June 27, 2008

 

MEETING OF THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS

751 Twinbrook Parkway, Rockville, Maryland

 

In Attendance:

 

                                    Board Members:

 

Samuel Statland, President

Nancy Dacek, Secretary                                                           

John Sullivan

Nahid Khozeimeh

Jerrold Garson

 

Staff:

 

Margaret Jurgensen, Director

Sara Harris, Deputy Election Director

Debra Aranmolate, IT Specialist

Deborah Hamer, Election Judge Recruiter

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:

 

Dr. Tom Jones

Holly Joseph, Save Our Votes

Mark Posner, Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee

Barbara Powell, Montgomery County Republican Central Committee

Sany Raeko

Barbara Sanders, League of Women Voters of Montgomery County

                                   

                       

Mr. Statland called the meeting to order at 11:11 a.m.

 

 

Additions/Changes to the Agenda

 

            Ms. Jurgensen stated that there is an addition under Facilities to discuss precinct 13-47 and under Old Business to discuss Bylaws.

 

 

Approval of May 19, 2008, Minutes

 

Minutes from the May 19, 2008, meeting were distributed for review. A motion was made by Mrs. Khozeimeh to approve the May 19, 2008, minutes.  The motion was seconded by Mr. Garson and carried unanimously.

 

Personnel Update

 

            Ms. Jurgensen reported that most agency temps have been released and most trainers have been furloughed until August 1st. Ms. Harris formally introduced Debra Aranmolate as the new IT Specialist. Ms. Aranmolate introduced herself to the Board and gave a brief history of her past employment experience and noted that she has enjoyed her time here so far. The Board welcomed Ms. Aranmolate.

 

Status Reports

 

            State Board of Elections

 

            Ms. Jurgensen announced that no meeting was held in June and noted that the next meeting is scheduled in July. She stated that during the July meeting there will be a discussion on the need for additional electronic poll books. Ms. Jurgensen discussed the use of additional poll books if approved. Ms. Hamer reported on the latest update of the Election Worker module.  She discussed a few of the spirit issues to the Board, noting that some of them will be resolved after the November Election with simple revision such as adding longer signature and barcode lines. Mr. Statland requested that Ms. Jurgensen provide the Board members with the latest list of Spirit issues for review.

           

Election Judge Update

 

Ms. Jurgensen announced that all requirements for the last several elections were met. She announced that outreach staff is working events this summer that we can attend for free; the county will not pay for partisan events. Mr. Zelaya discussed plans for community outreach at the County Fair. He noted that the outreach will include registration, election judge recruitment, and absentee voting with volunteers to split shifts.  Mr. Statland suggested a flyer to hand people that encourages them to read their sample ballots before arriving at the polling place. The flier would then be passed out at the BOE booth as well as the central committee booths.

 

Budget

 

Ms. Jurgensen reported that the budget ended in a deficit of $3.3 million. She noted that the Election Judges will be paid in the next fiscal year. Ms. Roher stated that OMB determined that no supplemental appropriation would be requested for FY08. She noted that due to additional costs associated with the three special elections and earlier primary the BOE is currently operating in a deficit. Ms. Roher explained that the OMB will cover personnel costs and most bills through a year-end transfer from other departments who are operating with a surplus. She noted that the election judge stipends, SBE payments, board stipends, and any other invoice received after July 1st, will be paid in July using FY09 funding. A supplemental appropriation will be requested in January 2009 to cover the deficit these payments will create and noted that the FY07 invoice that was recently received will be held until the Council appropriates funding. Ms. Roher stated that a supplemental request for these funds will be requested in July.

 

Facility Issues

 

Ms. Jurgensen reported that Montgomery County Board of Elections air conditioning had to be shut off yesterday for repairs but was delayed until the close of business. Ms. Roher stated that she had a meeting facilities staff regarding the use of CSAAC as our training space. She informed the Board that CSAAC has vacated the other side of Broome and left it very clean. Ms. Roher announced that the demolition team is ready to work Monday and will take a couple days to demolish existing walls. Complete renovation is expected to take 4 weeks.

 

 Ms. Jurgensen referred to the petition regarding precinct 13-47 that was distributed in the advance packet. Mr. Valette stated that he received a request to move out of 13-47(Bennington) because of its size. He stated that the issue with that federal site proposed in the petition is that their operating rules require the presence of an armed security officer. Mr. Sullivan stated that the Bennington site was a disaster area because it was cramped and incredibly difficult to control the line. The Board concurred that the precinct should be relocated pending SBE approval. Mr. Valette stated that a letter must be sent to the SBE asking for approval to move the site. Mr. Valette informed the Board that there will be two polling places that will have a partial name change for the November Election. He noted that the Fairland Community Center has become the Marilyn J. Praisner Community Center and the Cabin John Indoor Tennis Courts has been changed to the Pauline Betz Addie Tennis Courts. Mr. Statland asked Mr. Valette to notify both parties of the change made.

 

Voter Registration

 

Ms. Jurgensen provided a handout in the packet showing that when outside groups, like Rock the Vote, are conducting Voter Registration Drives 45% of the registrations are duplicates, and the balance are updates with only a few new registrations. She added that 9,900 documents were processed in May. Mrs. Lucey distributed and discussed a handout with voter registration turn-out from recent High School Voter Registration Drive at 24 public schools and 7 private schools. She discussed the requirements to become a registered voter and available courses to become a registrar.

 

Old Business

 

            Report on Media for Congressional General Election

 

            Ms. Roher reported that phone calls were received from Steven Manning of the AP, the Gazette, and the Washington Post. She stated that American University’s Center for Democracy and Election Management hosted 20+ participants from the Middle East in an election management training program. Ms. Roher noted that the group was split into six smaller groups and met with Board members at six different sites on Election Day.

 

            For the November election, Ms. Roher stated that she is in the process of updating all press releases, adding catchier titles in the hope of capturing the media’s interest, and will also be revising the media guide which will be placed on the website. She noted that her plan is to have all releases and the guide completed by September 1st.

 

            By-Laws

 

            The Board tabled discussion to a later date.

 

 

New Business

 

            Special Election Update

 

            Ms. Jurgensen distributed and discussed a log of phone calls to the Board/Staff from June 17th. She noted that there were calls from judges to confirm open precincts and some tech questions, as well as a few calls from voters. Ms. Jurgensen stated that the EPB upgrade of software was conducted in PG County but with such a low voter turnout, its’ not a true test so other testing is being planned.

                       

 

Report on the Executive Session

 

At 10:30 a.m. the Board met in Executive Session pursuant to State Government Article, Sections10-508(a)(1)(i),10-508(a)(2),10-508(a)(8),10-508(a)(13),and10-508(a) (14) to discuss a personnel issue, a petition, the Department of Justice, and the new facility in addition to reviewing minutes from a previous Executive Session.

 

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, Nancy Dacek, John J. Sullivan, Nahid Khozeimeh, Jerrold Garson, Margaret A. Jurgensen, Sara Harris, Paul Valette, Kevin Karpinski, Marjorie Roher, and Renee Adams.

 

Personnel Issues

 

Mr. Valette discussed a personnel issue with the Board about an Election Judge Closer.

 

Petition

 

            Mr. Karpinski discussed the briefing on the active/inactive voters and hearing.

           

Department of Justice

 

            Ms. Jurgensen reported that the Department of Justice targeted Montgomery County for a project called Project Civic Access which deals with facility access to government facilities.

 

Executive Session Minutes

 

Ms. Roher distributed minutes from the May 19, 2008, Executive Session for review.

 

 

There were no other items discussed in Executive Session.

 

 

A motion was made by Mrs. Dacek 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 11:11 a.m.

 

 

Executive Session Minutes

 

A motion was made by Mrs. Dacek to approve the Executive Minutes from the May 19, 2008, meeting as submitted.  The motion was seconded by Mr. Garson and carried unanimously. 

 

 

Personnel Issues

 

A motion was made by Ms. Dacek to accept the termination of the Election Judge appointed by the Board. The motion was seconded by Mr. Garson and carried unanimously.

 

 

Future Meetings

           

  1. July 21, 2008
  2. September 15, 2008
  3. October 17, 2008 - In House Testing – Time TBD
  4. October 20, 2008
  5. October 22, 2008 - Public Testing – Time TBD
  6. October 30, 2008 – Supply Inspection - Time TBD
  7. October 30, 2008 - 3:00 p.m. -  Media Briefing
  8. November 3, 2008 - Phone Check
  9. November 4, 2008 – Election Day
  10. November 6, 2008 – 10:00 a.m. –  Absentee Canvass through November 11
  11. November 10, 2008 – 10:00 a.m. –  Provisional Canvass through November 21
  12. November 14, 2008 – 10:00 a.m. – Absentee 2 Canvass through November 16
  13. December 8, 2008 – Tentative
  14. January 9, 2009

 

 

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 12:38 p.m.

                                                                                   

                                                                                                Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

                                                                                                Marjorie M. Roher

                                                                                                Administrative Specialist

 

APPROVED BY THE BOARD:

 

 

 

Samuel L. Statland

Board President