Board of Elections Supervisors

Board of Election Supervisors City Hall- Community Room June 15 , 2023 7:00 p.m. Final Minutes Member District Present Absent 1. Tina Batten Mayoral X 2. Ben Hovland Mayoral X 3. Yousuf Jaleel 4 X 4. John Payne 3 X 5. Lynea Cooper-Pitts 1 X 6. Cameron Thurston 2 X Also present: Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk, Joi Woods, Contract Secretary. I. Call to Order John Payne called the meeting to order at 7:17 p.m. II. Approval of the meeting agenda Tina Batten moved to approve the June 15 , 2023, meeting agenda as written . Ben Hovland seconded the motion . All were in favor . None opposed . The motion passed. III. Approval of Minutes from April 20, 2023 Ben Hovland moved to approve the April 20, 2023, meeting minutes as written . Tina Batten seconded the motion . All were in favor . None opposed . The motion passed. IV. Special Election debrief The board discussed election outcomes and operational considerations for the November election. A. Lessons learned 1. Need for additional judges a. Currently, there is a minimally adequate number of Judges. The board discussed recruiting additional judges to establish flexible shifts for Election Judges, BOES Members, and City Staff. 2. The BOES will need additional training Judges on new equipment and software a. Plans to assess the assigned tasks for Election Judges b. Issuing Election Judge assignments early c. Pairing inexperienced Judges with experienced judges 3. Operational impacts of in-person voting a. Janeen Miller will review the code for further discussion to identify opportunities to lessen the impact on City Staff. b. Structural limitations that impact Voter turnout c. Exploring options to hire a sworn Election Judge to support the Clerk’s Office  The adjustments made to polling and Ballot box locations, early voting and polling hours made by the BOES did not increase voter turnout and participation. 1  4. November Election Early Voting The board discussed logistical needs for early voting in the November Election a. Two days total for Early Voting at two locations, City Hall and Davis Hall with extended hours instead of 4 total days 5. Janeen Miller and John Payne will create a report of findings and recommendations for the Mayor & City Council. John Payne will circulate the draft for board members to review. V. Discussion of General Election The board discussed the General Election timeline. A. Review of the Agenda Roadmap & November 2023 General Election Timeline 1. Early Voting a. Davis Hall, October 26, 2023, 8:00 am-7:00 pm b. City Hall, November 2, 2023, TBD 2. Preprocessing and canvas-November 1-9, 2023 3. Election Day -November 5, 2023 4. Certify results/ Announce results - November 10, 2023 5. 3-day Challenge Period -November 11-13, 2023 6. Report Election Results-November 14, 2023 7. Inauguration- December 5, 2023 B. Vendor Status Update The board discussed potential vendors 1. A purchase order has been submitted to Hart InterCivic, a contract is pending 2. Printing and Mailing Vendor- Fort Orange Press a. Janeen Miller will contact Fort Orange Press for a quote 3. Poll Book vendor- Know Ink a. Ben Hovland will follow up with Know Ink b. Identifying Poll Book equipment is necessary to develop training manuals and procedures for training Election Judges 4. Ballot tracking vendor- Ballot Tracks, Ballot Scout a. Ben Hovland will follow up with Ballot Tracks, Ballot Scout 5. Equipment The board discussed purchasing pollbooks. The board came to a consensus that it is more economically sound to purchase pollbooks instead of leasing. VI. Candidate Guide Janeen Miller is working to publish the Candidate Guide by July 15, 2023. VII. Additional Discussion 2  A. The board discussed the distribution of meeting minutes. The board reached a consensus for minutes to be distributed shortly after the meeting for review and with meeting notices. B. The board discussed establishing a chronology of critical dates related to the election. C. Hart InterCivic will offer a presentation for Mayor and Council on July 11, 2023 The board discussed recommendations offered by Hart to engage the city council and UMD Stakeholders. VII. Future Meeting agenda & Next meeting- July 13 , 2023 at 7:00 p.m. A. July 2023- Vendor Discussion B. August 2023 – explore options to electronically accept absentee ballots C. Establishing procedures 1. Establishing procedures is contingent on identifying vendors and equipment VIII. Adjournment Ben Hovland moved to adjourn the meeting . Tina Batten seconded the motion . All were in favor. None opposed . The motion passed. John Payne adjourned the meeting at 8:51 p.m. 3