Board of Elections Supervisors

Board of Election Supervisors City Hall - Community Room June 6, 2024 7:00 p.m. Draft Minutes Member District Present Absent Lynea Cooper-Pitts 1 X M. Ruth Murphy 2 X John Payne 3 X Yousuf Jaleel 4 X Susan Huemmrich Mayoral X (Vacant) Mayoral Also present: Janeen Miller, City Clerk. John Payne called the meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. 1. Approval of the meeting agenda: A motion was made by Yousuf Jaleel and seconded by Susan Huemmrich to approve the meeting agenda as written. The motion passed 5-0. 2. Approval of the May 2, 2024 Minutes: A motion was made by Lynea Cooper-Pitts and seconded by Susan Huemmrich to approve the May 2 minutes with the amendments as discussed. The motion passed 5-0. Ms. Miller will update the minutes to reflect the requested amendments. 3. Discussion/debrief from the May 2 meeting with the University of Maryland Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement: The Board reviewed the discussion last month.  Ms. Miller responded to the idea of aligning City elections with federal/state elections (i.e. fall of even years): o City Council candidates who are also federal government employees have a problem with the Hatch Act in a presidential election year; o An Memorandum of Understanding would be needed with the County to enable our election to appear on their ballot; o Our election would likely be at the very end of their ballot, and those ballots can get long; o If our election has any voter eligibility parameters that are different from the County’s, then our election likely could not be on their ballot, because the check-in guidelines would be different. For example, if we allowed 16-17 years olds to vote, but the County does not, then a different check in would be needed.  Discussion of having a separate student district: 1  o This would require Council discussion and authorization, a Charter Amendment, and redistricting. o Ms. Miller did not consider this an action that the BOES should pursue as a Board.  Items to follow up on with Mr. Novey, CDCE: o Establishing an area in the Student Union and/or on campus (a kiosk?) for signage and election material. Perhaps for City information in general. o Establishing a place during City election season where the candidates can electioneer on campus o Getting Student organizations to hold candidate forums o Getting the Diamondback to do a better job of explaining to students why they should be interested in City affairs  Things the City can do: o Set out voter registration forms on the Finance window counter for when students come in for their parking permits o Continue to send articles to the Diamondback reporter and the editor.  Ms. Miller will reach out to Mr. Novey for a follow-up meeting before July 31. 4. Discussion of Ranked Choice Voting and the September 17 presentation to Council. The BOES discussed and does not support implementation of Ranked Choice Voting: o No proof it will increase the number of candidates or increase voter turnout o Concern about equity o Concern about the complexity of the process that would need to be followed especially in a race where two candidates are selected o Concern about the difficulty of explaining it to voters o Ballot exhaustion o People may think we are manipulating their votes o Too much trouble; not worth the cost o Need to know all of the candidates equally in order to rank them, and not all voters will take the time to do that o If Council is interested in pursuing it despite the BOES recommendation, consider placing it on the ballot as an advisory question Discussion of the September 17 meeting with Council: o Ms. Miller will prepare a draft of the report on RCV o The BOES can discuss other things at the September 17 meeting, such as the method of the election, for example, would Council want to consider a true Vote By Mail election? 5. Thanks and farewell to John Payne. Members and staff thanked Mr. Payne for his service. Mr. Payne reflected on his tenure. 6. New Business – None. 7. Adjourn – The meeting adjourned at 8:37 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk 2