Board of Elections Supervisors

Board of Election Supervisors EMERGENCY VIRTUAL MEETING August 27, 2020 7:30 p.m. Minutes Members District Present Absent John Robson, Chief Mayoral X Lisa Williams District 1 X Yousuf Jaleel District 4 X John Payne District 3 X Cameron Thurston Mayoral X Also Present: Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk; Yvette Allen, Assistant City Clerk; LaToya Moore, Administrative Specialist. 1) Call to Order: a) The meeting was called to order by Chief Robson at 7:36 p.m. 2) Primary Purpose of Emergency Meeting: a) General Discussion i) The Emergency Meeting was held to discuss the response received by the Prince George’s County Board of Elections, in reference to entering voter registration received for the city while the County had its books closed. b) The members present discussed a new date for the Special Election. i) The tentative election date is November 15, 2020. ii) The county closes its books on October 13, 2020. If it is decided to follow the county, the new proposed election day would be November 10, 2020. The board has some push back about the discussed date of November 10 mainly because it is a week following the general elections. There is fear of confusion and possible voter fatigue, which may lead to low voter turnout. The board suggests a weekend date so more voters would have access to the polls. iii) The November 10 date reduces the amount of time available to candidates and the amount of time potential voters have to register. iv) Since absentee ballot applications are being mailed the week of September 14, the proposed date of November 10, gives ample time to vote by mail. v) If the due date for candidate forms are due October 1, no date change is required if going with November 10 date. The board can set the petition due date to a date that best helps the candidates. vi) If board decides to change the date to November 10, there is a quorum with the members present.  Chief Robson placed the meeting in recess at 7:58 p.m. to try to reach the remaining members of the BOES to see if they are available to join the virtual meeting. Chief Robson placed the meeting back in session at 8:02 p.m. The absent members are unable to join the meeting. vii) The board requested that Janeen put together a timeline for the November 10 date and circulate to the BOES and propose an emergency meeting Monday, August 31 at 7:30 p.m. viii) The decision whether to change the canvass date will be decided at the next meeting. 3) How are candidates able to turn in their paperwork? Is someone available during office hours to accept candidates? a) The candidates would be requested to make an appointment to turn in their forms. i) There will be no delay in meeting a candidate for an appointment. ii) If Janeen or Yvette is not readily available when forms are turned in, the forms will be scanned to them by email immediately. iii) If forms are received at the last minute, verification may not be feasible in a sufficient amount of time. 4) Next meeting: A motion was made by Chief Robson and seconded by Ms. Williams to re-evaluate the new date of Tuesday, November 10 at another emergency meeting on Monday, August 31 where hopefully all members of the BOES can be present. The motion passed 3-0. 5) Adjourn: An motion was made by Ms. Williams and seconded by Chief Robson to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed 3-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m.