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Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, April 09, 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, and/or Board of Deposit) County Manager Joy Rich "The mission of Maricopa County is to Clerk of the Board provide regional leadership and fiscally Fran McCarroll responsible, necessary public services to its residents so they can enjoy living in healthy and safe communities.” Meeting Location Supervisors'/Sullivan Conference Room 301 W. Jefferson, 10th Floor Phoenix, AZ 85003 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS The Board of Supervisors of Maricopa County, Phoenix, Arizona, convened in Informal Session at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, April 09, 2018, in the Supervisors'/Sullivan Conference Room, 301 W. Jefferson, 10th Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85003, with the following members present: Steve Chucri, Chairman, District 2; Bill Gates, District 3, Vice Chairman, Denny Barney, District 1; Clint Hickman, District 4; and Steve Gallardo, District 5 (entered late). Also present: Fran McCarroll, Clerk of the Board; Amy Goodloe, Minutes Coordinator; Joy Rich, County Manager; and Andrea Cummings, Legal Counsel. Minutes edited by Kelly Gardiner, Minutes Coordinator. PRESENTATION Recorder 1. 2018 PRIMARY AND GENERAL ELECTION PLAN Presentation regarding the 2018 Primary and General Election Plan. (C-36-18-010-P-00) Adrian Fontes, Recorder Rey Valenzuela, Director, Elections Presentation regarding the Election Plan for the 2018 Primary and General Election. Included will be discussion of the proposed use of “vote anywhere, anytime” ballot centers and Election Day polling places as well as the proposed use of the Site Book check-in system in all voting locations, tabulation machines at Election Day polling places and ballot-on-demand printers in vote centers. Additionally, the presentation will detail other processes and procedures that are designed to minimize wait times, reduce provisional ballots, speed-up vote processing and counting, and improve the overall voter experience. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, April 09, 2018 Page 2 of 5 Chairman Chucri thanked the Recorder’s Office for their hard work and for working with the Board’s Chiefs of Staff. Adrian Fontes, County Recorder, and Rey Valenzuela, Elections Director, began the presentation explaining that it is a preliminary plan at this point. It has been put together with assumptions, preliminary locations and a draft budget request for equipment. He stated he hopes to have the finalized Election plan within the upcoming months to make sure it is within the statutory time frame. Mr. Fontes explained this plan is designed to reduce the wait time for voters. He stated there will be a designated provisional line for voters who need to make any needed adjustments to their record and receive individual attention without delaying other voters. He mentioned check-in wait time has been reduced from three and a half minutes to less than a minute, due to new technology. They will not register voters but can make changes to the voter’s record on the spot. Deputy registrars who attended the Citizen’s Academy will be available to help voters who are in the provisional line. The Recorder’s Office has increased the number of trainees on the citizen board to decrease the number of provisional ballots. In the past provisional ballots had to be processed and counted the day after the election. With the use of this new technology, they are able to be processed at the main office as soon as the voter checks in. Discussion was held about improving the overall voter experience with the use of social media and how it has influenced the voting process. The Recorder’s Office is able to respond to voter concerns or complaints more quickly on the social media sites. Rey Valenzuela, Director of Elections, reiterated that this is a proposed plan, and that they took into consideration lessons learned and requests from the Board. He stated there are 2.2 million registered voters in Maricopa County. The Permanent Early Voting List (PEVL) voters now are at 70% of the entire number of voters. This plan anticipates a 55% turnout rate for the General Election in 2018. He stated the proposed plan focuses on serving the 20% of voters who show up to the voting sites. ~Supervisor Gallardo entered the meeting ~ Mr. Fontes discussed the historical data in past general elections: The 2016 Presidential Election had 724 precincts, 645 polling locations and 25 early voting sites. The 2014 Mid-term election had 724 precincts, 649 polling locations and 20 early voting sites. The 2010 Mid-term election had 1143 precincts, 832 polling locations and 9 early voting sites. The 2006 Mid-term election had 1142 precincts, 932 polling locations and 12 early voting sites. Mr. Valenzuela presented the lessons learned from the recent CD8 Special Primary Election: Site Books minimize the number of provisional ballots Site Books combined with ballot-on-demand (BOD) printers allow “out-of-precinct” voting Co-location of precincts can be achieved with minimal voter disruption or dissatisfaction through effective communication and education strategies. No major issues with the BOD printer but would prefer to have more than one printer per site. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, April 09, 2018 Page 3 of 5 He explained the number of Election Day voters will continue to decrease due to early voting being the preferred way to vote. Mr. Valenzuela explained the proposed plan is requesting redundancy for the BOD equipment. He explained the CD8 Special Primary Election had one BOD Printer that went down. It was the only one at the polling center which caused a delay. He explained that they are requesting two BOD printers per voting center. Although the percentage of precinct-based voters has dropped from 50% in 2016 to 19% in 2018, the plan will continue to use earlier percentages to be safe. Mr. Valenzuela explained the proposed “Hybrid” approach: Budget and purchase Site Book check-in equipment for 645 polling locations Designate at least 40 of those 645 sites as ballot (vote) centers and purchase BOD printers for use at those sites. Explore co-location options to potentially reduce number of Election Day polling locations based on historic turn-out data and unique needs of communities of interest Achieve savings through co-location of polling locations to expand the number of ballot centers. Have ballot centers continue to serve as “vote anywhere” locations on Election Day. Mr. Valenzuela explained the proposed “Hybrid” approach for Vote Centers: Used for early voting and on Election Day Allows “out-of-precinct” voting Use Site Books for check-in and BOD printers (no pre-printed ballots) There are a minimum of 40 sites and can increase if more funding is available Vote centers may be designated as “Mega” site with 12 check-in lines Mr. Valenzuela explained the proposed “Hybrid” approach for Election Day Polling Locations: Used only on Election Day Voters will be assigned a specific polling location Use of Site Books for Check-in, pre-printed ballots and tabulators Budgeted for 645 locations Regarding security measures, Mr. Fontes stated if the electricity goes out the Site Books have the ability to run and continue to service the voters. He noted all the new systems were created in-house and explained there are no maintenance or licensing fees that have to be paid. Mr. Valenzuela explained in the proposed budget the goal is to purchase 1,586 Site Books in addition to the 349 they already have. This will allow them to have three Site Books per location with one dedicated to provisional ballots but still have the option to have all three turned over to provisional mode. He explained there are a few locations that could be relocated, for example an apartment complex downtown has 12 voters who go to that location. He stated this would be one of the places that could be co-located without harm done and free up three more Site Books. The total cost to purchase more Site Books is $3,004,658. The Recorder’s Office has 30 BOD printers and would like to purchase an additional 60 to expand the number of ballot centers. He stated the total cost for 40 Ballot Centers with BOD printers would cost $930,000. The total proposed budget with all the requested items is $3,934,658. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, April 09, 2018 Page 4 of 5 In response to Chairman Chucri question, Mr. Fontes explained that there was a discussion about leasing the equipment but it was later decided it was in the best interest to buy the equipment. He stated they have been working with the Procurement Office regarding procurement regulations. He mentioned he had several meetings with the Budget Office to make sure the proposed budget is correct. In response to Supervisor Gallardo’s question, Mr. Fontes stated the new Site Books will need to be imaged and tested by Mid-July. Supervisor Gates asked how the BOD printers were selected. Mr. Fontes stated the only Arizona-based supplier is the current supplier. This company has developed the hardware and firmware for BOD. However, the printer can be converted for other operations. Supervisor Barney voiced a concern for the cost of this “off- the-shelf” printer at $15,000. Mr. Fontes explained the outside shell of the printer is just a printer. The firmware and hardware inside of the printer is custom made, patented and without those items it becomes just a printer. He stated the efficiency and voting-specific capabilities of this printer is what they gain by using it. Runbeck has been able to eliminate many errors and now the Recorder’s Office does not have to do all the extra work that was required previously. The Supervisors indicated that final decisions would need to be made about voting centers, precinct-based voting or some hybrid plan. Mr. Valenzuela explained the plan could be to go to 100% vote centers or some combination of vote centers and precinct voting. Supervisor Gallardo expressed a continuing concern regarding co-locating precincts for voters who have challenges to get to the polling site. He wanted to know what precincts were getting co-located. He stated every person’s right to vote should be protected without making the process more difficult. Mr. Fontes explained he understands the Board’s concerns and is working on a plan to enhance communication with the community. He stated they have a system that is more user-friendly and will continue to pay close attention to what constituencies are requesting. In response to a question about the General Election for CD8 coming up Mr. Fontes stated they have a received 100,000 ballots out of 456,000 voters that are registered for the election. He stated it is an estimated 25% turnout rate with still two week to go. The Board thanked the Recorder’s Office for their work on this plan. 2. EXECUTIVE SESSION Vote to convene in Executive Session to consider items on the Executive Agenda dated April 09, 2018, for Board of Supervisors and relevant Special Districts pursuant to statutory authority listed for each item. Motion to approve by Supervisor Barney, seconded by Supervisor Gates Ayes: Barney, Chucri, Gates, Hickman, Gallardo MEETING ADJOURNED Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, April 09, 2018 Page 5 of 5 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 ____________________________ Fran McCarroll, Clerk of the Board