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I would like to have a say in who is on the counsil in my small village in Michigan. How can I find out when the next election is? The village website doesn't say anything about an election schedule. Is there a state registry or somewhere official that I can find this info?

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Usually, the election would be administered by the county, or by the county and the state jointly, there would usually be something on the website of the county clerk, a county board of elections, or the state's Secretary of State (who is usually the state's chief elections officer) setting forth the timing.

There is also probably a statute in the codified law of Michigan setting forth the requirements, but that is doing it the hard way.

You could also call the village clerk on the telephone, visit the village clerk in person, or contact an organization such as the League of Women Voters, that is a private non-profit but has a mission to assist voters in answering these questions. The political reporter for the local newspaper would probably also answer this question for you.

It is also worth noting that many towns and villages that formerly held elections and operated local governments in Ohio and Michigan (such as my mother's home town of Felch, Michigan and my father's home town of Dola, Ohio) no longer have operational governments or elections. They are now "ghost towns" which are merely unincorporated location designators (sometimes relevant to locating property in historical deeds) based upon their boundaries when they were operating governments.

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  • Does your last paragraph still apply in the case where there is some sort of council or board, such as in the OP?
    – fyrepenguin
    Commented Aug 2, 2021 at 22:02
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    @fyrepenguin Usually not, but sometimes a "ghost town" could have a successor that is an HOA or a voluntary association (e.g. a woodchuck festival committee, or a historical society). One U.S. ghost town elects a mayor (privately) every year, usually a dog.
    – ohwilleke ♦
    Commented Aug 2, 2021 at 22:03
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This should link should list the current elections for Michigan.

https://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,4670,7-127-1633_48760---,00.html

I suggest you contact the Secretary of State to find future elections.

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When thinking about this question, there are two separate questions that come to mind, and Michigan only has a good resource for the first question.

  1. WHAT is on the ballot?
  2. WHEN will there be ballots / WHEN are the upcoming elections?

WHAT is on the Ballot

The best resource for finding out WHAT is on the ballot is the Michigan Voter Information Center (mi.gov/vote). A voter will find the upcoming elections in the state, and then find their sample ballot by selecting County, Jurisdiction, and Precinct. This information will only be available once all deadlines have passed for what will be included on the ballot. For example, most nominating petitions or fees to run for office are due 15 weeks before the election in which the candidate is running.

WHEN are the Upcoming Elections

The only way to know the answer to this question, is by either visiting the Michigan Voter Information Center (mi.gov/vote) often, or knowing the four possible dates for a Michigan election (there is certainly not an election in every jurisdiction on these dates each year):

  1. The Presidential Primary date, which has varied
  2. The first Tuesday after the first Monday in May
  3. The first Tuesday after the first Monday in August
  4. The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November

Elections can be on no other dates in Michigan other than those listed above (at least as of November 23, 2021, as there used to be a February election date that the Legislature recently eliminated).

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