Board of Elections Supervisors

Board of Election Supervisors City Hall- Community Room July 13, 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 7:04 p.m. II. Approval of the meeting agenda Cameron Thurston moved to approve the July 13, 2023 meeting agenda as written. Tina Batten seconded the motion. All were in favor. None opposed. The motion passed. III. Approval of Minutes from June 15, 2023 Yousuf Jaleel moved to approve the June 15, 2023 meeting minutes as amended. Lynea Cooper-Pitts seconded the motion. All were in favor. None opposed. The motion passed. IV. Discussion of General Election A. Early Voting The BOES presented dates for the General Election to the Mayor and City Council. The dates will be a part of the Consent Agenda for the next City Council Meeting. 1. Davis Hall on October 26, 2023, 8:00-am 7:00 pm 2. City Hall November 2, 2023, 8:00-am 7:00 pm 3. The board discussed preprocessing and the feasibility of conducting tallies during Early Voting and on election night. a. The canvas will include provisional ballots, cured ballots, remaining ballots collected from drop boxes, and the city’s PO Box. b. Preprocessing and canvas procedures are flexible, preprocessing will be scheduled as needed based on the number of ballots received. b-1. A quorum is needed for certain aspects of preprocessing including determining the validity of ballots. B. Vendors 1. Hart InterCivic representatives gave a presentation to Mayor and Council on July 11, 2023. a. A public information session will be held in September to offer voters an opportunity to learn more about election processes including the technology. 2. Hart InterCivic is available to provide testing support for L&A. The key 1  ceremony will potentially occur on the same day. 3. Contracts a. There is currently no contract in place for Election Guard b. The contract from HartInterCivic has been signed and submitted c. Janeen Miller has received the Ballot Scout contract d. Fort Orange Press has been contacted, a contract is pending C. Timeline The board reviewed and discussed General Election Deadlines and Timeframes. Items that require quorum from the board include Early Voting, Election Day, and finalizing the canvas period. 1. Election Judge training October 21, 20023 (tentative) a. Election Guard will conduct a portion of the training on equipment a-1. The board discussed offering a preferred and back- up date for trainings. D. Candidate Guide The board reviewed and discussed portions of the guide for updates and revisions, including guidelines about Meet and Greet invitations both written and electronic. Janeen Miller will examine the guide to ensure compliance with the city code. The board will also work to align the guide with state regulations. 1. Establishing procedures a. The board discussed updating the Procedure Book and including equipment instructions as appendices. John Payne will begin edits on the preprocessing procedures. E. Additional Discussion 1. Assignments a. Petition and other candidacy forms- John Payne b. Campaign Finance Reports Cameron Thurston c. Polling place set up- John Payne d. Procedures- Tina Batten, Lynea Cooper-Pitts, John Payne e. Poll Worker Training- Tina Batten 2. Creating a Voter Experience Video a. Permanent Vote-by-Mail b. Absentee Ballot Application c. Election Guard Video 2. Voter Supports a. Videos and posters demonstrating the steps to use machines and cast ballots a-1. The video can be displayed on the monitor at City Hall a-2. A poster can be displayed at the Community Center with a QR Code directing voters to a video on the city’s website. The video will demonstrate how to use machines and cast ballots. V. Campaign Finance Reports from the Special Elections 2  A. The board reviewed and discussed the Campaign Finance Reports, and identified form edits & areas that may require clarification for candidates. Additional emphasis will be given to these areas during the Candidate Information Session. VI. Future Meeting agenda & Next meeting- August 10, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. A. Guardian Ceremony B. Absentee Ballots Applications C. Voter experience video D. Training and procedural updates E. Election Judge Recruitment needs (number of judges, recruitment timeline) F. Public Information Session preparation VIII. Adjournment Lynea Cooper-Pitts 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 8:45 pm 3