too often experienced breakdowns or failure in the field," Johnson wrote in testimony presented to the committee.

 "It is largely due to the expertise and professionalism of our clerks that the machines have performed as well as they have. To quote one local clerk  … 'We just hold our breath.'"

Johnson told panel members, in her written testimony, that the voting systems were forced upon our local cities and townships by federal officials without careful planning, independent testing or proper resources.

She urged legislators to hold vendors accountable by fixing known problems and extending warranties. She said state auditors should randomly test the machines and survey the local clerks who use them about the machines' performance. Johnson's office has informally surveyed clerks and found double-digit problems with new voting machines in the last four elections.

"Municipalities, ultimately taxpayers and your constituents will be responsible for repair services or replacement costs if we do not ensure that the design and reliability issues are resolved," Johnson wrote.

On other issues, Johnson testified that she:

• Urged state leaders to tighten up campaign finance laws and improve accountability.
• Did not support pending legislation that would move some township responsibilities, including elections, to the county as it would move government one step further away from the people. Township government is cost-effective and efficient, Johnson said.
• Did support early, no reason "in-person" voting for communities, provided it was handled the same for every community.

For further information, contact the Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds Office at (248) 858-0566.