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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 05181999 - C112 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS a Contra FROM: Stephen L.Weir, County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters Costa DATE: May 11, '1999 County SUBJECT: Consolidation of Diablo Community Services District Elections with Statewide General Elections SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATIONS(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: 1. APPROVE request of the Diablo Community Services District to consolidate elections with Statewide General Elections subject to item 6 (below), amortization of mail inserter equipment costs. 2. FIND that the Clerk - Recorder has made progress over the past year that will accommodate consolidations in the followings 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 six (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. Timeliness. 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. Accuracy. Additional extra staffing help will be needed to conduct consolidated elections. However, the demand for the staff will go down in odd number years. There are concerns about having trained temporary staff; however, we believe that we can bring on temporary staff early enough to train them for each election. z CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE: { RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE =APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): r ACTION OF BOARD ON 18s L9_9 9 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED XX OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE XX UNANIMOUS{ABSENT — ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: Clerk-Recorder Department ATTESTED M a V 18 , 19 q 9_ PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR M382 (10188) -r--,- 10188) f� r BY 1 & i DEPUTY r Attachment to Board Order Page 2 Election Consolidation Request C. Voter Impact. 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 ballots and 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, can leave the winner undetermined for several weeks. d. Long-Mange Staff, Space and Capital Planning. 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 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.G. base elections operations, 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 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 1999-2090. 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 follow suit and request consolidation.) 6. ACKNOWLEDGE amortization of the cost of equipment identified in item I (above) over a five year period (Elections in November, 2000, 2002 and 2004) and the spread of those casts among those agencies seeking consolidation off of November, odd numbered years onto November, even numbered years. This funding proposal was approved by the Board of Supervisors on March 24, 1998. BACKGROUND: After lengthy discussions in March, 1997, the Board denied eight requests for consolidation upon the recommendation of the Clerk - Recorder. The Board 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 Council 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. The Diablo Community Services District has filed a request with our office to consolidate with the even number year elections.