Michigan Governor Sets Special Elections to Replace Conyers

Michigan to hold special elections on days already set for 2018 primary, general voting to fill seat vacated by Conyers.

Jake Neher/WDET

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says special elections to fill the seat left vacant by former Congressman John Conyers will be held on the same days as primary and general voting already set for 2018.

Conyers resigned earlier this week amid calls from fellow Democrats to step down in the wake of sexual harassment allegations leveled against him.

Snyder says in a statement that voters in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District deserve as many options for candidates to replace Conyers as possible.

He says that holding special primary and general elections on the same dates that voting is already scheduled in 2018 will give prospective candidates ample time to make their decision and file to run for the office.

And Snyder says it will save taxpayers the expense of having to cover additional elections.

It could create a bit of additional confusion at polling places, however, as the names of candidates will appear on ballots twice.

Voters will be able to choose a candidate to fill the remainder of Conyers’ term which, after the November general election, will amount to about a month.

They will also have to select a candidate for the full two-year term in the U.S. House, meaning they will actually be voting in two different elections on the same ballot.

It also means that constituents in the 13th Congressional District will not have an official representative in the U.S. House for almost a year.

It also means that constituents in the 13th Congressional District will not have an official representative in the U.S. House for almost a year.

Author

  • Quinn Klinefelter
    Quinn Klinefelter is a Senior News Editor at 101.9 WDET. In 1996, he was literally on top of the news when he interviewed then-Senator Bob Dole about his presidential campaign and stepped on his feet.