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T o.- Bill Malinen,, City Manager <br />Fr.- Carolyn Curti, Elections Coordinator <br />Re.- Considerations for holding a Special Election <br />The City Council continues to discuss whether to hold a special election to fill a vacancy. <br />This memo further clarifies some issues that have been raised about holding a special <br />election. <br />Turnout <br />Historically, voter turnout is extremely low at special elections. In the April 2004 special <br />election,, voter turnout was 13.8%. This compares to a 3 5. 1 % voter turnout at the <br />November 2003 election and a 26.9% voter turnout at the November 2005 election. <br />Voter turnout in the summertime raises serious concerns. In addition to families taking <br />vacations,, I believe voters will be focused on the presidential election. Even though <br />voters may see election signs, they will likely assume they are for the primary or general <br />elections and not for a special election. <br />The Council has not discussed whether it would hold a primary. Theoretically, without a <br />primary, a person could be elected with one or two percent of support from all registered <br />voters. Assume 10 people file for office it could happen — 12 people filed for the most <br />recent school board election). Then assume 14% (3,262) of registered voters (23,300) <br />vote in the special election. Assume one candidate gets I I% of the votes (3 60 votes) and <br />the others split the remaining ballots. Someone could be elected with just 360 voters <br />supporting him or her. <br />Election Costs <br />In my previous memo I gave the cost of about $,15,000 for a special election, assuming no <br />primary and assuming all current polling places are available. Unfortunately I used old <br />information. The $,15,,000 is the minimum cost for election judges only. I pulled that <br />number from an old document. The cost would likely be closer to $,20,000 plus employee <br />staffing. I apologize for the error. <br />80 judges x 17 hours x $,7.50 = $1 10 20 0 <br />20 precinct chairs x 18 hours x $,8.50 $,3,P060 <br />150 hours for absentee, nursing home, special projects x $,7.50 $1 <br />TOTAL $,14,385 <br />