Board of Elections Supervisors

Approved: 011718 Board of Election Supervisors Council Chambers City Hall November 15, 2018 7:00pm Members Present Absent Maria Mackie X Jack Robson X Mary Katherine Theis X John Payne X Lisa Williams X Also Present: Janeen Miller, City Clerk; Joi Woods, Recording Secretary The meeting was called to order to at 7:00 p.m. by Mr. Robson. 1. Approval of Minutes: July 8, 2018 Mr. Payne motioned to approve the July 8, 2018 minutes. Mrs. Mackie seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed 5-0-0. 2. Introduction of new Board Member and Committee Member change • Mrs. Lisa Williams is a new member of the board • Mrs. Wertz has resigned from the board 3. Voting Centers • Report on the PG County early voting set up o Mr. Robson shared information about some County logistics for early voting, the use of VPN boxes, and other checks and balances. o The Board is interested in duplicating the setup for city elections, allowing intercommunication among each polling site. o Tentative polling places: City Hall, Davis Hall, and UMD Stamp Student Union 4. On campus polling location • A location will not be granted free of charge Mr. Robson will send a memo to the City Manager and the University to request a meeting with University officials to discuss the matter further. 5. Early Voting The Board discussed: • Date, time, and location: October 27, 2019; 10:00 am-5:00 pm at the College Park Community Center Mr. Robson will contact Mr. Bell, College Park Community Center Manager to reserve the space. 6. No Excuse Absentee Ballot The Board reviewed and discussed: • The Maryland Application for an Absentee Ballot • Processes to validate applications and ensure voting fidelity • Working with state and county officials to validate voter signatures • Partnering with the city and the university’s GSA and Greek Life Organizations to establish outreach for voting awareness and educate residents about voting and registration processes. Mr. Robson will forward a draft of a College Park Application for an Absentee Ballot for the board to review and edit. 7. Provisional Ballot Process Revisions The Board discussed: • Pre-validating ballots • City staffing needs to support the BOES • The Board of Elections budget (in process) • Providing opportunities to educate provisional voters on locating official polling locations • Providing a laptop to the North College Park polling site • Other considerations- wifi connection needs, use of E-poll books, voter envelopes, use of staples, printing labels to attach to envelopes Mr. Robson will contact ES&S to inquire about costs for envelopes 8. Changes to the City of College Park Municipal Elections Handbook The handbook becomes live and available to the public August 1, 2019. The ordinance related to the book has not been codified. The board discussed: • Monetary campaign contributions and contributions of value to campaign in accordance with the city ordinance o There is a $250 cap for candidates o Meet & greet and items of value up to $250, must be reported as an in- kind donation to candidates o Applying a monetary limitation to advertising give-a-ways Ms. Miller will forward a copy of the ordinance to the board 9. Training The board discussed: • Training needs for judges facilitating elections. Mr. Robson referenced the Election Judge Manual • Early Voting judges & Election Day judges o Training to use ballot scanners o Securing voting machines for training prior to elections o Logic & accuracy testing o Maintaining voter privacy 10. Election responsibilities follow up- City staff & BOES The Board discussed: • The city’s capacity to assist with elections processes • City staff’s roles in processing ballots- receiving and housing sealed ballots • Part time Election Clerk- roles and responsibilities to process ballots 11. Additional discussion: Same voter day registration-Constitutional Amendment The Board discussed: • If the amendment is applicable to city elections • Aligning same day voter registration processes with state and county guidelines • Inviting Alicia Alexander, Executive Director of PG County Board of Elections, to a BOES meeting to gain more insight 12. Approval from Mayor & Council for early voting dates, times and polling locations Mayor and Council appoints BOES in March of a city election year, Ms. Miller prepares a memo to Mayor and Council in February Next meeting: Tentative, February 2019 Adjournment: Mrs. Mackie motioned to adjourn the meeting. Mrs. Theis seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed 5-0-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm.