Board of Elections Supervisors

Board of Election Supervisors Virtual Meeting July 14, 2022 7:00 p.m. Final Minutes Member District Present Absent 1. Tina Batten Mayoral X Appointment 2. Ben Hovland X 3. Yousuf Jaleel 4 X 4. John Payne 3 X 5. Lynea Cooper 1 X 6. Cameron Thurston 2 X Also present: Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk; Joi Woods, Contract Secretary 1. Call to Order: Chief John Payne called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. 2. Approval of the July 14, 2022 meeting agenda Tina Batten made a motion to approve the July 14, 2022 meeting agenda. Ben Hovland seconded the motion. The motion passed. 3. Approval of Minutes- May 12, 2022 and June 16, 2022 Ben Hovland made a motion to approve the May 12, 2022 and June 16, 2022 meeting minutes. The May 12, 2022 minutes were approved as corrected. The June 16, 2022 minutes were approved as written. Lynea Cooper seconded the motion. The motion passed. 4. Recommendation to Council about the date of the election. 5. Preliminary discussion of election timeline and whether to propose any changes: The BOES discussed: A. Considering shifting pre-processing to before Election Day  Assessing practices of other municipalities to determine effectiveness o Janeen Miller noted similar ballot preprocessing practices in place in other municipalities including Hyattsville, Takoma Park, Bowie, and New Carrollton.  Existing pre-processing components, processes, and measures to secure ballots  Building more time into the existing pre-processing schedule to allow for the processing and secure storage of ballots received via mail and ballot drop boxes. Discussion for the following items was postponed until a decision is made about the type of election that will be held (Early Voting, In-person, By-mail). B. Last Day to turn in petitions C. Last Day to withdraw D. When to prepare ballots E. Ballot mailing schedule 1   When to mail ballots  Last day to mail ballots – “late application absentee” period F. Changing the interval between Election Day and Canvas Day  Mayor & Council noted a one-week timeframe between Election Day and Canvas Day was favorable 6. Review BOES Agenda Roadmap 2022-2023 Discussion postponed until the September meeting 7. New Business/General Discussion The BOES discussed: A. Increasing Voter Turnout  Related options and budget considerations  Mailing ballot applications and ballots to residents o Including voter registration application  Pursuing support from the county to mail ballots and Same day Voter Registration forms o Same day registration feasibility o Previous interest expressed by Mayor and City Council o The former Board chair advised of complications  Types of Elections o Traditional, Vote -by-mail, and Early Voting John Payne will begin drafting a plan to increase voter turnout, BOES members will have an opportunity to contribute and comment on the draft. Janeen Miller will offer comment and feedback in August. B. Use of the city seal in campaign materials Discussion was postponed until the September meeting 8. Adjournment & Next meeting Next meeting: Thursday, September 8, 2022 Tina Batten motioned to adjourn the meeting. Yousuf Jaleel seconded the motion. All were in favor. None opposed. The motion passed. The meeting adjourned at 8:09 p.m. 2