vote by mail a county perspective dolores gilmore, elections manager [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
Vote By MailVote By Mail
A County A County PerspectivePerspective
Dolores Gilmore, Elections [email protected]
Kitsap CountyKitsap County145,500 voters145,500 voters
Data Information Management Software – DIMSDominion (formerly Sequoia) ballot counting system
Mail Voting Mail Voting – Step by – Step by StepStep
1983 – District requested special 1983 – District requested special electionselections
1991 – Ongoing absentee voter 1991 – Ongoing absentee voter requestsrequests
2003 – Nonpartisan Primaries2003 – Nonpartisan Primaries 2005 – All mail with County legislative 2005 – All mail with County legislative
approval approval 2011 - All counties in Washington 2011 - All counties in Washington
StateState
ExpectationsExpectations
Perfect ElectionsPerfect Elections• Document and demonstrate Document and demonstrate
accuracyaccuracy• Hundreds of poll workers and Hundreds of poll workers and
temporary staff make no errorstemporary staff make no errors You can’t put a price on ElectionsYou can’t put a price on Elections Voters want to stand in line at poll Voters want to stand in line at poll
sites to place the ballot in a boxsites to place the ballot in a box Voters won’t like the change Voters won’t like the change
RealityReality
Elections are more complexElections are more complex• Electronic, provisional, audio, Electronic, provisional, audio,
languages, etc.languages, etc. Trust and transparency is Trust and transparency is
maintainedmaintained Shrinking budgetsShrinking budgets Vote centers and Ballot Drop sitesVote centers and Ballot Drop sites 50% of California voters have 50% of California voters have
already made the changealready made the change
Will CA Laws Change?Will CA Laws Change?
When mail ballots reach 88% of the When mail ballots reach 88% of the vote?vote?
When it is too costly to open poll sites & When it is too costly to open poll sites & conduct a mail election simultaneously?conduct a mail election simultaneously?
When legislators say the time is right? When legislators say the time is right? When some states west of the When some states west of the
Mississippi vote by mail?Mississippi vote by mail?
Start NowStart Now
We looked at our election program We looked at our election program • Are all poll sites easily accessible?Are all poll sites easily accessible?• Sites with parking or size Sites with parking or size
limitations?limitations?• Low voter turnoutLow voter turnout• Close to another poll site?Close to another poll site?
Should poll Should poll sitessites decrease by 50% if decrease by 50% if poll poll votesvotes decreased by 50%? decreased by 50%?
Consolidated several precincts to our Consolidated several precincts to our best poll sitesbest poll sites
ConsiderationsConsiderations
Timing is everythingTiming is everything Built in flexibilityBuilt in flexibility• Added workers for larger electionsAdded workers for larger elections• Have a plan BHave a plan B
Precinct consolidation logic Precinct consolidation logic • Grouped by districtGrouped by district• What works for your county?What works for your county?
Vote Centers - Divide the Line
B box
B box
Consolidated precinct poll book
Provisional
A to L M to Z
Mail Ballot ProcessingMail Ballot Processing
Counting ballots by batch is more Counting ballots by batch is more efficientefficient• From 189 precinct sorts to 11From 189 precinct sorts to 11• A full batch has 200 ballots A full batch has 200 ballots
Consolidated precincts by district Consolidated precincts by district to ensure easy access for to ensure easy access for recounts recounts
Mail Voting = More Mail Voting = More OptionsOptions Political Party ObserversPolitical Party Observers• Our biggest fansOur biggest fans• Have helped us improve the Have helped us improve the
process process Voters now have more choicesVoters now have more choices• Mail BoxMail Box• Ballot drop siteBallot drop site• Vote Center Vote Center
The BenefitsThe Benefits
More efficient processesMore efficient processes• Less workers to hire and trainLess workers to hire and train• Fewer worker discrepanciesFewer worker discrepancies
Cost savingsCost savings Flexible for small or large Flexible for small or large
electionselections Election night at 8:30 p.m.Election night at 8:30 p.m.
What about all our Poll What about all our Poll workers?workers? We will always need good workersWe will always need good workers• Mail ballot processingMail ballot processing• Voting CentersVoting Centers
Political Party ObserversPolitical Party Observers Retirement PartyRetirement Party
Online RegistrationOnline Registration
From Data Entry to Data Verification
Online Registration Online Registration
Implementation, timing and testingImplementation, timing and testing Bi-weekly conference calls at the Bi-weekly conference calls at the
technical level technical level • State, county and vendor key contactsState, county and vendor key contacts
We let go of the paper, butWe let go of the paper, but Kept control of voter record accuracyKept control of voter record accuracy From single record to report verificationFrom single record to report verification
What Took us so Long?What Took us so Long?
Huge benefit prior to electionsHuge benefit prior to elections• Gone are the boxes of applicationsGone are the boxes of applications
Currently 80% of our transactions Currently 80% of our transactions are received onlineare received online
Record processing is 3 – 4 times Record processing is 3 – 4 times fasterfaster
Drastically reduced temporary Drastically reduced temporary staffingstaffing
