2013 Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes

Registrar of Voters
Election Advisory Committee Meeting
Friday, December 13, 2013, 9:30 AM
Room 324A, Marin Civic Center

Minutes

A meeting of the Election Advisory Committee was held on Friday, December 13, 2013. Present were: Greg Brockbank, Ericka Erickson, Barbara Gaman, Veda Florez, Bonnie Glaser, Marcia Hagen, Morgan Kelley, Anne Layzer, Sean Peisert, Bob Richard, and Cat Woods Present from the Elections Office were: Elaine Ginnold and Colleen Ksanda.

November 5, 2013 Uniform District Election

At their meeting on December 10, the Board of Supervisors passed a formal resolution thanking poll workers for their service on November 5th.

Ms. Ginnold distributed a report on the November 5th election. There were 151,407 voters and total turnout was 57,172 or 37.76%. Of the 57,172 voters who voted, 44,532 (78%) voted by mail and 12,640 (22%) at the polls. The committee requested that the percentages of turnout be based on the number of voters who voted, rather than on the total number or registered voters. Members also requested that the 256 voters in the category of “temporarily away” be deleted from the number of returned but rejected mail ballots because voters did not receive or vote on these ballots. The total of rejected ballots will be changed to 684. Ms. Ginnold will revise the report and send it with the minutes.

There were 1,198 provisional ballots, mostly due to VBM voters who did not have their ballot and envelope to surrender at the polls. The Committee discussed communications with voters about voting by mail and asked to review the VBM application and the Roster page at the next meeting. There was a brief discussion on the lack of evidence of voter fraud in Marin. The Committee suggested educating the public about what voter fraud would look like and how to know that it isn’t happening in Marin.

Committee feedback on election

Greg Brockbank brought up the issue of the title on the Summary of Results. At the end of election night, the title of the Summary says, “Unofficial Final Results.” This is confusing to many people because they don’t understand that the vote by mail ballots turned in at the polling places and the provisional ballots have yet to be counted. The Committee recommends changing the tile to make it clearer that the vote counting is not yet complete. Mr. Brockbank also suggested that the Election Department let the news media know when election results are final and also when the election has been certified. Ms. Ginnold will report back on proposed title changes for the election night summary report.

Ericka Erickson reported that some voters were refused a provisional ballot. She will give Ms. Ginnold more information about where this occurred.

Voting Rights Act discussion

Bob Richard led a discussion on the California Voting Rights Act, focusing on at large elections. He explained that at large elections give the majority population a disproportionate share of representation. The courts have upheld the constitutionality of at large elections except when a minority population is disproportionally affected. The courts look for evidence of racially polarized voting in jurisdictions where a large minority population is unable to elect their representatives to a governing board. Cities and districts that hold at large elections may be vulnerable to a challenge from the Justice Department. In Marin County, all jurisdictions except the Board of Education, Shoreline School District and the Marin Municipal Water District hold at large elections. Mr. Richard suggested that proportional representation could be an option for some jurisdictions where there is evidence of racially polarized voting. He offered to arrange a presentation on proportional representation at the next meeting so that committee members can become familiar with the concept.

Report on survey of disabled voters

Ms. Ginnold distributed a summary of the survey of persons with disabilities that was conducted this fall by Cal State EastBay Professor Elizabeth Bergman. 7000 surveys were deployed to organizations and individuals by mail, on line or in person. 993 respondents said that they had a functional limitation that interfered with their ability to vote. Over 80% of all respondents preferred to vote by mail because of convenience. Professor Bergman’s final report should be available by the end of March, 2014.

Draft Voter Outreach Plan for 2014

This item will be on the agenda for the January meeting as there was not enough time to discuss it at this meeting.

Highlights of new election legislation effective Jan. 1, 2014

Ms. Ginnold distributed a list of new laws that will be effective on January 1, 2014.

Proposed meeting schedule for 2014

Ms. Ginnold distributed the meeting schedule for 2014. Meetings are generally held on the 3rd Friday of the month.

Other business

Ms. Ginnold asked Committee members to review the language on a 2-part postcard that the Department will mail to registered voters who have not voted in the last two federal presidential general elections. Voters must confirm that they want to stay on the active voter rolls by returning the post card or by calling the Elections Office. As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m. the next meeting will be on January 17, 2014.

Election Advisory Committee Meeting
Friday, September 20, 2013, 9:30 AM
Room 324A, Marin Civic Center

Minutes

A meeting of the Election Advisory Committee was held on Friday, September 20, 2013. Present were: Greg Brockbank, Ericka Erickson, Veda Florez, Bonnie Glaser, Morgan Kelley, Anne Layzer, Jeanne Leoncini, and Sean Peisert. Also present was Gayle Theard from Grassroots. Present from the Elections Office: Elaine Ginnold, Colleen Ksanda, and Maureen Hogan.

November 5, 2013 Uniform District Election Facts and Dates

Ms. Ginnold distributed a handout with key dates for the November 5, 2013 election. There are 151,147 voters registered for this election, down from 155,025 in the November 6, 2012 Presidential General Election.

Ms. Ginnold explained that the reason for the decrease in the number of registered voters is that the department updates its voter file after November elections by using two methods permitted by the CA Elections Code: the first method is the USPS Automated Address Correction Service. The ACS program returns information about voters who have moved or who have undeliverable mail from the voter pamphlet mailing. The department updates the addresses and sends an address confirmation card to the voter to confirm the change. Voters who have moved out of the county are taken off the Marin voter rolls. Voters whose cards are undeliverable go into the inactive voter file and a forwardable notice of this action is mailed to them.
The second method is used after November elections for voters who have not voted in 2 federal general elections or who have not had any other election activity during that time (signed petitions, or updated their addresses.) The notice asks voters to return one part of the notice if they want to stay on the voter rolls or update their addresses. Voters who do not respond to the notice to the inactive file. They can be reactivated on request.

Sample ballot and VBM mailing

The Voter Information Pamphlet will go in the mail on Sept. 26. Ms. Ginnold distributed samples of the pamphlet. Vote by mail ballots will go in the mail on October 7.

Minority language facsimile ballots

State law requires counties to post a facsimile of the ballot in other languages at polling places where the Secretary of State finds there is the need. Marin County requirements are for Spanish, Vietnamese and Korean facsimile ballots at Pickleweed and Spanish in other designated polling places.

Recordings of measures on ballot

The Elections Department distributed CDs with recorded ballot measure information to senior and disability service agencies, libraries, and individuals for the November election.

Ericka Erickson, Grassroots Leadership Network

Ericka Erickson, Grassroots Leadership Network, spoke about the history and activities of the organization. John Young with other community leaders, with the support of the Marin Community Foundation, started Grassroots in 1997. Its mission is to connect with and lift up the voices of underrepresented populations – people of color, low income and disabled - and encourage them to participate in civic affairs. Grassroots focuses on Marin City, the Canal area, and South Novato. It partners with nonprofits and other community agencies to conduct a variety of community building special events such as the We Are Marin Festival, Be the Dream celebration of Martin Luther King, and the Women of Color Leadership Summit. In its annual Civic Engagement Campaign, Grassroots works to increase voter participation in its target communities by translating election information into Spanish and Vietnamese, mailing voter information to new and infrequent voters, holding voter registration and education drives at community events and conducting exit polls to assess voter experience at the polls. Before the November 2012 election, Grassroots, along with 22 volunteers, registered 583 voters, and distributed voter education materials to over 2500 voters.

Voter Outreach and Education activities

Veda Florez organized a volunteer voter registration drive in 6 locations in Marin County for September 21 and 24 to celebrate National Voter Registration Day.

Outreach to Government teachers at Marin High Schools

The Department sent voter registration forms and information to all HS Government teachers and offered to visit their classes to explain the election process. Ms. Ginnold will visit the government class at Tomales HS next week.

Outreach to residential care facilities

As part of a UC Berkeley research project originally developed by Bonnie Glasser, the department contacted residential care facilities in Marin County and offered to assist residents with registration and voting. Maureen Hogan and Veda Florez will visit the facilities on request beginning next week.

Survey of voters with disabilities

Ms. Ginnold reported that the survey of individuals with disabilities is going well with over 2000 responses so far.

Election legislation

Committee reviewed election bills that the Governor has signed. The bill that would extend the time when the elections office can receive a vote by mail ballot (3 days after the election) did not get to the Governor’s desk.

Other Business

Ms. Ginnold announced that her projected retirement date is March 30, but she will stay until the County finds her replacement. One or more members of the Election Advisory Committee will be invited to participate in candidate interviews.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:15 a.m. The next meeting will be December 13, 2013.

Election Advisory Committee Meeting
Friday, August 16, 2013, 9:30 AM
Room 324A, Marin Civic Center

Minutes

A meeting of the Election Advisory Committee was held on Friday, August 16, 2013. Present were: Greg Brockbank, Veda Florez, Barbara Gaman, Marcia Hagen, Mark Kyle, Anne Layzer, Jeanne Leoncini, and Steve Silberstein and Cat Woods. Also present was Caroline Vance Bruister, from California Forward. Present from the Elections Office: Elaine Ginnold and Melvin Briones.

August 27 Special Vote by Mail Election – Strawberry Recreation District

Melvin Briones reported that there are 100 voters in this election and 40 ballots have been returned so far.

November 5, 2013 Uniform District Election (UDEL)

Mr. Briones reported that there are 38 ballot types because of all of the jurisdictions on the ballot for this election. Ms. Ginnold distributed a list of the 10 measures on the ballot. We will have more detail about the number of precincts and polling places and dates of key election activities for the September meeting.

Speaker: Caroline Vance Bruister, Program Director for California Forward

Ms. Bruister reported on the activities of California Forward. Cal Forward is a bipartisan, non-profit organization that began work in 2008 to look at ways to reform California government. The Irvine Foundation and several other organizations provide financial support. Besides its research activities, it has an action arm, which allows it to advocate for legislative changes. The current focus is on the future of California elections. The League of Women Voters and the California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials work with Cal Forward to listen to local communities and interest groups about what is and is not working with elections. For example, one area of interest is the high rate of rejection of vote by mail ballots. There are two main reasons for rejecting vote by mail ballots. The first is because the signatures on the return envelope do not match those on the voter registration forms. The second is because the ballots are late. To address these issues, Cal Forward, the League and CACEO support the following bills now in the State legislature:
SB29: Allows county elections officials to accept vote by mail ballots postmarked within 3 days after an election;
AB1135: Expands the tools for registrars to use when checking signatures on ballots;
SB360: Allows counties to develop their own voting systems.
Cal Forward also supports increased access to online resources for voters such as online registration, which the SOS implemented in September of 2012.

Recall process

Ms. Ginnold distributed and reviewed a handout of Frequently Asked Questions about the recall process. The handout included FAQs about filing the Notice of Intention, the petition, and the recall election.

Survey of Marin County voters with disabilities

Ms. Ginnold asked the members of the Election Advisory to give feedback on a draft survey questionnaire that will be distributed to voting age persons with disabilities. Members felt that the skipping and branching of questions on the questionnaire was confusing and that complete sentences should be used in responses to the questions. The Committee made additional suggestions on formatting and wording of the questions and responses. Ms. Ginnold will pass on the Committee’s suggestions to researcher Elizabeth Bergman.

Election legislation

The Committee reviewed a sample of election bills that are still active or have already been signed by the governor.

Other Business

Marcia Hagan announced that there will be a panel on the Affordable Care Act from 5 – 7 p.m. on September 11 at the San Rafael Community Center. Linda Tavasi, Executive Director of the Marin Community Clinics will speak on the following topic: “Is Marin Ready for the Affordable Care Act?”

As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m. The next meeting will be on Friday, September 20, at 9:30 a.m. At the request of the Committee, Ericka Erickson will speak about peer-to-peer voter outreach.

Election Advisory Committee Meeting
Friday, July 19, 2013, 9:30 AM

Minutes

A meeting of the Election Advisory Committee was held on Friday, July 19, 2013. Present were: Greg Brockbank, Ericka Erickson, Veda Florez, Bonnie Glaser, Marcia Hagen, Morgan Kelley, Anne Layzer, Jeanne Leoncini, Sean Peisert, Bob Richard, and Cat Woods. Present from the Elections Office: Elaine Ginnold, Melvin Briones and Tony Aquilino.

May 7, 2013 Special Vote by Mail Election

Ms. Ginnold distributed a report on the May 7th Vote by Mail election which had 48,181 voters and 7 ballot types. This was the largest vote by mail election held in Marin County to date. Turnout was 39.43%. Of the 19,585 ballots returned for counting, 588 (3%) ballots were rejected. 445 of the 588 ballots were rejected because they came into the office by mail after Election Day and were too late to be counted. The state legislature is considering legislation to allow a 3-day grace period for ballots that arrive at the Elections Office by mail after Election Day. Most late ballots arrive in the mail within one or two days of the election, so this legislation should help reduce the number of ballots rejected due to lateness. The cost of this election was $144,179.48, or $2.30 per registered voter.

Ms. Ginnold reported that the Civic Center Conservancy Commission voted to allow the Elections Office to attach a ballot drop-off box to the front gate of the Civic Center during the 7 days before an election. Over 200 voters dropped off their ballots in the box during the week before the May 7th election.

June 4, 2013 Special Election — Bolinas-Stinson USD

Turnout for this election was 35.96% out of 1486 registered voters. There were two polling places. The cost of the election was $13,118.10 or $8.83 per registered voter.

The committee discussed what the role of an Elections Department should be in influencing turnout in an election. Anne Layzer mentioned that some jurisdictions put tax measures on special election ballots with the idea that only the most supportive voters will vote and the measures will pass; however, this was not the issue with the June 4th Election. Cat Woods expressed concern that well-financed campaigns have the advantage in get-out-the-vote efforts and there should be something done to bring fairness to the process. Committee members expressed the sentiment that it is the duty of the Elections Department to communicate with voters to educate them about the election so that all voters know when and where to vote, how to get registered, what is on the ballot, etc., how to find their polling place or get a vote by mail ballot, but not to get involved in political campaigns to get out the vote as it could be construed as biased.

E-Roster Pilot

Melvin Briones reported on the e-roster pilot held during the Election Day on June 4 at both the Bolinas and Stinson Beach polling places. The company, Election Administrators, provided 1 wireless e-roster at each polling place. Elections office staff learned how to use them before the election and then trained the poll workers. Poll workers said they were easy to use and liked the feature that allowed them to look up lost voters and direct them to the correct polling place. They also appreciated the clear screen and the red printing that identified vote by mail voters. One of the issues was that names with apostrophes or Hyphens were problematic to look up. Ms. Ginnold said that there are still issues to be worked out such as the legality of using electronic signatures and an efficient way to use the e-roster to update the street index.

August 27 Special Vote by Mail Election

Strawberry Recreation District-Zone IV. This is a mail ballot election with only 103 voters. Ballots and information pamphlets will go out to voters in the mail on July 29.

November 5, 2013 District Elections (UDEL)

There are over 100 jurisdictions with offices up for election on November 5. The Candidate filing period is Monday, July 15 - Friday, August 9.

Voter surveys

Ms. Ginnold announced that the Elections Department received a grant to conduct a survey of people with disabilities in Marin County to identify obstacles to voting and the manner of voting preferred. The Dept. will work with Professor Elizabeth Bergman, Cal State EastBay, who will design the survey questionnaire. The Committee reviewed and recommended changes to the cover letter that will be sent out to survey participants.

Later in the year, we plan to conduct a survey of non-registered residents in the county to see what is prevents them from participating in elections.

Elections Department website

Tony Aquilino took Committee members on a virtual tour of the Elections Dept. new website, www.marinvotes.org. One comment was that it was easy to use. Another comment was that too much information is under the generic label of “elections” which makes information about candidates or ballot measures difficult to find. Ms. Ginnold asked that Committee members try using the website and give feedback about it either via email to Tony, or at the next meeting.

Election Observation in Mongolia

Ms. Ginnold described her experience observing the presidential election in Mongolia on June 26. There were 3 candidates. Mongolia’s polling places are automated with fingerprint scanners, digital ballot scanners, cameras and monitors connected to a website so that anyone can see what is happening at the polls. After the polls close, results are uploaded via a wireless modem to a central server.

Poll workers are teachers or civil servants who work for 6 weeks before Election Day preparing the voter lists and setting up the polling places with computers, printers, camera and the fingerprint scanner. They decorate their polling places with carpets, flags and flowers to make voters feel welcome. There are 7 poll workers, 2 registration workers and one technician staffing each polling place. Each polling place has between 1000- 2000 + voters.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Election Day. There is no voting by mail and no provisional ballots. On the day before the election, poll workers take ballot boxes to voters who are elderly, sick or disabled and have applied for “mobile voting.” It takes the entire day to go from voter to voter.

If turnout is below 50%, the election has to be held again. In an effort to make sure that turnout was over 50%, the government partnered with a mobile phone company to offer voters 1000 togrog (less than $1.00) worth of mobile minutes if they voted. Turnout was about 63%.

After the polls closed, two polling places in each district were randomly selected to manually count the ballots and check the machine count. I was at one of the polling places selected for a manual count, which lasted until after midnight. After the poll workers finish their duties, they take everything to a central location in the district and go home. Results are not published on the internet as they are in California, but there is a general report of who won the next day in the newspaper.

Election legislation

Ms. Ginnold distributed a list of election bills that are working their way through the legislature.

Agenda for next meeting:

Bob Richard requested items on the Voting Rights Act and procedures for a recall.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m. The next meeting will be on Friday, August 16 at 9:30 a.m. in Room 324A.

Election Advisory Committee Meeting
Friday, April 19, 2013, 9:30 AM
Room 315, Marin Civic Center

Minutes

A meeting of the Election Advisory Committee was held on Friday, April 19, 2013. Present were: Greg Brockbank, Veda Florez, Barbara Gaman, Bonnie Glaser, Marcia Hagen, Mark Kyle, Anne Layzer, Jeanne Leoncini, Sean Peisert, Bob Richard, and Cat Woods. Present from the Elections Office: Elaine Ginnold, Colleen Ksanda, and Dan Miller.

May 7, 2013 Special Vote by Mail Election

Ms. Ginnold distributed copies of the Voter Information Pamphlet and asked for feedback about handling voter complaints about language of the school measure which doesn’t include the amount of the parcel tax. The Committee recommended letting the voter know about the 10-day public review period which begins after the measure is filed and inform the voter to address their complaint to the school board. Committee members also suggested adding information on the back cover that voters can also drop off their ballots at the Elections Office beginning 29 days before the election.

June 4, 2013 Special Election — Bolinas-Stinson USD

Colleen Ksanda reported that we will be piloting both a wireless e-roster and a tablet ballot marking device for accessible voting at both polling places for the June election. The Roster will be used parallel to the paper Roster and the ballot marking device will use a mock election ballot that is different from the actual ballot. Elections Office staff will manage both pilots. Greg Brockbank suggested that we give a demonstration of these devices at a future meeting.

November 5, 2013 District Elections (UDEL)

Dan Miller distributed the new Candidate Guide for the November 5, 2013 election. The Guide has been translated into plain English by the translation company, Transcend, and has been reduced from 54 to 16 pages. Campaign finance information has been removed from the new Guide because it is duplicated in the FPPC manuals. Dan reviewed each section of the manual with the Committee and answered questions. Committee members suggested that Dan add a glossary of the code sections cited in the Guide and include the URL for each code cited. They also asked that the words "Election Code" be spelled out. The manual will be posted on the Elections Website. Dan reported that all candidates will be asked to fill out a Candidate Information Form with their contact information so that he can prepare their packets before they pick up their nomination papers. Candidates can also make appointments with Dan to review their paperwork.

Recount costs

Ms. Ginnold distributed a sample of a cost estimate for a recount and explained each cost item. Cat Woods brought up the issue that charging for recounts makes it difficult for candidates that don’t have funds.

Ms. Ginnold explained that one of the challenges for the department is to make sure that the direct costs of a recount are covered while keeping the total cost as reasonable as possible. One of the biggest direct costs is paying the 4-person recount board. The number of boards used in a recount depends on the number of precincts to be recounted. CA Election Law stipulates that Counties can charge no more than the stipend that it pays Clerks to work at the polls on Election Day, which is $100 in Marin County. If the requestors want to review relevant material, they must pay for the staff time it takes to do this. These costs are calculated separately each day, depending on the actual time taken. Requestors must pay for each day of the recount before the recount starts for that day. If they do not pay, the recount stops.

Proposed Goals and Objectives for FY2013-14

Ms. Ginnold distributed a summary of the goals and objectives for 2013-14. Committee members suggested that the statement for Goal 3, Communication, be revised to read: Continue to review and update the website and explore the use of developing technology to improve services to the public.

Election legislation

Committee members discussed AB19, which requires the Secretary of State to implement a pilot program for counties to enable voters to vote online. Sean Peisert explained that one of the biggest concerns with online voting is the security of the devices that voters use to access the ballot. Also, holding a pilot election on the Internet doesn’t assure it will be safe to use in a real election. Mark Kyle suggested that new generations of voters will demand the ability to vote on their mobile devices and that the technical security problems with it could be solved in the future, so why not begin looking at it. Ms. Ginnold asked the Committee to think about the features that are important to have in a new voting system in Marin County for discussion at a future meeting.

Other business

Ms. Ginnold announced that Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom will be at the Board of Supervisors’ meeting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 30, to present the Board with a Certificate of Honor to celebrate the fact that Marin had the highest turnout of voters at the November 2012 General Election. All are invited to attend.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:30 AM. The next meeting will be on July 19 at 9:30 in Room 324A of the Marin Civic Center.

Registrar of Voters
Election Advisory Committee Meeting
Friday, March 22, 2013, 9:30 AM.
Room 324A, Marin Civic Center

Minutes

A meeting of the Election Advisory Committee was held on Friday, March 22, 2013. Present were: Greg Brockbank, Veda Florez, Bonnie Glaser, Morgan Kelley, Anne Layzer, Jeanne Leoncini, and Steve Silberstein. Present from the Elections Office: Elaine Ginnold, Melvin Briones, Tony Aquilino and Colleen Ksanda. Present from the County Administrator’s Office: Clarissa Daniel.

May 7, 2013 Special Vote by Mail Election

Colleen Ksanda reported that there will be 3 locations where voters can drop off their ballots from 7 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Election Day. The drop-off locations are: the Elections Office, San Rafael City Clerk’s Office and the Mill Valley Community Center. Each location will have provisional ballot envelopes available for voters who do not have their Vote by Mail return envelopes. Voters who don’t have their ballots must go to the Elections Office to get another. The Voter Information Pamphlets will be in the mail by April 1 and ballots will go in the mail on April 8.

June 4, 2013 Bolinas-Stinson Union School District Election

Ms. Ginnold gave a report on the June 4, 2013 Special School Election in the Bolinas-Stinson Union School District. There are 1,489 voters in the district. 839 are permanent vote by mail voters. There will be 3 precincts, one of which is an all mail precinct with 11 voters. Voter Information Pamphlets will be mailed by April 29. The vote by mail ballots will be mailed on Monday, May 6. The deadline to register to vote is Monday, May 20.

Registration look-up on website (demonstration)

Tony Aquilino demonstrated the registration look up feature of the Elections website to show how the language had been changed to make it clearer to voters that the last 4 digits of the Social Security number are needed only if the voter does not have a driver’s license or CA Identification Card. He also showed committee members the Secretary of State’s online voter registration site, www.registertovote.ca.gov. All counties must have a link to this site and can no longer post a downloadable registration form on their web sites. If the online application is incomplete, the Elections Dept. prints and sends the voter a form requesting the missing information. Mr. Aquilino also gave a brief demonstration of how the Elections Dept. website will look when it is revised by the county’s Information Services Dept. later this year.

Report on voter registration in California

At the suggestion of Steve Silberstein, the Committee discussed the report, California Voter Registration Rates by Mindy Romero and Jonathan Fox published in Boom: A Journal of California, University of California, 2013. The report includes maps showing the percent of eligible voters registered in each county in November 2012 and the change in voter registration from 2008 and 2012. While voter registration rates in California are increasing overall, the report showed that there is a disparity from county to county with the wealthiest counties having the highest rates and the poorer counties having the lower rates.

Mr. Silberstein suggested that libraries become voter registration agencies like the DMV is under the National Voter Registration Act. He explained that libraries have one of the largest data bases in the State and that it could boost voter registration if library patrons could register to vote when they got their library cards. At a minimum, there should be voter registration forms at every library.

Report on online voter registration in Marin

Melvin Briones gave a report on the Department’s experience with the new online voter registration system for the November 2012 election. The new system became active on September 18, 2012. From Sept. 18 to November 6, 2012, a total of 11,003 voters in Marin registered to vote or updated their registrations. 71% of those registered online compared to 29% who used the paper form. Of the 2,574 voters who registered after the election, 64% used paper forms while 36% registered online.

Suggestions for voter outreach

Committee members brainstormed ideas for communicating with the public about registration and voting and made the following suggestions:

• Outreach at the high schools
• Work with the Youth Commission to reach young voters
• Report voter registration statistics by city or by precinct
• Conduct a survey of the non-registered population in Marin to find out why some Marin citizens don’t register to vote
• Inform people that it is safe and important to vote

Election Legislation

Ms. Ginnold distributed a summary of some of the election bills that have been introduced by state legislators since January 1, 2013 (Attached).

Other business

Anne Layzer asked that the cost of recounts be put on the agenda for the next meeting.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m. The next meeting will be on Friday, April 19 at 9:30 a.m.. The location of the April meeting will be in Room 315 of the Civic Center (across from room 324A). This is a temporary change.

Registrar of Voters
Election Advisory Committee Meeting
Friday, February 22, 2013, 9:30 AM.
Room 324A, Marin Civic Center

Minutes

A meeting of the Election Advisory Committee was held on Friday, February 22, 2013. Present were: Greg Brockbank, Ericka Erickson, Veda Florez, Bonnie Glaser, Marcia Hagen, Morgan Kelley, Anne Layzer, Jeanne Leoncini, and Bob Richard. Present from the Elections Office: Elaine Ginnold, Melvin Briones, and Colleen Ksanda.

May 7, 2013 Special Vote by Mail Election

Committee members reviewed a handout with key dates and deadlines for the May 7, 2013 Special Vote by Mail Election. There are approximately 48,000 voters in the following districts on the ballot: Alto, Almonte, Homestead Valley and Richardson Bay Sanitary Districts, and the San Rafael Elementary and High School Districts. On Election Day, voters can drop off their ballots at the following three sites from 7 AM to 8 PM on Election Day: Marin County Election Office, Mill Valley Community Center, and San Rafael City Hall, City Clerk’s Office. If voters lose or damage their ballots, they can get another ballot at the Elections Office.

Committee members reviewed the Voter Instructions insert for VBM ballots and recommended printing the date of the election to accompany the phrase, "on Election Day." The date of the election will be included for the next printing of this insert.

Goals and Objectives for elections in FY 2013-14

Committee members brainstormed objectives for 2 Goals for FY 2013-14. A discussion of the remaining goals will be on the agenda at the next meeting. Report on committee suggestions follows:

Goal 1: Voter outreach and education

• Focus on areas of low registration, bilingual and low income voters.
• Discussion
• Focus public information efforts in places where target population goes (bus stops, grocery stores, apartment complexes, local leadership classes).
• Ask Grassroots to make a presentation to the Committee on effective outreach methods to target populations.
• Partner with schools, libraries, community leaders. Invite HS students for a tour of the elections office.
• Look for funding to help pay for outreach efforts.
• Connect with Secretary of State outreach efforts.
• Survey non registered voters to see what is preventing them from registering to vote. Let non registered voters know that jury selection is made from other lists, such as DMV, besides the voter list to reduce fear of jury selection.

Ericka Erickson, from Grassroots, agreed to speak to the committee at a meeting later this year. She emphasized that peer education is effective outreach tool that helps with voter education. It is important for voters to know what is on the ballot so they can relate it to their own lives and make a connection with the issues.

Goal 2: Poll worker training and recruitment

• Keep role playing exercises
• Provide food at classes
• Require all poll workers to go to training
• Evaluate poll workers to weed out poor performers
• Pair experienced with new workers when role playing
• Send poll workers home with materials
• Continue the e-poll book pilot
• Provide personal checklist of items that could be helpful to poll workers on Election Day, such as information regarding what to wear, food, breaks, expectation for a long day.

PEW report on elections — ranking of States

Committee discussed the PEW report on state elections and how we can use the 17 assessment tools in the study to measure election performance in Marin. The information in the study used only data that came from reliable sources, such as the Election Assistance Commission’s survey of states and the US Census bureau. The states were ranked in three areas: Registration, Voting and Counting and on two factors: Convenience and Integrity. For example, registration convenience would be how easy it is for voters to register to vote. Registration integrity would be how well the registration lists are maintained to ensure that ineligible voters are removed. The assessment tools in this survey could also be used to compare the elections performance from county to county. To see the survey report, go to www.pewstates.org.

Bob Richard brought up the issue of how California voting rights laws can impact election performance. He will prepare a presentation on this for a meeting later in the year. The Committee requested information on which states administer elections at the state level.

Sharing best election management practices among jurisdictions

There is currently no one source that compares election management practices among jurisdictions, however; there are many state and national resources that have information about election administration practices. Ms. Ginnold distributed a list of resources with election information about other counties. In California, the CA Association of Clerks and Election Officials has a website http://caceo58.org that posts election information from counties. The CA Secretary of State issues memos to counties with interpretation of election laws and suggestions for procedures for various election processes. (See attached report below.)

Registration look-up on website

This topic is scheduled for the March meeting as the changes we requested have not yet been added to the website.

e-roster

Colleen Ksanda distributed feedback from poll workers about the e-poll book pilot at the November 2012 election. The response from poll workers to the ES&S e-poll book was mainly positive except for the areas of voter sign-in and maintenance of the street index. Bob Richard suggested doing a pilot of an e-roster with the signature pad if the Secretary of State allows it. He suggested continuing our exploration on the use of an e-roster.

What happens if unopened ballots are found after election is certified?

Unopened ballots found after the election is certified are not opened and counted unless they would change the result of the election. If the unopened ballots would change the results of the election, the ballots would be opened and counted and the election would be re-certified. Marin County has controls in place to prevent this type of situation. Controls include having office staff recount the poll worker count of VBM ballots turned in at the polls to make sure the two numbers match and inspecting every empty VBM envelope to make sure there are no ballots left in them.

Post canvass risk limiting audit report

Ms. Ginnold reported that the post canvass risk limiting pilot audit of the June 5, 2012 election was done on February 14, 2013 and all ballots matched the scanned images. She distributed a report with the details of the audit. Report is posted on Elections website.

Other business

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:30 AM. The next meeting will be on Friday, March 22. Note that the date of the March meeting has changed to March 22.

Sharing Best Election Management Practices Among Jurisdictions

February 22, 2013

What is currently being done to share best election management practices?

California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials: http://caceo58.org

• Has website with postings for: Procedures and manuals for various election processes; Election Surveys and reports from various counties.
• CACEO Election Legislation SubCommittee meets monthly to review state election legislation.
• Sponsors a New Law Workshop every December to review the new laws for the new year
• Sponsors occasional training seminars on election issues

CA Secretary of State: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections

• Posts information on various election processes on website. Has a page for Counties to share materials they have developed.
• Provide food at classes
• Issues memos to counties with interpretations of election law, procedures to implement new laws, notices of deadlines, requests for reports from counties.

The Election Center:
has a training program for election officials, holds conferences about elections, and has an annual best practices award program that counties can participate in. http://www.electioncenter.org

The National Association of Clerks and Recorders:
has conferences and offers educational sessions in election administration at meetings of the Association. http://www.nacrc.org

Election Assistance Commission
has website and brochures on election administration. http://www.eac.gov

Electionline.org:
is a weekly online newsletter with news and information about elections in the U.S. http://www.electionline.org

Election Administration Reports:
is a bi-weekly newsletter with news about elections in the U.S. and information about Federal election legislation. http://electionadminreports.com

Periodicals such as Governing and Governing Technology have information about what counties are doing, but are not focused on elections. http://www.governing.com. and http://www.govtech.com

PEW research center. Research and reports on election topics. Just published report: Elections Performance Index — The first Comprehensive Assessment of Election Administration Across the Nation. http://www.pewstates.org

Brennan Center for Justice. Research and reports on election topics. http://www.brennancenter.org

Registrar of Voters
Election Advisory Committee Meeting
Friday, January 25, 2013, 9:30 AM
Room 324A, Marin Civic Center

Minutes

A meeting of the Election Advisory Committee was held on Friday, January 25, 2013. Present were: Greg Brockbank, Steve Burdo, Erica Erickson, Veda Florez, Barbara Gaman; Bonnie Glaser, Marcia Hagen, Morgan Kelley, Mark Kyle, Anne Layzer, Sean Peisert and Bob Richard, Also present were: David Schonbrunn and Patrice Drew. Present from the Elections Office: Elaine Ginnold and Colleen Ksanda. Present from the County Administrator’s Office: Clarissa Daniel.

Annual Report for 2011 and 2012

Ms. Ginnold distributed the draft annual report that covered 2011 and 2012 and reviewed the goals, objectives, actions taken and their impact. She requested that committee members review the report and let her know of any changes or corrections. To view the report please visit Annual Report 2012.

Marin County Draft Elections Plan for FY 2013-14.

Committee members requested that this item be moved to the February agenda to provide more time for the Committee to work on goals and objectives for the next fiscal year.

Bonnie Glasser reported that she has received a grant from the Election Assistance Commission to study voter outreach and assistance in long term care facilities. Marin is one of the counties she will include in her study. Services will be modeled after the Santa Cruz program where the Election Dept. mails letters to long term care facilities offering voter information and assistance to residents at the facility.

Poll worker training role play exercises

Ms. Ksanda led Committee members through two role playing exercises for poll workers. The first was a role playing exercise with a dialogue between a vote by mail voter and poll worker in which vote by mail voter wants to vote at the polls but doesn’t have both ballot and envelope to turn in. Members performed the role play exercise and then suggested revisions to clarify the language.

In the second exercise, Ms. Ksanda read a scenario portraying an election clerk who witnesses an Inspector acting rudely towards voters. She asked Committee members to think about what they would do if they were the Clerk and then share their ideas with the person next to them. Following the discussion, Ms. Ksanda asked the group to share their ideas with the group which generated much discussion. Committee members suggested revising the scenario to describe fewer problems and to focus on the issues where the Inspector violated election law. Another suggestion was to have the trainer give the answers to the questions after the students share their ideas in pairs.

Committee members agreed that both exercises would be useful in training poll workers.

Notice to vote by mail voters about return of ballot

Committee members reviewed the language of a Notice to vote by mail voters letting them about when and how to return their ballots. Ms. Ginnold will revise the Notice according to Committee recommendations and send to members. (See attached Revised Notice below.)

Update on turnout trends in Marin

Committee members viewed a report on turnout for November elections from 2004-2012. Marin County had an 87.37% turnout for the November 2012 which was the highest turnout in the state, but lower than the turnout in the November 2008 election which was 90.80%. The percentage of turnout of vote by mail voters has increased from 49% in 2004 to 65% in 2012 while the percentage of turnout for voters at the polls has decreased from 51% in 2004 to 35% in 2012. (See attached report below.)

A second report showed turnout percentages for precincts with a high number of Spanish speaking and low income voters. The percentages for these precincts are similar to the turnout percentages in other areas of the county. Of the seven precincts, Pickleweed Community Center precinct 409059 had the lowest turnout at 78.07%. Committee asked the Registrar to identify other precincts with low income housing to add to the list of precincts to track. (See attached report below.)

Election legislation for 2013

Ms. Ginnold distributed a list of election related bills that have been introduced in the current legislative session: (See attached list of bills below.)

The following items were suggested for the agenda at the February meeting:

• Goals and objectives for elections in 2013-14
• Discussion on e-roster.
• Registration look-up on website
• What is being done to share best election management practices among jurisdictions?

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:35 AM The next meeting will be on Friday, February 22, 2013 at 9:30 AM.

REVISED NOTICE TO VOTERS

November 5, 2013 Election

Mail your ballot by October 30, 2013. We cannot count your ballot unless it arrives at the Elections Office by 8:00 PM on Election Day.

3 ways to return your ballot in time to be counted:

1. By mail. Put your ballot in the mail by Oct. 30.
2. To any polling place on Election Day. Polls are open 7 AM to 8 PM
3. To the Elections Office from now until 8:00 PM on Election Day.

If you decide to vote at your polling place on Election Day, take this ballot AND the yellow return envelope with you to exchange for a polling place ballot.

If you can't turn in both ballot and envelope, or if you go to the wrong polling place, you must vote a provisional ballot, which will be processed after Election Day. See provisional voting FAQs on our website.

Please visit our website to find your polling place or call (415) 473-6456.

Marin County Elections Office, Marin Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Dr. Room 121
Office Hours: 8 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. On Election Day from 7 AM to 8 PM
Phone: (415) 473-6456. Find election information on our website.

 

NOTICE TO VOTERS
May 7, 2013 mail ballot election

There will be no polling places for this election. Mail your ballot by April 30.

We cannot count your ballot unless it arrives at the Elections Office by 8:00 PM on May 7.

There are 3 ways to return your ballot for this election:

1. By mail. Put your ballot in the mail by April 30.
2. In person at the Elections Office from now until 8 PM on Election Day
3. In person on Election Day at the following drop off sites:

Marin Elections Office, 3501 Civic Center Dr., Room 121, San Rafael

(2 ADDITIONAL ELECTION DAY DROP OFF SITES TBD)

Marin County Elections Office, Marin Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Dr. Room 121
Office Hours: 8 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. On Election Day from 7 AM to 8 PM
Phone: (415) 473-6456. Find election information on our website: www.marinvotes.org

Vote-by-Mail Trend in November Even Year Elections

Election	#reg voters	# turnout	% turnout	#VBM voters	% VBM	#polls voters	% polls
11/6/2012	155,025	135,438	87.37%	88,109	65.00%	47,329	35.00%
11/2/2010	151,876	115,685	76.17%	69,832	60.36%	45,853	39.63%
11/4/2008	155,640	141,321	90.80%	84,390	59.71%	56,931	37.50%
11/7/2006	147,311	108,450	74.00%	62,735	58.00%	45,908	42.00%
11/2/2004	152,657	136,625	89.00%	66,538	49.00%	70,087	51.00%

Registration and Turnout at precincts
with low income and minority voters

November Presidential General Election 11/6/2012

Countywide turnout	87.37%

Precinct #	Precinct Location	Voters	#polls voters	% polls	#VBM voters	% VBM	Total TO
312159	Marin Community Ctr. MC	837	281	33.57%	431	51.49%	85.07%
312169	Marin Community Ctr. MC	1358	488	35.94%	602	44.03%	80.27%
409500	Pickleweed Comm Ctr SR	601	114	18.97%	409	68.05%	87.02%
409059	Pickleweed Comm Ctr SR	1181	385	32.60%	537	45.47%	78.07%
506069	Los Robles MH Park NV	935	314	33.58%	486	51.98%	85.56%
506390	Hamilton Arts Ctr NV	638	205	30.28%	370	57.99%	90.13%
506410	Hamilton Arts Ctr NV	872	231	26.49%	520	59.63%	86.12%

Elections Legislation Introduced January 25, 2013

Bill Number	Topic
AB19  Ting	Online voting. Would require Secretary of State to implement a pilot program for counties to enable voters to vote via internet.
AB131  Williams	Creates a rebuttable presumption that if a registrant fails to identify place of birth, it is presumed that the registration is valid so long as the citizenship box is marked and the affidavit is signed under penalty of perjury.
SB29  Correa	County can count VBM ballots returned by mail within 3 days after Election Day so long as (1) envelope is postmarked by Election Day, or (2) Return envelope is signed and dated on or before Election Day.
SB111  Beall	Allows person who has a signature stamp approved for use by and on file with the DMV to use that stamp to register to vote online without having to also use the stamp in the presence of their county election official.
SB112  Monning	Permits historic voter rolls to become public information after 72 years.
SB113  Jackson	Authorizes pre-registration beginning at age 15. Under age registrants would not be permitted to sign up as permanent VBM status.