Elections

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Board of Education Fills Vacancy

The Grand Ledge Public Schools Board of Education has selected Beverly Winstanley to fill the recent vacancy on the Board of Education. Ms. Winstanley will serve the Board through December 31, 2012. The remainder of the term will be placed on the November 2012 ballot.

2011 MASB Candidates Guide to School Board Elections

Eligibility

To be eligible, a candidate must be a registered voter within the Grand Ledge Public Schools district. The candidate must be at least 18 years of age; a citizen of the U.S.; a resident of the State of Michigan for at least 30 days; and a resident of the school district on or before the 30th day prior to the date of the election. Property ownership is not a requirement for candidacy.

Be aware - the Michigan Constitution was recently amended to make a person ineligible for election or appointment to any state or local elective office if the person was convicted of a felony involving dishonesty, deceit, fraud or a breach of the public trust within the preceding 20 years, and the conviction was related to the person's official capacity while holding any elective office or position of employment in local, state, or federal government. The State Legislature will enact laws at some point in 2011 to implement this amendment.

FILING DEADLINE

Nominating petitions or filing fees for local school board candidates must be filed no later than 4 p.m. on the 12th Tuesay preceding the date of the election.

FILING FEES

Board of education candidates have the option of paying a nonrefundable filing fee of $100 to Eaton County Clerk's Office instead of filing a nominating petition. If paid by the appropriate due date, the fee has the same effect as filing a nominating petition.

NOMINATING PETITIONS

1. Filing

The election consolidation law requires nominating petitions (or the $100 fee) and the affidavit of identity to be filed with the "school district filing official" (Eaton County Clerk's Office for Grand Ledge).

2. Signatures

In all local school districts, nominating petitions must meet the following signature requirements:

If the population of the school district is less than 10,000 according to the most recent federal census, a petition must be signed by a minimum of six registered voters of the school district and a maximum of 20.
If the population of the school district is 10,000 or more according to the most recent federal census, a petition must be signed by a minimum of 40 registered voters of the school district and a maximum of 100.
If nominating petitions contain more than the necessary number of signatures, the excess signatures are NOT counted.

NOTE: An elector may only sign petitions equal to the number of board members that will be elected in the school district.

TERM

Grand Ledge Public Schools board of education members serve four year terms beginning on January 1 following the November election.

CIRCULATOR

A petition sheet can not be circulated by more than one person.

A person who circulates nominating petitions for a school board election must be registered to vote in Michigan. The circulator must complete and date the certificate at the bottom of the petition after gathering the last signature he or she intends to collect on the petition. Signatures on a petition sheet that are dated after the date on the circulator's certificate are invalid.

A petition sheet can not be circulated in, nor signed by, electors residing in more than one township or city. Only those electors residing in the township or city identified in the petition heading are eligible to sign that petition sheet.

All signatures on a petition sheet must be affixed in a face-to-face exchange with the petition circulator. A circulator isn't permitted to leave a petition unattended.