Marin County Registrar of Voters’ Election Advisory Committee
Annual Report for 2010
Download a PDF version of the Election Advisory Committee Annual Report for 2010
Introduction
The Marin County Registrar of Voters’ Election Advisory Committee was formed by the Registrar of Voters in July of 2006. The purpose of the Advisory Committee is to provide advice and recommendations to the Registrar of Voters on voter participation and election integrity issues as they affect elections held in Marin County. The Advisory Committee:
- Provides a link between the voting public and the Registrar of Voters.
- Advises the Registrar of Voters to ensure that every voter has the opportunity to vote knowledgeably, safely and effectively.
The public is welcome to attend Advisory Committee meetings which are generally held from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., on the third Friday of most months, in room 324A of the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael. The Election Advisory Committee’s meeting schedule is posted at the beginning of each year on the Registrar of Voters’ website at www.marinvotes.org.
The Election Advisory Committee has two subcommittees to explore issues more deeply. The Election Integrity/Voter Confidence Subcommittee focuses on ways to make the election process more secure and transparent to voters.
The Voter Education/Outreach to Low-Turnout Populations Subcommittee explores methods of educating voters in low-turnout communities about the election and voter registration process.
Applications for membership on the advisory committee are accepted year-round. The application for committee membership is posted on the Registrar of Voters’ website.
The Annual Report includes Advisory Committee recommendations and actions taken by the Registrar of Voters’ Department in from July 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010 in response to Committee recommendations.
During the period covered in this report, the Election Advisory Committee has looked at election issues including: registration and turnout statistics, voting equipment security, post election audits, and election costs. Members gave valuable feedback on the readability of Registrar of Voters’ informational material before it was printed and acted as extras in the new poll worker training video. Some members work at the polls and others observe the vote count on Election Night.
Highlights of 2010 include:
Voter Outreach and Education
For the November 2, 2010 Gubernatorial Election, Marin County had 151,876 (82.70%) registered voters out of 183,477 eligible citizens. At 82.70% Marin has one of the highest percentages of registered voters in the state. Turnout in Marin County for the November 2, 2010 Gubernatorial Election was 76.17%, the 4th highest turnout of all 58 counties for this election.
The ROV Department worked with Grassroots Leadership Network, St. Vincent de Paul, the League of Women Voters, City Clerks, libraries, high schools and post offices to distribute voter registration affidavits throughout the county. The availability of registration forms made it convenient for citizens to register to vote in time for the election.
Produced a video Voting by Mail in Marin County showing the vote by mail process and posted it on the Marin G Channel and UTube.
Attached to this report is a chart showing turnout in November elections since 1996. The chart shows that since1996, turnout for each type of election in Marin County has increased as the percentage of vote by mail voters has increased.
Poll worker recruitment/training
Marin citizens volunteered to work at the polls so that there were no vacancies by Election Day. A total of 699 poll workers, including 12 high school students, worked at the polls for the November 2010 election.
Rewrote the poll worker training manuals in plain English to make them clearer and easier for poll workers to understand and produced a new poll worker training video.
Website
The Election Department revised its website, www.marinvotes.org to make information easier to locate and to allow viewers to see if they are registered to vote, to check on the status of their vote by mail or provisional ballot, and to print out forms.
Vote by Mail
Of the registered voters, approximately 58% are permanent vote by mail voters and account for 60% of the turnout in all elections.
Election integrity
Participated in research studies of the election process with ACCURATE (a consortium of universities) and UC Davis for the November 2, 2010 election. Marin is one of the five counties which will be participating in a research project on risk limiting audits in 2011 conducted by Professor Philip Stark, Statistics Professor at UC Berkeley as authorized by AB2023. The goal of this research project is to develop and test practical methods for jurisdictions to conduct risk limiting audits of election results. Risk limiting means that the audit has a “big, pre-specified chance of catching and correcting incorrect electoral outcomes.” (Implementing Risk Limiting Audits, Hall et al, 2009)
Conducted a recount of the Novato Sanitary District Measure F after the June 8, 2010 Primary Election at the request of opponents of the measure. A full recount of the election in this jurisdiction confirmed the certified election results.
The Registrar of Voters wishes to thank Election Advisory Committee members for their dedication to improving the election process in Marin County and for its valuable feedback to the Elections Office during the past year. Through its recommendations and feedback, the Election Advisory Committee has enhanced the election process for the benefit of all voters in Marin County.
For more information about the Election Advisory Committee, please contact Elaine Ginnold, Registrar of Voters.
Marin County Election Advisory Committee — Membership as of December 31, 2010
| Name |
Area of County |
| Greg Brockbank |
San Rafael |
Linda Bagneschi Dorrance
Represented by Eva Waskell |
Novato |
| Esther Beirne |
San Rafael |
| Steve Burdo |
San Rafael |
| Barbara Gaman |
Inverness |
| Bonnie Glaser |
Mill Valley |
| Shirley Graves |
Novato |
| Marcia Hagen |
Fairfax |
| Chris Jones |
San Rafael |
| Morgan Kelley |
San Rafael |
| Mark Kyle |
San Rafael |
| Anne Layzer |
Mill Valley |
| Jeanne Leoncini |
San Rafael |
| Robert Richard |
Kentfield |
| Carlos Sanchez |
Mill Valley |
| Steve Silberstein |
Belvedere |
| Hoa Long Tam |
San Rafael |
| Cat Woods |
Novato |
| John Young |
San Rafael |
REGISTRAR OF VOTERS’ ELECTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
ANNUAL REPORT ON RECOMMENDATIONS, ACTIONS TAKEN AND IMPACT
July 1, 2009 - December 31, 2010
VOTER OUTREACH AND EDUCATION GOAL
Identify and eliminate barriers to voting in Marin County in order to achieve the highest level of voter registration and turnout in the state.
| Objectives |
Action Taken |
Impact |
| Develop and implement effective ways to offer voter registration opportunities to new residents of the county. |
New residents have the opportunity to register to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles when they update their addresses. The Registrar of Voters follows up to make sure each DMV client receives a voter registration form. In September 2009, ROV revised the message sent with the form asking potential voters to fill it out so that they would be registered. Voter registration forms accompany the state tax booklets. |
For the November 2010 General Election, Marin County had the 5th highest percentage of registered to eligible voters of the 58 counties in California.
Out of 183,447 eligible voters, 151,876 (82.77%) were registered and of the registered voters, 115,685 (76.17%) turned out to vote.
The new message to DMV applicants doubled the number of registration forms returned to the elections office. |
| Continue to partner with non governmental organizations to expand the capacity of the Registrar of Voters to provide outreach services to minority and homeless voters. Distribute voter registration affidavits at festivals, farmer’s markets, halfway houses and shelters. |
Registrar of Voters continues to partner with the League of Women Voters to distribute voter registration forms throughout the county.
The department continued its partnerships with the Grassroots Leadership Network and St. Vincent de Paul to distribute voter registration affidavits and election information to minority and homeless voters.
Contracted with a Spanish speaking media specialist to provide voter outreach and education services to Spanish speaking voters in the County. |
These partnerships help expand the Registrar of Voters capacity to provide registration opportunities and voter education to all segments of the population. Between 1996 and 2010, participation in all November elections has increased by between 4% in gubernatorial elections to 12% in presidential elections. Turnout for the November District elections has increased by 9%.
Turnout in 8 precincts with low income and minority voters increased in 5 of the 8 precincts between the 2004 and 2008 Presidential General elections. |
| Develop PR pieces about voter registration and voting in English and Spanish |
• Produced video of the vote by mail process in Marin County in English and Spanish.
• Produced and distributed brochures in English and Spanish about voter registration and voting by mail.
• Published information about voter registration and voting in the Voter Information Pamphlet.
• Translations of the Voting Instructions and the state and local measures were sent to Spanish speaking voters on request.
• Translated measures and the Spanish State Pamphlet were provided at every polling place.
• Measures, translated into Vietnamese, and the Vietnamese State Pamphlet were provided at the Pickleweed Park polling place in San Rafael. |
Voters have access to important information about registration and voting through the Voter Information Pamphlet, which is sent to all registered voters before every election and includes the following information pages:
• Voters with Special Needs
• Update your Voter Registration
• Voting at the Polls
• Voting by Mail
Providing election information in Spanish and Vietnamese assures that minority language populations have access to information about registration and voting. |
| Use libraries to inform residents about registration and voting |
ROV, with the assistance of the League of Women Voters, supplies all libraries with voter registration forms.
Prepared audio CDs of the local ballot measures for the November 2010 election and distributed them to all libraries in the County. |
Libraries provided an accessible outlet for election information.
Audio CDs of the local measures and tapes of the state measures make election information accessible to voters with vision impairments. |
| Put information videos about voting on UTube in English and Spanish. |
Produced video, “voting by mail in Marin County” in English and Spanish for UTube and the Marin G Channel before the November 2010 election |
This video demystifies voting by mail by showing voters how to apply for a vote by mail ballot and how the ballots are handled and counted securely at the elections office. |
POLL WORKER RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING GOAL
Implement poll worker recruitment methods that maintain current high level of participation. Continually review and update poll worker training methods and materials.
| Objectives |
Action Taken |
Impact |
| Re-write poll worker instructions in “plain English” |
The Poll Worker Instructions and the What to do if training booklets for poll workers were re-written in “plain English,” which is language written at a 5th grade level. Updated poll worker training video and produced videos of voting machine set-up, which are posted on the website. |
The simpler writing and diagrams in the poll worker instructions booklets make them easier to understand.
Posting training material on the ROV website makes it available to clerks who are unable to attend classes.
A survey of poll workers taken during the November 2009 election showed a high level of satisfaction with their training. |
WEBSITE GOAL
Revise ROV website to make it easier for the public to find information.
| Objectives |
Action Taken |
Impact |
| Revise website to make it easier to find information. |
Revised website into an accessible and easy-to-use format that allows voters to look up important election information about themselves. |
Website content is easier to find and allows viewers to look up information as follows:
• Voters can find out if they are registered to vote
• Find out if their vote by mail or provisional ballot was received
• Print out forms
• Look up daily postings of candidate nomination papers and financial reports
• See a video about voting by mail in Marin County |
| Notify interested parties of website address. |
All news releases include the address of the Registrar of Voters’ website (www.marinvotes.org). A notice about the features of the new website and its address was published in the Nov. 2, 2010 Voter Information Pamphlet. |
Website address is included in all public information from the Registrar of Voters’ Office. |
ELECTION INTEGRITY/VOTER CONFIDENCE GOAL
Identify methods and practices that will enhance the integrity of the voting process and increase voter confidence.
| Objectives |
Action Taken |
Impact |
| Provide the Election Advisory Committee with information about the Federal and State certification processes |
Committee receives information about the federal and state certification processes as new information is available. |
During the past year, there have been no certification actions that affect Marin County. |
| Provide access to machine readable and auditable election results reports in standard format on website. |
Registrar of Voters can produce election results reports that can be exported to Excel for analysis. Report is available for purchase on request, but is not yet available on line. |
Interested parties can now order this report and conduct their own analysis of election results. |
| Use media to get more people involved in observing at the polls and the election office. |
Both the Marin IJ and the Novato Advance routinely provide excellent coverage of election activities.
A large number of observers were involved in the November 2, 2010 General Election. These included observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), election researchers from the ACCURATE project which is a consortium of universities, UC Davis, the League of Women Voters, representatives of the Democratic, Republican and Green Parties, and individuals. |
Members of the public have the opportunity to observe all aspects of an election.
By observing the election processes, the public can better understand how ballots are counted and the efforts of the elections office staff to conduct open and fair elections. |
This Annual Report covers the months from July 2009 through December 2010. There were no meetings held in April, May, June, July, October and November of 2010 due to the June primary and the November General elections. Previous Annual Reports were published after each fiscal year. Beginning in 2011, the Annual Report will be published every calendar year.
MARIN COUNTY REGISTRAR OF VOTERS
REGISTRATION AND TURNOUT STATISTICS
NOVEMBER ELECTIONS 1996-2010 ALL ELECTION TYPES
Types of elections: P= presidential election, G= gubernatorial election, U= November odd year election, S= Special statewide election
ALL VOTERS
Date of
Election |
Eligible
Voters |
Registered
Voters |
% of
Eligible |
Total
turnout |
%
turnout |
| 11/2010(G) |
183,477 |
151,876 |
82.77% |
115,685 |
76.17% |
| 11/2009(U) |
183,110 |
148,233 |
80.95% |
55,876 |
37.69% |
| 11/2008(P) |
181,193 |
155,640 |
85.90% |
141,321 |
90.80% |
| 11/2007(U) |
180,125 |
140,751 |
78.14% |
48,926 |
34.76% |
| 11/2006(G) |
177,975 |
147,311 |
82.77% |
108,639 |
73.75% |
| 11/2005(U/S) |
176,938 |
146,372 |
82.73% |
97,201 |
66.41% |
| 11/2004(P) |
174,327 |
152,658 |
87.57% |
136,625 |
89.50% |
| 11/2003(U) |
176,609 |
143,542 |
81.28% |
48,017 |
33.45% |
| 11/2002(G) |
174,922 |
140,395 |
80.26% |
91,828 |
65.41% |
| 11/2001(U) |
179,658 |
142,909 |
79.55% |
46,262 |
32.37% |
| 11/2000(P) |
186,238 |
146,152 |
78.48% |
123,681 |
84.62% |
| 11/1999(U) |
185,005 |
136,281 |
73.66% |
43,483 |
31.91% |
| 11/1998(G) |
183,071 |
142,573 |
77.88% |
103,369 |
72.50% |
| 11/1997(U) |
177,123 |
145,167 |
81.96% |
43,134 |
29.71% |
| 11/1996(P) |
177,123 |
148,552 |
83.87% |
117,627 |
79.18% |
VOTE BY MAIL VOTERS
Date of
Election |
Voted
by mail |
% of
Registered |
% of
turnout |
| 11/2010(G) |
69,832 |
45.97% |
60.36% |
| 11/2009(U) |
38,552 |
26.00% |
68.99% |
| 11/2008(P) |
84,390 |
54.22% |
59.71% |
| 11/2007(U) |
35,451 |
25.18% |
72.45% |
| 11/2006(G) |
62,734 |
42.59% |
57.75% |
| 11/2005(U/S) |
49,321 |
33.70% |
50.74% |
| 11/2004(P) |
66,538 |
43.59% |
48.70% |
| 11/2003(U) |
23,256 |
16.20% |
48.43% |
| 11/2002(G) |
37,264 |
26.54% |
40.58% |
| 11/2001(U) |
14,049 |
9.83% |
30.37% |
| 11/2000(P) |
31,648 |
21.65% |
25.59% |
| 11/1999(U) |
11,337 |
8.32% |
26.07% |
| 11/1998(G) |
23,932 |
16.79% |
23.15% |
| 11/1997(U) |
11,035 |
7.60% |
25.58% |
| 11/1996(P) |
24,729 |
16.65% |
21.02% |
November presidential elections are highest turnout elections. Lower turnout in November odd year elections because elections are not countywide, and there are no statewide candidates or measures. November 2005 election turnout is higher than in other Nov. odd year elections because election was state and countywide. Registration and turnout was highest in the November 2008 presidential election due to high interest in election. Turnout in the November 2010 was highest turnout in a gubernatorial election in last 14 years. As the percentage of vote by mail voters has increased, turnout has also increased for a given type of election.
MARIN COUNTY REGISTRAR OF VOTERS
REGISTRATION AND TURNOUT STATISTICS BY TYPE OF NOVEMBER ELECTION
November General Gubernatorial Elections 1998-2010
ALL VOTERS
Date of
Election |
Eligible
Voters |
Registered
Voters |
% of
Eligible |
Total
turnout |
%
turnout |
| 11/2010(G) |
183,477 |
151,876 |
82.77% |
115,685 |
76.17% |
| 11/2006(G) |
177,975 |
147,311 |
82.77% |
108,639 |
73.75% |
| 11/2002(G) |
174,922 |
140,395 |
80.26% |
91,828 |
65.41% |
| 11/1998(G) |
183,071 |
142,573 |
77.88% |
103,369 |
72.50% |
VOTE BY MAIL VOTERS
Date of
Election |
Voted
by mail |
% of
Registered |
% of
turnout |
| 11/2010(G) |
69,832 |
45.97% |
60.36% |
| 11/2006(G) |
62,734 |
42.59% |
57.75% |
| 11/2002(G) |
37,264 |
26.54% |
40.58% |
| 11/1998(G) |
23,932 |
16.79% |
23.15% |
November General Presidential Elections 1996-2008
ALL VOTERS
Date of
Election |
Eligible
Voters |
Registered
Voters |
% of
Eligible |
Total
turnout |
%
turnout |
| 11/2008(P) |
181,193 |
155,640 |
85.90% |
141,321 |
90.80% |
| 11/2004(P) |
174,327 |
152,658 |
87.57% |
136,625 |
89.50% |
| 11/2000(P) |
186,238 |
146,152 |
78.48% |
123,681 |
84.62% |
| 11/1996(P) |
177,123 |
148,552 |
83.87% |
117,627 |
79.18% |
VOTE BY MAIL VOTERS
Date of
Election |
Voted
by mail |
% of
Registered |
% of
turnout |
| 11/2008(P) |
84,390 |
54.22% |
59.71% |
| 11/2004(P) |
66,538 |
43.59% |
48.70% |
| 11/2000(P) |
31,648 |
21.65% |
25.59% |
| 11/1996(P) |
24,729 |
16.65% |
21.02% |
November Local Municipal, School and District Elections 1997-2009
ALL VOTERS
Date of
Election |
Eligible
Voters |
Registered
Voters |
% of
Eligible |
Total
turnout |
%
turnout |
| 11/2009(U) |
183,110 |
148,233 |
80.95% |
55,876 |
37.69% |
| 11/2007(U) |
180,125 |
140,751 |
78.14% |
48,926 |
34.76% |
| 11/2005(U/S) |
176,938 |
146,372 |
82.73% |
97,201 |
66.41% |
| 11/2003(U) |
176,609 |
143,542 |
81.28% |
48,017 |
33.45% |
| 11/2001(U) |
179,658 |
142,909 |
79.55% |
46,262 |
32.37% |
| 11/1999(U) |
185,005 |
136,281 |
73.66% |
43,483 |
31.91% |
| 11/1997(U) |
177,123 |
145,167 |
81.96% |
43,134 |
29.71% |
VOTE BY MAIL VOTERS
Date of
Election |
Voted
by mail |
% of
Registered |
% of
turnout |
| 11/2009(U) |
38,552 |
26.00% |
68.99% |
| 11/2007(U) |
35,451 |
25.18% |
72.45% |
| 11/2005(U/S) |
49,321 |
33.70% |
50.74% |
| 11/2003(U) |
23,256 |
16.20% |
48.43% |
| 11/2001(U) |
14,049 |
9.83% |
30.37% |
| 11/1999(U) |
11,337 |
8.32% |
26.07% |
| 11/1997(U) |
11,035 |
7.60% |
25.58% |
MARIN COUNTY REGISTRAR OF VOTERS
COMPARISON OF REGISTRATION AND TURNOUT OF VOTERS
IN THE 5 HIGHEST TURNOUT COUNTIES
November 2, 1010 Gubernatorial General Election
COUNTIES WITH HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF REGISTERED VOTERS
| County |
Eligible |
Registered |
%
Registered |
Turnout
Registered |
Turnout
Eligible |
| Sierra |
2,479 |
2,298 |
92.70% |
81.85% |
75.88% |
| Orange |
1,890,794 |
1,621,934 |
85.78% |
58.38% |
47.50% |
| El Dorado |
129,238 |
107,925 |
83.50% |
72.84% |
60.63% |
| Marin |
183,477 |
151,876 |
82.70% |
76.17% |
63.05% |
| Plumas |
15,445 |
13,055 |
84.52% |
71.96% |
60.83% |
November 2, 1010 Gubernatorial General Election
COUNTIES WITH HIGH TURNOUT COMPARED WITH COUNTIES WITH HIGH REGISTRATION
| County |
Eligible |
Registered |
%
Registered |
Turnout
Registered |
Turnout
Eligible |
%
vote by mail |
| Sierra |
2,479 |
2,298 |
92.70% |
81.85% |
75.88% |
100.00% |
| Nevada |
74,144 |
61,411 |
82.82% |
80.83% |
66.95% |
73.85% |
| Amador |
26,094 |
21,354 |
81.83% |
77.58% |
63.49% |
58.56% |
| Alpine |
893 |
733 |
82.08% |
77.22% |
63.38% |
100.00% |
| Marin |
183,477 |
151,876 |
82.70% |
76.17% |
63.05% |
60.36% |
| Orange |
1,890,794 |
1,621,934 |
85.78% |
58.38% |
47.50% |
51.90% |
| El Dorado |
129,238 |
107,925 |
83.50% |
72.84% |
60.63% |
70.53% |
| Plumas |
15,445 |
13,055 |
84.52% |
71.96% |
60.83% |
69.00% |
Marin County has the 4th highest eligible to registered voter percentage of 58 counties. Marin County is the largest of the 5 counties with both the highest registration and turnout percent. A high percent of registered to eligible voters does not necessarily mean higher voter turnout.