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On November 3, voters will decide East Lansing Proposal II, which would move City Council elections from odd- to even-numbered years. We urge a No vote on East Lansing Proposal II.

A plurality of states—24, not including Michigan—have laws preventing municipal elections on federal election dates. That’s not an accident!

Five reasons to keep City Council elections on odd years, as they have been since East Lansing was founded:

Odd-year elections focus attention on local issues. In even years, voter fatigue is real. Think of the clutter in your mailbox this election season. With all that’s going on at the state and federal levels, who wants to talk zoning or stormwater management? These issues have a big impact on our lives even if they’re not making headlines. Odd-year elections give them the attention they deserve.

Odd-year elections promote diverse voices in government. In odd years a grassroots candidate doesn’t need a lot of money to get their message out to voters. In even years, the cost of buying voters’ attention will skyrocket because of the volume of messaging from state and federal campaigns. Candidates who aren’t rich or retired will face new barriers to access.

Odd-year elections keep money out of local politics. In odd years, small donations from residents can fund a winning campaign. In even years, the high cost of a campaign will shift power to outside groups with deep pockets that want to trade money for influence—like the union that’s promoting the change to even years. Everyone wants money out of politics. Odd-year elections are one of the few things that work!

Odd-year elections keep local elections nonpartisan.  Local elections are nonpartisan for a reason—we all want our roads fixed and our trash picked up. In even years, party insiders will have the advantage because they can coordinate fundraising and field operations with state and federal campaigns. What a candidate knows about roads and trash will matter less than who they know in the party establishment.

What works elsewhere may not work here! Some Michigan cities, like Ann Arbor, vote in even years but elect their councils by ward, so every neighborhood has its own representatives. East Lansing elects all five members at large, up to three in a single election. More than 17,500 residents voted here in 2024, compared with about 6,300 in the 2025 council election. Without wards, one large bloc of presidential-year voters could decide a council majority in one election, or the seats could be left to voters who guess at the bottom of a long ballot. This is not the path to stable government.

Local issues deserve local elections. On November 3, Vote No on East Lansing Proposal II!