Board of Elections Supervisors

Approved: 052219 Board of Election Supervisors Council Chambers City Hall April 25, 2019 7:00pm Draft Minutes Members Present Absent 1. Maria Mackie X 2. Jack Robson X 3. John Payne X 4. Cameron Thurston X 7:18pm 5. Lisa Williams X 6. Diane Ligon X Also Present: Janeen Miller, City Clerk; Yvette Allen, Assistant City Clerk; Joi Woods, Recording Secretary 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order to at 7:04 p.m. by Mr. Robson. 2. Approval of Minutes: January 11, 2019 Mrs. Mackey raised a question about documenting completed tasks. Completed tasks assigned during the previous meeting are documented at the time of discussion. Mrs. Mackie motioned to adopt the January 11, 2019 minutes as amended. Mr. Payne seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed 5-0-0. 3. Agenda The agenda was reordered to include discussion of the Takoma Park request to observe city elections. Go Fund Me was added to the agenda under item 12 Other issues and concerns. 4. City Hall Closure – New polling location – Council approval Ritchie Coliseum has been identified as a potential polling place due to the City Hall closure. 5. Takoma Park request to observe city elections Mrs. Mackie motioned to approve the request from Takoma Park Election Officials to observe the City of College Park Elections on Election day. Ms. Williams seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed 5-0-0. Ms. Miller will notify Takoma Park Election Officials that the request has been granted. Details of participation will be worked out. 6. Result of “Same Day Registration” implementation by State Legislature.  Mr. Robson provided information about Same Day Registration noting that same day new registration for first time voters is permissible at the state and county level. A change of address is not permitted at that time. The legislation was not imposed on municipalities. 7. Recruitment of Election Judges The Board discussed: • Recruitment should begin now. • All election judges must complete an application, even if they previously served as a judge. • Preference will be given to previously trained judges • Implementation of an Election Judge application: o The Board discussed application edits: The City Clerk’s Office will revise the application and forward it to the Board for review prior to posting on the City’s webpage • Election Judge Criteria: o Must be available to work at any of the three potential voting centers o Recruitment for early voting judges o Must participate in the training sessions The Board will make the final decision on the selection of Judges 8. Election Logistics and Planning Considerations The Board discussed progress: • Voting Centers • Report on preliminary testing of City Voting Center implementation o The proposed electronic design is still in progress. The intent is to connect poll books at each location to allow residents to vote at any of the approved polling locations and prevent duplicate votes at the remaining polling locations. • On-campus polling locations o Parking -Judges will be provided a free parking code by UMD -Voters – time stamped parking validations will be issued to prevent unauthorized parking during elections • Catering & food pick ups o Stamp Student Union, no outside food caterers, they have their own exclusive catering o Ms. Miller shared plans for city staff to assist with securing food for Election Judges and Supervisors at Stamp. • Voting Center Assignments: o Davis Hall: Maria Mackie and Lisa Williams o Ritchie Coliseum: Jack Robson and Diane Ligon o Stamp Student Union: John Payne and Cameron Thurston • Voter Education for students The Board discussed: o Collaborating with the university, the SGA, and the IFC to ensure that student voters are well informed of the voting process • Training The Board discussed: o Mr. Robson and Ms. Miller will coordinate separate training for the Election Supervisors. o Training for Election Supervisors will take place on a Saturday in September at Davis Hall. Training for new Election Judges will take place in October - date and location to be determined . • Voter Outreach • The Clerk’s Office is meeting with the Communications Coordinator next week to create an outreach strategy to promote the city election. • Mrs. Williams will work with the City Clerk’s office to collaborate on voter outreach. • IT Support • One Volta and one ES & S representative will be in the City at a TBD polling location to provide support as needed during Election Day. • Early voting Sunday, October 27, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Election judges are required to be at the poll by 8:00 a.m for set-up. • Revision to Provisional Ballot Process The Board reviewed and discussed: o Emergency Absentee Ballot: Identity must be proven by the voter o Procedures in place to protect the integrity of absentee ballots o Craft envelopes to collect Provisional and Absentee Ballots • $100 Campaign Finance Report Requirements Mr. Robson shared an update about Campaign Finance Report in creating a form to simplify multiple donations for single person reports. 9. Changes to the Election Book The Board reviewed and discussed: • Wording pertaining to topics: - Candidate’s use of the terminology “Friends of” - “Meet and Greet”-expenditures as donations • Consistency among guidelines for dollar amounts Mr. Payne and Mrs. Williams will review the draft for edit 10. Follow-up on City staff versus BOES election responsibilities Responsibilities and election tasks:  • Candidate petition process: Validate signatures, review paper work, and notification of approval- Diane Ligon • Processing Campaign Finance Reports: Jack Robson and Cameron Thurston • Alternate point person to support Absentee Ballot processing: Maria Mackie 11. Other issues and Concerns • Go Fund Me Accounts o The full donation amount must be reported as campaign contributions o The Election Book is slated to include additional details and clarity 12. Future meetings: The Board discussed hosting future monthly meetings on Thursdays as needed. The following dates were proposed: Wednesday, May 22, 2019 Thursday, June 20, 2019 Thursday, July 25, 2019 August 22, 2019 September 26 October 24 Adjournment: Mrs. Williams motioned to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Payne seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed 6-0-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:12 pm.