By Stephen Smoot
Last week, the City of Shinnston and Harrison County reached an agreement to join hundreds of municipalities across the state that have synced city elections with those administered by the county.
“This was the perfect year to make this change,” said Kathleen Panek, Shinnston City Clerk. She explained that “our election cycle is the same as the state and county election cycle.”
Panek also said that “I discussed this with (current Harrison County Commission president, former county clerk) Susan Thomas several years ago, but her precincts and my wards did not align.” Once the parties overcame that obstacle, the City Council amended the charter to allow for the election coordination with the county to occur.
Municipal elections are administered by the city clerk’s office.
Since Shinnston City elections are nonpartisan and the new council sworn in by law on July 1, the council chose to align with the state primary election date in May, instead of the June date that was formerly customary.
The Shinnston City Council and Harrison County Commission cemented the deal with a memorandum of understanding establishing the process by which the elections could combine.
New procedures will take place, per the memorandum of understanding. First, the county and city will hold concurrent elections during the state primary on even numbered years.
One of the major arguments in favor of holding municipal and county elections comes from the ability to share costs. By law, a formula based on the city’s total registered voters as a percentage of all registered voters in the county will determine how much the city contributes. Though the city has to shoulder some cost, the election burden on the city budget will lessen.
The costs assessed to the City will not include standard administrative costs that the county would pay the entirety of regardless, but the city will bear the entire burden of any recount of a municipal election.
Candidates for City elections must still file with the city clerk, but that office will deliver the paperwork to the county clerk. Early voting for city elections will coincide with that for county. Panek explained that “voters will cast their ballots where the county usually has, or decides to set, polling places.” The City of Shinnston will also continue to publish a sample ballot.
Panek echoed another argument supporting the merger of efforts, saying the move “should actually increase the number of citizens voting in our municipal election.” She also stated that she and John Spires, Harrison County Clerk, would coordinate on hammering out the details of bringing the two governments’ elections together in a single effort.
Either party may amend or terminate the agreement.