Electoral Board

Hampton Electoral Board Meeting March 06, 2024 10:00 a.m., Registrar’s Office Present: Rebecca, Tom, Tara, Matt Guests: Carmen, Deborah, Jim, Willie Mae, Carl, Sheryl, Donna Hampton University students: Jihan, Bethlehem, Janae, A’Shantia, Monae, Kelvin, Snider (?), Alexis, Renae, Ayleah, Kaylene, Naaja Meeting was called to order 10:27 a.m. Reviewed a survey the Registrar’s office had done of Chiefs who served in precincts in the recent primary. Discussion included mention of voters reluctance to announce a party when voting in the primary (we may place sample ballots where voters can point to the one they wish to participate in), the benefit of the “smart box”, and the need to emphasize no “political talk” while working in the precinct on election day. Discussion of the HU Homecoming parade, scheduled for a day there will be early voting for the November election. October 26th will be the parade, but the route is still being determined. The law says there must be access to the precinct for voters. Last year the parade did not provide that. Rebecca will follow up with HU administration on this. Out of that discussion came a mention about having satellite precincts in places like HU. There was also discussed the idea that there could be a precinct on or near campus for election days. Should it be needed there could also be a satellite precinct, during early voting, at Mallory. There was preliminary discussion about Sunday voting for this fall. The matter was tabled until our next meeting so there would be opportunity for community input. The next meeting is Thursday, May 2, 10:00 a.m. The EB and Registrar will be on a radio program coming up, to discuss matters related to voting. Thursday, April 25, 4:00 p.m., on WPMH, 100.1 fm.  EB Meeting, April 10, 2024, page 2 June 18, 2024 is the next Primary Election. It will be a Republican Primary, having about 5 candidates for the US Senate. Early voting starts on May 3. Do Cooper and Kraft have tables and chairs available for use on Election Days? We prefer not to haul these items out and back each time we vote. We will send a letter to the School Superintendent regarding coming elections – especially the March 7, 2028 Presidential Preference Primary. We will also request that they not schedule events at buildings where voting is taking place (department meetings, art shows, etc.). It was discussed that some EBs begin their canvass at 6:00 p.m. on Election Days. It opens up the opportunity to have the Clerk of Courts with us, and to open up the #2 envelopes (to make sure documents are properly signed, and result tapes are attached). We will do this for coming elections. It was also said at the VEBA meeting – recently attended by all 3 EB members – that matters discussed in closed session are not official until they are approved in open session. In other words, we have to approve that we discussed what we said we would when we went into closed session. We must emphasize with our Chiefs that the Express Vote in each precinct must be open and ready to use during each election. We will ask each Chief to draw a rough sketch of the layout of their precinct. They should have plenty of time to draw during the coming Primary! We will have another precinct responsibility for coming elections. We will have a Provisional Ballot Officer. There will be extra training for this responsibility.  EB Meeting, April 10, 2024, page 3 We will provide training and instruction to Chiefs concerning intentionally damaged ballots. Carl Anderson requested that we establish an Ad Hoc committee regarding Precinct boundaries with an eye toward reducing the number of precincts, and keeping larger precincts within the confines of the law. Motion was made and seconded to take steps toward changes in our precinct structure based off conversations in today’s meeting. Parameters are yet to be set, but the committee would have assistance from the Registrar’s Office to find information with which to make these decisions. Ad Hoc committee is to be established by Carl Anderson and Jim Avery. Motion passed. Next month’s meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, May 1, but it was discovered that there is a regional EB meeting that day. The next meeting has been rescheduled for Thursday, May 2, 10:00 am at the Registrar’s Office. Sincerely submitted, Matt Scott, Secretary Hampton Electoral Board Agenda for 5/2/24 EB Meeting This agenda is subject to change without announcement Topics for discussion and decision: Approval of previous minutes Review of Recent Primary – Lessons learned Update on HU Homecoming parade Update from Ad Hoc committee on precincts Update on a satellite or precinct location nearer to HU Sunday voting for 2024 Review of preparedness for precincts for primary Update on letter to School Superintendent Review of information from the recent VEBA meetings Comments/questions from guests