Board of Elections Supervisors

Board of Election Supervisors Virtual Meeting February 10, 2022 6:30 p.m. Final Minutes Member District Present Absent 1. Tina Batten Mayoral X Appointment 2. Yousuf Jaleel 4 X 3. John Payne 3 X 4. Lynea Cooper 1 X 5. Cameron Thurston 2 X Arrived at 7:16 p.m. Also present: Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk; Joi Woods, Contract Secretary 1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Chief John Payne at 7:08 p.m. 2. Approval of the February 10, 2022 meeting agenda Lynea Cooper made a motion to approve the February 10, 2022 meeting agenda. Yousuf Jaleel seconded the motion. The motion passed. 3. Approval of Minutes- January 20, 2022 Tina Batten made a motion to approve the January 20, 2022 minutes as amended. Lynea Cooper seconded the motion. The motion passed. 4. BOES 2021 Annual Report - Follow up Discussion The BOES discussed follow up action items from the meeting with the Mayor and City Council. Highlighted topics during discussion included: A. Mayor and Council initiated follow up with the County to request reconsideration of using ballot applications returned as undeliverable to purge Voter Rolls. A letter was approved and sent on behalf of the city. Janeen Miller will forward the letter to the board. B. Canvasing & Absentee Ballots 1) The BOES inquired about an acceptable time line for canvasing. Consideration of canvasing to occur 1 week after Election Day with the results of the election announced after canvasing was presented to Mayor and Council. Additional discussion is forthcoming. 2) 28 additional Absentee Ballots were received after Canvas Day of the 2021 election. 18 ballots were postmarked before the deadline and could have been counted if received on time. A federal holiday and mail processing time contributed to delays. 1  a. Ballots can be mailed up to 2 weeks before the election. The BOES discussed adjusting the deadline to 3 weeks before the election to allow additional time for mailing. b. Voters would be required to pick up ballots at City Hall in person beyond the mailing date. C. Ballot Focus Group The BOES discussed ballot errors and establishing a Focus Group to review the mail-in ballot and accompanying instructions. Feedback from the Focus Group would be used improve the current mail-in ballots instructions. Noted points of discussion included: 1) 62 ballots were returned as invalid due to missing signatures from Oath Envelopes, missing Oath Envelopes, and envelopes without ballots 1) Including ballot completion instructions with Election Announcements in local publications 2) Providing step-by-step instructions to complete Mail-in Ballots on bright colored paper 3) Reminder checklist & messaging prominently displayed on the external envelop (signing the Oath Envelope, signing the ballot, etc.) 4) Creating a YouTube clips with instructions, modeling the completion process for mail-in ballots D. Implementing mandatory Candidate Training in an online, self-paced, module format 1) Preliminary review of the training by existing city council members for feedback E. Assessing and addressing low voter turnout & voter initiatives 1) The city staff will be conducting a survey to assess the reasons for low voter turnout. The survey will include open-ended questions to gain feedback about voter initiatives. a. The role of the BOES is to make the information and opportunity to vote available to residents. 2) Related correlations among the number of voters who participate in early voting versus election day. 3) Instructions to return ballot of deceased and former residents 4) The impact of the transient student population within College Park and its impact on the city’s Voter Rolls 2  5) Implementing a Vote-by-mail election with the intent of increasing voter participation. a. Checks and balances to validate current residents’ mailed ballots 5. Open discussion A. Janeen S. Miller shared plans to send a letter to The State Board of Elections and The County Board of Elections to solicit support to acquire rental Voter Equipment for during City Elections. B. The BOES discussed a timeline to receive responses from Mayor & Council about time sensitive changes involving the City Code or City Charter. Ordinance changes require 6 weeks to process. Changes to the City Charter require 3 months to process. 1) The BOES recommended to Mayor & Council that changes for the 2023 election should be made by the Fall of 2022 to allow adequate time for securing vendors and election planning. Areas of focus include: a. Election timeline, (last day to mail ballots, when petitions are due, and when ballots are due) b. The number polls and designated locations, deciding to implement Voting Centers and early voting, mailing ballots and ballot applications C. The BOES revisited the meeting schedule and frequency for FY 2022. Highlighted points included: 1) Meeting monthly to ensure there is ample time to implement procedural changes recommended by Mayor and Council 2) Scheduling regular meetings on the second Thursday of the month at 7:00 p.m. with the exception of March and August. Meetings will be subject to cancelation pending agenda items. 6. Adjournment Lynea Cooper motioned to adjourn the meeting. Yousuf Jaleel seconded the motion. All were in favor. None opposed. The motion passed. The meeting adjourned at 8:12 p.m. 3