Many people have recently questioned how the August primary differs from the November general election. This is one of my favorite questions to answer, as it invites me to go into full-force social studies teacher mode. :) However, it’s a difficult question to answer in a Facebook comment, so I’m going to put together a complete explanation here. Please feel free to comment below this post if you have any questions that I might be able to answer.
First: Party Affiliation
Candidates who choose to run for office must officially affiliate themselves with a political party or declare that they are running with no party affiliation (Independents). If they want to run with the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, they must file by mid-April (this year: April 19) to be on the ballot for the August primary (this year: August 2).
If they want to run as an Independent, the filing deadline is the end of July (this year: July 26) since the names of candidates running as Independents do not appear on party-specific ballots in the August primary.
When you vote in the August primary, you may only vote within one party.
Second: Let’s talk about a (fictitious) version of our community that is very diverse and has a large number of people running for their local government’s Township Board, just so you get a picture of how the system is suppose to work.
The August primary is intended to narrow the field of like-minded candidates running for each office. So, in August, voters must vote within a specific (typically their preferred) political party. Since the Board has one each of Supervisor, Clerk and Treasurer, voters must choose their one favorite, party-affiliated candidate for each of these positions.
Since the Board has four Trustees, voters may choose up to four favorite, party-affiliated candidates for this position. Consider these “sample ballots”…
At the end of the August election day, votes are counted. Since the two parties are essentially running separate elections, the top vote earners for each seat for each party are declared.
For my fictitious election, let’s say Candidates A (Supervisor), D (Clerk), G (Treasurer), J, K, N and O (four Trustees) were the top vote earners for the Republican Party and Candidates 1 (Supervisor), 4 (Clerk), 7 (Treasurer),
10, 11, 14 and 15 (four Trustees) were the top vote earners for the Democratic Party.
Those candidates would all advance to the November general election. But also listed on the November ballot would be the Independents, who were not part of the August primary.
In the November general election, you can vote across party lines. So, if you like a few of the Republicans that advanced, a few of the Democrats that advanced, and maybe even a few of the new Independents, you can distribute your votes accordingly. You are allowed to vote for as many candidates as there are seats available. So, a November ballot for my fictitious election would look something like this…
At the end of the November election day, votes are counted. The top vote earners for each seat, this time regardless of party affiliation, is declared the winner.
Now: Let’s talk about Georgetown Township, where the majority of candidates running for local office side with the Republican mindset on local issues. This is messier.
The August (partisan) primary ballots will essentially look like this…
The August primary is an important race for candidates running for Supervisor and Trustee, as these are the only races where votes in the primary narrow the field of like-minded candidates. Jim Wierenga OR Mavis Byers will advance to the November general election as the Republican candidate for Supervisor, and four of the seven Republican candidates for Trustee will advance to the November general election as well. The August primary is not an important race for Rich VanderKlok or Tara Angus (candidates for Clerk) since they are running in different parties. Both of these candidates automatically advance to the November general election. Carol Scholma (candidate for Treasurer) also automatically advances to the November general election, since she is currently running unopposed. |
This election is the important one for the candidates for Clerk (Rich VanderKlok and Tara Angus), since they are running in different parties. Since Carol Scholma (candidate for Treasurer) ran without a Republican or Democrat challenger,
this would be the only election where she could face opposition as well. However, that opposition would have to be an Independent.
If no Independents file by the July 26 filing deadline, the winners of the Republican primary (August 2) for the one Supervisor seat and for the four Trustee seats will automatically win the November general election as well.
I hope this clears up any confusion, and supports the voters of Georgetown Township.
Blessings from this Social Studies teacher to you,
Becky Steele