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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHCBOE-October 16, 2007-Canvass Board MeetingHARNETT COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS CANVAS BOARD MEETING MINUTES October 16, 2007 11:00a.m. Present were William Randall, Chairman, Secretary Walt Titchener, and Member Walter Massey. Also present were Director Sherre Toler, News Reporter Steve Reed, County Attorney Jennifer Slusser, Deputy Claudette Williams, James Clark, Erica Gallion, and Walt Temple. Mr. Randall called the meeting to order at 11:00a.m. Ms. Toler stated that there was a protest from James Clark, former mayoral Write - In candidate for the 2007 Dunn Municipal Election. Ms. Toler gave each board member a copy of the protest and asked them to read over it. She further stated that Attorney Jennifer Slusser will address the board on how to proceed. Mr. Titchener asked Mr. Clark to read or explain the protest to them. Mr. Clark stated that in his complaint "Minority" is not based on color, but distance of the present location of the East Averasboro Polling place as the basis of his protest. He stated that he wasn't trying to change the votes, just the location of the polling place. Mr. Clark stated that he was willing to pay whatever money it took to change the location of the present polling place to a more centralized location. He mentioned the streets of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus and said that remote citizens cannot easily get to the precinct. Mr. Clark also stated that citizens on Stafford and Peace St. are not typical of where Senior Citizens and Minorities live. He further quoted "The polling place should be in the center for Senior Citizens. Let them know how important they are while they are living." Mr. Massey asked Mr. Clark if he wanted the polling place changed for minorities and Mr. Clark stated "Yes". Attorney Slusser stated that Department of Justice approved the present site in November 2003. Attorney. Slusser gave Mr. Clark, Ms. Toler and all board members a copy of the letter from DOJ. Attorney Slusser advised the board to decide on whether the protest was properly filed and determined if there is probable cause. She stated the protest must be in writing, signed and name, address and phone number must be on it. Ms. Toler stated that choosing a polling place is a difficult task. She stated that one cannot put a polling place within walking distance of each voter. She stated that the State Board of Elections advocated using Public facilities and to use private facilities as a last resort. Ms.Toler also explained the HAVA requirements for choosing a Polling Place. She explained why the Fire Station was changed to the current location. She stated that at the Fire Station there were not enough parking spaces. The door was not wide enough for a wheel chair to enter without extra maneuving to get it in. The bay windows had to be raised to gain a more easy access. Inside the Fire Station the grates on the floor had to be covered for safety reasons. Ms. Toler also stated that the Civic Center which was a previous location was in such despair beyond repair and the building has been condemned. There was already a lot of traffic from the two schools located across the street. Ms. Toler also told of the other different ways a voter can vote if they cannot make it to the polls. She stated there was Absentee voting by mail, One Stop Voting at the office in Lillington during certain times and Curbside Voting in place. Mr. Clark asked if it was rebuttal time? Mr. Randall stated "Yes". Mr. Clark said that the center of town should be like a "Finish Line" for Senior Citizens. Time will swallow us all up. If we can send an astronaut to the moon why not give the Senior Citizens a place where they can vote." He said he was not being sarcastic. He stated that we will be Senior Citizens ourselves one day and time will swallow us up. Mr. Randall advised Mr. Clark that it would cost approximately $10,000 for another site for satellite voting. Mr. Randall asked for a motion. He asked board members if they believed the protest as filed was in order. Mr. Massey made a motion that the protest was filed in order. Mr. Titchener seconded the motion. Approved without dissent. Mr. Massey made a motion that there was "Not Probable Cause" to believe that the location of the polling place was improper. Mr. Titchener seconded. The complaint was dismissed without dissent. Mr. Randall advised Mr. Clark that if he disagrees with the decision he can appeal to the State Board of Elections. James Clark thanked the board for being "very generous" and that more people should come here. Mr. Clark stated that Harnett County Board of Elections ranks "high at the top of the list." He left shortly after his statement. Attorney Jennifer Slusser also left the meeting at that time. Ms. Toler started the canvassing for the October 9, 2007 Municipal Elections for Dunn and Erwin. She told the board of the hand/eye recount for East Averasboro precinct. She told the board how the State Board of Elections randomly selects a precinct after each election to do a hand/eye recount. Mr. Titchener asked Ms. Toler to explain the procedure at the polls for making a copy of the tape. Ms. Toler stated that only 2 tapes are printed. She stated that they cannot print a tape for everyone who wants a copy. She stated that poll workers are told to tell them that they can pick up a copy of the tapes from the Board of Elections office in Lillington. Mr. Titchener said that he "was impressed". Ms. Toler stated there were 347 Ward 5 ballots given out at the polls which matched the ATV total. She stated one went in the wrong machine, but was the correct ballot given out. She stated there were 1,781 votes cast in the Dunn Election and she was pleased with the outcome of the audit. Mr. Titchener wanted to know why there were 2 machines used for one Precinct? Ms. Toler told of the requirement for Demographics was from the SBOE and that it was also mandated. Ms. Toler stated there were no Erwin Provisionals and that every vote on the machine and ATV form matched. She stated there were 41 Provisionals for Dunn, 8 of those were on the poll books, and only 19 were valid provisionals. Out of the 41 Provisionals 20 were not registered, 19 approved, and 2 were partially approved. Mr. Massey made a motion to approve the valid provisionals for consideration and Mr. Titchener seconded the motion. Approved without dissent. Mr. Massey made a motion to reject the non -valid provisionals and Mr. Titchener seconded the motion. Approved without dissent. Ms. Toler asked Walt Temple and Claire Jones to get the machine ready for the Provisional ballots to be entered. Steve Reed inquired about the counting of Provisional ballots. Ms. Toler stated that there wasn't a write in tally sheet for Dunn and the board would have to do one. Mr. Titchener asked about voters registering and voting on Election Day. Ms. Toler stated that only military can register and vote on Election Day. She explained that the new law applies only to one -stop voting. Steve Reed asked for an email of the Official results and thanked the board for their professional and courteous treatment to Mr. Clark. The Board proceeded to opening the Provisional ballots and out stacks for East and West Averasboro. Mr. Massey made a motion to accept the names on the Write -In and Mr. Titchener seconded the motion. Approved without dissent. Ms. Toler tallied the sheets and asked the each Board member to sign them. She gave the Board members Erwin's tally sheet and had them sign them also. She gave the tally sheets to Walt Temple to record them. Ms. Toler stated that Carnell Robinson want the Board to send a letter to Teresa Sloan-Oudeh apologizing for the mishap at on Election Day when allegedly the wrong total was read for Mrs. Sloan-Oudeh. The Board unanimously agreed to reject the request by Mr. Robinson. Mr. Titchener asked if we scored each polling place after each Election. Ms. Toler also stated that the Chief Judge wanted more pay for the October 9 Election in Dunn. She stated that she would give an increase. Walt Temple presented the final and Official results for the October Municipal Elections for Dunn and Erwin. It was signed by Chairman William Randall, Secretary Walt Titchener and Member Walter Massey. The next meeting is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on October 16, 2007. However, Ms. Toler advised that she had not yet received the disk necessary to do machine testing and therefore no absentee ballots had been mailed. As a result, the next meeting of the Board will be on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. Mr. Massey made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Titchener seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 1:35 p.m. Appr e William Randall, Chairman Welt Titchener, Secretary alter Massey And now after preliminary consideration on October 16, 2007 of a protest filed by Mr. James Clark, a write-in candidate for Mayor of Dunn, the Board finds as follows: 1. The protest was properly filed pursuant to N.C. 163-182.9 in that: a. The protest is in writing and signed by the protestor; b. It includes the protestor's name, address and telephone number and a statement that the person is a registered voter in the jurisdiction or a candidate; and, 2. The protest concerns an irregularity other than the manner in which the votes were counted and is stated in the protest, specifically that the polling place is allegedly discriminatory against minorities and senior citizens as it is not centrally located in the City of Dunn; and, 3. The protest specifically states the remedy the protester is seeking, specifically declaring the election null and void. After comments from the protestor, Mr. Clark, Ms. Toler, Director of Elections, and a review of documents, including the approval of the polling place by the Department of Justice, the Board finds that there is no probable cause to believe that a violation of election law or irregularity or misconduct has occurred. The Harnett County Board of Elections unanimouUilliam miss p otest. dal , Chas an Titchener, Secretary U a ter sey, embe 4a ter Filed on: October 23, 2007 at 5:30 p.m. C