The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
'We've got to come up with a different way'
Secretary of State proposes regional fix to presidential primary
By Edward Freundl, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: April 3, 2008
The current presidential primary election system is badly flawed and needs to be fixed, according to Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land.
Advertisement
"We've got to fix this primary; we've got to come up with a different way," Land said about the controversy surrounding the primary, just one of the topics she talked about in her visit to Chelsea on Saturday.
About three dozen people, including a number of city and county officials, attended the presentation, which was in conjunction with the monthly meeting of the Western Washtenaw Republicans group.
Land was accompanied by her husband, Dan Hibma, and was introduced by Chelsea Mayor Ann Feeney as "a true renaissance woman."
Serving her second term as the state's highest-ranking elections official, and coming up through the ranks of local and county clerk, Land is well-versed in election procedures.
She spoke at length about the contentious early presidential primary election, for which Michigan was punished by both the Republican and Democratic national committees.
"The parties did not benefit from moving the presidential primary up to Jan. 15," Land said.
"The way it turned out, if we had gone with the original date of Feb. 26 we would have been the hottest ticket in town - all the candidates would have been here."
She rejected the much-discussed idea of a "do-over" primary.
"It's not easy to do it over - you don't just do over an election; it's very expensive," Land said.
"They can do a caucus, but that costs $3 or $4 million; and I'm not sure they want to do that."
While most of the media attention has been focused on the two Democratic candidates, Land reminded the audience that the issue is still not resolved on the Republican side.
Michigan still has only half its delegates for the GOP convention: 30 instead of 60.
"(John) McCain says all delegates will be seated, but it's one thing for the candidate to say that and another thing for the Rules Committee to agree," Land pointed out.
Because the traditional primary system has become too expensive and too time-consuming, Land suggested a solution that had many in the audience nodding in agreement.
"The National Association of Secretaries of State, to which I belong, has proposed a system of regional primaries," she said.
Under the proposal, elections would take place in four or five regions, separated by several weeks to allow candidates time to concentrate their campaigning in one region at a time.
"It's better for the candidates; the way we're doing it now, it's wearing the candidates out," Land said.
"Part of the idea is to restrict the amount of time for campaigning.
"It's also better for voters; I think voters need to meet the candidates," she added.
In addition, the system would rotate which region would go first in successive election years.
"We'll present this plan at the convention, but there's still a long way to go to get this to happen," she said.
"Both parties have to agree, then Congress has to agree."
Land also spoke at length about the proposed "enhanced driver's license" that will combine many documents currently needed for identification to comply with new Department of Homeland Security regulations.
"During my first couple of years (in office) we changed the election process with new machines, etc., and I thought we could take a breather, but then the federal government came up with the REAL ID Act," Land said.
Michigan was one of the last states that didn't require proof of citizenship, but now it does, Land noted.
"The Attorney General gave me a 'Christmas present,' and issued an opinion that we did need proof of citizenship or that you are here legally," she said.
Under the REAL ID law, by summer of 2009 people will need a passport or other certified document to travel to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.
"With (the enhanced driver's license) you'll already have proof of citizenship," Land said.
"The state of Washington has done this and it's going like gangbusters."
The measure had bipartisan support in the state Legislature, she noted, and will cost only $15 more than an ordinary driver's license.
The new rules will have an enormous economic impact on this country, Land noted.
"This is huge; there is $70 billion in trade between the U.S. and Canada," she said.
"To cross the border you will need four documents: a Social Security number; something with your full real name; something that shows proof of citizenship, like a birth certificate; and something that shows residency, like a utility bill," she added.
All of those things are combined in the enhanced driver's license, because people will have to show them when applying for it.
All drivers will be offered the option to change over the next four years when they come in to renew their license.
Land pointed out the benefits of having the documents combined into one card that will function as a driver's license, a North American passport, a voter registration card and a citizenship identification card.
"I think this is a good thing, bringing consistency in driver's licenses in all states," Land said.
"It will be easier to renew, and easier to get a driver's license in another state.
She said her office was able to "talk the federal government down" from several requirements they wanted for the new ID.
"You can still use the regular driver's license for whatever you normally would, you just can't use it as a border-crossing document," she noted.
"The steps we are taking are good for Michigan. When the deadline comes (next summer), we'll have done enough."
Land then turned her attention to the changes being made to the offices that are the public's portal to the Secretary of State.
"We're still modernizing and consolidating the local branch offices," Land said.
She said her department has done its share when it comes to improving efficiency and shrinking expenses, like reducing the number of branch offices from 178 to 144; and increasing Web-based services.
"We've had to figure out new ways of doing business," she said.
"We're doing a lot online, like instant titles, and copies of driving records. There are 1.5 million people doing business online now, they don't have to come into an office."
She also had a suggestion to increase voter registration from its already high level of about 97 percent.
"You come into a branch office when you're 16 to get your driver's license, you're there with your parents, you have all the information you need; but you don't come back when you're 18 to register to vote," Land said.
"We had an idea - why not get them while they are there? Pre-register to vote when you are 16, then when you're 18 we send you a notice that you are registered to vote."
That is an idea that the Legislature has not yet acted upon, she said.
While her office has worked hard to increase its efficiency and level of service to the public, Land described improvements that could be made in other areas of government.
"I travel around the state a lot, and one of the things I've noticed is a township or city DPW garage with all their equipment, then down the road I'll see a county road commission garage with all their equipment, then down the road the Department of Transportation with all of their equipment," she said.
"We need more collaboration with MDOT and county road commissions; there are a lot of ways to consolidate.
"We can't have our own little kingdoms anymore, those days are gone."
After Land's presentation, Dean Alseth of Chelsea said he was impressed with her intelligence and preparedness.
"We had a very learned individual talking with us today, she had a positive answer for about 95 percent of the questions," Alseth said.
"She gave us information as to why this item or that item has been approved, which shows there is a system on Lansing that shows a track of authority."
Wyckham Seelig, vice-chairman of the Washtenaw County Republican Party, said Land "did a masterful job."
"I just didn't know very much about the enhanced driver's license and how it was going to affect our lives," Seelig said.
"I think it's impressive how much detail of the job she's mastered."
Seelig said the GOP has not taken a formal position on the personal privacy implications of the REAL ID license.
"There's been no resolution passed on a position," he said. "The question is, how much are we going to tolerate?"
Wendy Jurosek of Chelsea said Land gave "a great presentation."
"She was very focused; I thought she handled herself well," Jurosek said.
"I'm happy with the changes that she's made because it's moved us into the 21st century."
Scott Cooper of Chelsea found it "a shame" that more people did not attend.
"It was informative, and it's a shame more people couldn't take advantage of asking her questions," he said.
"I was more interested in her comments on reorganizing the primary — it's an antiquated system that's out of control," Cooper added.
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
Expanded
Web
Coverage
TOP JOBS
