052019SB.DOC

Special Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 20, 2019 Board Members
2:00 PM Bill Gates, Chairman, District 3
Clint Hickman, Vice Chairman, District 4
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Jack Sellers, District 1
Maricopa County, Arizona Steve Chucri, District 2
(and the Boards of Directors of the Flood Control Steve Gallardo, District 5
District, Library District, Stadium District, Improvement
Districts, Housing Authority of Maricopa County,
Housing Authority of Maricopa County and/or Board of County Manager
Deposit) Joy Rich
Clerk of the Board
"The mission of Maricopa County is Fran McCarroll
to provide regional leadership and
fiscally responsible, necessary Meeting Location
public services to its residents so
they can enjoy living in healthy Supervisors' Auditorium
and safe communities” 205 W. Jefferson
Phoenix, AZ 85003
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
The Board of Supervisors of Maricopa County, Phoenix, Arizona, convened in Special Session at
2:00 PM on Monday, May 20, 2019, in the Supervisors' Auditorium, 205 W. Jefferson, Phoenix, AZ
85003, with the following members present: Bill Gates, Chairman, District 3; Clint Hickman, Vice
Chairman, District 4; Jack Sellers, District 1; Steve Chucri, District 2; Steve Gallardo, District 5.
Also present: Fran McCarroll, Clerk of the Board; Kelly Gardiner, Minutes Coordinator; Joy Rich,
County Manager; and Emily Craiger, Legal Counsel.
PRESENTATION
1. PRESENTATION FROM THE 2019 MARICOPA COUNTY ELECTIONS WORK GROUP
There will be no action on this item. (C-06-19-482-P-00)
Chairman Gates opened the Special Meeting of the Maricopa County Board of
Supervisors by announcing that the purpose of the meeting was for a presentation and
report by the 2019 Maricopa County Elections Work Group. Chairman Gates reviewed the
format of the meeting and reminded those in attendance this would be a presentation only
and no action by the Board would be taken. Chairman Gates stated there were speaker
forms available and the regular time limit of two minutes per speaker applies.
Chairman Gates gave a brief history of the elections structure noting that for decades, the
Board of Supervisors’ responsibilities for Election Day operations (as defined by Arizona
Revised Statutes) were delegated to the Recorders Office. The most recent review of this
process was in 1978 when the population of Maricopa County was 1.3 million. The current
population of 4.5 million is approximately four times the number as when the statute was
established. The Board of Supervisors decided this was a good time to review and
evaluate the procedure to determine if it still serves Maricopa County.
In reviewing the process in place, the Board of Supervisors asked the Work Group to
review the following three elements: Staffing, Technology (tabulation machines), and
Organizational Structure (delegation of responsibilities).

Special Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 20, 2019
Page 2 of 14
Chairman Gates thanked the Work Group for their hard work and dedication over the past
months. He also thanked Adrian Fontes for supporting this effort, appointing Rey
Valenzuela, Director of the Elections Department and Keely Varvel, Chief Deputy
Recorder to be part of the Work Group. He also thanked his colleagues for their support
as well as the many people in the community who have shared their perspective on this
important issue.
Chairman Gates reiterated the purpose of the Special Meeting was to listen to the Work
Group on how Maricopa County can be “best in class” in the coming decade.
Valerie Beckett, Special Assistant to County Manager, came forward to lead the
presentation. She thanked the Board of Supervisors, Clerk of the Board and the County
Manager’s Office for the opportunity to present an overview of the work performed by the
Work Group as well as the recommendations of the members.
In January 2019, Joy Rich, County Manager formed a Work Group to review the structure,
staffing and technology resources of the Elections Department.
Ms. Beckett thanked the 10 member Work Group which consisted of executive level
leaders from a variety of County departments: Chairman’s Office, Recorder’s Office,
Elections Department, County Manager’s Office, Office of Enterprise Technology, Human
Resources, the Budget Office, and Procurement Services. The Work Group met weekly
from the end of January through the month of March 2019. There was significant work
done outside the scheduled meetings. Ms. Beckett said the group participated in a very
open, candid, and productive process. The 2016 Presidential Preference Election drew
national attention, and the 2018 Primary Election revealed multiple issues that prompted
Internal Audit to engage in the review of the process. Ms. Beckett stated the Board of
Supervisors requested a thorough investigation as to the Election Day proceedings which
are the responsibility of the Board under Arizona Statute. The Recorder and Board of
Supervisors wanted more in-depth information and transparency in the planning and
operations pertaining to the elections.

Special Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 20, 2019
Page 3 of 14
Ms. Beckett stated the focus of the Work Group was to understand the current process
and review the “hand-offs” between the Recorder’s Office and the Elections Department
as dictated by statute. The Work Group researched the processes of other counties to
discover how elections were handled in different jurisdictions. It was revealed there was a
high interdependency between the Recorder and Elections Department.
The Group focused on understanding the statutory responsibilities of the County Recorder
and Board of Supervisors. What was revealed is the delegation of authority was not as
clear cut as was anticipated. There were many “hand-offs” (shared responsibilities)
between the Recorder’s Office and the Elections Department.

Special Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 20, 2019
Page 4 of 14
Ms. Beckett reviewed the timeline and chain-of-command over the last 40 years and
summarized there have been no significant changes in the reporting structure over those
years. It was important for the Work Group to understand the interconnectedness of the
Recorder’s Office and Elections Department as stated in the Arizona Revised Statutes.
The current processes have not been documented up to this point. With the assistance of
a consultant from the Recorder’s Office and Elections Department, the Work Group spent
time mapping the process. The two departments have been working together as one
department for many years and so the division of duties as defined by statute had not
been an operational concern up to this point. This mapping process demonstrated the
sharing of resources and responsibility of the two. Key statutory hand-offs help to

Special Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 20, 2019
Page 5 of 14
streamline the elections process. One example of this shared information had to do with
the voter registration database system (VRAS) that belongs to the Recorder’s Office. That
same information needs to be shared with Elections to create the ballot.
Ms. Beckett stated that the use of VRAS (which provides real time voter registration
information) is credited with the low number of provisional ballots in Maricopa County.
Since the Recorder and Elections are a comingled department, this information sharing
has provided much needed voter registration information on election day.
Another Key Hand-Off has to do with Provisional Ballots that can contribute to slow vote

Special Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 20, 2019
Page 6 of 14
count due to the validation requirement. A Provisional Ballot is received by the Elections
Department, passed to the Recorder for validation and then returned to Elections for
tabulation. By statute, this process has a timeline which can take as long as 10 days.
Since the departments are intertwined, the timeline can be reduced.
Recruiting and training is another aspect that benefits from the key hand-offs between the
Recorder’s Office and Elections Department. Both offices work together regarding staffing
needs for early voting, election day and post-election work.
In Counties where the Recorder and Elections Department are independent, there are

Special Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 20, 2019
Page 7 of 14
increased staffing and scheduling challenges due to the division of tasks as written in
statute. The Recorder’s Office is responsible for the early voting; Elections Department is
responsible for Election Day voting. When the early voting locations can transition to
Election Day voting locations, there is increased efficiency in the staffing for the election
process.
When the Work Group compared the 15 Arizona counties and their elections processes, it
was determined that regardless of the structure, it was clear that given the statutory
responsibilities a highly collaborative relationship is needed. Due to the
interconnectedness of the two departments, when there is change or a problem in one
area, it very likely will affect the other.
The Work Group had a few guiding principles. The first was: Maricopa County voters

Special Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 20, 2019
Page 8 of 14
deserve a “Best in Class” election system. The changes made now will have an impact on
the 2020 elections and it is important to enhance the entire system and strive for
efficiency. The Recorder’s Office and Elections have worked together as one department,
sharing resources for the past 40 years. There are critical shared resources to be
considered if the existing reporting structure changes. The Group believes a change
would have an impact on the overall efficiencies of the entire process.
Recommendations from the Work Group include upgrading of the tabulation equipment to

Special Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 20, 2019
Page 9 of 14
bring the technology up to today’s standards. There is a need to analyze and implement
training for staff to improve workload performance. Given the current interdependencies
within the existing system, the Work Group recommends a Shared Reporting Structure.

Special Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 20, 2019
Page 10 of 14
Ms. Beckett explained the Shared Reporting Structure proposal in the following two slides.
This proposal involves an amended charter granting administrative authority to the County
Recorder with two director positions created to represent the Board of Supervisors and
the Recorder’s Office. This restructuring would encourage closer communication,
accountability and transparency while complying with the statutes concerning elections.
The goal is to have the directors work in tandem to bridge any process or communication
gaps between the two departments and resulting in the best level of service to the voter.
The Work Group estimated that if there were a complete separation of duties between the
Recorder and Elections, the cost would be approximately $8 million due to the separation
of shared resources previously discussed.

Special Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 20, 2019
Page 11 of 14
Ms. Beckett acknowledged that in order for this Shared Reporting Structure to be
effective, there must be full support from the County Recorder and the Board of
Supervisors.
Ms. Beckett offered an option if the previous recommendation is not supported. The
option would be to create an Elections Quality Assurance Officer whose responsibilities
would include advising the Board of Supervisors on matters impacting election
responsibilities assigned to the Board.

Special Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 20, 2019
Page 12 of 14
Ms. Beckett summarized the findings of the Work Group in the following slide.

Special Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 20, 2019
Page 13 of 14
Ms. Beckett thanked the Board and offered to answer any questions they may have.
Chairman Gates thanked Ms. Beckett for the hard work of the Work Group and the
presentation. He asked if any of his colleagues had questions.
Supervisor Gallardo asked about the possibility of Legislative changes in the future. He
said early voting and Election Day voting is preferable and does not agree with
emergency voting as a viable solution. Ms. Beckett said there was no discussion on
Legislative changes in the Work Group. Supervisor Gallardo suggested that post 2020,
the Board can look into Legislative changes to improve the process.
Supervisor Seller agreed with the Work Group’s assertion that the Election Department
should not be political. He suggested that one way to accomplish that would be for
Elections to report to the County Manager instead of the Recorder or Board of
Supervisors.
Supervisor Hickman commented on the slide about provisional ballots and the importance
of the VRAS system to help identify voters more quickly. The legislature looked at the
emergency voting issue last year, but could not get support for any specific change.
Emergency voting was looked at again after the 2018 election. He said the system
belongs to the people not the Recorder or the Board of Supervisors. Changes need to be
made to create a better voting process for the citizens.
Supervisor Chucri noted his appreciation to Ms. Beckett and the Work Group and
acknowledged it is not an easy subject. He commented on the growth of the County and
the importance of growing and improving with the times. The County must look at the
needs of voters today and adjust the processes accordingly.
Chairman Gates announced there are registered speakers.

Special Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 20, 2019
Page 14 of 14
William T. “Sparky” Smith, resident, thanked the Board for addressing this subject. He
said he heard a lot about convenience during the presentation and nothing about ballot
integrity. He is concerned about the integrity of the voting process. He is the Manager of
the Election Integrity Project of Arizona. He sees the systematic erosion of ballot integrity
and believes there needs to be more attention on that aspect of elections.
Supervisor Gallardo commented on the responsibilities of each department as set out by
statute. The Board of Supervisors and the Recorder each have responsibilities and he
stated the importance of having the two continue to work together.
Art Cooper, resident, came forward to remark on how the system currently in place has
worked for 60 years and because of Recorder, Adrian Fontes, everything changed. Mr.
Cooper referenced one of the slides in the presentation that suggested that elections not
be partisan. He stated the Recorder chose to make this a partisan issue and the results of
our past election were questioned because of that partisanship. Mr. Cooper questioned
the Shared Reporting Structure solution set out by the Work Group. He said he does not
agree with creating a structure which includes adding directors as a solution.
Chairman Gates acknowledged Mike McGee, County Auditor and his team for their work
after the 2018 Primary Election and his contributions in the Work Group.
Supervisor Gallardo commented on the importance of this issue and the complexity of
elections because of the size of Maricopa County. He would like to be part of the
discussion as the Board continues to work toward a solution that works for Maricopa
County. He recognized the interconnectedness of the County Recorder and the Board of
Supervisors and does not want to lose sight of that.
Chairman Gates reiterated the importance of getting structure and technology in place
that would allow Maricopa County elections to be Best in Class. He stated the Board
takes the issues of integrity and democracy very seriously and that elections are a
fundamental right in county government.
MEETING ADJOURNED
There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned.
___________________________
Bill Gates, Chairman of the Board
ATTEST:
____________________________
Fran McCarroll, Clerk of the Board