Board Members Present
- Mary Carole Cooney, Chairperson
- Vernetta Keith Nuriddin, Vice Chairperson
- Mark Wingate
- Dr. Kathleen Ruth
- Aaron V. Johnson
Link to full meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpMVfeCd0vg
Fulton County Board of Elections July 20, 2020 Special Meeting Notes
Meeting Called to Order
Agenda approved
Public Comments
- Jeanne Dufort – Coalition for Good Governance – Fulton County did not meet requirements for secrecy. Law requires 10% paper ballots but can have more
- Shea Roberts – candidate for Georgia House district 52 – ballot secrecy is required and a guarantee
- Marilyn Marks – Executive Director of Coalition for Good Governance; fear that low turnout for the August Run-off will create false sense of election problems solved. Secrecy is still an issue. Should run hand marked ballots parallel with the machines.
- Bea Brown – Intern for Coalition for Good Governance – I went to observe testing for voting machines at the Fulton County Warehouse at1365 English St NW, Atlanta, GA 30318. Testing for the number of machines is about 1,000 hours. No testing has been done as of July 9. They need to be tested and observed. All votes should be counted. Not all absentee ballots were not counted because scanners were not working.
- Aileen Nakamura – member of Coalition for Good Governance; check-in process was the biggest problem. Need to have at least one paper poll book when the check-in goes down.
- Liz Throop – Fulton County poll watcher; May 19 observed one hour plus wait with 25 people in line. 3 carriers; people standing shoulder to shoulder; In Dekalb absentee ballots can be dropped at polling location during early voting. 80+ year old woman with a cane came to drop her absentee ballot. The poll worker made her cancel her absentee ballot and vote on the machine. That held up the long line.
Communications (Corbett)
- Many challenges and frustrations
- Where, when to go and what to expect; aware and making improvement
Principals
- Trust
- Works correctly
- Cast ballot of choice
- Vote counts
- Equity
- Resources distributed equitably through county
- Communicate
- FGTV
- Web, email, social media
- Work with elected officials, students and service organizations
- Media
- Direct Mail
- Key Audience
- Special voter groups – seniors and students
- Influencer and community groups
- Elected officers
- Students
- Service groups
- Poll workers
- Media
Key Messages for August 11
- Convenient and safe for in person or mail-in-voting
- Early voting is bigger and better
- Added more locations, poll workers; improved training and processing absentee ballots
- Encourage early voting or absentee ballots
- Voter should verify polling place because of changes
Achieve Tactics
- Direct Mail
- Community outreach/influencer engagement
- Email blasts/social media graphics
- Website enhancements
- Media/PR engagement
Changes between June and August (Barron)
| June 9 | August 11 | |
| Poll Staffing | ||
| Poll Manager | All staff June 9 plus | |
| Assistant Poll manager | +1 poll clerk at every poll | |
| Line Manager | +1 tech at every poll | |
| Tech on call | Meals provided | |
| Training | ||
| Very limited training | Developed better curriculum | |
| In-person training | ||
| Customer service | ||
| Early Voting | ||
| 5 polling sites | 20 polling sites | |
| 3 polling sites added 2-3 weeks into voting | -18 throughout county (3/commission district) | |
| 8 total polling sites | -1 mega site (State Farm Arena) | |
| -1 outreach site (Palmetto library) August 3-7 | ||
| Target – 40% early voters; not including absentee ballots | ||
| Absentee Ballot | ||
| Historically high volume | Dedicated call center with 32 people | |
| Challenge processing due to different formats and tech issues | Standard for absentee ballot requests | |
| Difficult volume of supports calls | Absentee ballots accepted in drop box | |
| Polling locations | ||
| Before June 9 dropped from 198 to 164 | Before August 11 – 175 reduced number of polls | |
| 45 changes – affected 10,000 voters | Hope will be >210 for November | |
| Many polling locations coming back | ||
| Voters notified 2 weeks prior to election | ||
| Voting Equipment | ||
| First tie equipment used | Have check list to make sure all accessories are available | |
| Challenges throughout county | Power connected August 10 | |
| Roving tech | Equipment unsealed, powered and ready to go at 3 am election day | |
| Dedicated tech at all locations | ||
| Poll Support |
Questions:
Dr. Ruth – define influencers
- Elected officials – mayors county commissioners, school board, non-profit, community organizations
- Curbside service – Fliers handed out at libraries
- Ms. Nuriddin – consider adding BOE to email list
- Ms. Cooney – send copy of presentation to board
- Mr. Wingate – How much TV coverage?
- TV stations tour of State Farm Arena Friday
- TV stations at Arena today
All drop boxes are monitored
Polling changes – same as last meeting
Meeting Adjourned
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