MEETING OF THE
In Attendance:
Board
Members:
Samuel Statland, President
Mary M. Carter-Williams, Vice President John
Sullivan
Nahid Khozeimeh
Jerrold Garson
Lucia Nazarian
Staff:
Margaret Jurgensen, Director
Sara Harris, Deputy Election Director
Betty Ann Lucey, Registration Manager
Paul Valette, Operations Manager
Gilberto Zelaya II, Outreach Coordinator
Kevin Karpinski, Esq., Attorney
Marjorie Roher, Administrative Specialist
Renee Adams, Election Aide
Guests:
Stan Boyd, Save Our Votes
Bryan Hunt, Offices of Management and
Budget
Holly Joseph, Save Our Votes
Tim Lanigan,
Manna Foods
Brigitta Mullican, League of Women Voters
of
Mark Posner,
Barbara
Sanders, League of Women Voters of
Mr. Statland called the meeting
to order at
Additions/Changes to the Agenda
Mr. Statland stated that Nancy Dacek would not be attending the meeting and therefore, Ms. Nazarian would be voting. Ms. Jurgensen requested the addition of an Executive Session.
Approval of January 22, and
Minutes from the
January 22 and
Public Comments
There were no public comments.
Status Reports
Operating Budget
Ms. Jurgensen
reported that Board of Elections is in deficit. She noted that the budget
deficit is primarily in personnel and overtime for staff. She noted that
additional trainers are needed for polling places for the Special Elections to
revamp training to improve paperwork requirements for Election Judges. Ms. Jurgensen stated
that we have not received any bills from the State Board of Elections for
ballots, supplies and other election related supplies. She also noted that a
bill from the 2006 election will be included in this fiscal cycle if it is received
in a timely manner from the State Board of Elections. Mr. Statland addressed
Ms. Jurgensen about the cost of the Special Election, and Ms. Jurgensen
responded that the cost is unknown at this time.
Statewide Voter Registration System
Ms.
Jurgensen reported that after reviewing the Provisional Ballot process, it was
discovered that the voter information was not linking to the MDVoters
Provisional reports. She stated that there was a difference of about 200 voters
missing from the report. Ms. Jurgensen noted that Spirit numbers 11320 and
11482 were submitted and acknowledged by the State. She stated that the Saber
indicates Spirit number 11442, the Election Worker Module, has been resolved.
Ms. Jurgensen sent an email to the Help Desk asking for a meaning and was told
to review the June release. Ms. Jurgensen stated that Board of Elections is
working with DTS staff to determine if they can provide a stable election
worker database. Mr. Valette stated that DTS has assigned a group to work with
BOE to identify the requirements to come to a solution. Mr. Statland asked if
anything will be done by the Special Election and Mr. Valette’s response was no,
but he informed DTS that data migration must be done in June and July, while
noting that the database needs to be operating by August 1, 2008. Ms. Jurgensen reported that SBE MDVoters does
not provide a user friendly database for facility issues and until it does
State Board of Elections
Ms. Jurgensen announced there was nothing new to report.
*** Mr. Sullivan entered
the meeting at
Legislative Update
Mrs.
Harris reviewed the MAEO letter that was distributed in the folders. She reported
that she had provided information to the Maryland House of Delegates Public
Safety and Administration Subcommittee regarding the number of EPBs that the
local jurisdictions were in need of. She requested 400 additional EPBs from
State Board of Elections for
Facility Issues
Ms. Roher stated
that County staff is in the process of working with the County to identify a
building to lease. She noted that a building had been identified and staff is
currently working with the landlord and architect to develop a blueprint to
ensure that all functions would fit in the building appropriately. Ms. Roher
announced that should there be an agreement, it is anticipated that they will
move forward and go to the
Old Business
Discussion of Bylaws
Mr. Karpinski
distributed a new set of bylaws to the Board for review. The Board tabled the
discussion until June.
Primary Election Review
Telephone Calls on Election Day
Ms. Jurgensen reported that the IVR received 6,348 calls and transferred 628 calls to a live operator. She stated that there were 1,157 calls answered off-site by county customer service employees, and 4,172 answered in-house, with an unknown number of hits on www.777vote.org, and on the SBE web site. Ms. Jurgensen stated that she believes that there were over 10,000 individuals who received some sort of
communication with the Board of Elections on Election Day. She also noted that the call center helped the majority of calls by answering basic questions, and she only received one complaint.
Election Judge Update
Ms. Jurgensen
announced that payroll was sent and received over the last week to Election
Judges. She reported that the cost for Election Judges for the primary was
$739,380 which included payroll and bonuses.
Absentee and Provisional Ballot Report
Ms.
Jurgensen reported that there were a total of 23,418 absentee and provisional
ballots on the GEMs report. She noted that the
problem is that MDVoters is not linking provisional voter history with the
total number voter report by precinct in absentee or provisional. Mr. Sullivan
asked if it’s possible to receive a list of uncounted Provisional ballots by
category, and Ms. Jurgensen responded that she will check MDVoters. Mr. Garson distributed and discussed a 2 page
review of what he observed on Election Day. Mr. Statland asked Ms. Jurgensen if
she could develop a letter emphasizing the points that Mr. Garson made and send
it to the State and Ms. Jurgensen agreed that she would draft a letter and
forward it to Mr. Karpinski for review.
Media Review
Ms. Roher distributed a report on media activities for review and offered to answer any specific questions. Mr. Statland asked if there would be another kit distributed for the Special Election, and Ms. Roher responded that a revised kit will be available on the website. Mr. Sullivan complimented staff on the way the extended hours were handled on Election Day.
Special Election Preparation
Ms. Jurgensen
reported that training is occurring at
Voting Equipment Update
Ms. Jurgensen stated that there will be 252 units deployed to 45 sites with at least 5 units per site. She also noted that 155 EPBs will be distributed to 45 sites.
Election Judge Update
Mr. Valette reported that there were 476 election judge positions identified and filled as of earlier today. Mr. Sullivan asked if there were any new judges and Mr. Valette responded that there are no new judges being used for the Special Elections.
Report on
Ms. Jurgensen reported that the Election Task Force and supporters appear to be in place from Facilities. Ms. Harris noted that sample ballots will be mailed to voters in Council District 4 next Monday.
New Business
Report on Petition Status
Ms.
Jurgensen announced that the petition was completed and was submitted to the
Pilot Project
Ms. Jurgensen
discussed a possible partnership with Manna Food. Ms. Jurgensen briefly
explained how Manna Foods worked with the Board of Elections in other states.
Ms. Jurgensen stated that it is critical that the Manna Food logo appear on the
cover of a sample ballot mailing to allow the public to understand this is a
joint project. She added that
*** Mr. Zelaya and
Mr. Lanigan left the meeting at
Report on the Executive Session
At
*** Bryan Hunt, Holly Joseph, Betty Ann Lucey, Mark Posner, Barbara
Powell, Brigitta Mullican and Paul Valette left the meeting at 4:03
p.m.***
The Montgomery
County Board of Elections met in closed session on this date. The following
members of the Board and staff were in attendance: Samuel L. Statland, Mary M.
Carter-Williams, John J. Sullivan, Nahid Khozeimeh, Jerrold Garson,
Petition
Mr. Karpinski
discussed the status of a lawsuit filed regarding the recent petition.
Letter to SBE
Mr. Karpinski distributed a letter to the State Board for approval. After review, the Board consented to the mailing of the letter.
Election Day
Attorney Coverage
Mr. Karpinski informed the Board that he would be unavailable on Election Day, but he will have one of his partners on-site.
There were no other items discussed in Executive Session.
A motion was
made by Mrs. Khozeimeh to adjourn the Executive Session and reconvene in
regular session. The motion was seconded
by Mr. Sullivan and carried unanimously, with the Board reconvening in regular
session at
Executive Session Minutes
A motion was
made by Mrs. Khozeimeh to approve the Executive Minutes from the December 10
and
Future Meetings
Adjournment
With
no further business, a motion was made by Mr. Garson to adjourn the meeting. The
motion was seconded by Mr. Sullivan and carried unanimously. The meeting was
adjourned at
Respectfully submitted,
Marjorie M. Roher
Administrative Specialist
APPROVED BY THE BOARD:
Samuel L. Statland
Board President