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"I'm confident we're over what we need," said Dennis Reid, who has spearheaded the drive to put the jail project on the ballot.

"As of 4 p.m. today (Monday) the number of signatures verified by the County Clerk's Office was 3,040," said the Sandusky attorney. "The required number as of today (for the referendum) is 2,944."

Reid predicted the number of valid signatures would exceed 3,200 by this Friday at 4:30 p.m., the deadline for petitions to be submitted to the County Clerk's Office.

He estimated 60 to 70 people have been collecting signatures on the petitions.

A successful drive will block plans by the Sanilac County Board of Commissioners to sell bonds totaling $16.6 million, unless the project is approved by voters.

Reid began the referendum drive on Aug. 1, after commissioners published the official notice of intent to sell bonds for the 200-bed jail expansion and renovation project. The notice gave citizens 45 days to collect enough signatures to force an election.

County Administrator John Males informed commissioners on Monday that signatures were being checked and that the issue of a possible election could be on the finance committee agenda for October.

The chairman of the Board of Commissioners, John Merriman, has stated he would support holding an election if enough names were collected.

Reid believes the majority of the citizens oppose the project.

"I collected 700 (signatures) on my own," said Reid. "I found nine people who felt we needed a new jail. Most of the people said we needed no expansion. I'm not finding support for it."

Commissioners and Sheriff Virgil Strickler are confident the bond issue could be retired with revenue generated through federal prisoner bed rentals, with no drain on the general fund.

Reid has called the $16.6 million project "absurd" and the idea of paying for it with bed rentals "a house of cards."