Election Commission

City of Battle Creek Election Commission Meeting 10 N. Division Street – Room 112 Battle Creek, MI October 16, 2012 11:30 A.M. Present: Eileen Wicklund, Steve Hudson and Vicki Houser Absent: none Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 11:30 A.M. Approval of Minutes: City Clerk Houser noted the first order of business was the approval of the August 1, 2012 meeting minutes. A motion was made by Steve Hudson, supported by Eileen Wicklund, to approve the August 1, 2012 Election Commission meeting minutes as presented. All yes, none opposed. Motion carried. Presidential Election Update: Ms. Houser discussed the upcoming State General Election to be held on November 6, 2012. Ms. Houser noted the Clerk’s Office had received over 3000 Absentee Voter applications as of today’s date. Ms. Wicklund inquired as to the number of AV applications received by Military and Overseas voters. Ms. Houser noted the City had received approximately 30 Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) forms, noting the FPCA only needs to be completed once a year to qualify for all elections in a calendar year. Ms. Houser noted all applications were sent to the Military and Overseas Voters (MOVE) prior to the mandated deadline. Ms. Houser also noted the City had 55% voter turnout for the State General Election in 2008. Ms. Houser also noted she had received many Election Inspector applications, mostly from individuals noting a Democratic affiliation. Ms. Houser also discussed the recent change mandated by the Michigan State Court regarding the completion of the Citizenship question on the applications to vote. Ms. Houser noted this change has resulted in the printing of new applications to vote that have the question removed. Ms. Houser also noted the AV applications will have the information redacted prior to mailing to voters. Ms. Houser next reviewed the State General Election ballot noting the various candidate positions and proposals, both State and local. Ms. Houser also noted the City of Battle Creek had 6 precincts that would have more than one ballot style, with one precinct having 4 ballot styles. Ms. Houser explained the precinct splits are the result of school district division lines falling within a precinct’s boundary. 1 Ms. Wicklund recommended the City review the precinct lines to see if the schools could fall into individual precincts so as not to cause split precincts. Mr. Hudson and Ms. Wicklund reviewed the ballots, noting the various positions and proposals. Ms. Houser informed the Commission of the need for additional Election Inspectors as this election was expected to be very busy. Ms. Houser noted the August Primary Election required 105 Inspectors, but the November State General Election would require almost 200 Inspectors to cover the 23 precincts, the 3 Receiving Boards and the 2 AV Counting Boards. Ms. Houser also noted the voting of the ballot was expected to take additional time as there were several candidate positions and proposals on the ballot. A motion was made by Eileen Wicklund, supported by Steve Hudson, to appoint 199 Election Inspectors for the November 6, 2012 State General Election. All yes, none opposed. Motion approved. Ms. Houser discussed the need for two AV Counting Boards for the November 6, 2012 General Election. Ms. Houser noted the AV Counting Boards would be established as Precincts 24 and 25. Ms. Houser stated the need for AV Counting Boards was necessary as the voter turnout at the precincts was expected to be very high, and there were concerns with the additional workload to process almost 4000 ballots. Ms. Houser noted one AV Counting Board would process ballots for precincts 1 through 10, and the second AV Counting Board would process ballots for precincts 11 through 23, which should provide a better balance as there is generally a larger request for AV Ballots for precincts 1 through 10. A motion was made by Steve Hudson, supported by Eileen Wicklund to appoint Election Inspectors to the 2 AV Counting Boards. All yes, none opposed. Motion approved. Ms. Wicklund asked if Election Inspectors were required to live within the City of Battle Creek. Ms. Houser stated a recent change now allows any registered voter in the State of Michigan to work as a Precinct Election Inspector in any jurisdiction. Ms. Houser also informed the Commission of the possibility of working with the Lakeview School’s Government classes to have students work the election in the afternoon. Public Comment: None. Commission Comments: None. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 11: 28 A.M. /vlh 2