Canvassing Board Meeting

Canvassing Board Meeting Minutes April 2, 2019 (APPROVED) 4/2/2019 - Minutes 1. Roll Call The meeting of the Canvassing Board was held at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at the Supervisor of Elections Operation Center, 70 Florida Citrus Blvd., Winter Haven, Florida. The meeting was called to order by City Clerk Jennifer Nanek. CANVASSING BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Commissioner Flora "Tonya" Stewart; Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson; Commissioner Terrye Howell, Jacquie Hawkins, alternate; Pete Perez, alternate CITY REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT: Jennifer Nanek, City Clerk Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards was present. 2. Appointment Of Chair Commissioner Stewart nominated Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson to serve as Chair of the Canvassing Board. Commissioner Howell seconded the nomination. By voice vote: All "YES"; None "NO" 3. Publically Canvassing Absentee Ballots For Candidates Seeking Election As Mayor, Seat 1 (At-Large), A Commissioner For Seat 2 (District 19) And Charter Amendment In The April 2, 2019 Municipal Election. Lori Edwards, Supervisor of Elections, distributed the Vote-by-Mail report and reviewed it. Jennifer Nanek, City Clerk, said there were 1289 vote-by-Mail ballots that were not rejected. Total requested were 2,787. Total valid were 1,289. To be reviewed: 7. Ms. Edwards asked the Canvassing Board to accept the mail ballots as reviewed by the City Clerk and to direct the Supervisor of Elections staff to begin processing the ballots. Commissioner Howell made a motion to direct Supervisor of Elections staff to begin processing the ballots. Commissioner Stewart seconded the motion. By voice vote: All "YES"; None "NO" Ms. Edwards reviewed the criteria for accepting or rejecting ballots. 5 ballots were rejected for not having a signature. 2 were rejected because the signature did not match. All "YES"; None "NO" Ms. Edwards reviewed the criteria for accepting or rejecting ballots. 5 ballots were rejected for not having a signature. 2 were rejected because the signature did not match. The Canvassing Board unanimously consented that these be rejected. The Canvassing Board recessed at 5:19 p.m. and reconvened at 7:00 p.m. REVIEW ADDITIONAL MAIL BALLOTS RECEIVED PRIOR TO 7:00 PM IF NEEDED Ms. Edwards presented 1 ballot that just arrived and asked that it be accepted The Canvassing Board unanimously agreed to accept the ballot. The Canvassing Board recessed at 7:02 p.m. and reconvened at 7:07 p.m. Ms. Edwards presented 1 blank ballot to the Canvassing Board. The Board agreed to accept the ballot as blank. The Canvassing Board recessed at 7:09 p.m. and reconvened at 7:15 p.m. Ms. Edwards presented a ballot with an overvote in the Mayor's race. The Canvassing Board agreed to reject the overvote in the Mayor Seat 1 Race. The Canvassing Board recessed at 7:16 p.m. and reconvened at 7:19 p.m. RECEIVE PRECINCT RESULTS The Precinct results were presented to the Canvassing Board and the results are: Mayor Seat 1 At-Large Eugene Fultz 296 55.02% Bob Wood 242 44.98% Commissioner Seat 2 District 19 Curtis Gibson 346 66.16% James Tucker 177 33.84% Charter Amendment For 311 58.13% Against 224 41.87% The Canvassing Board agreed that the results can be posted online by Elections Office Staff. Ballot Issues Reviewed One ballot appeared to have both candidates marked for Mayor. The unanimous consensus was that this was an overvote and the vote for that race was rejected. For two ballots that were damaged the intent was determined to be clear and were accepted by the Canvassing board unanimously. These were replaced. For three ballots the intent was determined and reviewed by the canvassing board.  For two ballots that were damaged the intent was determined to be clear and were accepted by the Canvassing board unanimously. These were replaced. For three ballots the intent was determined and reviewed by the canvassing board. The Canvassing Board was recessed at 7:41 p.m. and reconvened at 8:05 p.m. Unofficial Results The total unofficial results were provided to the Canvassing Board. They are as follows: Mayor Seat 1 At-Large Eugene Fultz 995 54.88% Bob Wood 818 45.12% Commissioner Seat 2 District 19 Curtis Gibson 1,110 63.54% James Tucker 637 36.46% Charter Amendment For 311 58.91% Against 224 41.09% Pete Perez made a motion to accept the unofficial results. Commissioner Howell seconded the motion. By voice vote: All "YES"; None "NO" The Canvassing Board authorized the Supervisor of Elections staff to post the results to the website. The meeting was adjourned at 8:06 p.m. ______________________ Chair ATTEST: ____________________ City Clerk ____________________ City Clerk