RESOLUTION NO. 6–99
A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE WRITTEN PLAN
FOR THE CONDUCT OF A MAIL BALLOT ELECTION
IN THE CITY OF GRAND JUNCTION FOR THE
APRIL 6, 1999 REGULAR MUNICIPAL ELECTION
RECITALS.
The City Council for the City of Grand Junction has determined that the regular municipal election scheduled for April 6, 1999 will be conducted by mail ballot.
The City Clerk and the County Clerk will conduct the mail ballot election jointly, pursuant to an Intergovernmental Agreement approved by the City Council on January 6, 1999 and signed by the City and County.
The Mail Ballot Election Code, 1-7.5-101 et seq, C.R.S., specifically section 105, requires that the designated election official “shall notify the secretary of state no later than fifty-five days prior to the election. The notification shall include a proposed plan for the conducting the mail ballot election, . . .”
The Secretary of State has promulgated rules as to what is to be included in the plan.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GRAND JUNCTION THAT:
The attached “Written Plan for the Conduct of a Mail Ballot Election” be approved for the April 6, 1999 Regular Municipal Election and that the City Clerk be directed to submit such plan to the Secretary of State.
Approved this 20th day of January, 1999.
/s/ Janet L. Terry
President of the Council
ATTEST:
/s/ Stephanie Nye
City Clerk
WRITTEN PLAN FOR THE CONDUCT OF A
MAIL BALLOT ELECTION
SUBMITTED BY: Stephanie Nye, CMC/AAE, City Clerk
ELECTION ADMINISTRATOR FOR: City of Grand Junction
1. LEGAL NAME OF JURISDICTION: City of Grand Junction
2. TYPE OF JURISDICTION: A Home Rule Municipality
3. DESCRIPTION OF ELECTION TO BE HELD: Regular Municipal Election
4. AUTHORITY TO HOLD THIS ELECTION: §31-10-101 et seq., C.R.S. and Article II, Secs. 3 through 25, City of Grand Junction Charter
5. ESTIMATED NUMBER OF ELECTORS: 26,000 registered voters, no property owners other than registered voters are qualified to vote in this election.
6. NAME OF CHIEF ELECTION ADMINISTRATOR: Stephanie Nye, City Clerk
7. COUNTY CLERK AND RECORDER WILL: (1) Provide alphabetic registration lists by district for candidate petition verifications, (2) Appoint and train all election judges and deputy clerks, (3) prepare and mail ballots packets, including absentee ballots, (4) receive and process all returned ballots, and (5) count and tabulate votes. The City Clerk has by Intergovernmental Agreement delegated and transferred to the County Clerk all power, authority and duties of a designated election official for this municipal election. In summary, the City Clerk will work with candidates for election and certify the ballot to the County Clerk. At that point, the County Clerk will take over responsibility for the election. The City Clerk will resume responsibility once the votes have been tabulated.
8. NUMBER OF PLACES OF DEPOSIT: Five – see list attached as Exhibit “A”
9. IF BALLOT PACKETS ARE RETURNED AS UNDELIVERABLE: Undeliverable ballots will be tallied/recorded on the DAILY RECONCILIATION OF MAIL BALLOTS (see Exhibit “B”), entered as “U” on the ballot distribution database, alphabetically slotted into trays marked “Undeliverable”, and secured in a locked area accessible only by election judges/deputy clerks. These ballots will not be remailed, but may be reissued to any addressee appearing in person at the Mesa County Elections Office, upon presentation of proper identification of registered elector and address.
10. HOW POSTAGE WILL BE HANDLED FOR BALLOT PACKETS RETURNED AS UNDELIVERABLE: Ballots will be mailed in accordance with both USPS and state statutory requirements, each envelope bearing “ADDRESS SERVICES REQUESTED – DO NOT FORWARD”. This will guarantee return of “undeliverable” envelopes to the Mesa County Elections Office. If a new address is identified by the yellow USPS label, the Elections Division will comply with C.R.S. 1-2-605(5).
11. PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH STATUTES AND RULES INCLUDING NAMES OF THOSE RESPONSIBLE:
a) Planning and procedural meetings will be held involving the County Clerk, the Elections Director, the Election Division staff, the City Clerk and City Clerk staff – Deputy Clerk Teddy Martinez and Administrative Secretary Christine English. Title 1, Article 7.5 C.R.S. and the Secretary of States Rules and Regulations will be reviewed and explained for implementation and administration of the state’s mail ballot process. The State Statutes and the rules and regulations will be administered under the direct supervision of Shirley Tucker, County Director of Elections and Stephanie Nye, the City Clerk. County Election Division staff Amy Storm-Farley and Janet Williams will oversee temporary staff.
b) Coordination and printing of any TABOR NOTICE will be performed by Shirley Tucker in accordance with Article X, Section 20(3)(b), with a mailing date no later than March 5, 1999. Absentee mail ballot applications will be processed for mail distribution on the date required by law and in accordance with the appropriate regulations. Janet Williams will process and issue absentee ballots.
c) Mail ballot packets for each eligible voter will be prepared and mailed no later than March 22, 1999 to all “active voters” that did not request absentee ballots. The ballot distribution system is fully automated for issue, receipt and tracking of ballots. Amy Storm-Farley will oversee this process.
d) Each business day, ballot envelopes received or returned to the Elections Office will be date-stamped and tallied for recordkeeping. Each envelope will then be preliminarily verified (first verification) for completion of necessary information (including name, date of birth, address, signature) and voter eligibility. The automated pollbook will be updated daily for each ballot received, indicating by code either accepted, rejected or undeliverable. Accepted ballot envelopes will be deposited into a “dated” and sealed ballot box. Rejected or undeliverable ballot envelopes will be filed alphabetically in trays in a locked room in a secured facility. Daily receipt, coding and securing of ballots will include those collected from each of the five designated drop off locations (see Exhibit “C” – BRANCH OFFICE MAIL BALLOT ACCOUNTING). Responsible persons for this process will be Amy Storm-Farley and Janet Williams, employees of the County Elections Division Office.
e) The official verification of ballots will begin on Friday evening, March 26, 1999, 6:00 p.m. Ballot boxes representing each day’s receipt of accepted ballots shall be opened, the envelopes slit, and the ballot stub number in each envelope checked against the ballot number issued. If acceptable, the ballot stub shall be removed, then the secrecy envelope removed and the ballot shall be placed in a transfer case. In the event a ballot is returned without a secrecy envelope, secrecies will be readily available for the election judge to enclose the ballot before removing it from the envelope. All transfer cases will be sealed, numbers recorded and stored in a secured facility. Amy Storm-Farley and Janet Williams will oversee this aspect of the election.
f) The Mesa County Elections Division designated “distribution site” at the Mesa Mall Office will be open for issue of ballots to “inactive voters”, or the reissue of ballots to those who have spoiled, lost, moved, or for some reason did not receive a ballot, for the period of Thursday, April 1, 1999 to Monday, April 5, 1999, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily and Saturday, April 3, 1999 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Tuesday, April 6, 1999 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Prior to April 1, 1999, these requests will be handled by deputized election judges in the regular Elections Office area.
Anytime that a replacement ballot is issued, or a ballot is issued to an “inactive voter”, a REQUEST FOR BALLOT/REPLACEMENT BALLOT (see Exhibit “D”) sworn statement must be completed, with signatures gathered either in person at the County Elections Office or through the mail. Reissue ballots, or ballots issued to “inactive voters” through the mail will have a mark on their return envelope (next to their signature affirmation) that will immediately alert the election judge that a completed sworn statement must be included with the voted punch card.
12. DESCRIBE PROCEDURES TO ENSURE BALLOT SECURITY:
a) Ballot packages are prepared and stored in secured facilities by Election Division staff. Ballot packages are delivered to mail handler where Election Division staff use the equipment to seal the ballot packages. The packages are then processed in accordance with USPS regulations and state statutory provisions.
b) Ballots punch cards, including pre-distribution and non-issued, will be kept in locked rooms on secured premises at all times. All election materials, ballots, punch cards, ballot boxes, transfer cases and computers will be monitored during utilization by election judges and deputy clerks and placed under double-bolt security each night. The area leased for ballot processing adjoins the existing Elections Office, and Mesa Mall provides regular patrol on foot and by vehicle. Only two keys to the critical ballot and materials areas exist, and those are held by election supervisors. All empty ballot boxes and transfer cases will be witnessed before and during both sealings (first and second verifications), including the recording of seal numbers.
c) Ballot punch cards will be colored according to district for reporting purposes. Possible color schemes include District A – blue, District B – yellow, District C – pink, District D – peach, District E – green. There is only a single ballot for this election so no color-coding is necessary for the ballot itself.
d) At each drop off site (see Exhibit “A”) there will be a locked ballot box. Each day any ballot boxes containing returned ballots will be delivered to the Mesa County Elections Office by sworn election staff.
e) All employees and election judges will be sworn in, affirming their adherence to the election statues, rules and procedures. Observers (or watchers) will need to present completed forms, and the secured area will not be accessible to the cleaning staff during the period of March 5th to April 6th, 1999. Deputies from the Sheriff’s Office will provide escort services to the courthouse when ballots are ready for tabulation, and they will be on the courthouse premises throughout the evening until all ballots have been counted and stored in the vault.
13. DESCRIBE THE PROCEDURES FOR SIGNATURE VERIFICATION: The very day each ballot envelope is received (initial verification), it will be verified for name, address, date of birth, and signature. If a signature cannot be read, the voter’s original signature will be retrieved from microfilm for verification. If any of the foregoing information does not correspond to the ballot issue record or if all information is not provided, the ballot will be rejected for discrepancies. The rejection will be coded on the automated pollbook and the envelope placed in alphabetical order in the “REJECTED” tray, which will be stored in the adjoining, secured facility. Periodic checks of signatures on record will be performed to ensure the integrity of the mail ballot election in the City of Grand Junction.
14. DESCRIBE THE PROCEDURES TO ENSURE SECRECY OF BALLOTS: A secrecy envelope will be enclosed with each punch card mailed to all active voters on March 22, 1999. Voter instructions will specifically ask voters to place the voted punch card in a secrecy envelope when returning the ballot. Punch cards initially received are left in sealed envelopes until the final verification. At the time of final verification, when ballot stubs are removed, each election judge will have secrecy envelopes to slip around any punch card (while it’s still in the envelope) in the event the voter did not place his/her voted card in the secrecy envelope. Ballots rejected with the stub still attached to the punch card will be alphabetized and locked away nightly. Every deputy clerk and election judge will be thoroughly trained on the vital importance and necessity of ballot security.
15. DESCRIBE THE PROCEDURE TO RECONCILE BALLOTS ISSUED, BALLOTS RECEIVED, DEFECTIVE BALLOTS AND SUBSTITUTE BALLOTS:
Reconciliation will occur daily for every ballot issued and every ballot received using the DAILY RECONCILIATION FORM (see Exhibit “B”) and the DAILY RUNNING TALLY (See Exhibit “E”). Reconciliation will be automated as well as manual, and each day’s current status will be available by 8 am the following morning. FINAL DISPOSITION OF BALLOT RECONCILIATION (see Exhibit “F”) will reflect the number of ballots issued and reissued, less the number of ballots accepted, less the number rejected, less the number undeliverable, less the number of ballots returned after the deadline and/or never returned, which will equal the total number of ballots issued. Additionally, a STATEMENT OF BALLOTS (see Exhibit “G”) will be placed in each sealed transfer case to assure verification with tabulation and the canvass board. Many safeguards have been built into the procedures; and yet the ability to immediately explain and /or access any ballot discrepancy will exist. Computer printouts will be compared daily to written copies to ensure tracking accuracy.
DATE OF SUBMISSION:
ELECTION OFFICIAL SIGNATURE:
TITLE:
TIMETABLE ENCLOSED
Exhibit “A”
PLACES TO DEPOSIT MAIL BALLOTS
City Clerk’s Office
City Hall
250 N. 5th Street
Grand Junction, Co. 81501
Mesa County Elections Office
Mesa Mall
2424 Hwy 6 & 50, #414
Grand Junction, Co. 81505
Orchard Mesa County Clerk’s Branch
IVMP
2775 Hwy 50
Grand Junction, Co. 81503
Downtown County Clerk’s Branch
Sheriff’s Office
215 Rice Street
Grand Junction, Co. 81501
Recording Office
Mesa County Courthouse
6th and Rood
Grand Junction, Co. 81501
EXHIBIT B
DAILY RECONCILIATION OF MAIL BALLOTS
April 6, 1999 Today’s date:
1. Total number of ballots received
Information on return envelope verified Yes No
2. Less number ballots rejected in first verification
-insufficient information on return verification envelope
3. Less number ballots rejected in second verification
-ballot number does not match poll book
4. Less reissued ballots pending final receipt of ballots
5. Equals total number ballots approved for final count
1-2-3-4=5
Number of ballots challenged
Spoiled Incomplete Damaged Void Undeliverable
Total rejected ballots
2+3
Hand count Judge’s Int
= 5
Electronic count Judge’s Int
= 5
Seal Number Judge’s Signature:
Seal Number Judge’s Signature
Date of reseal
EXHIBIT C
BRANCH OFFICE MAIL BALLOT ACCOUNTING
April 6, 1999 Regular Municipal Election
Branch Location: Date
Seal Number: Judge’s signature:
Total ballots received
Received by
EXHIBIT D
Request for Ballot Original ballot number
April 6, 1999 Replacement number
Date
I , registered elector of the City of Grand Junction
at
Residence Address City/Town Zip
Request a ballot for the April 6, 1999 Regular Municipal Election for the following reason(s):
I was not issued a ballot due to eligibility (Voter record shown as inactive)
REQUEST FOR REPLACEMENT BALLOT
I have not as of this date received the ballot packet mailed to me
The ballot I received was destroyed or marked incorrectly
I have not voted a ballot issued for this election and I do not intend to vote except by voting this replacement ballot.
The original ballot issued me will not be cast and if the original and the replacement ballot are cast, neither will be counted in this election.
(Rule 10.11.3)
I understand that this sworn statement must be included in the return verification envelope with the marked ballot and must be received by 4:00 p.m. on election day for this replacement ballot to be counted.
SIGN Date of Birth
HERE
STATE OF COLORADO, COUNTY OF MESA, SS:
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN BEFORE ME THIS DAY OF , 1999
Clerk/Deputy/Notary
(Seal)
My Commission expires
EXHIBIT E
DAILY RUNNING TALLY
April 6, 1999 Today’s Date
Number of Original Mailings
Number of spoiled ballots
Number of ballots reissued
Number of ballots issued to inactive voters
Number of ballots received
Number of ballots approved for final count
ACCUMULATIVE TOTALS
1. Number of Original Mailings
2. Number of ballots reissued
3. Number of ballots issued to inactive voters
4. Number of ballots spoiled
Total ballots issued 1+2+3-4=
Total of ballots received
Total rejected ballots -
Total pending ballots -
Total of ballots approved for final count
EXHIBIT F
FINAL DISPOSITION OF MAIL BALLOT ELECTION
ISSUED/REISSUED:
ACCEPTED:
REJECTED:
SPOILED
VOID
INCOMPLETE
DAMAGED
SIGNATURE
UNDELIVERABLE
RETURNED AFTER DEADLINE
NEVER RETURNED
EXHIBIT G
STATEMENT OF BALLOTS
MAIL BALLOT ELECTION
APRIL 6, 1999
MESA COUNTY, COLORADO
DATE OF BALLOT RECEIPT
NUMBER OF BALLOTS RECEIVED
NUMBER OF BALLOTS IN THIS TRANSFER CASE
TRANSFER CASE FOR THIS DAY’S RECEIPTS OF
SEAL #
JUDGES SIGNATURES
TEAMWORK COUNT