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Special Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 05, 2018 Board Members 1:30 PM 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 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 1:30 PM on Wednesday, September 05, 2018, in the Supervisors' Auditorium, 205 W. Jefferson, Phoenix, AZ 85003, with the following members present: Steve Chucri, Chairman, District 2; Bill Gates, Vice Chairman, District 3; Denny Barney, District 1; Clint Hickman, District 4; and Steve Gallardo, District 5. Also present: Fran McCarroll, Clerk of the Board; Maria Ceaglske, Minutes Coordinator; Joy Rich, County Manager; and Andrea Cummings, Legal Counsel. ACTION 1. APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR ELECTION AUDIT Approve an outside review of the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office processes for planning and executing the election day activities for the primary election on August 28, 2018. In addition, create a new appropriation entitled “Election Audit” (ELA1) in the Internal Audit (D230) General Fund (100) budget. Pursuant to A.R.S. 42-17106(B), approve the following transfer of expenditure authority in the FY 2019 Budget to fund the cost of an outside review of the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office processes for planning and executing election day activities: 1. Decrease Non Departmental (D470) General Fund (100) Non Recurring Non Project (NRNP) Unreserved Contingency line by the amount of $200,000 2. Increase the Internal Audit (D230) General Fund (100) Election Audit (ELA1) by the amount of $200,000 Approval of this action will identify significant issues related to the primary election held on August 28, 2018 and make recommendations for corrective actions to prevent future occurrences. (C-23-19-001-M-00) Special Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 05, 2018 Page 2 of 12 Chairman Chucri explained the Special meeting was set after the 2018 Primary Election was held and the intent of the review is to provide additional staff resources to review the process and make recommendations. Supervisor Gates offered a motion to approve this agenda item. Supervisor Hickman asked if the amount of $200,000 will be sufficient. Chairman Chucri explained that the amount was determined by working with the County Manager’s Office as well as the County Internal Auditing team. Supervisor Hickman asked if the Board is requesting an audit to review the events that occurred at the 2018 Primary Election, with a focus on the upcoming 2018 General Election. He stated he would like to avoid negative effects on the 2018 General Election. Chairman Chucri explained the audit team and resources would be there to work with the County Recorder, Adrian Fontes, and his staff to understand what went wrong during the 2018 Primary Election. He explained the reasoning for an audit, his concern of additional issues in the absence of an audit, and noted this effort should assist in a successful 2018 General Election. Supervisor Gallardo noted issues that occurred during the primary election that has caused the need for an audit. He felt it would be important to determine the scope of the audito in order to properly fund the audit. He concurred with Supervisor Hickman’s comments of avoiding issues that may impact the general election. The Board would like to get a better understanding of what happened and what find ways to resolve the issues. Chairman Chucri noted the issues and input received by constituents regarding the 2018 Primary Election. He said there was a meeting with Mr. Fontes and Michael McGee, Director of Internal Audit, regarding the issues that occurred on 2018 Primary Election Day. He specified the reasoning for the audit is due to issues such as locations that were not ready to operate at 6:00 a.m. on Election Day in addition to other concerns. Joy Rich, County Manager, explained that the $200,000 will cover the costs for the combined efforts of the County internal audit team and outside auditor consultant. The audit will find out what occurred, what corrective actions need to be taken and a plan to implement the changes. Valerie Beckett, County Manager Special Assistant, has been tasked with tracking the process. Supervisor Gallardo asked if there was a timeline for the audit to make sure that any suggested modifications are implemented for the 2018 General Election. Ms. Rich stated Mr. McGee has a task order list that notes four to six weeks. Supervisor Barney noted the timeline with the 2018 General Election only two months away. This is more of an analysis to try to understand where the County is and there are things that need to be addressed with a team who are ready. He noted several issues that were encountered during the 2018 Primary Election. The dynamic internal audit team and external resources should be enough, but if not, more resources can be utilized. No corners will be cut to understand the issues. He noted his support for the initiative of Chairman Chucri to bring the issue to the forefront. The Board is seeking to understand what went wrong and what needs improvement in order to make the changes in a timely manner. Special Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 05, 2018 Page 3 of 12 Supervisor Gates concurred with the comments made and noted the need for an audit. The right to be able to vote when you want to vote during the appropriated voting hours is fundamental and this will help to address the issues. The audit team may be able to uncover issues that the Board is not yet aware of so they too can be addressed and future elections can go well. Supervisor Gallardo noted he is not opposed to the audit, and the Recorder’s Office may appreciate it, as it will benefit them as well. Supervisor Gates’ original motion was seconded by Supervisor Hickman Ayes: Barney, Chucri, Gates, Hickman, Gallardo 2. SCHOOL DISTRICT GOVERNING BOARD ELECTION CANCELLATIONS Pursuant to A.R.S. § 15-424(D), cancel the elections for the attached list of governing board positions in which only one person filed a nomination petition or a nomination paper as a write-in, and appoint the person who filed the nomination petition or nomination paper to fill the position. Also, declare vacant the governing board positions listed on the attachment for which no person filed nominating petitions or a nomination paper as a write-in and allow the Maricopa County Superintendent of Schools to appoint in accordance with A.R.S. § 15- 302(A). (C-37-19-002-7-00) Chairman Chucri asked the Clerk if there were any registered speakers. The Clerk responded there were none. She also noted that there was an amendment, which was the addition of the following to the East Valley Institute of Technology District list: Shelli Richardson Boggs of District 9 to cancel and appoint. She explained this addition was a late decision from the Court and noted staff present to address any questions the Board may have. Motion to approve as amended to include Ms. Shelli Richardson Boggs of District 9 cancellation of election and appointment to the East Valley Institute of Technology District by Supervisor Barney, seconded by Supervisor Hickman Ayes: Barney, Chucri, Gates, Hickman, Gallardo 3. CANVASS THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE AUGUST 28, 2018 PRIMARY ELECTION Canvass the election returns for the August 28, 2018 Primary Election in accordance with the Official Results prepared by the Maricopa County Elections Department. The Maricopa County Elections Department has prepared the Official Results from all precincts, declaring the vote for the Primary Election held on August 28, 2018. The Elections Department requests the Board of Supervisors canvass these results 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 ten days following the election. The Official Canvas is on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors. (C-21- 19-007-M-00) Special Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 05, 2018 Page 4 of 12 Adrian Fontes, Recorder, noted the presence of Reynaldo Valenzuela, Elections Director, to assist with any technical questions. Mr. Fontes reviewed the following August 28, 2018 Primary Election Canvass summary report and compared the numbers with previous primary elections: Mr. Fontes explained the official canvass process and the events of what happened before, during and after the August 28, 2018, Primary Election. He spoke of the success of the vote centers used during recent Special Elections. A hybrid vote center model was utilized for the 2018 Primary Election with 460 polling places in precincts and 40 vote centers. He explained the goal of the vote centers was to not limit the voters to only one place to vote. Mr. Fontes noted the purpose of the vote centers was not communicated well to the voters. The 40 vote centers were open on Election Day, and Wednesday through Friday prior to Election Day. He explained the new site book systems and equipment were delivered to most of the locations on the Sunday prior to Election Day. A timeline will be included in the auditor report along with email correspondence with the Contractor. He spoke of the circumstances that led to issues on Election Day, which included concerns about the number of technicians available for the set-up process. Despite the problems that arose, Special Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 05, 2018 Page 5 of 12 Mr. Fontes explained that the staff responded quickly to solve a number of issues. He expressed frustration in not being able to deliver more for Maricopa County. He added that he felt the input from the internal and external auditors would be valuable. Dr. Bob Branch, resident and Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate, spoke in opposition to the item. He expressed concerns about the voting process and felt there was a lack of training. In addition, he voiced concerns about disenfranchised voters, votes not counted, absence of technicians at times, lack of provisional ballots at some polling places, polling places not opening on time, and in one polling place that had a red bin erroneously marked for provisional ballots. Dr. Branch asked the Board to delay the canvass of the election as he felt his race was very close. A recount could alter the outcome. He noted that the Mohave County Board of Supervisors was performing a recount because of some irregularities. Chairman Chucri noted the Board appropriated the following resources in the amount of $3.9 million in FY 2018: $1.5 million for 1,586 site books; $183,000 for software; $600,000 for routers and other peripherals needed for site books; $1 million for 60 ballot on demand printers; $200,000 for 605 envelope printers; and $445,000 for 1,549 bar code scanners. In the adopted budget for FY 2019, the Board appropriated the following: $6.5 million for election staff and ongoing operations; $4 million for staff salaries; $360,000 for supplies; $1.4 million for services; $355,000 for publications and printing; $113,000 for mailing; $324,000 for other operational costs Additionally, $13.4 million was appropriated for the Primary and General Elections in the following ways: $439,000 for temporary staff; $7 million for outside services; $1.5 million for mailing; $3.7 million for publications and printing; $770,000 for supplies and rent. The Board coordinated this appropriation with Mr. Fontes and his staff. He asked if the appropriation would be adequate for the November 2018 General Election. Mr. Fontes responded the problem is multifaceted and not necessarily about dollars and cents. In the Fall of 2017 the staff was feeling good about the systems working. The jurisdictional election went well. Moving into the winter of 2017, two additional elections were unexpectedly scheduled and work for the Primary Election was set aside in order to plan for the Congressional District 8 Special and General Elections. He explained that the Recorder/Elections Office had faced an enormous and unprecedented number of petition and candidate challenges in well over 50 court cases. The work that goes into the challenges required the Recorder/Elections Office to hire temporary staff do the research. Mr. Fontes recalled a July interview in which adjustments were made to the litigation process because of the resources that were utilized in the Recorder/Elections Office. Mr. Fontes stated that he felt there was a need to consider both budgetary concerns and a staffing analysis. During the busy time of election challenges staff from one department often had to assist other areas in order to meet deadlines. He felt that this additional heavy workload is what took time away from some of the details that needed to be covered for the Primary Election, so the audit is welcomed. Special Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 05, 2018 Page 6 of 12 Chairman Chucri questioned when Mr. Fontes first learned about the problem with the lack of staff from the Contractor to make sure the equipment was going to be hooked up on time. Mr. Fontes responded he personally found out between 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. on the Monday before the Primary Election. Chairman Chucri noted his concern because he had a conversation with Mr. Fontes on Monday afternoon where Mr. Fontes was confident in the work performed to ensure that the County would not experience any unfortunate circumstances such as hacking. Chairman Chucri stated his concern when the Board was asked to take unprecedented action for emergency measures on Election Day. Mr. Fontes said each Board member was personally called and briefed on security protocals used by the Recorder/Elections Office. He stated he would not speak of the details in a public setting for security reasons. The Board was notified so they were aware of the situation. Having a system with secure redundancies is different than having enough bodies on the ground to plug it in. The problem was with the later and not the former. At that time staff was still under the impression that they would be receiving the technician support to make sure all set-ups would be completed on time. The assurances were given in the control room that the Contractor had enough technicians to deploy through the evening and into the next morning to make sure the equipment was set up. Installation issues led to delays and then polling places were locked because arrival times were missed. Staff began calling locations to confirm availability. In the early morning of Election Day, staff still thought the deployment of the Contractor’s technicians would happen, but many were not deployed. The documents will show the specific details. By 12:00 p.m. staff had recognized it as a significant problem and additional action would need to be taken. That is when the Secretary of State said staying open a little late would be a worthwhile endeavor. By 12:00 p.m. ten of the vote centers were secured facilities that agreed to stay open and staff agreed to stay late. By 2:00 p.m. Mr. Fontes was made aware that the Board had been notified of the situation. Staff was asked to devise a communication plan to advise the Board and County leadership on a way to engage in a communication blitz to the public to inform them of a plan to have a minimum of 22 vote centers open until 9:00 p.m. All of the facilities confirmed they were available which included various city halls, libraries and churches around Maricopa County. He noted vote center poll workers that had been working since 5:00 a.m. had agreed to stay open late to support the voters. From a legal perspective, on Election Day Mr. Fontes stated he acted as an agent of the Board of Supervisors with the Board as the principal party of interest from a statutory perspective on Election Day. The Board could have made that decision and the opposing party would have been the enforcement officer. In this case, legally the Secretary of State enforces the law as to election regulations. He had a discussion with the Election Director and the office was willing to accept service. He also had a discussion with the Courts who were ready to hear a petition on the issue. By 2:00 p.m., staff, the facilities and legal moved forward with this plan to keep the polls open past 7:00 p.m. Mr. Fontes stated, “however, we got our directive from the Board and we went ahead and closed at 7:00 p.m.” Chairman Chucri noted Mr. Fontes was clearly aware of the issue 24 hours before the Board was made aware of it. He said Mr. Fontes and his staff collaborated with the Board when looking for polling places yet Mr. Fontes did not see the importance of contacting the Board when the crisis occurred on Monday. On Tuesday afternoon the Board was requested to act because of a message sent on social media by the Secretary of State and Special Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 05, 2018 Page 7 of 12 Mr. Fontes’ phone calls to the Chairman. Chairman Chucri said the request has never been done before and is unprecedented in history. The culmination of these events is what led to the call for an audit. He asked who was responsible for negotiating and adhering to the contract with the Contractor. Mr. Fontes responded the Recorder/Election Office will let the procurement process work its way through because of possible future litigation. The audit will indicate exactly who is responsible and noted his hope to continue to work with the Board to ensure the voting rights of all Maricopa County citizens in the future. Chairman Chucri asked Mr. Fontes if he was aware of the loose ballots noted by Dr. Branch. Mr. Fontes responded that staff was made aware of situation and noted reorganization of receiving procedures. Chairman Chucri stated that some voters said they were sent to multiple polling places. He understood that vote centers would be a compliment to the polling places. However, he noted that Mr. Fontes considered the vote centers were a “contingency plan”. He felt it was disenfranchising the voter by sending them to multiple polling places. He spoke of a candidate within his district contacting him in a panic because voters were being turned away at the polling place due to an equipment malfunction. The equipment was back online within an hour but that is an example of disenfranchising the voter. He noted the point of holding this special meeting was to make sure the election in November 2018 is successful. He said Mr. Fontes stated he was able to locate some of the problems in his analysis and had already outlined some solutions. He then asked if there is a solution to this particular problem. Mr. Fontes said the fact that the plan was not called a contingency does not mean that it was not. A vote center was designed so that any voter within Maricopa County could vote there. Although it was not called a contingency it had that capacity and was part of the emergency plan. He explained that the incident that took place in Fountain Hills was a polling place where two ballot on demand printers and two envelope printers happened to malfunction at the exact same time when an error code occurred. The anomalous situation only happened at that polling place. Staff is still looking into the situation and will address the issue along with the other issues discovered in their review. Mr. Fontes agreed with Chairman Chucri that moving voters to another polling place is problematic but it is a response built into the plan for specific incidences that may occur. Chairman Chucri stated he has two Indian Reservations within his district and asked Mr. Fontes for more information regarding the tribal identification issues. Mr. Fontes responded that he does not know the specifics of the circumstances and will get back to the Chairman on the issue. He said voters can refer to the Elections website for the appropriate election day identification requirements under Arizona Statute. Chairman Chucri asked if the privacy screens for the site books were purchased and installed. Mr. Fontes responded that they were purchased and he understands that they were installed on every unit that was deployed. Chairman Chucri asked if there were polling places available for a number of days before to set up the equipment. Special Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 05, 2018 Page 8 of 12 Mr. Fontes responded that most of the polling places gave narrow parameters with limited access times. He noted the scheduling for access was behind because of the extra work for the election challenges. He said there were different reasons for the limited access and gave examples. Chairman Chucri questioned what went wrong with the early ballot mailings. Mr. Fontes responded there are duplicate check protocols and staff is working to enhance the protocols. He noted there are fixes needed within the software system. There are 850,000 postcards sent with an expected 10-12% returned. The voter registration system is robust and has grown from 1.9 million voters in 2016 to 2.2 million voters currently. The ERIC program is a statewide system designed to update voter records. Those with voter registration questions may call 602-506-1511. Additionally, voters may sign up for mobile text updates and alerts by texting “Join” to 628683. This system was created to keep voters up to date on their ballot status as it moves through the system. Chairman Chucri stated he is aware of post cards sent with the wrong names on them. Mr. Fontes responded that staff is working on the issue. Supervisor Gates spoke of an instance of a voter that went to Happy Valley Baptist Church at about 11:20 a.m. on Election Day and noted privacy concerns with the sign-in screen reading party affiliation where others could see. Mr. Fontes explained that the screen that asks for party affiliation indicates the name of the party and the voter must chose yes or no. That sign-in is for voters who check-in on Election Day. For voters that are non-partisan, the screen will ask which affiliated party the voter would like to choose. In the past, the voter verbally requested a party affiliation ballot from the poll worker. He stated there is always room for improvement in the system. Supervisor Gates stated the voter said she received a ballot for the wrong party affiliation. When the voter pointed it out to the poll workers the voter was told to pick one candidate or write the candidate on a piece of paper and attach it to the ballot. Mr. Fontes responded that because it was an open primary election independent voters can pull any of the parties’ ballots and he proceeded to explain the different ballot styles. He assured Supervisor Gates that staff would engage with the voter and address all of the concerns. Voters must vote on the ballot by connecting the arrows. Supervisor Gates said he also did not think of the voting centers as contingency and asked what the contingency plan was at the precinct level. Mr. Fontes explained that one of the polling places had poll workers that used paper rosters. They checked the identification of each voter and wrote the name and address of the voter on the list. He noted the canvass process and acknowledged the poll workers who took care of the issues. The greatest contingency is the poll workers themselves. He said there is no way to have a contingency plan for every single issue that could happen. There are individuals out in the field and throughout the County working in partnership to make sure an election goes well. Supervisor Gates said in that instance those poll workers had previous experience and asked if all poll workers had proper training for that problem. Special Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 05, 2018 Page 9 of 12 Mr. Fontes acknowledged that the poll workers had previous experience and said he will add it to the training for all poll workers moving forward. He stated more poll workers are needed for future elections. He noted the increase in votes counted due to the increase of citizen boards. He announced that those interested in assisting with future elections can go to “getinvolved.vote.” Supervisor Gates returned to the fact that Mr. Fontes stated the vote centers were considered a contingency. He asked why voters were not directed to the vote centers once Mr. Fontes was made aware of the issues at the precincts between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. He asked why there was no communications plan in place to inform voters of where the voting centers were located so they could vote. Mr. Fontes responded that in training the poll workers they were directed to send voters to the nearest vote center if there were significant problems such as a security threat, safety threat or fire within the building. This is an enormous endeavor with 1000s of poll workers assisting. He understands there were communication difficulties but it is a critical piece of training information that poll workers will now receive. Supervisor Gates gave New River as an example of the lack of communication to voters. He noted voters were sent to Carefree and Cave Creek. He asked that voters be provided voting centers in all directions from their precinct so they know their options. He noted District 3 was under the impression that a voting center was located in Anthem and asked that one be placed there in the future. Mr. Fontes noted a feature that voters can utilize on their cell phones to locate a voting center closest to their location. He will get the information to the District offices and have it available through the move into the communication plan. Supervisor Gates asked how many polling places were not open and will it be in the report. Mr. Fontes responded it will all be in the report and noted 13 polling places were opened at 6:00 a.m., 26 additional polling places were opened at 7:00 a.m. and another 12 polling places were opened at 8:00 a.m. He noted the system deployed is a reactive system not a proactive system. The Elections Department has always acted on a system whereby staff is not aware of a problem until it is reported by the polling place. In many of the circumstances, poll workers were trying to open the polling place but staff was unaware of why the polling place was closed or when it opened. There will be a shift to a proactive system and the facilities will be asked to open at 5:00 a.m. He noted an increase in the number of lines in the troubleshooting area to communicate proactively with each polling place before 6:00 a.m. This will assist in having all polling locations operational on time. Supervisor Gates noted several locations that had long lines for voters on Election Day. He noted the new check-in system was supposed to streamline the process. He asked why the long lines were occurring. Mr. Fontes responded that more voters came to the polling places than expected. He noted more check in lines were added to Century Library and Tempe Public Library. He said it was less than an hour and a half that the lines lasted at those particular locations after the polling places closed. Both locations are being looked at regarding layout and bandwidth issues. He noted both polling places can support many voters. Special Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 05, 2018 Page 10 of 12 Supervisor Gates said he appreciates Mr. Fontes recognizing the issues. The Board is aware of issues with tabulations and would like it to be part of the audit. The issues led to voters possibly being denied their right to vote and questions of whether the ballots are being counted correctly. He noted the importance of the audit looking at the entire process and not just focus on certain issues. He appreciates Mr. Fontes’ willingness to follow-up with individual voters. He said it is important to identify what caused all of the issues that occurred to avoid them in the future. Supervisor Barney spoke of problems encountered during previous elections and how they were handled. He noted the importance of the audit to assist in fixing the problems before future elections occur. This is not a budgetary issue as resources were appropriated but they must be applied in the correct areas to prepare for the November 2018 General Election. He noted a training issue and he would hate for the thousands of poll workers who volunteer as their civic duty to perceive the experience as negative. He spoke of how Maricopa County and Mr. Fontes failed the poll workers by not properly preparing them. He said there were several problems that occurred that do not compute. He stated numerous correspondence was received from voters stating they received the wrong ballot and ballot on demand failure. He also noted the following issues: the resources were given for preprinted ballots and there were wrong preprinted ballots; voters were given the wrong ballots; there were locations that did not have provisional ballots; and the oath of office was not administered to the poll workers which is part of statute. He said he knows how hard staff worked but it was not enough. The County needs to do better and it starts with the way poll workers are trained. He asked what the percentage was of voters who voted in their precinct versus at the voting centers. The intent of the Board was that 100% of the voters would have the opportunity to vote based on capacity, etc, and all of the District offices worked on the details of the election with Mr. Fontes. He spoke of the importance of preparation, reallocation of resources that must be made before the next election, gathering of complaints/concerns and acting on the audit findings for a successful election. Mr. Fontes noted that not every vote center was just a vote center. Many of the vote centers were located in the same place as the precinct. Voters assigned to those particular precincts had preprinted ballots available. He noted compliments that he received from comments he made at the troubleshooter training held the Sunday before election day. He confirmed that the poll workers were not given the complete training required to execute the election. He stated that is why he is seriously looking at the training to assist in the effort to make the General Election run better. He said a survey was sent to the poll workers, troubleshooters, and others involved in the entire election process. Most of the responses received so far have indicated the need for better training. Supervisor Barney thanked the poll workers and noted the County needs them. The County will do a better job of training. Supervisor Hickman concurred with the comments made by the Board thus far and noted the importance of the audit. He spoke of his experience at a precinct that did not open until 11:00 a.m. He questioned the need for 12,000 provisional ballots compared to previous elections. Mr. Fontes explained the traditional use of provisional ballots and the connection with the need for provisional ballots for voting out of precinct. Supervisor Hickman stated he would like the Board to see a written plan submitted by the Recorders Office to assure the problems are fixed before the November 2018 General Election. He questioned why the Board was not informed and why the Office of Enterprise Technology staff was not asked to assist when the problems first occurred. Special Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 05, 2018 Page 11 of 12 Mr. Fontes responded that staff did not think additional help was necessary and stated the Contractor was supposed to have 60+ technicians deployed at 5:00 a.m. on Election Day which did not happen. Supervisor Hickman asked why the Office of Enterprise Technology staff was not called at 5:30 a.m. on Election Day when the technicians were not present. Mr. Fontes responded it is a difference of the system that existed which he felt was compounded by a material breach of contract. The system that existed required a call in if a problem arose. Once the calls were received staff was inundated and there was not enough staff at the home office to handle the volume of calls because the issue had never occurred before. He stated staff have spoken to the following offices for help with troubleshooters: Office of Enterprise Technology, Treasurer and Assessor. Supervisor Hickman asked the Chairman if having an elections plan submitted by the end of the month would assist in making sure certain benchmarks are met. Chairman Chucri noted the purpose of the audit is to identify what went wrong in each category and to serve as a tool to make sure the necessary number of individuals are present on Election Day. He noted how important it is to fix the issues and stated the County can do better. Mr. Fontes noted the deployment of County employees as a viable source and is hopeful a plan can be quickly assembled. Supervisor Gallardo stated that if one voter is disenfranchised that is one voter too many which is the benchmark that should be used in any type of election. He noted there were good points regarding the issues noted by the Board and stated he welcomed the audit. He commended the Recorder and Election staff for their hard work. He thanked Mr. Fontes for taking ownership of the issues that occurred. He said no election is perfect and there will always be some kind of problem but it is how the situation or problem is addressed that shows the preparedness of staff. He asked how many troubleshooters there currently are and said additional troubleshooters would help. He noted the importance of training. He said a recount cannot be done until the Board canvasses the election. He noted the importance of moving forward and canvassing the election. He stated 50 or more court challenges is normal and that should never interfere with election day. He spoke of the importance of communication and Election Staff keeping the Districts informed to make sure the correct information is given to the public. He noted the importance of provisional ballots to assist in not disenfranchising voters. There were 2,107 ballots not counted and of those 621 ballots were voters that went to the incorrect polling place. He asked to have the 621 ballots looked at to see if it was due to polling places being closed and voters told to go to different locations. He asked what 44 “alternate” provisional ballots were and why they were not counted. Reynaldo Valenzuela, Elections Director, explained that an alternate provisional ballot is used when the voter spoiled their original ballot and were given with a new ballot. For transparency and tracking purposes it is shown on the canvass. Supervisor Gallardo noted the importance of working together to make sure the concerns and issues are resolved. He said it is not a crime to make a mistake but it is a crime when it is not fixed. He is hopeful that some of the concerns and issues may be resolved before the November 2018 General Election. He noted his appreciation to Election Staff for the numerous hours worked for each election. Special Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 05, 2018 Page 12 of 12 Mr. Fontes confirmed there were 5-6 polling locations assigned to each troubleshooter, but he would like to have only 2-3 polling places per troubleshooter to improve response time. He agreed with communicating with all County government offices. He explained the 621 provisional ballots are the exact ballots used in the 2016 litigation noting it is against Arizona law if a voter votes provisionally out of precinct that ballot will not count however at a vote center a provisional ballot will count. This is why the vote centers are equipped with several check-in stations to handle high volumes of voters. He spoke of the increased data and future use of live feedback for time-in-line management. He noted his appreciation of the comment of solving problems to get better through the course of the day. There were mistakes made and there is room for improvement. He stated it is the poll workers, staff and troubleshooters that make the elections happen and he welcomed more members of the County family to work on Election Day. Supervisor Gallardo pointed out the Board is looking for the election plan and emergency response plan. He understands the difficulty of being prepared for every situation, however, there must be a plan. He noted his concern for the 621 voters and the possibilities of why they may have voted a provisional ballot. He spoke of the significance of increasing the number of troubleshooters. Chairman Chucri thanked everyone for the comments and time on the item. He asked legal staff if the Board must first approve the canvass in order for it to be contested. Colleen Connor, Legal Counsel, confirmed Chairman Chucri’s statement was correct. Motion to approve by Supervisor Gates, seconded by Supervisor Barney Ayes: Barney, Chucri, Gates, Hickman, Gallardo MEETING ADJOURNED There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned. _______________________________ Steve Chucri, Chairman of the Board ATTEST: ____________________________ Fran McCarroll, Clerk of the Board