GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY: Election canvasser appointments stall
Oct. 5—TRAVERSE CITY — Two seats on Grand Traverse County's Board of Canvassers that reviews local election results are in political limbo after county commissioners balked at the nominees put forth by the local Republican Party.
Normally routine, these Canvass Board appointments spurred an extended discussion at Wednesday's county board meeting after County Clerk Bonnie Scheele questioned the three candidates submitted by the county GOP. The candidates are Traverse City residents Barbara Willing and Joe Welsh, and Scot Richards of Interlochen.
"The three members have been quite vocal in their distrust of the Michigan elections process," said Scheele, who also is an elected Republican.
The Board of Canvassers, which reviews and certifies election results in the days after elections, include two Democrat and Republican members who are appointed to four-year terms in odd election years.
The terms of Board Chair Steve Horne, a Democrat, and Republican Sandra Call expire as of Oct. 31.
Scheele said Call wanted to continue serving, but wasn't among the three candidates put forth by the county Republican Party.
All three Republican hopefuls addressed the board during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Willing said she's served as a precinct delegate in Traverse City and worked as a credentialed election challenger for more than 30 years. She brought commissioners cookies that she jokingly referred to as a "bribe," but said "it's time for new blood on the Board of Canvassers."
During his comments, Richards passed his cellphone around to commissioners with photos of a family friend who had had his pacemaker data beamed to a local hospital, and worried about how that type of technology could potentially be used to impact election results.
"If a pacemaker can give a signal to a satellite to read on a computer ... I think the voting machines can be rigged that same way to a computer or wifi," Richards said. "I would like to have clear, positive elections with paper ballots."
Welsh said the canvassing board primarily works in an administrative role and doesn't impact the outcomes of elections. "There's no real power the Board of Canvassers have that can really change an election," he said.
Commissioner Penny Morris said she wants to see "balanced ... middle-of-the-road candidates" on the canvassing board who can work with local election officials.
"We want to make sure we're not finding someone who's going to create a hostile working environment for our clerk's office," Morris said.
The timing of the appointments also complicated the discussion. State law requires county boards to appoint canvass board members within 10 days of their annual meeting — which happened Sept. 20 — although Scheele said the county hasn't always met that deadline.
Because of the missed deadline and Scheele's concern over the GOP nominees, county commissioners decided not to make any appointments to the canvassing board and leave the seats vacant. Under state law, that gives Scheele the legal authority to fill the seats.
Scheele said after the meeting that she intends to reappoint Horne to the board, and one of the three Republican nominees since she doesn't expect the county GOP to offer up any other candidates.
"We have a November election, so we need to do something as soon as possible," Scheele said.
The two other members of the canvassing board are Republican Lori Andrzejewski and Democrat Tom Wertz, whose four-year terms continue through October 2025.
Scheele described the work of the canvassing board as "fabulous."
"They've gotten along very well — they put politics aside and do their jobs," she said. "We've been very lucky."
