Board of Elections Supervisors

Approved: 010920 Board of Election Supervisors December 12, 2019 College Park Airport Administration Building 7:30 p.m. Draft Minutes Members District Present Absent John Robson, Chief Mayoral X Lisa Williams District 1 X Diane Ligon District 2 X Yousuf Jaleel District 4 X John Payne District 3 X Cameron Thurston Mayoral X Also Present: Janeen Miller, City Clerk; Sheryl DeWalt, contract secretary The meeting was called to order by Chief Robson at 7:33 p.m. 1. The agenda was accepted without amendment by Chief Robson. 2. Reviewed October 24 minutes. Mr. Payne made a motion to approve the minutes with a suggested correction. Ms. Williams seconded. Motion carries 6-0-0. 3. Reviewed October 26 minutes. Mr. Thurston made a motion to approve the minutes. Mr. Payne seconded. Motion carries 6-0-0. 4. Residency Requirement to run for office. Chief Robson spoke with the City Clerk of Takoma Park, Maryland. Takoma Park allows anyone that is City resident to register to. vote. They need not be US citizens. The Clerk advised that there were many ways to prove residency. As a result Takoma Park had some established criteria, but allowed their Supervisors to accept non-published methods as well. Discussion ensued on what would be required for proof of one year residency in College Park as a requirement to run for office. Some ideas: a. People who sign an affidavit on behalf of an individual need to be a resident of College Park and a registered voter. These individuals cannot reside in the same house. b. School records could be used. c. Tax records. d. Official mail received: bank statements, utility bill, etc. e. Driver’s License Any challenges to proof of residency would be reviewed by the Board. 5. The Supervisors requested cost breakdown for early voting and for each poll from Ms. Miller for the November 2019 election. Ms. Miller will provide. 6. Discussion on pros, cons, concerns from the November election, and recommendations for the report to Mayor and City Council for the January Worksession: a. Pros i. Good turnout for Early Voting ii. Poll at Stamp Union at UMD iii. Not as many absentee ballots. b. Cons\Problems i. Too many judges ii. Temperature at Davis Hall iii. Signage at Stamp iv. Parking Codes at Stamp didn’t work until 7:00am v. WiFi link didn’t always work vi. Slight delay using scanners vii. Express Vote machine said “Ballot” instead of “District” viii. Provisional process caused a delay. Provisional judge needs more specific training. ix. No one knew how to open and close at some polls. x. Need ES&S support at the Canvass. xi. Procedures used on Canvass Day need to be much clearer. Need a written agreed upon process along with delegation of work. c. Recommendations\Possible Changes i. Go down to two e-poll books per poll; keep two scanners ii. Is Stamp Union necessary as a voting place? Council decision. iii. Davis Hall was the busiest poll – not large enough – no room for Judges to eat, etc. Consider another north College Park location. Perhaps Methodist church. iv. Need more specific training for BOES supervisors and judges. v. If Davis Hall is busy, voters from Attick Towers and Spellman House could be taken to Ritchie Coliseum. vi. Review list of judges for future vii. Review staff’s and board of election supervisor’s workload. Ms. Miller indicated she would compose a brief introduction to the BOES’ report for Mayor and Council. 7. Reviewed previous costs and number of voters: a. 2013 - $7,798 and 1,568 voters [manual] b. 2015 - $23,575 and 2,222 voters [DS200\BMD with 2 polling places] c. 2017 - $28,118 and 2,648 voters [e-poll books\scanners\BMD and 2 polling places]  d. 2019 - $67,896 and 2,092 voters [voting centers -full automation and 4 polling places] e. Other costs: i. Workers - $13,200 [Budget. $16,400] ii. Clerk - $5,750 [Budget. $6,000] iii. Meals - $565 [Budget. $675] iv. ESS - $42,000 [Budget. $24,350] 8. Discussed a possible City Code change to appoint the Election Supervisors about eighteen months prior to elections with an effective date of July 1 in the year before the election, coincident with the Fiscal year. 9. The Board would like to have different areas of focus for each supervisor. Chief Robson has been handling most non-election day tasks job for 20+ years and he is a vast wealth of experience. There needs to be an updated manual and each supervisor needs to be a Subject Matter Expert in one area: a. Candidacy petitions b. Finance reporting campaign c. Procedural forms pertaining to election and voting d. Canvass e. Judges and their training 10. The decision was made that the supervisors would continue to meet monthly. Ms. Miller will look for dates and space and will inform the committee. Mr. Thurston made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Payne seconded. Motion carries 6-0-0. Meeting adjourned at 9:36pm. Respectfully submitted by Sheryl DeWalt, contract secretary.