MEETING OF THE
In Attendance:
Board Members:
Jerrold Garson, President
John Sullivan, Vice President
Nancy Dacek,
Secretary
Nahid Khozeimeh
Rosalyn Pelles
Lucia Nazarian
Staff:
Margaret Jurgensen, Director
Sara Harris, Deputy Election
Director
Leslie Hatch, Election Judge
Coordinator
Betty Ann Lucey,
Registration Manager
Jerry Quarshie, Information
Technology TechnicianTIT
Marjorie Roher,
Administrative Specialist
Renee Adams, Election Aide
Guests:
Dr. Thomas Jones
Holly Joseph, Save Our Votes
Mary Kiraly
Amanda Mayhill, Office of
Management and Budget
Convene Meeting and Declare Quorum Present
Acting Board President Mr. Sullivan called the meeting to
order at
Election of Officers
A motion was made by Mr.
Sullivan to nominate Mr. Garson as President.
The motion was seconded by Ms. Pelles.
A motion was made by Ms. Dacek to nominate Ms. Pelles as
President. Ms. Pelles
declined the nomination.
There were no other
nominations. Mr. Garson was elected
President of the Board by a unanimous vote.
Approval of
Minutes from the
A motion was made by Mrs. Dacek to approve the
Additions/Changes to the Agenda
Ms. Jurgensen stated that the Board of Canvassers neededneeds to receive Absentee Ballots, and there would be
an addition of an Executive Session. She
noted that Mr. Karpinski will not be present at the
Board meeting. Mrs.Ms. Dacek
wanted to discussrequested a discussion on a farewell to Mr. Statland under Old Business.
Election Director Status Reports
Budget
Ms. Jurgensen stated that
even though temporary employees were dismissed, the deficit remains at $1.3
million. Ms. Roher reported that additional reductions have been requested from
the FY10 Operating Budget and notes noted that she will report on them during
Executive Session. MrsMs. Dacek
asked Ms. Roher if she can review an overtime spreadsheet for the past 3 years
and Ms. Roher responded yesthat it would be available
at the next meeting.
Voter Registration
Ms. Jurgensen reported that
the confirmation process has begun and receivedwith
staff receiving over 100 buckets containers of returned sample ballots. She
stated that overseas voter’s address updates are being added to the voter
registration data base. Ms. Jurgensen announced that all provisional ballot
applications were processed and voter notification cards have been mailed. She
noted that supplemental changes submitted at the precinct on Election Day are
about 60% processed complete and it isare is expected
to be completed by the next Board meeting. Ms. Jurgensen announced that the a manual for the Absentee department procedures is in
process. She stated that our Board priorities have been sent to SBE regarding
necessary changes needed to improve the functionality of the MDVoters voter registration database for upcoming database
for upcoming JAD sessions.
State Board of Elections
Ms. Jurgensen reported that
the Prepre-bid Pre-Conference conference for the
voting system RFP for voting system was held on Friday and noted that Mr.
Garson attended along with the following vendors: ES&S, Premier,
Hart-Inter-Civic (Sequoia), and Avante. She stated
that she had provided the estimated schedule for the upcoming Election Cycle
from the RFP in the packet.
Ms. Jurgensen stated that
staff will be working on the State questionnaire sent to us regarding the last
election. She noted that we it will be reviewedreview
this month with our the Lessons Learned document for submission to SBE by
Ms. Jurgensen stated that the
Polling Place Support Program Document needs to be submitted by Friday. She
added that she sent the packet document in the advance packet and noted that
document it is used to confirm that the training for compliance is understood
by the election judges. The Board discussed syncing and adding poll books. Mr.
Quarshie stated that there is a limit of 7 poll books which may be linked
together.. Ms. Pelles
addressed Ms. Hatch about teaming on Pollbooks pollbooks and Ms. Hatch explained that getting the right
two people with the same combination of both speed and accuracies would be very
productive on eElection dayDayelection
day.
Facility Issues
Ms. Roher announced that the Twinbrook facility is experiencing the usual HVAC issues
and noted that has had a dead rodent has also been discovered in Registration.
Ms. Roher reported that the
Gaithersburg Facility, architectural plans have been reviewed and two minor
revisions requested. Ms. RoherShe Roher noted that Buildbuild-out
estimates should be received by February 13th.
She stated that existing modular furniture will not be able to be
reconfigured as necessary and that additional parts are not available. Ms.
Roher stated she is working on estimating replacement costs with Douron Corporate Furniture.
She noted that several scenarios being explored ranging from total
replacement to replacement of work surfaces and overheads with relocation of
existing file cabinets . Ms. Roher stated that she met with John Ford
regarding the actual move today, setting the beginning move date of 6/22June 22
with the anticipation that it will take approximately 3 weeks to move the
entire office. She noted that she and
Margaret and will meet to determine the order of the move and details will be
provided to the staff within the week.
Ms. Roher announced she will
be arranging meetings at the new facility for several groups of individuals;
any Board members who have not been up to the site yet and who want to visit it
please should let me her know so that I she can arrange for you to be included
in one of the additional visits and .
She noted once construction begins visits will need to be limited due to
liability risks. Ms. Pelles expressed interest in
visiting the new facility and Ms. Roher said she will contact her as soon as she
has a date.
Board Attorney Report
Mr. Karpinski was in trial and
unable todid not attend the meeting.
Old Business
Ms. Jurgensen reported that the Lessons Learned from 2008
Election will be compiled and expected to be delivered to the Board by the
March meeting.
Appreciation Dinner for Samuel Statland
Ms. Dacek discussed having a
farewell appreciation dinner for Mr. Statland for his
service at to the Board of Elections. She also stated that she wanted to give
him a crystal eagle with plaque as a token of appreciation.
New Business
State Legislature
Mrs. Harris briefed the Board on a MAEO briefing with
Linda Lamone and stated that the Board is welcome to
come to contact her for discussionsfurther
information.. Mr. Garson distributed and discussed
handouts concerning Legislature Legislative Bills MC 931-09 and Senate Bill
197. Mr. Sullivan and Mrs. Dacek expressed stated
that the Bill MC 931-09 is unclear and raises concern. Mrs. Dacek
moved that the Board provide a statement that expresses apprehension that the
bill does not specify whether it is addressing Montgomery County or Takoma Park and who should pay for modifications. Ms.
Jurgensen stated that she will draft a statement by Wednesday at
A motion was made by Mrs. Dacek to express concern to the Montgomery County Council
and Maryland State Legislature regarding Bill No. 931-09 entitled: Montgomery County-Voting
System-Requirement. Among the concerns
expressed by the Montgomery County Board of Elections are:
• Who will pay for this modification? Currently there is one voting system that is
used state-wide for all Federal, State, and County elections as well as 99% of
the municipalities in the State of
• Will this method of voting be utilized for all voters in
• Will the modification be made to all equipment in
• The current voting system is state-wide to ensure uniform
voting standards throughout
The motion was seconded by
Mr. Sullivan and carried unanimously.
*** Mrs. Khozeimeh
left meeting at
Mr. Sullivan stated that the Senate Bill 197 is too vague
about voting hours, days, scheduling, and needs guidance on the number of
polling sites. Ms. Pelles noted explained how
important it is to have maximum availability for people to vote including
weekends. Mrs. Harris stated that timely update of voter registration data is a
challenge and Mr. Garson suggested that there should be another venue such as a
shopping mall to allow for voter registration to occur with set hours.
Board of Canvassers
The Board reviewed the a late arrival absentee ballot and
determined it is rejectedrejected it due to untimely
receipt..
Report on the Executive Session
At
The Montgomery County Board
of Elections met in closed session on this date. The following members of the
Board and staff were in attendance: Jerrold Garson, John Sullivan, Nancy Dacek, Nahid Khozeimeh,
Lucia Nazarian, Rosalyn Pelles,
Margaret A. Jurgensen, Sara Harris, Marjorie Roher, and Renee Adams.
Executive Session Minutes
Ms. Roher distributed minutes
from the
FY10 Operating Budget
Ms. Roher discussed the FY10 Budget with the Board.
There were no other items
discussed in Executive Session.
A motion was made by Mr.
Sullivan to adjourn the Executive Session and reconvene in regular
session. The motion was seconded by Ms. Pelles. Sullivan and carried unanimously, with the Board
reconvening in regular session at
Executive Session Minutes
A motion was made by Ms. Dacek to approve the Executive Minutes from the
A motion was made by Ms. Pelles to approve the Executive Minutes from the
Future Meetings
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
G.
H.
I.
J.
Adjournment
With no further business, a motion was made by Mr.
Sullivan to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Ms. Pelles and carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned
at
Respectfully
submitted,
Marjorie
M. Roher
Administrative
Specialist
APPROVED BY THE BOARD:
Approved
Jerrold S. Garson
Board President