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2023.03.10_CB_Agenda_Regular TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH 2023 MUNICIPAL GENERAL ELECTION MARCH 14, 2023 • CANVASSING BOARD MEETING AGENDA Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Date: March 10, 2023 Service Center Time: 11:30 AM 7835 Central Industrial Dr. Riviera Beach, Florida 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Review publication for the Notice of Public Meeting 4. Review Minutes of: Pre-Election Canvassing Board Meeting - February 22, 2023 Logic and Accuracy Test - March 03, 2023 5. Rules of conduct for the Canvassing Room - Phones - Photography/recordings of any kind - Standards of Conduct - Public Inspection Objection Procedures - Removal Policies for Violations 6. Review of Duties of Canvassing Board 7. Commence with the canvassing (opening, duplication, tabulation) of vote-by-mail ballots 8. Other Business 9. Adjourn Posted: 03/08/2023 I DRAFT TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH 2023 MUNICIPAL GENERAL ELECTION • MARCH 14, 2023 PRE-ELECTION CANVASSING BOARD MEETING MINUTES Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Date: February 22, 2023 Service Center Time: 2:00 PM 7835 Central Industrial Dr. Riviera Beach, Florida 1. CALL TO ORDER Town Clerk Gaskins called the meeting to order at 2.09 p.m., followed by roll call. The public notice of the meeting was confirmed and attached to the agenda. 2. PRESENT UPON ROLL CALL Town Clerk Lanelda Gaskins, Chairperson Vice Mayor Natasha Moore, Canvassing Board Member Commissioner Evalyn David, Canvassing Board Member Administrative Support Specialist Jaclyn DeHart, Canvassing Board Member The Canvassing Board conducted its Pre-election Canvassing Board meeting in conjunction with the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board and the City of Delray Beach Canvassing Board meetings. Please refer to the respective agencies for their meeting minutes. Members of the public were in attendance for the meeting(s). 3. REVIEW LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT FOR NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING The Canvassing Board members reviewed the legal advertisement for the Notice of Public Meeting. MOTION: Commissioner David/Vice Mayor Moore — Moved to approve the Public Notice into the records, which passed unanimously. 4. CANVASSING BOARD SCHEDULE FOR THE MARCH 14, 2023 MUNICIPAL ELECTION The Canvassing Board members discussed the above-referenced along with the Canvassing schedule for the 2023 Uniform Municipal Election to include the potential for recounts and run-off elections. Town of Highland Beach Pre-Election Canvassing Board Meeting Minutes Date: February 22, 2023 Page 2 of 3 MOTION: Town Clerk Gaskins/Commissioner David — Moved to accept the Palm Beach County 2023 Municipal Elections — Canvassing Schedule as presented. The motion passed unanimously. 5. RULES OF THE CANVASSING ROOM The minutes of the Pre-Election Canvassing Board meeting for the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board was provided to each Canvassing Board for review of the Rules of Canvassing Room and the Canvassing Guidelines. Judge Bristow, Chairperson of the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board provided an overview of the Rules of the Canvassing Board as outlined in the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board agenda while referencing their minutes from the 2022 General Election. Deviations from the Rules of the County Canvassing Board as outlined in their 2022 General Election minutes are provided below in bold italics. - Candidates and eligible parties have first preference to canvassing room access due to limited spacing, all others will be located in the public areas with monitored viewing. Due to the small size of the election, there will be audio streamed in the public area. The public may utilize the windows of the canvassing room for viewing if SOE is unable to secure the equipment needed to stream via monitors. - Public Inspection Signature cure affidavits will be made available for public inspection every Friday. Due to the small size of the election, public inspection of cure affidavits will be made available on Tuesday(Election Day) and the following Thursday. Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Link explained the public inspection process. MOTION: Vice Mayor Natasha Moore/Commissioner Evalyn David — Moved to accept the standard of conduct for the Canvassing Room, as presented by the County Canvassing Board. The motion was passed unanimously. Supervisor Link provided a summary of the canvassing guidelines as outlined in the Palm Beach County Canvassing minutes. The Canvassing Board agreed to continue with the guidelines utilized for the 2022 General Election to include the 2022 General Election Canvassing Board Voter Intent Addendum (see attached). Deviations from the Canvassing Guidelines as outlined in the County Canvassing Board 2022 General Election minutes are provided below in bold italics. - Ballot Envelope Signatures—The SOE staff is authorized to verify a voter signature located anywhere on the voter certificate side of the ballot envelope. Signatures located anywhere on the voter certificate side of the ballot envelope will be reviewed by the SOE staff and/or Canvassing Board for signature verification. DRAFT Town of Highland Beach Pre-Election Canvassing Board Meeting Minutes ' Date: February 22, 2023 Page 3 of 3 i - The Canvassing Board authorizes the SOE staff to conduct signature verification and once the signature is accepted, directs the SOE Staff to open and process the ballots. - Canvassing Board Schedule o Canvassing Board schedule for 2023 Municipal Election is attached. MOTION: Vice Mayor Moore/Commissioner David — Moved to accept the Removal Policies for Violations as presented by the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link. The motion passed unanimously. 6. CANVASSING BOARD GUIDELINES MOTION: Town Clerk Gaskins/Commissioner David — Moved to authorize the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections staff to make the signature cure affidavits available for public inspections on Tuesday, March 14, 2023 (Election Day) and the following Thursday, March 16, 2023. The motion passed unanimously. MOTION: Town Clerk Gaskins/Commissioner David — Moved to accept the Canvassing Guidelines as presented by the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board. The motion passed unanimously. MOTION: Town Clerk Gaskins/Commissioner David — Moved to accept the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections 2022 General Election Canvassing Board Voter Intent Addendum, as presented. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 2:48 p.m. Prepared by Lanelda Gaskins DRAFT Attachment No. 1 �SARTORp 02/22/2023 Pre-Election Canvassing Board Meeting ROF �eFgCli cOu �� 2022 General Election November 8, 2022 Thursday, October 6, 2022 Pre-Election Canvassing Board Meeting (Revised) 3:30 pm (Minutes prepared by Debi Mackey) Present: Judge Bristow—Canvassing Board Chair Commissioner Marino—Canvassing Board Supervisor Link—Canvassing Board Ashley Houlihan —SOE General Counsel Chairman Bristow called the meeting to order at 3:43 p.m. and proceeded with roll call. The public notice of the meeting was confirmed and attached to the agenda. Minutes from the Canvassing Board Primary Post-Election Audit meeting of September 2, 2022 were presented for review. Chairman Bristow made a motion to accept the minutes and Supervisor Link seconded the motion; motion carried, and the minutes were accepted into the record. Supervisor Link welcomed Chairman Bristow and Commissioner Marino to the Canvassing Board. Introduction of SOE staff members were made. Members of the public attended the meeting. The Canvassing Board discussed the rules of canvassing and standard of conduct as follows: - Phones are to be on silent and prohibited to be used in the canvassing room. - Photography and recordings of any ballots and signatures are not permitted at any time during the election process to include the canvassing room, the viewing tent or during duplication. - Standards of Conduct o Eligible parties as defined under the Statute F.S. 101.572(2) may "object" to a decision of the Canvassing Board. o Eligible parties that may object are the candidate, an authorized designee, a political party official, and a political committee official. o The public may observe the canvassing process; however, the Canvassing Board is not required to take questions or engage in any discussions with the public. o Candidates and eligible parties have first preference to canvassing room access due to limited spacing, all others will be located in the public areas with monitor viewing. o There will be no discussion during the canvassing process. o Any person causing a disruption or breaking the rules of the proceedings will be asked to leave and will be permanently barred for the duration of the election. Wendy Sartory Link Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Attachment No. 1 02/22/2023 Pre-Election Canvassing Board Meeting The Public Inspection is a thirty-minute time slot. o Eligible parties may sign up for Public Inspection 48 hours in advance. o All objection sheets must be returned to SOE staff at the end of the thirty minutes with a five-minute buffer. o SOE staff is willing to make copies of the objection sheet(s) if they are provided to SOE staff within the five-minute buffer period; all others will be rejected. o Signature cure affidavits will be made available for public inspection every Friday. Chairman Bristow made a motion to accept the standard of conduct as outlined above, Commissioner Marino seconded the motion, and the motion was passed unanimously. The Canvassing Board discussed canvassing guidelines as follows: • Household signature mismatch—any signature mismatch for which members of the same household sign the wrong ballot envelope will be counted if both parties have vote-by-mail requests on file, both ballots are received and the signatures match those on record. For orphan ballots (one returned—same household), if accepted, the voting history will be applied to the appropriate voter if there is a vote-by-mail request already on file.All other mismatch ballots will be presented to the Canvassing Board for review. • Ballot Envelope Signatures—The SOE staff is authorized to verify a voter signature located anywhere on the voter certificate side of the ballot envelope • Signature Cure Affidavits—The SOE staff is authorized to accept the ballots for which properly executed signature cure affidavits having the necessary supporting documents and signature requirements received by the cure affidavit deadline. o Tier 1 and Tier 2 documentation does not qualify for public inspection per F.S. 101.572(2). • Signature Verification Training—All SOE staff and Canvassing Board members performing signature verification must have signature verification training and the certificates on file. • Voter Intent Addendum—The Canvassing Board will utilize Rule 1S-2.027 Standard for Determining Voter's Choice on a Ballot and the 2022 General Election Voter Intent Addendum as agreed upon by the Canvassing Board for guidance, with the added discretion of the Canvassing Board to consider any voter selection patterns when determining voter intent. • Signatures on ballot envelopes that were objected to during the enhanced viewing process will be reviewed by the SOE staff. If staff agrees with the objection, a signature cure affidavit will be sent to the voter. If SOE staff disagrees with the objection, then the Canvassing Board will review for determination. • All ballots referred for signature issues that are not cured by the voter will be presented to the Canvassing Board for final determination as the Canvassing Board is the only authority empowered to reject a ballot. Wendy Sartory Link Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections 40 South - Palm Beach, • • • • 00 1 Info@VotePaImBeach.gov • e• i Attachment No. 1 02/22/2023 Pre-Election Canvassing Board Meeting • Under the direction of Chairman Bristow, objections will not be notated in the Canvassing Board minutes. • The Canvassing Board reviewed and updated the Canvassing Board schedule for the November 8, 2022, General Election. Chairman Bristow o Canvassing Board Meetings will start Friday, October 14, 2022 o Monday-Wednesday-Friday are the best days for Canvassing Board Meetings o Alternate judges and commissioners will be needed for the meetings when a member is unavailable o Election Audit will be a manual audit as new software has not been certified Chairman Bristow made a motion to accept the canvassing guidelines and calendar recommendations as presented above, Commissioner Marino seconded the motion, and the motion was passed unanimously. Chairman Bristow made motion to adjourn, Commissioner Marino seconded the motion, and the meeting was adjourned at 5:09 p.m. Wendy Sartory Link Palm Beach County supervisor of Elections Attachment No. 2 02/22/2023 Pre-Election Canvassing Board Meeting r ���-'. Palm Beach County Su�e�riaor aT Elections 2022 General Election CANVASSING BOARD VOTER INTENT ADDENDUM Resolution: Canvassing Board Initials A Candidate A ® Candidate B B Candidate Aj Candidate B C 4& Candidate A — �,��r Candidate B D 40 Candidate A B E 449;9alididate A f • Candidate B F CX Candidate A ,:, Candidate B G 0 Candidate A 0 Candidate B Page 1 Attachment No. 2 02/22/2023 Pre-Election Canvassing Board Meeting �'=�`r Palm Beach County suuervisar at Etectiens 2022 General Election CANVASSING BOARD VOTER INTENT ADDENDUM Resolution: Canvassing Board Initials A Candidate A Q Candidate B B 40 Candidate A CN�_,r V� Candidate B S C Q Candidate A REP _ C) Candidate B DEM D Candidate A • Candidate B E Candidate A 0 Candidate B F ® Candidate A �— Uc Candidate B /hL G 40 _nark _ 40 Candidate B Page 3 Attachment No. 2 • 02/22/2023 Pre-Election Canvassing Board Meeting ��_w°'� Palm Beach County Supervisor of Electlans 2022 GENERAL Election CANVASSING BOARD VOTER INTENT ADDENDUM Resolution: Canvassing Board Initials A Can i to A *k- _ Can to B B ® Cand d e A Can i to B C ® Candidate A ® Candidate B D Q Candidate A Q Candidate B E Q Candidate A Q Candidate B F Q Candidate A Q Candidate B G Q Candidate A Q Candidate B Page 5 DRAFT TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH 2023 MUNICIPAL GENERAL ELECTION MARCH 14, 2023 • LOGIC AND ACCURACY TEST MINUTES Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Date: March 03, 2023 Service Center Time: 10:00 AM 7835 Central Industrial Dr. Riviera Beach, Florida This meeting was held in conjunction with the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board and the City of Delray Beach Canvassing Board meetings. 1. CALL TO ORDER Town Clerk Gaskins called Logic and Accuracy Test to order at 10:00 AM followed by roll call. 2. ROLL CALL Lanelda Gaskins, Chairperson Jaclyn DeHart, Canvassing Board Member Also present was the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board Members and Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) Wendy Sartory Link. 3. REVIEW LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT FOR NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING Town Clerk Gaskins confirmed the publication of the Notice of Public Meeting. 4. COMMENCE LOGIC AND ACCURACY TEST FOR THE 2023 MUNICIPAL ELECTION Town Clerk Gaskins directed the SOE staff to commence with the Logic and Accuracy (L&A) Test. Supervisor Link introduced the SOE staff assigned to participate in the L&A testing. Mr. Hector Lugo, Voting Equipment Manager and Mr. William Montoya, Tabulation Manager provided an overview of the L&A Test procedures. The L&A Testing commenced at 10:13 A.M. During testing, the Canvassing Board observed the L&A process. Upon completion of the test, the Canvassing Board regrouped in the canvassing room to review the results at 11:20 A.M. Town of Highland Beach Canvassing Board Logic and Accuracy Test Minutes Date: March 03, 2023 Page 2 of 2 The SOE staff publicly tested one hundred and three (103) DS200s, four (4) DS850s and ten (10) ExpressVotes. The Canvassing Board was presented with the zero reports and the pre and post testing reports for comparison; it was confirmed that the results matched. MOTION: Administrative Support Specialist Jaclyn DeHart/Town Clerk Gaskins — Moved to accept the results into the record. The motion passed unanimously, and the results were accepted into the record. Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link introduced the SOE staff. Each staff member provided an overview of their role as it relates to the Logic and Accuracy Test. The SOE staff conducted the Logic and Accuracy Test. Testing began at 10:06 A.M. and concluded at 11.20 A.M. 5. DIRECT THE PALM BEACH COUNTY SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS TO HAVE STAFF TO COMMENCE WITH THE CANVASSING (OPENING, DUPLICATION, TABULATION) OF VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOTS The SOE Staff to commence with the canvassing of vote-by-mail ballots. Supervisor Link confirmed the staff will began canvassing vote-by-mail ballots on March 10, 2023 as noted in the Canvassing Board Schedule that has been publicly noticed by the SOE. 6. REVIEW MINUTES OF THE PRE-ELECTION CANVASSING BOARD MEETING OF FEBRUARY 22, 2023 Town Clerk Gaskins removed the Minutes of the Pre-election Canvassing Board Meeting of February 22, 2023 from the agenda and will place them on the March 10, 2023 meeting agenda for review. 7. REVIEW THE RULES OF CONDUCT FOR THE CANVASSING ROOM - Phones - Photography/recordings of any kind - Standards of Conduct - Public Inspection Objection Procedures - Removal Policies for Violations 8. OTHER BUSINESS - Ballots with overlunder votes The Palm Beach County Canvassing Board discussed the handling of true undervote ballots and recommended that all undervote ballots be presented to the Canvassing Board for review. After that, we concurred with the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board recommendation. 9. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 11:29 A.M. DRAFT