Somerset Township changes course on early voting

HILLSDALE — Most municipal and township governments within Hillsdale County previously agreed to a collaborative effort to meet new state laws in regards to early voting and cooperated together to have one joint site located at the historic Hillsdale County Courthouse in downtown Hillsdale.

Except Somerset Township who opted out of the cooperative and held their own early voting site for February’s presidential primary which cost the township $10,000.

In March, the township board reversed course and opted into the county wide early voting initiative as a means of saving money.

The reversal caused each of the county’s 18 townships and four cities to agree or disagree with Somerset Township opting in by April 15 and to date, all voted in favor of allowing Somerset Township to join the cooperative.

Moving forward, all county voters will have an opportunity to cast an early ballot for the nine days leading up to state and federal elections at the early voting site inside the courthouse.

Each day of early voting will be supervised by a municipal clerk and their local elections inspectors to maintain local control, Chief Deputy Clerk Abe Dane said.

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Early voting will be open again for the August primary including weekends starting Saturday, July 27, and running through Sunday, Aug. 4.

Dane, who spearheaded efforts to establish a county-wide cooperative, said the combined effort will ultimately save the taxpayers and streamline voting to comply with Michigan law.

— Contact Reporter Corey Murray at cmurray@hillsdale.net or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Somerset Township changes course on early voting