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Informal Meeting Minutes
Monday, February 10, 2020
9:30 AM
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Maricopa County, Arizona
(and the Boards of Directors of the Flood Control District,
Library District, Stadium District, Improvement Districts,
Housing Authority of Maricopa County and/or Board of
Deposit)
"The mission of Maricopa County is to
provide regional leadership and fiscally
responsible, necessary public services to
its residents so they can enjoy living in
healthy and safe communities”
Board Members
Clint Hickman, Chairman, District 4
Jack Sellers, Vice Chairman, District 1
Steve Chucri, District 2
Bill Gates, District 3
Steve Gallardo, District 5
County Manager
Joy Rich
Clerk of the Board
Fran McCarroll
Meeting Location
Supervisors' 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 9:30 AM
on Monday, February 10, 2020, in the Sullivan/Supervisors' Conference Room, 301 W. Jefferson, 10th
Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85003, with the following members present: Clint Hickman, Chairman, District 4; Jack
Sellers, Vice Chairman, District 1; Steve Chucri, District 2; Bill Gates, District 3; Steve Gallardo, District 5.
Also present: Fran McCarroll, Clerk of the Board; Kelly Gardiner, Minutes Coordinator; Joy Rich, County
Manager; and Andrea Cummings, Legal Counsel.
1.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Vote to convene in Executive Session to consider items on the Executive Agenda dated February
10, 2020, for Board of Supervisors and relevant Special Districts pursuant to statutory authority
listed for each item.
Motion to approve by Supervisor Gates, seconded by Supervisor Chucri
Ayes: Sellers, Chucri, Gates, Hickman, Gallardo
MEETING RECESSED
Chairman Hickman recessed executive session to reconvene in open session.
OPEN SESSION RECONVENED
Chairman Hickman reconvened open session to consider the following agenda item.
PRESENTATION AND ACTION
Scott Jarrett, Director of Election Day and Emergency Voting was present for the first of two
hearings for Elections pertaining to the Presidential Preference Election (PPE). He stated
there are two actions required to move forward: (1) the Resolution authorizing Mr. Jarrett to
designate Vote Centers and Emergency Vote Centers and (2) the Designation of Polling
Places for the PPE. The framework for this presentation was established December 11, 2019
when the Supervisors approved an Election Day and Emergency Voting plan to ensure a
smooth election process. Mr. Jarrett spoke about the importance of having a system in place
which protects the elections process. He spoke about the Iowa Caucus’ as a reminder of the
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Monday, February 10, 2020
Page 2 of 9
importance of planning and to have contingencies in place. He started the presentation with
an overview of the election schedule.
Mr. Jarrett reviewed the slide, Democratic Presidential Preference Election, that outlined the
important dates related to the March 17, 2020 PPE. Mr. Jarrett said the overlap of the Tempe
and Chandler Jurisdictional Elections on March 10, 2019 (mail-in ballots only) and the PPE
on March 17, 2020 could create confusion for some voters who are voting in both elections.
To help voters, the PPE ballots will have a red stripe on the ballot and envelope. The
Jurisdictional Elections will have a black stripe on the ballot and envelope. This will assist the
public in submitting the correct ballot and envelope to the Elections Department.
Supervisor Gallardo asked what would happen if the voter mistakenly put the ballot in an
envelope intended for a different election.
Mr. Jarrett and Rey Valenzuela, Elections Director, assured the Board there is a procedure in
place to redirect the ballot to the correct location. The jurisdictional ballots have a deadline of
March 10, 2020 and those ballots would need to be received by that deadline for the vote to
be counted.
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Monday, February 10, 2020
Page 3 of 9
Mr. Jarrett reviewed the slide on New Tabulation Equipment. The vendor had initially
promised Elections a minimum of 260 precinct tabulators by the PPE deadline. All 553 were
delivered in January 2020 and all have passed the user acceptance tests. Precinct tabulators
have gone through extensive check lists to ensure all work properly. The numbers highlighted
in red are numbers that have been updated since Elections met with the Clerk of the Board
on Thursday, February 6, 2020. Ballot box adaptors were purchased and will be used with
tabulator boxes that the County currently owns, rather than purchase new tabulator boxes.
This represents a cost savings for Maricopa County. The slide indicates one of 553 ballot box
adaptors have been received with 150 per week anticipated to be delivered until the order is
complete. Mr. Jarrett stated the adaptors are all certified and will be ready for the PPE.
Supervisor Gallardo asked if the individual machines are tested one at a time or all at once to
reproduce the Election Day setting.
Mr. Jarrett said the tabulators have been put through rigorous stress testing to make sure the
central count tabulators perform under General Election Day conditions. He said each piece
of equipment is checked individually to make sure specifications are met. Logic and accuracy
testing is the final step performed by the Secretary of State. It is open to the public and
parties.
Mr. Jarrett addressed the second agenda item regarding Designating the Polling Places. The
Board of Supervisors approval process occurs before each federal, state and countywide
election per statute. Agenda item 1 is the Board of Supervisor’s Resolution for the use of vote
centers. Mr. Jarrett said this agenda item also gives authorization to make changes to polling
locations on Election Day if an approved polling location becomes unavailable on that day.
The above slide describes the various types and number of polling places proposed for the
PPE. Mr. Jarrett said the addition of 169 polling places since the 2016 PPE was done to
make voting easier and more convenient for the citizens. The upgraded technology of the
tabulators allows more ballot variety and volume.
Supervisor Chucri asked how the 229 voting locations were determined.
Mr. Jarrett said in the 2016 PPE, there were only 60 vote-anywhere locations to
accommodate both Democrats and Republicans. Communication to voters on who was
eligible to vote was not clear. This combination of factors created delay and confusion at the
polling locations. This historic information was considered and solutions created to avoid a
repeat of that election day.
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Monday, February 10, 2020
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Supervisor Gallardo asked for clarification on the number of polling locations and what is the
method of determining where they would be.
Mr. Jarrett said there are 229 as seen on the above slide. He said part of the formula was
determined by looking at in-person voters for the 2016 and 2018 Elections. Mr. Jarrett stated
the targeted threshold for any one polling location would be 1000. The calculations indicate
the highest would be in the 700’s. Mr. Jarrett stated the goal was for wait times to be less
than 30 minutes.
Mr. Jarrett said the “heat map” or point density map was used to determine polling locations
based on the 2016 history. The darker colors on the map represent the locations with the
most in-person voters. He stated the importance of having early voting, election day voting,
and emergency voting polling locations near those dense populations. Mr. Jarrett said the
distribution of the emergency vote centers were initially established as one per district, one at
Maricopa County Tabulation Center (MCTC) and one at the Mesa office. With those locations
in mind, it was determined there was a gap in the Southwest Valley. It was decided to move
the MCTC location to Tolleson to serve that gap.
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Monday, February 10, 2020
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Mr. Jarrett reviewed the Emergency Voting slide.
Supervisor Gallardo asked if the voter would be required to state the nature of the
emergency.
Mr. Jarrett stated the voter does not have to state the emergency but has to sign an affidavit
stating they are experiencing an emergency as defined by A.R.S. 16-411 (B)(5). He said the
emergency voting locations will look very similar to an election day voting location. The
difference would be that the precinct tabulators will not be set up due to security concerns.
Mr. Jarrett reviewed the slide regarding Setting Up the Voting Locations. He stated Chairman
Hickman’s email “call to action” to County employees has been successful. There have been
360 County employees that have volunteered to help the Elections Department. Mr. Jarrett
said Monday, March 16, 2020, will have troubleshooters and inspectors setting up equipment
and 60 of the county employee volunteers will serve as auditors to confirm the setup.
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Monday, February 10, 2020
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In response to a question regarding training, Mr. Jarrett said the goal was to provide training
as close to election day as possible. He stated the setup is not difficult, comparing it to setting
up an X-box or PlayStation. There will be hands-on training so each individual is confident in
the proper setup.
Supervisor Gates asked if there was a contingency plan for the process.
Mr. Jarrett said there are contingencies built in. First line are the Troubleshooters and
Inspectors; second line are the Employee Volunteers; third line are the Tech Support and
Hotline Support personnel. If needed, the tech support can be deployed to deliver equipment,
or expertise.
Mr. Valenzuela added there is a “dashboard” set up at the command center so the Elections
Department can see if the site books are working properly in real time.
Regarding the Poll Worker Recruitment & Training slide Mr. Jarrett stated that part of the
training will include a training manual the poll worker can take notes in and have on hand at
the polling location for easy reference. Also available is a computer based training being
deployed by Maricopa County’s Department of Learning Management, the HUB. This will
allow Elections to confirm knowledge of the poll worker.
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Monday, February 10, 2020
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Mr. Jarrett reviewed the Recruitment Update slide. The numbers in red indicate changing
information since the update meeting last Thursday. He said as of today’s meeting, Elections
is 72% staffed for the PPE. With the number of County employees on hand, Mr. Jarrett said
he is confident all needed positions will be filled.
Supervisor Gallardo thanked Mr. Jarrett for the focus on bi-lingual poll workers. He said it is
important for all citizens to be comfortable at the polls to continue to participate in elections.
Supervisor Gallardo asked what the plan is if there is a problem and will there be a hotline
available to take care of problems that may occur.
Mr. Jarrett said there are hotlines being staffed by experts depending on the issue. Calls will
be directed accordingly with tiered response from basic elections questions to the T-Tech
response team. Mr. Jarrett said 50 Troubleshooters have been hired. He said all of the
Elections Hotlines will be in one Command Center where Elections, Communications, Legal
and others will be available to answer questions and solve problems.
Supervisor Gallardo said good communication with the media is important so if there is an
incident and there is social media response, the situation can be handled expeditiously.
Mr. Jarrett said the Communications team will be monitoring the internet in an effort to keep
accurate information flowing.
Chairman Hickman thanked Mr. Jarrett and Mr. Valenzuela for all the work that has gone into
this election process. He thanked the County employees who have volunteered to help with
elections. He wants to hear from workers before he hears from voters if there are suggestions
to be made. Chairman Hickman stated the technology being implemented for this PPE is
state-of-the-art and he is hopeful the elections of 2020 highlight Maricopa County as a leader
in this process.
Mr. Jarrett said the County Auditor has been asked to attend a training session and review
the process so if there is something being overlooked, suggestions can be made.
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Monday, February 10, 2020
Page 8 of 9
Elections
1.
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF ELECTION DAY AND EMERGENCY
VOTING TO DESIGNATE VOTE CENTERS AND EMERGENCY VOTE CENTERS
Pursuant to A.R.S. §§16-411, adopt a Resolution for the March 17, 2020 Presidential Preference
Election authorizing the Director of Election Day and Emergency Voting to designate the use of:
(1) forty vote centers on election day, March 17, 2020 (Exhibit A); (2) seven emergency voting
centers for emergency voting on Saturday March 14, 2020 and Monday March 16, 2020 (Exhibit
B); (3) 219 assigned precinct polling locations to be used as vote centers on Election Day March
17, 2020 should the need arise by using the accessible voting device to provide out of precinct
voters with the appropriate ballot to lawfully cast the ballot after they present identification as
prescribed in section 16-579 (Exhibit C).
The list of vote centers and emergency voting centers and their hours of operation are on file with
the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and will be posted on the Election Department’s website
subsequent to the Board’s approval. If a vote center or emergency voting center established
pursuant to this resolution becomes unavailable and there is not sufficient time for the board of
supervisors to convene to approve an alternate location for that emergency voting center, the
Director of Emergency Voting and Election Day is authorized to make changes to the approved
emergency voting center location and shall notify the public and the board of supervisors
regarding the change as soon as practicable. The alternate vote center or emergency voting
center shall be as close in proximity to the approved emergency voting center location as possible.
(C-06-20-376-M-00)
Motion to approve by Supervisor Gallardo, seconded by Supervisor Gates
Ayes: Sellers, Chucri, Gates, Hickman, Gallardo
RESOLUTION C-06-20-377-M-00
RESOLUTION DESIGNATING EMERGENCY VOTING CENTERS
WHEREAS, A.R.S. § 16-411(B)(4) grants the Board of Supervisors authority to
authorize the use of voting centers on election day in place of or in addition to specifically
designated polling places; and
WHEREAS, A.R.S. § 16-411(B)(5) grants the Board of Supervisors authority to
authorize the use of emergency voting centers, to be used on specific days and times for a
specific election.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Maricopa County Board of
Supervisors adopts Resolution No C-06-20-377-M-00.(“Vote Centers Resolution”) for the
following purposes:
1.
Authorizing the voting centers for the March 17, 2020, Presidential
Preference Election as described in Exhibit A; and
2.
Authorizing the emergency early voting centers for the March 17, 2020,
Presidential Preference Election with days and hours of operation as described in Exhibit B;
and
3.
Authorizing the use of accessible voting equipment within the election day
polling places for the March 17, 2020, Presidential Preference Election, as described in
Exhibit C, to be used as voting centers should the need arise.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if any of the voting centers or emergency voting
centers authorized by the Vote Centers Resolution becomes unavailable, the Board of
Supervisors will, if time permits, convene to approve an alternate location for that emergency
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Monday, February 10, 2020
Page 9 of 9
voting center; but, if time does not permit the Board of Supervisors to convene, the Director of
Emergency Voting and Election Day Voting shall make the necessary change of location
decisions and notify the public and Board of Supervisors, pursuant to A.R.S. § 16-
411(B)(5)(c).
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, if an alternate location for any voting centers or
emergency voting centers must be selected, the alternate location shall be as close in
proximity to the approved location as possible, as required by A.R.S. § 16-411(B)(5)(c).
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Supervisors, Maricopa County, Arizona, on
February 10, 2020.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
MARICOPA COUNTY
/s/ Clint Hickman, Chairman
/s/ Fran McCarroll, Clerk of the Board
Approved as to form as within the powers and authority of Maricopa County under the laws of
the State of Arizona.
/s/ Andrea Cummings, Deputy County Attorney
2.
DESIGNATE THE POLLING PLACES FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE ELECTION
Designate the polling places and drop boxes for the Presidential Preference Election to be
conducted March 17, 2020 and authorize the Director of Election Day and Emergency Voting to
select and designate additional polling places and drop boxes if needed due to changes or
unavailability of polling places. The list (Attachment A) of polling places and drop boxes is on file
with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and will be posted on the Election Department’s website
subsequent to board approval. (C-06-20-377-M-00)
Motion to approve by Supervisor Gallardo, seconded by Supervisor Gates
Ayes: Sellers, Chucri, Gates, Hickman, Gallardo
OPEN SESSION RECESSED
Chairman Hickman reconvened the meeting in Executive Session.
EXECUTIVE SESSION RECONVENED/ADJOURNED
After discussion of the items listed on the Executive Session agenda and there being no further business to
come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned.
_______________________________
Clint Hickman, Chairman of the Board
ATTEST:
_______________________________
Fran McCarroll, Clerk of the Board