Left-wing voting rights activists at Common Cause Michigan have had enough of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “partisan games.”

One hundred and seventy days after voters elected former state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City, to represent Michigan’s 8^th Congressional District, the far-left voting rights group called out the Democratic governor for failing to fulfill her duty to set a special election to replace her.

“Michiganders don’t like it when their elected officials play partisan games,” Quentin Turner, director of CCM, said in a statement. “Governor Whitmer needs to rise above such tactics and set a date for the special election ASAP. The people of the 35^th District deserve representation in Lansing.

“If the governor can’t put partisanship aside, the legislature needs to change the law to prevent long delays in holding special elections,” he said.

While McDonald Rivet’s former 35^th Senate District seat has been vacant since she was sworn into Congress 112 days ago, Whitmer has known since Nov. 5 – for nearly six months – she’d need to call a special election.

“It’s the governor’s duty to set a special election primary and general election dates,” the statement read. “She has done so in previous years without delay, but we have heard no explanation as to the reason for the delay this time. Due to the governor’s delays, the district will not elect a new senator in the upcoming May 6 election, and any further delays could also put the next election, scheduled for August 6, out of the question.”

Despite numerous calls from lawmakers and public rallies demanding Whitmer schedule the special election, the governor has refused to do so, offering no rationale for leaving the district’s 270,000 taxpayers without representation in the Senate.

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The 35^th Senate District stretches across five state House districts, including those represented by Rep. Amos O’Neal, D-Saginaw; Rep. Bill Schuette, R-Midland; Rep. Timmy Beson, R-Bay City; and Rep. Matt Bierlein, R-Vassar.

The district’s Midland, Bay and Saginaw counties went 54.8% for President Donald Trump in November. A special election would determine whether the legislature’s upper chamber operates with a new 19-19 tie between Republicans and Democrats, or returns to a 20-18 Democratic majority. Voters shifted control of the House to Republicans in November, killing the first Democratic government trifecta in four decades.

“I’m here to ask why the 35^th District does not have a state Senator, why the governor has not called for a special election?” constituent Karen Abate asked officials with Whitmer’s office at a recent Saginaw town hall.

“This is currently taxation without representation,” she said as the room erupted in applause.

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An unidentified staffer told Abate the hang-up is a matter of politics and timing.

“So, when you, um, when there’s a call for a special election, um, there are legal hurdles you need to jump through, and what you’re speaking to, mam, is more of an issue with, um, the party, the Michigan Democratic Party, as it relates to the election, and … it’s all about timing,” he said.

“It only took her about 20 days two years ago to call an election in other districts. Why are they more important than we are?” Abate shot back. “It’s been four months. You’re snowing us, sir.”

“Again, I hear your concern. What you’re speaking to is more of a political conversation. It’s more of a political, capital P, conversation rather than the issue that we’re here for today,” the official said. “I’ve heard you, we’ve heard you, we’ll take that concern back to the governor.”

Earlier this week, Whitmer named a replacement for Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Clement over a week before the Republican was set to leave the bench, cementing the high courts new 6-1 Democratic majority.

Numerous Republicans and concerned constituents have noted Whitmer took just days to announce a special election in 2023 when the state House’s Democratic majority was temporarily erased with the election of two members to mayoral posts.

CCM’s decision to call out the governor for inaction is notable because the nonprofit’s priorities largely align with the Democratic Party, and its members have worked to support the governor’s initiatives, including voting ballot initiatives in recent years.

It’s position on the special election issue aligns the group with the Michigan Freedom Fund, which bills itself as “the first line of defense against the radical Left.” The Fund created a “Restore MI Voice” webpage to track “how long … the Great Lakes Bay Region will be without a voice in the state Senate.”

Data on the site compares the time it has taken Whitmer to call special elections for races that would benefit Democrats, versus those that would not.

On average, it took Whitmer just two days for the former, compared to 30 days for the latter, according to the site.