Transcript Slide 1
Dolores Gilmore, Elections Manager [email protected]
Vote By Mail
A County Perspective
Kitsap County
145,500 voters
Data Information Management Software – DIMS Dominion (formerly Sequoia) ballot counting system
Mail Voting
– Step by Step
1983 – District requested special elections 1991 – Ongoing absentee voter requests 2003 – Nonpartisan Primaries 2005 – All mail with County legislative approval 2011 - All counties in Washington State
Expectations
Perfect Elections • Document and demonstrate accuracy • Hundreds of poll workers and temporary staff make no errors You can’t put a price on Elections Voters want to stand in line at poll sites to place the ballot in a box Voters won’t like the change
Reality
Elections are more complex • Electronic, provisional, audio, languages, etc.
Trust and transparency is maintained Shrinking budgets Vote centers and Ballot Drop sites 50% of California voters have already made the change
Will CA Laws Change?
When mail ballots reach 88% of the vote?
When it is too costly to open poll sites & conduct a mail election simultaneously?
When legislators say the time is right? When some states west of the Mississippi vote by mail?
Start Now
We looked at our election program • Are all poll sites easily accessible?
• Sites with parking or size limitations?
• • Low voter turnout Close to another poll site?
Should poll sites decrease by 50% if poll votes decreased by 50%?
Consolidated several precincts to our best poll sites
Considerations
Timing is everything Built in flexibility • Added workers for larger elections • Have a plan B Precinct consolidation logic • • Grouped by district What works for your county?
Vote Centers - Divide the Line
Consolidated precinct poll book Provisional A to L M to Z B box B box
Mail Ballot Processing
Counting ballots by batch is more efficient • From 189 precinct sorts to 11 • A full batch has 200 ballots Consolidated precincts by district to ensure easy access for recounts
Mail Voting = More Options
Political Party Observers • Our biggest fans • Have helped us improve the process Voters now have more choices • Mail Box • • Ballot drop site Vote Center
The Benefits
More efficient processes • Less workers to hire and train • Fewer worker discrepancies Cost savings Flexible for small or large elections Election night at 8:30 p.m.
What about all our Poll workers?
We will always need good workers • Mail ballot processing • Voting Centers Political Party Observers Retirement Party
Online Registration
From Data Entry to Data Verification
Online Registration
Implementation, timing and testing Bi-weekly conference calls at the technical level • State, county and vendor key contacts We let go of the paper, but Kept control of voter record accuracy From single record to report verification
What Took us so Long?
Huge benefit prior to elections • Gone are the boxes of applications Currently 80% of our transactions are received online Record processing is 3 – 4 times faster Drastically reduced temporary staffing
Dolores Gilmore, Elections Manager [email protected]