The Sanilac County Election Commission voted Wednesday morning to unanimously approve the petition language for the recall of Worth Township’s clerk and treasurer.
The petitions, as prepared by Worth Township citizen Elizabeth Wineka, state that township treasurer Jennifer Woodruff and township clerk Jennifer Marshall should be recalled for “repeated failure to perform the basic functions of the job.”
Due to prior obligations, Wineka was unable to attend the March 11th clarity hearing, and Worth Township Trustee Steve Kovac spoke on her behalf. Though she was present at this morning’s hearing, township clerk Jennifer Marshall did not speak on her own behalf, with Treasurer Woodruff also not speaking due to her absence this morning.
The county elections commission, composed of Probate Judge Greg Ross, County Clerk Leslie Hilgendorf and County Treasurer Trudy Bowers, determined that the language fit the clear and factual parameters and thus approved the language for both petitions. Woodruff and Marshall have the opportunity to appeal the decision to the county’s circuit court within ten days. If it is not appealed, the petition language is valid for up to 180 days (about 6 months) after the approval.
Recall petitions must conform to the specifications prescribed by the Secretary of State, and a separate petition must be circulated for each officer who is being recalled. Signers of the recall petitions must be registered to vote in the electoral district of the official whose recall is sought, with each signer needing to list their signature, address and the date they signed the petition in the circulator’s presence.
It should be noted that the number of signatures needed to trigger a recall election is 25% of the votes cast in the officer’s district for all candidates for the office of Governor in the last gubernatorial general election.
The timeline for Worth Township’s potential recalls remains murky, with it unclear if either Marshall or Woodruff will appeal Wednesday’s decision.
