HCBOE Board Meeting Minutes- January 7, 2020- Regular MeetingHARNETT COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS
REGULAR MEETING
JANUARY 7, 2020
4:00 P.M.
Present were; Board Chair Tony Spears, Members: Steve Blackburn, Betsy McCormick and Lin
Coker
Also Present were; Director Claire Jones and Deputy Director Claudette Williams
Mr. Spears called the meeting to order at 4:00pm with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Minutes:
The Board reviewed the minutes from December 3, 2019. Mr. Blackburn moved to approve the
minutes. Mr. Coker seconded. Approved without dissent.
Business:
The Board was notified of Joey Powell's resignation from the Board via email on December 5,
2019. Mrs. Jones informed the Board that as of today there has not been a replacement named by
the Party Chair.
Mrs. Jones submitted to the Board a list of 2019 Board of Elections Accomplishments, attached
hereto.
The Board reviewed the Election Calendar for the March Primary. After some discussion the
Board was made aware of a few conflicts with the SBOE conference and regular and absentee
meeting dates/times. The Board amended the calendar by moving and combining the regular
Board meeting on February 4 with the one on February 11, at 5:00pm, and also moving and
combining the regular meeting on March 3 at 4:00 with the Absentee meeting at 5:00pm that
same day. Mrs. McCormick moved to approve the calendar as amended. Mr. Coker seconded.
Approved without dissent.
The Board was informed of several accommodations by Election Staff, County Admin and the
Heritage Village apartment manager, which would be made to support a successful March
Primary.
• All Board meetings for this election cycle will be held at the County Admin office in
Conference Room A.
• Additional storage space at the County Admin Office.
• Election Staff may park at apartment complex during Early Voting.
• The Election office was rearranged to make voting easier for voters.
• County Admin will supply Porta-Johns for Election office and Western Harnett High
School for electioneers. Erwin has 24 hour access to bathrooms at City Hall.
Mr. Spears suggested that County Admin should put an additional light at the back door for
when Chief Judges return supplies at night. Mr. Spears also suggested that we get reserved
parking signs to use at the apartment complex.
Mrs. Jones Reported to the Board:
• Absentee by mail begins January 13, 2020
• SBOE Conference is February 3 and 4
• Staff is preparing election worker training
Mrs. McCormick expressed concern over voters being confused with the change in law that
photo ID is no longer required. She suggested creating a mailing and sending it to all registered
voters. Mrs. Jones expressed concern that a county wide mailing could be expensive. Mrs. Jones
stated she would get an estimate of the price, but also suggested some cheaper options such as
including a mailing with County Water bills and additional newspaper coverage.
With no further business to discuss, Mr. Coker moved to adjourn. Mrs. McCormick seconded.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:55 pm.
The next meeting of the Board will be a regular/absentee meeting on February 11, 2020 at 5:00
pm at the County Admin Building.
Approved by:
Tony pears, Chairman
Secretary
Steve Blackburn, Member
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Betsy McCormick, Member
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Lin Coker, Member
Harnett
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NORTH CAROi_INA
Harnett County Board of Elections
2019 CALENDAR YEAR REVIEW
• In January 2019, a Department of Homeland Security representative met with Claire
Jones and other department representatives to perform a review on building security
and current election processes.
• Director Claire Jones, submitted the department's annual budget for the 2019-2020
fiscal year and its current Capital Improvement Plan.
• Deputy Director Claudette Williams, Election Technician Jeni Harris, and GIS
Specialist Elizabeth Goughnour successfully created a new and improved online voter
search tool.
• In July 2019, completed candidate filing for the 2019 Municipal Elections for Angier,
Coats, Dunn, Erwin and Lillington.
• In July 2019, all four team members and all five board members attended the NC
State Board of Elections training in Raleigh/Durham to review law changes, election
processes, and security updates.
• Election Technician, Jeni Harris, successfully fulfilled the requirements and passed
the exam through the North Carolina State Board of Elections to obtain her
certification as a Certified Election Administrator. Now ALL staff members at the
Board of Elections are certified.
• Held two public Voter ID Seminars August 20th and 22°d in cooperation with the NC
State Board of Elections.
• Director Claire Jones volunteered to travel to Carteret County and assisted the interim
Director with conducting their September Election due to storm damage from
Hurricane Dorian.
• Improved training PowerPoints and handout materials for Election Workers.
Conducted multiple in -person Election Worker classes for hands-on experience and
offered online resources through the department's Election Worker blog site
(http://hamettelectionstaffing.blogspot.com\). Trained and organized placement of
over 60 Election Workers for the 2019 Elections
Director Claire Jones and Election Technician Jeni Harris attended a regional election
equipment demonstration in Mecklenburg County followed by the National Guard's
cybersecurity training in Cabarrus County.
• Voter outreach was conducted through multiple fall events throughout Harnett
County
Harnett County Board of Elections
• Successfully maintained One Stop/Early Voting location at Board of Elections office
for both October and November election dates.
Conducted 2019 Municipal Elections in Harnett County with only one full day
between finalizing the October Elections and beginning One-Stop/Early Voting for
the November elections.
• October Elections for Dunn and Erwin municipalities:
Overall Voters: 939, Total Registered Voters: 7,193 (% Voter Turnout: 13.05)
• November Elections for Angier, Coats, and Lillington municipalities:
Overall Voters: 635, Total Registered Voters: 5,619 (% Voter Turnout: 11. 3 0)
• Conducted post -election audits and state -mandated sorts thoroughly and efficiently
• Deputy Director, Claudette Williams, has continued to update the election
department's address database for our SEIMS program with the help of the Harnett
County GIS department. US Congressional districts were updated in December 2019
for all 74,000+ registered voters.
• Candidate filing was successfully held for the 2020 Primary and General Elections
between 12/02/ 19-12/20/ 19.
• Processed and verified 12,174 voter registrations and updates between 01/01/19-
12/31/19. This number does not include incomplete registration forms received
during this period. Regular removals due to felony sentences, deaths, and state -
reported voter relocations were also processed separately.
• In December 2019, two staff members graduated with Bachelor Degrees. Director
Claire Jones with a Public Administration degree from the University of NC
Pembroke, and Election Technician Jeni Harris with an Information Technology
Management degree from Campbell University.
• Reorganization of the BOE building and storage cages has been initiated in
anticipation of the office being used as an early voting site for 2020 elections.
Voters as of 0110112019: 77,408
Voters cis of112/2812019: 74,298
Joseph W. Powell, Jr.
600 East E Street
Erwin, NC 28339
December 5, 2019
Mrs. Claire Jones, Director
Harnett County Board of Elections
Lillington, NC 27546
Dear Director Jones:
Please accept my resignation from the Harnett County Board of Elections, effective
immediately. I am resigning to file as a candidate for elected office.
I have enjoyed my tenure on the board and appreciate the hard work performed by
you and your staff to insure fair elections in Harnett County.
I wish you, your staff, and the board my very best.
Sincerely,
7oeyPell
0 5 2013