Village and school elections pushed back to June
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Albion Village Hall is shown on March 15, 2016 when there was a village election. The village was supposed to have an election on March 18. The election was moved to April 28 and then again to June.
The village elections that were moved back to April 28 now will happen in June, at a specific date to be determined.
The governor had already delayed the village elections that were set for March 18. He moved them to April 28, but said the health concerns over the coronavirus warrant pushing back the elections.
Albion, Lyndonville and Medina all were scheduled to have their elections on March 18. Holley has its election in June on third Tuesday or June 19 this year.
He issued an executive order that also moves back library and school elections scheduled in May to also be in June.
Executive Order 202.13 from the governor states: “Any school board, library board, or village election scheduled to take place in April or May of 2020 is hereby postponed until at least June 1, 2020, and subject to further directives as to the timing, location or manner of voting for such elections.”
The school elections and budget votes were scheduled for May 19. Libraries don’t have a uniform day for their elections. Hoag Library in Albion was scheduled to elect trustees on May 4 from noon to 7 p.m.
The governor also has moved the presidential primary and a special election for the 27th Congressional District from April 28 to June 23. That day will also be a primary for local, state and federal positions.
All of the elections likely wouldn’t be on the same day at the same polling place. The village elections tend to be at the village offices (Medina has its election at the Senior Center, the former railroad depot). School elections are at the schools, and the library votes for board members at the libraries. (The funding for the libraries is voted on as part of the school elections, except at Medina where the library votes on its budget as part of the trustee election.)
The primaries for town, county, state and federal positions tend to be at town halls. (Albion uses Hoag Library as a polling place and part of Ridgeway votes at the Ridgeway fire hall).
If the local elections – village, library and school – were the same date residents could be voting at multiple locations. That could be confusing and perhaps frustrating for residents. There would also be a need for more voting machines if there were multiple elections at multiple locations on the same day. Those details all need to be worked out.
The governor, in his executive order, said the village, school and library elections are “subject to further directive as to the timing, location or manner of voting for such elections.”
