What's on the Aug. 5 primary ballot in Greater Lansing?
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 5, for both in-person voting and to drop off any last minute absentee ballots. Voters who have not yet dropped off their absentee ballots can also put them inside a ballot drop box in their community until 8 p.m. Aug. 5.
Find a map of more than a dozen drop boxes in the city of Lansing here: Election Drop Box Locations for Lansing City Voters Only. Check on your voter registration and make sure you're voting at the right precinct by visiting here.
All three public transportation agencies are offering free rides to the polls. The Capital Area Transportation Authority, EATRAN and Clinton Transit ask voters to notify the bus driver they are going to vote, and no ID is required to ride.
Here's what on local ballots:
Lansing
Lansing has mayoral and city council candidates on the ballot. There are five candidates for mayor, 10 candidates for an at-large race and three candidates for Ward 4.
Lansing mayor
City voters will pick the top two candidates, out of a field of five, who will compete in the November general election with a four-year term at stake. Running are incumbent Mayor Andy Schor and challengers Brett Brockschmidt, Jeffrey Brown, David Ellis and Kelsea Hector.
Lansing City Council at-large seats
The at-large race, with 10 candidates, will be narrowed to four for the November election. After the Nov. 4 election, the top two vote getters will go on to become at-large council members.
The packed at-large race has no incumbents, although Jeremy Garza is a sitting council member in a Ward 2 seat looking to move into an at-large position. Garza is running alongside Miles Biel, Aurelius Christian, Gloria Denning, Clara Martinez, Nick Pigeon, Jonah Stone, Olivia Vaden, Julie Vandenboom and Tirstan Walters.
Lansing City Council Ward 4
The other council seat on the primary ballot, Ward 4, will see three candidates narrowed to two.
The Ward 4 race also has no incumbents, although Peter Spadafore is a sitting council member in an at-large seat looking to move into a ward position. Spadafore is running alongside Heath Lowry and Zacharie Spurlock.
More: Can downtown apartments offset loss of state workers? Lansing mayor candidates weigh in
More: 10 Lansing candidates running for 2 at-large council seats. Here's where they stand on key issues
More: What Ward 4 council candidates are saying about downtown Lansing construction, other issues
More: Meridian Township senior center, Lansing parks among tax proposals on August ballot
Parks millage proposal
Voters in the city of Lansing will decide if they want to renew a 1-mill levy for operating the city's parks and recreation system. If it passes, the millage would be renewed for five years beginning on July 1, 2026.
Renewing the existing millage would continue taxes of $50 a year for the owner of a home with a taxable value of $50,000.
Lansing Township
In Lansing Township, voters are being asked if they are willing to continue a franchise agreement with the Lansing Board of Water & Light in place since 2012. If passed, the proposal would authorize the collection of a surcharge not to exceed 5% of net revenues from BWL customers for a franchise fee for a term of 30 years.
Meridian Township
Meridian Township voters will consider two separate millage proposals intended to fund a 40,000-square-foot community and senior center proposed for Central Park Drive between the Central Fire Station and the U.S. Post Office.
If both measures pass, the millage rate would go up by slightly more than 0.9 mills, beginning with the December 2025 tax bill, officials said. The proposals are written so that if one passes and the other fails, neither will take effect.
One of the measures is a 0.557-mill construction bond proposal. The other would authorize a 0.347-mill levy to pay for operations.
The owner of a home with the average taxable value of about $152,200 would see a tax increase of $138 per year, township officials said. A typical condominium owner would pay an additional $83 a year, they said.
Bath
Voters in the Bath School District will decide the fate of a proposed $26.8 million bond issue to improve facilities, build athletic-support and transportation buildings, buy schools buses and improve playgrounds and athletic fields.
The estimated millage to be levied for the bonds in 2025 would be 3 mills. But if the proposal passes, schools officials said, the debt tax rate is expected to remain at 7 mills, meaning residents would see no increase in their taxes from this year.
Eaton County
Voters will see Democrat Rob Piercefield of Mulliken and Republican Andy Shaver in a special primary election for an open seat on the Board of Commissioners.
The District 1 seat was vacated by former Commissioner Tim Barnes, who resigned for personal reasons early this year, and the rest of the board failed to appoint a successor.
Both candidates will move on to a special election in November. District 1 includes Sunfield, Roxand, Vermontville, and Chester townships.
Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: What's on Tuesday's Lansing primary ballot?
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