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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 07281998 - C131 _ THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Adopted this Order on July 28, 1998 by the following vote: AYES: See vote below NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: SUBJECT: Consolidation of Elections With Statewide General Elections On this date the Board of Supervisors removed the attached item from the Consent Calendar and considered it under SD.1 (Short Discussion). Following Board discussion, Supervisor Gerber moved approval of the item with a second from Supervisor Rogers. The vote on the motion was as follows: AYES: Supervisors Gerber and Rogers NOES: Supervisor Canciamilla ABSENT: Supervisors Uilkema and DeSaulnier ABSTAIN: None William McDonald, 3920 E. El Campo Court, Concord, spoke on this item. Following failure of the motion Supervisor Gerber moved to place the item on the Board's agenda for August 4, 1998, with a second from Supervisor Rogers. The vote on the motion was as follows: AYES: Supervisors Gerber, Canciamilla and Rogers NOES: None ABSENT: Supervisors Uilkema and DeSaulnier ABSTAIN: None IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that the report of the County Clerk-Recorder on the consolidation of elections dated July 16, 1998, is to be RELISTED on August 4, 1998, at 11:15 a.m. and the item is CORRECTED TO READ: CONSIDER requests to consolidate the following elections scheduled to be held in 1999 with the Statewide General Elections to be held in the year 2000, subject to amortization of mail inserter equipment costs: Liberty Union High School District, Orinda Union School District, Brentwood Union School District, Walnut Creek School District, City of Pittsburg, City of Concord, and Pittsburg Unified School District. I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE ?DATE �fSHOWN. Q ATTESTED - �'S /< Phil BItelor,Cl e of the Board of /Supervisors and County Administrator By-- `-' Deputy cc: Clerk-Recorder-Elections ♦ y wm TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ' FROM: STEVE WEIR, County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters DATE: July 16, 1998 SUBJECT: EM' S SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATIONS)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RE OMMNDAIM: 1. APPROVE requests of to consolidate elections with Statewide General Elections subject to item 6(below),amortization of mail inserter equipment costs for Liberty union High School District,Orinda Union School District,Brentwood Union School District,Walnut Creek School District,City of Pittsburg,City of Concord, and Pittsburg Unified School District. 2. FIND that the Clerk-Recorder has made progress over the past year that will accommodate consolidations in the following ways: a. The increased number of ballot cards will require additional vote counter stations. Due to space limitations and the capacity of the current:Data General computer,the Clerk has secured 6 additional machines from Multnomah County,Oregon for 20%of new cost. In addition,the Clerk has acquired a P.C.based tally system(B.C. WIN)that will allow for these machines to be used. (This option was not available in 1997. Contra Costa was the first county to try this system out. It has since been successfully certified by the Secretary of State and installed in Riverside County.) 3. CONSIDER the following qualitative issues which are expected to result from the requested consolidation(s): a. Vii . With the new B.C. WIN system and a new streamlined ballot delivery system,ballots will arrive and be counted quicker than in the past. It should be noted that with consolidation, a slower vote count will take place than without consolidation. b. . More staffing will be needed to run consolidated elections. However, the demand for that staff will go down in odd numbered years. We are concerned about having trained temporary staff. Mr.Denton believes that we can bring on temporary staff early enough to train them for each election. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE: „„_RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE _APPROVE —OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED OTHER_ VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS I5 A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD AYES: NOES: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ABSENT. ABSTAIN: ATTESTED Phil Batchelor,Clerk of the Board of cc: Supervisors and County Administrator BY DEPUTY Page 2,attachment to Board Order July 16, 1998 Election Consolidation Request C. VgIer J= . While turnout at a general election is higher than the turnout at an"off year"election,high voter turnout and,long ballots result in long lines at the polls and"voter drop-off'towards the end of the ballot and on issues on the backs of some ballot cards. Many voters have chosen to vote absentee as an attractive alternative to waiting in long lines at the polls. Providing absentee ballots is a costly alternative as the County must process the application,mail the ballots, and process the returned ballots, which includes checking the signature on every ballot returned. The inevitable increase in absentee ballots will exacerbate the already lengthy time it takes to determine the official results of an election. The tallying of absentee ballots delays the official canvass and,in the case of a close race, (as the one that occurred in the 1996 General Election)can leave the winner undetermined for several weeks. d. Long!,R=gr.S,tfL S12are and CaWtalPla�?nIng. The Elections Office has gone through a lengthy and successful reorganization. Defining areas of responsibility and providing additional training have resulted in a more professional office. Long term space needs are being addressed at this time although there is not a defined solution at this time. With the new B.C. WIN tally system and the potential for moving towards a P.C. based election operation,we feel comfortable that we will not need to replace our election software or our hardware in the foreseeable future. 4. ACKNOWLEDGE that the Clerk-Recorder attempted to find a way to "work with local agencies to develop a fee structure that does not penalize agencies which choose to hold elections in the odd-numbered years." While this issue was a directive of a 1997 Board Order, County Counsel has found that the Clerk cannot structure a pricing mechanism that would favor one election year over another. 5. ACKNOWLEDGE that with consolidations off of odd numbered years onto even numbered years,revenues will go down significantly for odd year elections and will go up slightly for even numbered year elections. (This issue will not have an impact on budget years 1997-98 nor 1998-99. The first impact will be noticed in budget year 1999- 2000. It is not possible to determine the impact at this time until the full impact of consolidation is considered. However,it is safe to assume that when a major district moves its election off of the November,odd numbered year, any district that remains on that ballot will have to pay a higher election charge. There will be increased pressures for many districts to fallow suit and request consolidation.) 6. ACKNOWLEDGE amortization of the cost of equipment identified in item 1 (above) over a five year period(Elections in November, 2000, 2002, and 2004)and the spreadd of those costs among those agencies seeking consolidation Gaff of November, odd numbered years onto November, even numbered.years. This funding proposal was approved by the Board of Supervisors on March 24, 1998. BACKGRC#MD: After lengthy discussions in March, 1997,the Board denied eight requests for consolidation upon the recommendation of the Clerk-Recorder. The Berard directed the Clerk to work with the districts to see if a way could be found to equalize costs between even and odd years. Based upon a November, 1997 County Counsel Opinion,the Clerk and the County are restricted in the manner in which election billings can be formulated. The Board also asked the Clerk-Recorder to review capital and space requirements. The Clerk has determined that with the exception of expanding the inserting!capacity of the Elections Office, all other concerns have been, or will be addressed. Now Liberty Union High School District,Orinda Union School District;Brentwood Union School District,Walnut Creep School District,City of Pittsburg, City of Concord, and Pittsburg Unified School District have formally, and several cities,special, and school districts have informally approached our office about requesting consolidation onto the November,even number year elections. ........... ............................. IM .......... ................. ........... ...... ..... 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