RESIDENTIAL•COMMERCIAL DESIGN INRECON BUILD Blank Ballots Elections are costly, held too frequently and barely draw voters. JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER W hen the polls closed promptly at 8 p.m. af- ter a special election last week, it took ex- actly a minute for Novi Town- ship to register its vote totals. In the race for the 15th Dis- trict state Senate seat, five bal- lots were cast for the Republican, Willis Bullard, and five went to the Democrat, Bar- ry Brickner. But with only 105 registered voters in the Novi Township portion of the 15th District, turnout in the area — 9.6 percent — was ac- tually better than in most. Generally, cities and town- -ships recorded voter partici- pation somewhere between 4 and 6 percent of registered vot- ers. West Bloomfield had the highest participation in the June 4 election with 12.8 percent of its eligible residents casting bal- lots. "Most people are not knowl- edgeable about politics, partic- ularly local politics, so they choose not to participate," said John Strate, an associate pro- fessor of political science at Wayne State University. "Peo- ple don't vote because there are too many elections, and partici- pation falls off dramatically af- ter the presidential elections." Elections are expensive and their frequency compounds the cost. In West Bloomfield, the current wave of elections began in late March with the Republi- can presidential primary and SMART bus issue. Since then, voters have been asked to return to the polls three times: for the 15th District primary, 15th Dis- A Don't miss our incredible Father's Day WAREHOUSE SALE! 2 DAYS ONLY SAT., JUNE 15 SUN., JUNE 16 10 am - 5 pm Fine Designer Furniture • Lamps • Accessories Sherwood Studios WAREHOUSE 24760 Crestview Ct.Farmington Hills 810 476-3760 Leather Match Recliners from... '399 SAME DAY DELIVERY IN HONOR OF ALL DADS! Groups Sold as Complete Sets • All Sales Final MEA DOWB ROO K RD. 50% OFF SHERWOOD WAREHOUSE Farmington Hills Industrial Center HALSTEA D RD. Emerson & Natuzzi Leather Noon - 5 pm HAGGE RTY ,30-75% OFF EVERYTHING • PHOTO BY DANIEL L IPPITT g trict general election and, last Monday, to vote for the local school boards and -Oakland Community College board. There is a two-month respite before the August primary. Marilyn Henry, an elections specialist for West Bloomfield, estimates the costs at $40,000- $45,000 for each election day. When the state foots the bill for elections (any time the Legis- lature calls for a state-wide election), the tab for tax- payers is $5 million. Expenditures include printing ballots, postage for absentee ballots, oper- ating polling places, paying for election inspectors and the . publication of election notices, which are required by law. Ms. Henry said she has never figured out the costs per vote, but in the recent race for the 15th District, 26 polling places throughout West Bloomfield logged between seven and 100 votes. Many say the answer is an election by mail. Before that can happen, the state must devise a comprehensive database of Michigan's registered voters. The state earmarked $7.5 mil- lion to establish such a system in place of each municipality keeping track of voters. The sys- tem, scheduled for operation by Jan. 1, 1998, will allow the state to consider conducting mail-in elections. Voter turnout, however, isn't all doom and gloom. In the 1992 presidential election, 23.4 per- cent of Oakland County voters participated in the summer pri- mary, but nearly 74 percent 10 MILE A lone voter casts his ballot in West Bloomfield.