March 24, 2006
LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced that a special election will be held concurrent with the upcoming August primary and November general election to fill the vacancy in the 69th District of the Michigan House of Representatives.
The special primary election to fill the House seat will be held Tuesday, August 8, 2006, with the special election held on November 7, 2006. The deadline for Democratic and Republican candidates to file nominating petitions or filing fees is 4:00 p.m. on May 16, 2006. Candidates without party affiliation may file qualifying petitions until 4:00 p.m. on July 20, 2006.
The 69th House District vacancy was created by the resignation of State Rep. Gretchen Whitmer following her recent election to serve in the 23rd District of the State Senate. The 69th District is located within Ingham County and includes most of the city of East Lansing, a portion of the city of Lansing, and the townships of Meridian and Williamstown.
The Governor previously has called special elections to fill two other vacancies in the House of Representatives, concurrent with the 2006 August primary and November general election. Those special elections will fill vacancies created by the resignation of State Rep. Clarence Phillips from the 29th District following his election as mayor of Pontiac, and the death of Rep. Herb Kehrl in the 56th District.
Holding special elections for vacancies in the House of Representatives at the time of a regularly scheduled election is not unprecedented. The vacancies created by the January 2004 resignation of State Rep. Daniel Paletko, the January 1992 resignation of State Rep. Teola Hunter, and the March 1988 resignation of State Rep. Virgil Smith were all filled by special primaries held in August and special general elections in November, concurrent with the regular elections held in each of those years.
Under the Michigan Constitution and the Michigan Election Law, the decision on whether to call a special election to fill a vacancy in the office of state representative or state senator and the selection of dates for a special election are left to the discretion of the Governor.
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