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Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, November 26, 2018 Board Members 10:00 AM Steve Chucri, Chairman, District 2 Bill Gates, Vice Chairman, District 3 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Denny Barney, District 1 Maricopa County, Arizona Clint Hickman, District 4 (and the Boards of Directors of the Flood Control District, Steve Gallardo, District 5 Library District, Stadium District, Improvement Districts, Housing Authority of Maricopa County and/or Board of Deposit) County Manager Joy Rich Clerk of the Board "The mission of Maricopa County is to provide regional leadership and fiscally Fran McCarroll responsible, necessary public services to its residents so they can enjoy living Meeting Location in healthy and safe communities” Supervisors' Auditorium 205 W. Jefferson Phoenix, AZ 85003 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS The Board of Supervisors of Maricopa County, Phoenix, Arizona, convened in Informal Session at 10:00 AM on Monday, November 26, 2018, in the Supervisors' Auditorium, 205 W. Jefferson, Phoenix, AZ 85003, with the following members present: Denny Barney, District 1; Steve Chucri, Chairman, District 2; Bill Gates, Vice Chairman, District 3; Clint Hickman, District 4; Steve Gallardo, District 5 (entered late). Also present: Debra Schaffer, Deputy Clerk of the Board; Maria Ceaglske, Minutes Coordinator; Joy Rich, County Manager; and Andrea Cummings, Legal Counsel. ACTION SETTING OF HEARINGS - Clerk of the Board 1. SETTING OF HEARING FOR THE SUBMITTED PETITIONS TO FORM COLLEGE PARK WEST IRRIGATION WATER DELIVERY DISTRICT Pursuant to A.R.S. § 48-3423, set a hearing date to accept the petitions filed for the formation of the proposed College Park West Irrigation Water Delivery District as they have been determined to be signed by the majority of the owners of acreage within the proposed boundaries of the district. The hearing is set for Wednesday, December 12, 2018 at 9:30 a.m. The Board will order the Clerk of the Board to publish the petitions and the notice of hearing twice in a newspaper, the last not being less than 10 days before the hearing and post five (5) copies of the petitions and notice within the proposed district boundaries in conspicuous places within the proposed district boundaries described as: Lots 699 through 746 of COLLEGE PARK COUNTRY ESTATES UNIT 4, a Subdivision of the Southeast Quarter of the Southwest Quarter of Section 6, Township 1 South, Range 6 East, of the Gila and Salt River Base and Meridian according to the Plat of Record in the Office of the County Recorder of Maricopa County, Arizona, Recorded in Book 184 of Maps, Page 11; Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, November 26, 2018 Page 2 of 7 TOGETHER WITH Lot 1 of GILBERT CHRISTIAN CHURCH, being a portion of the Southwest Quarter of Section 6, Township 1 South, Range 6 East, of the Gila and Salt River Base and Meridian according to the Map of Dedication in the Office of the County Recorder of Maricopa County, Arizona, Recorded in Book 335 of Maps, Page 47. (C-06-19-203-M-00) Motion to approve by Supervisor Barney, seconded by Supervisor Gates Ayes: Barney, Chucri, Gates, Hickman Absent: Gallardo Elections 2. CANVASS OF THE GENERAL ELECTION HELD ON NOVEMBER 6, 2018 Canvass the election returns for the November 6, 2018, General Election in accordance with the Official Results prepared by the Maricopa County Elections Department. The Maricopa County Elections Department has prepared the Official Returns from all county precincts, declaring the vote for the General Election held on November 06, 2018. The Elections Department requests that the Board of Supervisors canvass these returns and approve the Official Canvass for this election pursuant to A.R.S. §16-642 through 16-645. The Board of Supervisors is required to canvass these returns within twenty days following the General election. The Official Canvass is on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and retained in accordance with ASLAPR approved retention schedule. (C-21-19-009-7-00) Adrian Fontes, County Recorder, thanked the Board. He spoke of his experience of running elections since his election in 2016. The prior administration welcomed him with open arms and taught him what it means to run the departments. He thanked the career professionals who have been working elections for decades, who are sometimes stretched thin and are at most times underappreciated. He stated the women and men of the Elections Department and Recorder’s Office are the backbone of our democracy. Since July 2018, between both offices have employed up to 4,000 employees who have been dedicated to making elections work better. The employees have commented on recent positive experiences of running an election. He thanked the Board and noted the importance of their partnership to innovate, modernize and upgrade all of the election operations. The 2018 General Election utilized a part of the upgrades and ranked as one of the largest elections that the County has held. ~ Supervisor Gallardo entered the meeting ~ Mr. Fontes reviewed the following about the General Election held on November 6, 2018: 1,454,103 Ballots Cast 64.50% Overall Percentage (in 2014 it was 45%; 2010 it was 54%) 1,184,261 Verified and Counted Paper Early Ballots 81.44% Percentage of Ballots Cast Early 168,000 Ballots were dropped off on Election Day 269,735 Verified and Counted Paper Ballots 18.56% Percentage of Ballots Cast on Election Day (lower than past; 2016 was 22%; 2010 was 34.18%; shows voter preference and convenience of voting at home) 16,409 Provisional Ballots (2014 there were 39,000) 2,163 Rejected Signatures out of 7,240 that were received; the validation of the ballots was extended into the regular conditional provisional rules; 6,933 were validated and verified; those voters would not have had their ballots counted under the old rubric Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, November 26, 2018 Page 3 of 7 3,025 poll workers 140 troubleshooters 850 election workers came in after Election Day 360 County workers not part of Election or Recorder’s Departments Mr. Fontes noted a good election turnout and addressed Arizona Revised State Statute §16-542 Subparagraph H which states the following: “qualified electors may request to vote early in the manner prescribed by the county recorder of their respective county. For the purposes of this subsection, "emergency" means any unforeseen circumstances that would prevent the elector from voting at the polls.” The County Attorney’s Office was contacted regarding the statute and asked if the statute could be utilized as the County Recorder’s Office has done since 1996. They confirmed it is still valid and Mr. Fontes indicated they would like to expand some of the locations noting the locations that were previously available. He is hopeful to expand access for voters. He noted there was a concern about the long line of voters at Arizona State University and he stated the polling location remained open until 9:00 p.m. He noted the following statistics for the location: there were 454 voters in 2012, 35 voters in 2014, 2016 there were 214 and in 2018 there were 1,303 out of precinct voters because it was a vote center. He spoke of the 19 days it took to count all of the ballots and noted that in 2012 it took 20 days. He explained the necessity of hand counting the ballots and said there were 50,000 to 60,000 more ballots cast in the 2018 election than there were in 2012. He stated the Elections Department is in need of a new reporting system and explained the reason for the new system. He explained the process and timeline for the new system. Mr. Fontes reviewed the following information regarding the Provisional Ballots of the General Election on November 6, 2018: 16,409 Provisional Ballots (over 100,000 in 2012) 7,452 Total Valid Cast 8,957 Total Invalid Cast The Election Department has worked with the Information Technology Department in the Recorder’s Office to improve the check-in process. Voters can now change their address as well as cast a valid ballot at a vote center on the day of the election. He explained the reason for the number of valid and invalid ballots cast. He said he is happy to answer any questions. Keith Broadwater, resident in opposition, spoke of his experience on Election Day and his dismay about the ballot drop off process which required no verification of identification. He asked the Board to look into changing the process. He also noted there was a 35 minute slow down and it took eight minutes for three people to vote. Debra Schaffer, Deputy Clerk of the Board, noted the rules for public speaking and indicated the instructions are also located on the speaker form. Timothy Schwartz, resident in favor, read a letter from Elaine Gangluff, which explained her experience while reviewing ballots with an “X” to figure the intent of the voter. He also submitted a letter he wrote explaining his experience while working the election as an Inspector for the hand count of ballots. Both letters are on file in the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Office. Randy Miller, resident in favor, presented a letter of petition to be placed on file in the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Office. He said the petition outlines citizen concerns and referred to Arizona Statute Article 16 on eligibility to vote; the U.S. Constitution Article 7 Section 12 on how Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, November 26, 2018 Page 4 of 7 to become a voter; and U.S. Constitution 14th Amendment on the citizens right to vote. He noted concerns of voters attesting citizenship with no valid form of identification. Merissa Hamilton, resident in favor, noted her 18 years of experience working with data governance, integrity, traceability, logistics and supply chain. She spoke of her experience while working as a poll worker on Election Day, noting concerns of duplicate ballot processes and early emergency voting centers. Leonard Clark, resident in favor, stated he is a Maricopa County native and thanked Mr. Fontes for his work on a fair election. He spoke of his experience with elections while stationed in Iraq. He noted the importance of the election process and thanked Mr. Fontes, employees and volunteers for their work on elections. Michelle Shaw, resident in favor, spoke of integrity demands of parents and her participation in a 2016 hearing about voter fraud. She noted Mr. Fontes’ progressive numbers to get people involved in elections, the work she has done to make every vote count and her approval of emergency polling locations. She stated her support of Mr. Fontes’ efforts in elections. Jennifer Harrison, resident in opposition, spoke of her experience and concerns while working as a central board worker. She submitted a written report of what she witnessed during the three days and stated she was escorted by security out of the building on her last day because she asked too many questions. Jim O’Connor, former Arizona Corporation Commission candidate in opposition, thanked Mr. Clark for his service and concurred with the comment that we are a constitutional republic not a democracy. He thanked Mr. Fontes for his service and for his presentation. He said he has been an Arizona resident for 18½ years and was a candidate for the Arizona Corporation Commission. He spoke of his previous positive experience working at the Recorder’s Office learning the election system. He defined the word “canvass” and asked if the Board’s approval of the canvass assures voters of the integrity of the recent election. Chairman Chucri informed the public that if they have issues or concerns regarding fraud to contact the Attorney General’s Office. He read the following Arizona Statute 16-642 in response to questions regarding the canvass of elections: A. The governing body holding an election shall meet and canvass the election not less than six days nor more than twenty days following the election. B. The governing body of a special district as defined in title 48 shall present to the board of supervisors a certified copy of the official canvass of the election at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board of supervisors. For purposes of contesting a special district election as described in section 16-673, the canvass is not complete until the presentation to the board of supervisors is made. C. If, at the time of the meeting of the governing body, the returns from any polling place in the election district where the polls were opened and an election held are found to be missing, the canvass shall be postponed from day to day until all the returns are received or until six postponements have been had. Chairman Chucri stated the Board’s action is a ministerial action. Supervisor Gallardo responded to the concern regarding early ballot drop off at polling places without identification. He said voters passed the voter identification laws in 2004 and the laws can only be changed by the voters, not the Board or Legislation. He responded to the concern of the emergency voting centers. He noted how emergency voting centers worked in the past and Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, November 26, 2018 Page 5 of 7 stated the early voting deadline is antiquated. He said eliminating the early voting deadline would eliminate confusion. He responded to the concern of duplicating boards [Clerk’s Note: “ballots”] and noted the necessity of the process. He responded to the ballots where votes bleed through and the optical scan is then utilized. It has been an issue in the past and it should be addressed. He asked Election Staff to respond to the temporary identification card concern. Reynaldo Valenzuela, Elections Director, explained the temporary identification cards are federally mandated by The National Voter Registration Act of 1993. He said the form allows an individual to attest they are a citizen in order to receive a temporary identification card to use for voting purposes only during a federal election. The individual is given a specific ballot for federal only candidates. Supervisor Gallardo stated the 2018 General Election was robust. He was pleased with the voter turnout and said the election went relatively smooth. He thanked Election Staff and County employees for their work during the elections. Supervisor Hickman asked for confirmation of the number of emergency vote centers opened during the 2018 Primary Election was four and in the 2018 General Election was five. Mr. Fontes confirmed the numbers. Supervisor Hickman asked if Supervisor Gallardo contacted Elections Staff to open a voting center in Avondale. Mr. Fontes said City of Tolleson Mayor, Ann Tovar, and Supervisor Gallardo contacted Elections Staff. Supervisor Hickman asked how many voters utilized the emergency vote centers during the 2018 General Election. Mr. Fontes responded it was 2,788 voters. Supervisor Hickman asked how many voters utilized the emergency vote centers during the 2018 Primary Election. Mr. Fontes responded the following are the number of voters that cast ballots at each emergency vote center: 803 at Mesa; 797 at Scottsdale; 529 at Avondale; 452 at County Warehouse; and 207 at Tolleson Supervisor Hickman asked if the voter needed to declare the emergency in order to vote at those particular vote centers. Mr. Fontes responded that voters are not required to declare the emergency and referred to a portion of Arizona Revised State Statute 16-542 Subparagraph H which states the following: “emergency means any unforeseen circumstances that would prevent the elector from voting at the polls.” Mr. Fontes said there are significant privacy concerns and HIPAA laws to consider. He said emergency vote centers have been available throughout Arizona for years. He spoke concerning the arbitrary emergency vote center deadline, permissive intention of statute, and faith and trust in the voter to determine the emergency for their situation. He said the high turnout of voters is due to the aggressive communication to inform voters of their options. Supervisor Hickman spoke about his tour of the warehouse, suggested accelerating the ballot count system for efficiency, asked Mr. Fontes to explain the delay of ballot counts on Election Day. Mr. Fontes explained that the delay was due to certain safety mechanisms with the ballot tabulation machines either being turned on or off. He spoke of the design of the machines and explained the process in determining voter intent on over 100,000 ballots containing overvotes. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, November 26, 2018 Page 6 of 7 Supervisor Hickman questioned what caused the system to delay on Election Day at the polling places. Mr. Fontes responded the cause is still under investigation and proceeded to explain the possibility of a transaction stayed open within the mother code of the dated system causing other transactions to stack up behind it. Once that transation was shut down, the other transactions continued to flow. Supervisor Hickman asked if the delay may have effected ballot tabulation. Mr. Fontes responded the delay only effected the voter check-in process, stated the systems are different and noted the importance of paper ballots. Supervisor Gates thanked Mr. Fontes and the Elections Office for their work and noted his appreciation for the opportunity for a tour. He asked Mr. Fontes how many ballots were either overvotes or spoiled in the last two cycles. Mr. Fontes responded that in the last cycle there were approximately 130,000 ballots that were either overvotes or spoiled and he does not have the numbers from the previous cycle. Supervisor Gates noted his appreciation to all of the election workers, county employees who worked elections, those who volunteered as observers who were not paid for their service and those present to voice their experiences. He noted the importance of celebrating those who were elected on Election Day. He thanked Shawnna Bolick for her presence and congratulated her on a successful election as Legislative Representative for District 20. He thanked Mr. Clark and Mr. O’Connor for their comments regarding a constitutional republic. Supervisor Barney concurred with Chairman Chucri’s comment that it is a duty under statute for the Board to approve the canvass but what the Board can do is find a way to make future elections better. He noted unique complexities going forward and spoke on the following issues and processes that the Board would review: tabulators; citizen boards; mail in ballots; and verification of ballots. Chairman Chucri thanked and noted the importance of the Board to hear from those present who shared their thoughts and experiences. He spoke of the success of the Board bringing a business mindset to government through various departments and employees. He thanked the County employees who responded to assist in making the 2018 General Election successful. He noted his gratitude of the numerous hours that election staff worked in order to tabulate the final numbers. He stated the County still needs work in getting to best in class and noted the processes necessary in order to get there in a bipartisan way and with a business mindset. He thanked everyone for their presence and noted the Board would consider all comments while moving forward in the process. Motion to approve by Supervisor Barney, seconded by Supervisor Gates Ayes: Barney, Chucri, Gates, Hickman, Gallardo Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, November 26, 2018 Page 7 of 7 3. EXECUTIVE SESSION Vote to convene in Executive Session to consider items on the Executive Agenda dated November 26, 2018, for Board of Supervisors and relevant Special Districts pursuant to statutory authority listed for each item. Motion to approve by Supervisor Hickman, seconded by Supervisor Gallardo Ayes: Barney, Chucri, Gates, Hickman, Gallardo MEETING ADJOURNED After discussion on the executive items and there being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned. ______________________________ Steve Chucri, Chairman of the Board ATTEST: __________________________________ Debra Schaffer, Deputy Clerk of the Board