By: Gena Johnson | West Bloomfield Beacon | Published October 10, 2025
WEST BLOOMFIELD — The West Bloomfield Township Clerk’s Office recently consolidated voting precincts for greater efficiency and cost savings.
The number of precincts was reduced from 26 to 20 after studying voting metrics and trends in voting habits for several years.
“There has been a tremendous shift in voters in terms of absentee and early voting that has left the precincts with fewer voters on Election Day,” said Debbie Binder, the township clerk and a board trustee.
She noted that most voters are voting by absentee ballot, followed by early voting, and that voting at the polls on Election Day garners the least voters.
Proposal 2, adopted by voters in 2022, allowed precincts to increase from a maximum of 2,999 voters to a maximum of 4,999.
West Bloomfield Township has seven school districts within its jurisdiction, which is unusually high, Binder said.
“There were a good number of precincts that had two (different) school districts and election workers had to manage two different ballots for the precinct,” Binder said. “It was even more (ballots) if it was a presidential primary.”
As a result of the consolidation, each precinct covers a single school district, and election workers will not have to manage multiple ballots in the same precinct.
“The precincts are now laid out according to the school district. This will increase the efficiency for the Clerk’s Office on Election Day and the preparation ahead of time,” Binder said.
This is a savings to taxpayers, a reduction in administrative costs and easier to administer.
“It will be a significant savings in terms of the cost of administering the elections, as well as when we have to procure new election equipment. With six fewer precincts to outfit, that will be a significant savings, as well as the staffing,” Binder said. “We will need fewer election workers, which means less focus on recruiting, as well as the cost of personnel.”
In past elections, Binder has needed anywhere from 200 to 400 election workers. She is still actively recruiting election workers, which are also called election inspectors.
She is the first to admit that the day is long for election workers. On Election Day, it starts at 6 a.m. and can end as early as 9:30 p.m. The township clerk anticipates a turnout of about 16-20% of the nearly 57,000 voters.
Workers are paid for training and their time on Election Day. In some Oakland County communities, the hourly rate is $15 an hour, and workers can earn around $200.
Young people are encouraged to engage in the process and participate in their community, Binder said. Depending on their role, election workers can be as young as 16 years old.
“If they don’t have fun, they don’t come back,” Binder said.
She tries to make the experience a pleasant one for election workers.
“I had a lot of fun. Everyone was so sweet,” said Peyton Skiver. “Although it’s work, having that connection with the people you’re working with made it fun.”
Skiver started working the elections when she was 18, when her cousin told her about it. She has come back for two primary elections and two smaller elections. Now age 21, the recent college graduate is working in government in Ingham County.
“I’ve always been interested in elections and wanted to help my community in any way I could,” Skiver said.
For more information about becoming an election worker, contact the Clerk’s Office at (248) 451-4848.
Early voting is Oct. 25 to Nov. 2. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day except Thursday. Thursday hours are noon to 8 p.m.
The early voting locations are the West Bloomfield Library, 4600 Walnut Lake Road, and the Waterford Oaks Activity Center, 2800 Watkins Lake Road in Waterford. Hours are the same.
To find your precinct, visit wbtownship.org.
Precinct No. 6 is not featured on the map but can be found at the West Bloomfield School District’s administration building at 5810 Commerce Road in West Bloomfield Township.