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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992 Election Commission MinutesCity of Lansing - Election Commission Minutes of Meeting 9th Floor Conference Room April 27, 1992 PRESENT: James D. Blair, Marion Hahn [arrived at 2:28 P.M.], Alvan Knot, Robert Alim-Young, Marilynn Slade ABSENT: None Meeting was called to order by Chairperson James D. Blair at 2:20 P.M. Motion by Alvan Knot to accept the minutes of the September 24, 1991, meeting with the correction of one typographical error. Carried 2-0. A discussion was held on a proposed lease submitted by Alvan Knot for use in leasing all polling places. Chairperson Blair stated that he felt the lease should contain a "hold harmless" clause for the lessor. Alvan Knot said that the Election Commission members would then be assuming the liability since the Commission is not covered under the City's liability coverage. Alvan Knot suggested that the proposed lease be amended to delete the last sentence of paragraph D which states "Lessor indemnifies and holds harmless the City, its agents, officers and employees from any claim, demand liability or judgment which may occur as a result of Lessor's failure to perform under this paragraph. " Marion Hahn moved for approval of the proposed lease with the removal of the last sentence of paragraph D. Carried unanimously. Chairperson Blair reviewed a memo received from Rob Peck, Director of Data Processing, informing the Commission that they will no longer be budgeting to pay for 'the Unisys technician who maintains the card readers used for processing election results. Motion by Alvan Knot that Mr. Blair be authorized to discuss with the Mayor the possible return of this item to the Data Processing budget. This should be done before the Council action on the budget in case alternative funding of this item is required. Carried unanimously. James Blair also informed the Commission that Business Records Corporation will no longer be providing maintenance agreements for the voter registration software used by the City. Future maintenance will be charged for at an hourly rate and may be handled by other than Business Records Corporation personnel. He also informed the City that the card printers used to tabulate election results have not been manufactured for many years, the only ones available are rebuilt units, and technicians to support them are becoming rare. Within the next ten years, the City will probably be forced to look at replacing the punch card voting system with a newer system. Mr. Blair stated that we should be looking at placing a new system in the CPI long range budget. Chairperson Blair mentioned that, by motion of this Commission, the City Clerk's Office could be designated to conduct the private computer test of each election instead of having the entire Commission present. Motion by Alvan Knot that the City Clerk be authorized to conduct and attend the private test as the Election Commission's representative. Carried unanimously. Chairperson Blair then turned the meeting over to Election Co-ordinator, Robert Alim-Young, who presented the Commission with two plans for consolidation of City voting precincts based upon redistricting approved by federal, state and county jurisdictions. The City Clerk's Office recommends adoption of plan 2 with additional items shown in 2A. This plan would reduce the number of City voting precincts from 88 to 64 for most elections and from 93 to 66 for gubernatorial and presidential elections. This plan takes into consideration voter turnout and facilities considerations and would save the City money. Chairperson Blair stated the Commission should be aware that the consolidation of precincts may not be favorably received by the political parties and by individuals planning to run as precinct delegates. Chairperson Blair stated that he felt a public notice of some sort should be put into the paper so that the public can review the proposed maps and make any comments regarding these maps. Alvan Knot moved that the City Clerk's Office make the proposed maps available to the public and send a notice to the paper of the May 7th Commission meeting at which the City's reapportionment plan is to be adopted. Carried unanimously. Chairperson Blair informed the Commission that there is legislation being planned at the State and federal levels which would force the drawing of precinct lines based upon census track lines. He stated that the State Elections Bureau does not feel such legislation would be adopted in the near future but felt the Commission should be aware of this potential. Chairperson Blair distributed a listing of precinct location changes which have been made so that the City will. be in compliance with the federal handicapper accessibility laws. Chairperson Blair stated he is researching a possible recommendation for an absentee voter "counting board" system for the City in the future. These boards would centrally count absentee ballots. This system would use a paper ballot approach which would be much easier for the absentees to use and should eliminate much of the manual handling of absentees required with the present system. Motion by Alvan Knot that the next meeting of the Commission be scheduled for May 7, 1992, at 1:30 P.M., at which the Commission will adopt a new reapportionment plan. Carried unanimously. Motion by Alvan Knot to adjourn. Carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 3:35 P.M. Respectfully submitted, D. Blair, Chairperson, Elections Commission City of Lansing - Election Commission Minutes of Meeting 9th Floor Conference Room May 7, 1992 PRESENT: James D. Blair, Alvan Knot, Marion Hahn, Robert Alim-Young, Marilynn Slade and Harold Leeman of 529 N. Francis Street ABSENT: None Meeting was called to order by Chairperson James D. Blair at 1:45 P.M. Motion by Alvan Knot to accept the minutes of the April 27, 1992. Motion carried. Alvan Knot stated that he commends Robert Alim-Young and Jim Blair for the good job they did. He also wished to commend the City Clerk for coming up with a plan that is both more efficient and that will save money. Harold Leeman of 529 N. Francis Street stated that he would like to see ward 1, precinct 14 changed to move the 500 block of Clemens Avenue, Fairview Avenue, Magnolia Avenue and Hayford Avenue to ward 1, precinct 8 and leave the balance in ward 1, precinct 14. Motion by Alvan Knot, seconded by Marion Hahn to approve plan 2A as recommended by the City Clerk's Office. Carried unanimously. Motion by Alvan Knot to adjourn. Carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 2:10 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Jq/nes/D. Blair, Chairperson, Election Commission City of Lansing - Election Commission City of Lansing - Election Commission Minutes of Meeting 9th Floor Conference Room May 20, 1992 PRESENT: James D. Blair, Alvan Knot ABSENT: Marion Hahn Meeting was called to order by Chairperson James D. Blair at 2:15 P.M. Motion by Alvan Knot to excuse Marion Hahn from this meeting. Carried unanimously.. Motion by Alvan Knot to amend the minutes of May 7, 1992, by changing line three beginning with "Alvan Knot stated that he... " to replace balance of sentence with "commends Robert Alim-Young and Jim Blair for the good job they did. " He also wished to delete the possessive and say "He also wished to commend the City Clerk for coming up with a plan that is both more efficient and that will save money. " Carried unanimously. Motion by Alvan Knot to approve the amended minutes Meeting adjourned at 2:18 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Jambs D. Blair, Chairperson, Election Commission min Carried unanimously. 6/ CITY OF LANSING - ELECTION CONBUSSION MINUTES OF MEETING 9TH FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM AUGUST 11, 1992 PRESENT: JAMES D. BLAIR, CITY CLERK, CHAIRMAN AL KNOT, CITY ATTORNEY MARION HAHN, CITY ASSESSOR ABSENT: NONE GUESTS PRESENT: LLOYD TEETS RICHARD COLLINS SUZANNE WOOD NEWS REPORTER, WITL RADIO STATION Meeting called to order by Chairman Blair at 3:36 P.M. Motion by Marion Hahn to approve the minutes of the Election Commission meeting held May 20, 1992. Supported by Al Knot, carried unanimously. Discussion was held regarding the letter from Howard Jones objecting to the way his precinct was drawn in the redistricting process. Jim Blair pointed out that Mr. Jones has complained to the wrong party. The lines were drawn according to Federal, State, & County rules. Lloyd Teets protested the location of the polling place within this district, saying it should be more centrally located. Jim Blair said 3/4 of this precinct is General Motors property, and the location of polling places is dictated by availability. At Al Knot's request the City Clerk will write to Mr. Teets giving him direction on who to contact to protest the precinct lines. Jim Blair asked the Commission for a decision regarding the Petitions from Citizens for a Better Lansing. The City Clerk's Office received filings on four separate occasions. The first on August 3, the second on August 4, at 3:15, the third on August 4, at 4:10, the fourth on August 5. The commission must determine whether to accept this as one filing, or as 4 separate filings. Al Knot asked if all of the filings were within 90 days of the date of the election. Jim Blair counted as of August 5, 1992 and 90 days would take it right up to election day. Motion by Al Knot to accept all filings as one. Supported by Marion Hahn, carried unanimously. Jim Blair asked the Commission to determine the number of signatures that are needed. The law requires 5% of the registered voters residing in the City. The Clerks Office requested and received a print out of the registered voters of the City of Lansing as of the date the petitions were filed. The question to be settled is; are the active voters plus the inactive voters the correct total? That number is 107,342, however, the Clerk's Office has received information from the United States Post Office indicating that 5,416 of these people are no longer residing in the City of Lansing. If these people were dropped, the count would come to 101,920 and 5% of that number is 5,096. The City Clerk's Office may have released incorrect information as to the amount of registered voters to representatives from Citizens for a Better Lansing. Motion by Al Knot to accept the figure of 101,920 as the legal figure representing the amount of registered voters residing in the City of Lansing. Supported by Marion Hahn, carried unanimously. Al Knot suggested that the City Clerk's Office stop canvassing the petition signatures. The petitions will be held by the Clerk for one year, in which time Citizens for a Better Lansing will be able to gather more petitions in order to put this issue either on the November 1993 Ballot, or, request a special election. In the ensuing year the validity, or non -validity of some of the signatures may change and the signatures will have to be canvassed again. The Clerk should go through the signatures, count them and verify that they do not have the requisite amount needed to get the issue on the November 1992 ballot. The Commission should release the funds necessary to pay for the temporary help and overtime that has been used in the last two days and the Clerk should report the amount of hours spent at the next Election Commission meeting. Motion by Al Knot to utilize funds to pay for two days of temporary help and overtime used to canvass petitions. Supported by Marion Hahn, carried unanimously. Jim Blair asked for discussion of the memo from Rob Peck regarding the problems at the August 4, 1992 primary election. Marion Hahn suggested that the test run be started at 7:30 to get it over with in plenty of time to run the ballots from the election. Jim Blair suggested that the problem was that the crew that ran the test and ballots on election night is not the same crew that did the other two test runs. It should be the same crew that does the test runs and election night ballots. Al Knot suggested that the Election Commission not recommend payment of the time spent on election night because of the computer malfunction. Motion by Al Knot that the Election Commission recommend non-payment for the 13-2 hours that the computer was down for the August 4, primary election. Supported by Marion Hahn, carried unanimously. Marion Hahn said that the equipment we use is technologically out of date and the Data Processing Department is going to say that we should get rid of the punch card system of voting. Al Knot said that Kent County recently went to an optical scanner system and it is working out very well for them. Jim Blair agreed that these systems work very well, but he informed the Commission, they are very costly. Meeting adjourned at 5:30 P.M. by motion of Alvan Knot. Lansing City Clerk's Office To: James D. Blair - City Clerk +� From: Bob Alim-Young - Election Coordinator V' Date: August 24,1992 Re: Active/Inactive Report produced by Data Processing As per your request I am submitting this memo concerning the fact that the Active/Inactive Report produced by Data Processing still contains the field called "Inactive Voters". When Michigan election law P.A. 142 of 1989 became effective, the law changed the active period for a registered voter from a four year active and then a six year inactive period to just a five year active only period. Our office at that time sent the inactive voters who fell in the five year period of no activity a cancellation notice in mid 1990. After the 30 day cancellation notice was sent the people labeled "Inactive" were kept on the system due to a pending federal law. Called the motor voter, at that time H.R 2190(1990), which would have required our office to keep track of cancelled registered voters and the reason for being cancelled. Since there seemed to be no action on this in congress I submitted a Request for Data Processing Services (RDPS) to data processing on December 2, 199; to remove those voters labeled "inactive". This request was given a priority 2 status. Since then, many priority 1 RDPS's and other urgent request have been made to Data Processing such as clearing voting his;.:ory, barcoding and the Presidential Primary election, redistricting and the NCOA project, which has bumped this request down. Action on this RDPS is eminent and should become effective prior to the November election. I know that you requested a memo on the number of registered voters just prior to my leaving on vacation but I was unable to do so due to time constraints. There was no time to run a special Dargal program to which would have given the accurate numbers. I then requested the active/inactive report through Data Processing, which was received after I left. Little did I know the confusion and confrontations that arose due to the misinterpretation of the active/inactive report would cause during my absence. I am sorry that I was not present to interpret the numbers on the report for you and the Election Commission. I have included a copy of the Election Administration Retorts and the RDPS for background information. R D P S Request for Data Processing Service IDENTIFICATION: Title of Request Remove Inactive Voters from Voter -Info -DS Dept or Div/Phone _City Clerk - Elections 4133 Printed Name/Title _Bob Alin -Young - Election Coordinator Signature/Date: December 2 1991 PRIORITY: 2 DESCRIPTION: A change in election law 168.509 eliminated the "inactive" status of a voter. Currently, a voters status can only be two things, "active" or "cancelled". A voter remains active as long as there is some type of activity at least every 5 years. If there is no activity in the 5 years, the voter is cancelled at the yearly purge (J10U09). Our office would like all registered voters who are labeled "inactive" to be removed from the voter -info -ds. Any programs or reports with inactive voters should be also changed. JUSTIFACATION: [X] Mandated [ ] Health & Safety [ ] Increased Revenue [ ] External Service [ ] Decreased Cost [ ] Internal Service A Lansing voter registration tape is to be provided to Ingham County each February according to Mi. election law 168.509j. This would provide the county with the correct information they need. Date Received: To Be Completed By Data Processing RDPS No: Estimated project size: [ ] Less than 6 mos [ ] Less than 1 yr [ ] Less than 2 yrs 0 tLECTION• The Newsletter for Election Officials . -31CR7�T DMII Mflq TRA Tit 7A L L - RWEF Edroor: Ricnard G. Smoka Volume 20, Number 3, February 6, 1990 Washington Report: The Federal Election Commission January 25 adopted voluntary voting system standards for punchcard, marksense, and direct recording electronic voting devices. Even though states are not required to adopt these standards for conducting computerized elections, seven have already implemented at least some of the standards and others are expected to do so in the near future. A special report on the voluntary voting system standards will appear in the next issue of Election Administration Reports February 19. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PASSES FEDERAL VOTER REGISTRATION BILL The House of Representatives February 6, by a 289-132 vote, passed and sent to the Senate, H.R. 2190, a bill that would mandate the states to perform specific voter registration activities and systematically purge the registry every four years. The bill applies to federal elections after January 1, 1993. If enacted into law, its provisions are expected to be applied by the states to state and local elections as well. On final passage, 221 Democrats and 61 Republicans supported the bill, 24 Democrats and 108 Republicans opposed it. Prior to that vote, the House defeated, by a 291-129 vote, a Republican amendment that would have authorized $120 million dollars bloc grant over three years and made the bill voluntary for the states. Under H.R. 2190, states are mandated to establish a voter registration program to register voters in several ways: simultaneously with an application for a motor vehicle driver's license; by mail; and through a variety of specified state and local government agencies including libraries, city and county clerks, marriage license bureaus,.hunting and fishing license bureaus, post offices, and offices providing public assistance, unemployment compensation and related services. IN THIS ISSUE House of Representatives Passes Voter Registration Bill by 289-132 Vote I 52.-4% of Voters Cast Absentee Ballots In California Assembly Election . 4 Illinois State Election Board Rules Five Off Democratic staee Ballot . -4 Whatcom County, Wash. Honors 800 Fifty Year Voters With Ceremony . 5 Chicago Election Board Sets Rules, Exceptions for Convicts as Judges 6 Almanac of Federal PACs 1990 Offers Detailed Info on ha jor PACs . . . 6 ELECTIONotes . Virginia . New Jersey . . Los Angeles . . . Ohio . . . . 7 Pending Federal Legislation 8 .Election Administration Reports newsletter is published bi-weekly (24 times a year). Correspondence: Election Administration Reports, 5620 33rd Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20015, (202) 2445844. © Copyright 1990 Maric inc. Contents of this publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recordino or otherwise) without prior permission of the publisher. February 6, 1990--- EIFCTION. ADbONISTRATION REPORTS Page 3 funds. Passage of this bill would not guarantee any federal money. That would have to be included in an appropriation bill. The Federal Election Commission is made responsible for coordination of federal functions under the act and is required to submit to Congress every two years a report on the impact of the law together with recommendations for improvements in federal and state procedures, forms and other matters provided by the law. The bill applies to states that have voter registration requirements for federal elections - every state but North Dakota. Any state that eliminated voter registration requirements for federal elections would not be subject to the provisions of this bill. A memo from the Office of Management and Budget opposed H.R. 2190 on the grounds that imposing extensive procedural requirements and related costs on the states has not been justified. The memo also suggested the bill would increase substantially the risk of voter fraud. The administration preferred mandating a two-year verification of voter rolls, maintenance of a purge for non-voting during a four year period, and verification of signatures of persons who register by mail. The bill was approved by the Elections Subcommittee and the full House Administration Committee last Spring. After that, civil rights groups and some Republicans had second thoughts and a long period of negotiation followed which produced several changes in the bill. These changes were incorporated into -the bill which was then sent to the House for a vote with a "modified closed" rule designed to protect the agreement. Under the rule, opponents were permitted to offer only one amendment, which could include several topics, and have that amendment voted up or down. Cosponsors of the bill include the ranking Republican member of the House Administration Committee, William Thomas, R -Cal., Republican whip Newt Gingrich, R -Ga., and the chairman of the Republican Conference, Jerry Lewis, R -Cal. Election Subcommittee Chairman Swift worked with ranking minority member Thomas for several months to compromise differences and believed he had agreement with Republicans on the content of the bill and on the rule which was designed to preserve the compromise. In a sudden turn of events January 26, the Republican House leadership strongly opposed the substance of the bill and the modified closed rule. In debate on the rule, individual Republican members demanded the right to offer amendments. With Republicans abandoning their party negotiators, the modified closed rule was adopted by an almost straight party line vote of 254-166 vote. The Senate is expected to advance and ultimately pass its own version of voter registration legislation, S. 874, which differs from the House bill in at least three major respects: 1) it makes no provision for removing the names of registered voters from the rolls, leaving that to the states; 2) it provides that the Federal Election Commission have a regulatory role in voter registration; and 3) it authorizes no federal funds. Prospects for final enactment of a federal voter registration law depend upon the exact content of the bill, agreement between the House and Senate, and whether the President would veto such legislation. Page 2 FiIE ON ADMINISTRATION REPORTS February 6, 1990 States would be mandated to provide contingency ballots for persons whose names are not on the registration list, which ballots would be counted if registration is verified within ten days after the election. States would be prohibited from removing the names of voters from the rolls for nonvoting, a provision Election Subcommittee Chairman Al Swift, D - Wash. called "a major reform of current practice." The bill also prohibits systematic purges of names from the voter registration list within sixty days prior to a primary or general federal election, a provision attacked by Republicans as an invitation to fraud. A key language revision in the amended version of H.R. 2190 deletes the word "removal" throughout the bill, substituting the word "transfer" when referring to voters whose names are taken off the list of current eligible voters. H.R. 2190 requires states to "transfer" such names to another record. Persons whose names are "transferred," if otherwise still eligible, may vote under specified conditions and procedures. The exact language is as follows: "The State election official who maintains an official voter registration list for a geographical voting unit shall keep a separate record of the names that are transferred from such list under any program established pursuant to this section, together with a statement of the reason for each transfer. The record of names transferred sball be made available for public inspection and for copying (at the expense of the person requesting the copy)." The bill allows individuals aggrieved by a violation of the law to file a civil action in an appropriate district court at any time within 90 days of an election without notifying election officials of their grievance. Prior to ninety days before an election, the chief state election official must be notified and given a chance to remedy the grievance prior to a suit. Attorney fees are provided at the discretion of the court to be paid by the governmental entity or other person primarily responsible for the violation. The bill authorizes $50 million (up from $20 million in the original bill) to be appropriated to -the Federal Election Commission to be used by the FEC to support state efforts to develop accurate and current registration lists, with a priority going to programs in the states that match federal Election Administration Reports Editor: Rienard G. Smoika Editorial Offices: 5620 33rd St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20015 ------------------ Use this order form to subscribe to or renew Election Administration Reports Mail tc: 5620 33rd St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20015 I'd like to subscribe for: ® one year (24 issues) — $147; O two years — $280. Renew my subscription tor: D one year ❑ two years ❑ Payment enclosed ❑ Bill me Name Title Addren City State zip REGISTERED VOTERS - CITY OF LANSING WARD 1 19,240 WARD 2 20,607 WARD 3 18,838 WARD 4 20,357 SUB -TOTAL 791042 + 1,315 REGISTERED VOTERS AFTER CLOSE OF REGISTRATION FOR AUG. 4TH PRIMARY - NOT IN COMPUTER SUB -TOTAL 80,357 + 5,416 VOTERS NO LONGER RESIDING IN CITY OF LANSING BUT WHO ARE IN THE 30 -DAY CANCELLATION PERIOD TOTAL 85,773 5% OF 80,357 WOULD BE 4,018 SIGNATURES REQUIRED 5% OF 85,773 WOULD BE 4,289 SIGNATURES REQUIRED CANVASSING OF CITIZENS FOR A BETTER LANSING PETITIONS Step # 1: Looked up on Computer: 2,412 total of which 102 could not be counted Step # 2: Checked on Print Out: 612 total Step # 3: Checked Signature in Files: 612 total 612 total completed all three steps 1,800 have step 1 only completed; of these 1800, 102 were not valid. Of the 612 that have all three steps completed, 76 signatures were not valid or 12.40. Assuming ratio would hold, of the 4,895 signatures submitted, 4,288 would be valid. TIME/COST TO COMPLETE THIS CANVASSING Two temporary employees worked two days or total of 32 hours @ approximately $8.85/hour = $ 283.20 Three City Clerk Office employees worked two days or total of 48 hours during the regular work day on the canvass. [Cost of 592.80] One City Clerk Office employee worked one day or total of 8 hours during the regular work day on the canvass.[Cost of 96.00] The following overtime was also used: Carolyn Hartsuff - 6 hours [cost of 123.60] Vickie Bell - 4 hours [cost of 71.44] Nancy Squier - 5 hours [cost of 60.00] Debbie Miner - 4.5 hours [cost 73.17] Antoinette Parrish -None Grand total of 107.5 hours spent completing this much of the canvass. Total cost to complete was $1,300.21. K:\wpdata\mms\election\canvass.dat City of Lansing - Election Commission Minutes of Meeting 9th Floor Conference Room Aug 24, 1992 PRESENT: James D. Blair, Alvan Knot, Marion Hahn, Robert Alim-Young, Marilynn Slade, Richard and Donna Collins [225 Moores River Drive], Patrick Murray [1720 Bradley], Harold Leeman [529 N. Francis], Karen Straney [WLNS-TV], Brian Williams [WLNS-TV] ABSENT: None Meeting was called to order by Chairperson James D. Blair at 2:10 P.M. Chairperson Blair asked if there were any public comments at this time. Representatives from Citizens for a Better Lansing stated that they had no comments at the time but would like to reserve the right to speak later. Commission members had no objection to this. Approval of Minutes of 8/11/92 Marion Hahn moved that the first sentence in the last paragraph of the minutes be amended to read "Discussion was held regarding the equipment we use being out of date. " Motion carried unanimously. Al Knot moved that the second paragraph on the second page be amended to add "After determining that there were 101,920 registered voters, it was then determined that the total number of signatures submitted by petitioners was less than the 5,096 required." Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Marion Hahn to accept the minutes of August 11, 1992, as amended. Motion carried unanimously. The following memo was read into the record by Robert Alim-Young, Election Coordinator for the City Clerk's Office: "To: James D. Blair - City Clerk From: Bob Alim-Young - Election Coordinator Date: August 24, 1992 Re: Active/Inactive Report produced by Data Processing 1 As per your request I am submitting this memo concerning the fact that the Active/Inactive Report produced by Data Processing still contains the field called 'Inactive Voters". When Michigan election law P.A. 142 of 1989 became effective, the law changed the active period for a registered voter from a four year active and then a six year inactive period to just a five year active only period. Our office at that time sent the inactive voters who fell in the five year period of no activity a cancellation notice in mid 1990. After the 30 day cancellation notice was sent the people labeled "Inactive" were kept on the system due to a pending federal law. Called the motor voter, at that time H.R. 2190 (1990), which would have required our office to keep track of canceled registered voters and the reason for being canceled. Since their seemed to be no action on this in congress, I submitted a Request for Data Processing Services (RDPS) to data processing on December 2, 1991 to remove these voters labeled "inactive. " This request was given a priority 2 status. Since then, many priority 1 RDPS's and other urgent requests have been made to Data Processing such as clearing voting history, barcoding and the Presidential Primary election, redistricting and the NCOA project, which has bumped this request down. Action on this RDPS is imminent and should become effective prior to the November election. I know that you requested a memo on the number of registered voters just prior to my leaving on vacation but I was unable to do so due to time constraints. There was no time to run a special Dargal program which would have given the accurate numbers. I then requested the active/inactive report through Data Processing, which was received after I left. Little did I know the confusion and confrontations that arose due to the misinterpretation of the active/inactive report would cause during my absence. I am sorry that I was not present to interpret the numbers on the report for you and the Election Commission. 2 I have included a copy of the Election Administration Reports and the RDPS for background information. " Chairperson Blair reported that, upon investigation, the signatures provided to the Citizens for a Better Lansing in May were accurate at the time and are still fairly accurate today. Al Knot asked if the Clerk's Office had received a notice back from Data Processing as to when they would do the RDPS to remove "inactives" from the voter system. He asked if the Clerk's Office had ever sent any follow up memos to this request and who establishes the priorities at Data Processing. Bob Alim-Young responded that the Clerk's Office had not sent any follow ups and that he establishes the priorities at Data Processing. Many intervening projects have had higher mandated priorities. Al Knot asked what other projects had higher priorities and Bob Alim-Young responded: Mich. presidential preference primary, redistricting and an NCOA address clean-up program. Marion Hahn asked if in cases when a voter is canceled from the system if they do not have any voting activity for five years, the Clerk's Office sends them a notice of cancellation. Bob Alim-Young responded that a notice is sent and that the voter has 30 -days to respond and reinstate their voter registration if they still reside within the City of Lansing. Al Knot asked who in the City Clerk's Office was aware that the voter category "inactive" actually meant canceled. Bob Alim- Young responded that he understood that and that he felt the Clerk, Deputy Clerk and the rest of the staff was aware of this. He stated that this has been the status since 1990 and had been discussed. Al Knot asked if this had been discussed at a formal staff meeting. Bob Alim-Young responded that he didn't think so but that it had been discussed on many occasions, particularly when the new law went in place in 1990. The issue also came up when the Citizens for Public Recycling petition drive came up in 1990. Because of the fact that we had not, at that time, canceled voters who had not voted in five years; these voters had to be counted as registered voters at that time. Bob Alim-Young stated that he felt the City Attorney participated in discussions at that time regarding the new 1990 law. Al Knot then asked if the Election Commission should now assume that the category "inactive" on the computer print out furnished to the Election Commission on 8/11/92 should now be understood to mean canceled voter. Bob Alim-Young responded that this is correct. Chairperson Blair then reviewed a statistical sheet which stated that there are 80,357 registered voters. He stated that the only decision needed by the 3 Commission is how to handle the 5,416 voters who have been sent notices of cancellation and are in the 30 -day timeframe when they could potentially reinstate their registration. Marion Hahn asked whether these 5,416 were included in the "active" or "inactive" voter counts. Chairperson Blair responded that they were in a holding category and not counted in either category due to the fact that they were in the 30 day time frame. Al Knot asked for clarification if these 5,416 voters were the ones identified by the post office when we sent the voter list to them and that they are confirmed as no longer being residents of the City of Lansing. Chairperson Blair responded that these were the voters identified by the post office as not residing in the city. Marion Hahn asked when the notices of cancellation were sent to these voters. Chairperson Blair responded that they were sent out on July 30th. Marion Hahn asked if we had received any of these cancellations back. Chairperson Blair responded that, yes, we had received most of them back which is a good indication that they do not live in the city as they are mailed to their last residence address. Marion Hahn asked if we had received any requests for reinstatement from voters in this group and Chairperson Blair responded that the City Clerk's Office had not received any such requests. Al Knot asked Bob Alim-Young if, under current law, these voters would be counted as active voters. Bob Alim-Young stated that yes, they would. Chairperson Blair stated that the reason the Election Commission previously removed them from the active count was that the State Law stated that the petitions are signed by persons residing in the community and that we have reliable knowledge that these individuals do not reside in the city. Al Knot stated that he sees no problem with leaving the previous decision in place and removing these 5,416 voters from the count of active voters. Marion Hahn asked, for clarification, if all of these voters had addresses outside of the city. Chairperson Blair responded that they did. It was then agreed that the Commission would leave previous decision in place regarding these 5,416 voters and that the count to be used for registered voters in the City of Lansing would be 80,357. Motion by Al Knot to amend the number of registered voters based on new information submitted to the Commission by the Clerk's Office and that the total number of registered voters residing in the City of Lansing is now 80,357 which would, therefore, indicate that 4,018 valid signatures would be required for the petition drive to be successful. Motion carried unanimously. Chairperson Blair stated that 4,895 signatures have been submitted by the Citizens for a Better Lansing up through 5:00 P.M. on August 5, 1992. Al Knot moved F, that the Clerk's Office immediately begin canvassing the petitions not already canvassed and make this a #1 priority in the office. The Clerk's Office should report back to the Commission when the canvass has been completed. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Al Knot that the Clerk's Office is authorized to spend up to $2,500 in overtime to canvass these petitions and, if additional funding is required, to request City Council to authorize these funds. Motion carried unanimously. Chairperson Blair reviewed the three steps required to complete a canvass and provided statistics on the canvass that has been completed to date. He stated that they have found a 12.4% of invalid signatures on canvass completed and, projecting this out against the 4,895 submitted, it would appear that the group would have enough valid signatures to place the issue on the ballot. Chairperson Blair suggested that the Commission could move to declare the canvass done to date to be adequate and certify the canvass so that the ballot wording could be provided to the County Clerk on August 27, 1992. Al Knot asked if a formal mathematical model was used in the canvass completed. Chairperson Blair responded that, no, a model was not used; the canvass completed was done in a consecutive checking of all names on petitions. Al Knot asked if any petitions have been checked since the last Election Commission meeting. Chairperson Blair responded that none had been checked as the Commission voted to suspend canvassing of the petitions. Chairperson Blair stated that it is his recommendation that the Commission go ahead and ask the Council to put this issue on the ballot as the Clerk's Office has completed a large enough sample to determine that there are enough signatures on the petitions. Chairperson Blair asked Al Knot if the City Council had to pass a resolution to send the ballot wording to the County Clerk. Al Knot responded that if the City Clerk's Office certifies they have the appropriate number of valid signatures they do not need a resolution from Council to send the wording or to place the issue on the ballot. Chairperson Blair asked if they need to receive any approval from the Governor or Attorney General of the State of Michigan before ballot wording can be given to the County Clerk. Al Knot responded that the Governor's office can state that they object to the wording but that they have no power to keep the proposal off the ballot if it has been certified that adequate signatures were obtained to place the issue on the ballot. Chairperson Blair stated that, if the Commission wishes to try to get this on the 5 ballot for this group, the wording needs to be sent to the County Clerk this week. Al Knot again asked if the Clerk's Office had used a mathematical model to complete the canvassing done to date. Chairperson Blair responded that no, they had not. Al Knot stated that it is the function of the City Clerk's Office to canvass and that if the Clerk states that the canvass has been completed, the Clerk can simply notify Council and the Governor's Office of this fact, and send the ballot wording to the County Clerk. No formal resolutions are required from the Council or the Governor's Office, just certification by the Clerk's Office. Chairperson Blair stated that he feels that if the Election Commission would make the decision to accept the method used to canvass to date as valid and go on the record as of today that what canvassing has been completed is adequate and recommend that the Clerk's Office could then go ahead and certify the canvass. Al Knot responded asked why the Clerk's Office could not send the ballot wording to the County Clerk's Office by August 27 even if the canvass was not completed and pull it later, if needed. Chairperson Blair asked who would submit the ballot wording. Al Knot said that the wording had already been cleared by his Office but that, if desired, he would prepare a document containing the ballot wording which could be reviewed by the Citizens for a Better Lansing. Chairperson Blair then asked Al Knot to prepare the wording to go to the County. Bob Alim-Young checked with the County Clerk's Office and determined that, yes, they would accept the ballot wording on August 27th without a formal certification and that the Clerk's Office could have up until the time the presses roll to pull the item from the November, 1992 ballot [approximately 1-2 weeks] . Richard Collins, representing Citizens for a Better Lansing, stated that State Law says the Clerk may check any doubtful signatures during a canvass to ascertain if the required number are present. He stated that the State of Michigan by no means checks all signatures on petitions submitted to them. Donna Collins stated that Citizens for a Better Lansing has the right to challenge any signatures rejected by the Clerk's Office during the canvass and that the accepted rate could change based upon this challenge. Al Knot stated that he felt it would not be fair to either side not to complete the canvass unless the Clerk's Office had a mathematical model for random verification of the signatures. Chairperson Blair feels that, under the City Charter, the Election Commission could certify the canvass to have been adequately completed. Al Knot responded that every City Clerk has completed a line by line canvass of petitions and that the State of Michigan has a rel mathematical model which they use and that is the reason their sampling has been found to be adequate. He repeated that he does not have a problem with a statistical sampling as long as it was done mathematically but, in the absence of this, the petitions should be canvassed in the same way as they have been for every other election in the city. Motion by Al Knot that ballot wording be sent to the County by August 27, 1992, that the Citizens for a Better Lansing be allowed to review this wording before it is sent, that the City Clerk's Office resume the canvassing of the petitions as a # 1 priority and that they notify the Commission when this canvass is completed. Motion carried unanimously. Richard Collins, representing Citizens for a Better Lansing, again stated that according to State law, the City Clerk's Office does not need a vote of the Election Commission to place the issue on the ballot. Chairperson Blair stated that he wants the authority of the Election Commission on this issue. Donna Collins, representing Citizens for a Better Lansing, stated that the group submitted their petitions on August 5th, today is August 24th, and that only two days work has been completed on the canvass. She feels that we are spending a lot of taxpayer money if we complete the canvass with overtime and she said she could provide volunteers to assist with the canvass. Al Knot responded that the canvass must be completed by neutral parties but asked the Clerk if he had thought about asking for help from other city departments. Harold Leeman stated that it is his understanding that the County Clerk's Office now prints the ballot and that this should save costs and also the lead time needed to get ballots printed. Bob Alim-Young responded that this was correct and that the County Clerk's Office stated that we could give them the ballot wording and would have until they go to press to pull it, if needed. Chairperson Blair reported that he had received a show cause order for a hearing on September 15th and requested the City Attorney to review this and see if there is anything we need to do to prepare for this hearing. Donna Collins requested that Citizens for a Better Lansing be notified in advance before another Election Commission meeting on their drive. It was agreed that VA they would be notified. Motion by Al Knot to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 3:31 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Marilynn Slade, Chairperson, Election Commission k:\wpdata\mms\election\eleccom3. min 8