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Absent Voter Counting Board Training

Joseph Rozell, Oakland County Director of Elections

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How to process Absentee Ballots

Establishing an Absent Voter Counting Board

Pre-Election Day Responsibilities

Election Day Responsibilities Duplication Election Night Responsibilities

Training Agenda

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Determining how to process Absentee ballots

In the Precinct AV Counting Board

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Processing “In Precinct”

• Recommended if you have a limited number of absentee ballots to process.

• Totals from absentee ballots are included with ballots cast in precinct.

• Easier to complete the precinct delegate booklet in August.

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Processing “In Precinct”

Using the same inspectors assigned

to the precinct

Ballots are processed within the

precinct by inspectors assigned

to that precinct.

Ballots tabulated during the day or

after the polls close depending on

turnout.

Using a roaming team of inspectors

Ballots are processed within the precinct by roaming

inspectors.

Ballots are tabulated during the day while roaming inspectors are present in that

precinct.

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Processing “In Precinct”Using Roaming Inspectors

Have Election Commission

appoint inspectors designated to

process AV ballots in all precincts. (minimum 1R &

1D)

The roaming inspectors will

need to sign the inside cover of

the poll book for each precinct

they visit.

A remark should be entered into the poll book indicating the names of the

roaming inspectors.

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Processing “In Precinct”Using Roaming Inspectors

Roaming inspectors will

sit in a separate area

when processing

ballots.

They may return later in the day

to process additional ballots.

The voters names may be added to the

EPB/paper poll book or a

separate QVF list may supplement the poll book.

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Processing “In Precinct”Poll Book Samples

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Processing “In Precinct”Poll Book Samples

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Establishing an Absent VoterCounting Board

What if I don’t want to process my absentee ballots in the precinct?

• Establish an absent voter counting board.

• An AV counting board is a separate group of inspectors who process AV ballots in a designated location with their own tabulator(s).

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Establishing an Absent VoterCounting Board

Election Commission10 days or

more prior to election

Establishes AV Board

AppointsInspectors

Determines Location

Sets the start time

processing will begin

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Establishing an Absent VoterCounting Board

Who is on local Election Commission?

• General Law TownshipSupervisor, Clerk, Treasurer

• Charter TownshipClerk and Two Trustees

• CityRefer to Charter (often Clerk, Assessor and Attorney)

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Absent Voter Counting BoardPre-election Responsibilities

• Prepare your kit materials for use in your AVCB

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Absent Voter Counting BoardPre-election Responsibilities

• Determine how many tabulators, memory devices and processing teams you will be using. It’s recommended that five workers be assigned to a team. No more than 2,000 ballots to a team.

• A single team can be used to process all precincts or multiple teams may process specific precincts.

• It’s important to balance, as near as possible, the number of ballots each team will be processing.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardPre-election Responsibilities

• All signatures on the AV ballot return envelopes must be verified against the signature in the QVF by clerk’s office staff.

• The clerk shall provide a statement “that the signatures of the absent voters on the envelopes have been checked and found to agree with the signatures of the voters on the registration cards or the digitized signatures of voters contained in the qualified voter file.”

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Checking signatures is fun!

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Absent Voter Counting BoardPre-election Responsibilities

• All AV ballot applications should be filed by precinct, followed by either last name or ballot number.

• It is recommended that they be placed in a binder or accordion style file. It is not necessary to attach them to each ballot.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardPre-election Responsibilities

• AV ballot return envelopes should be sorted into clear plastic mail trays by precinct. A QVF list should be routinely run by precinctand reconciled against the number of return envelopes received.

• This will alert you to any discrepancies in what you have scanned as received in the QVF and what has physically been returned.

• It will also alert you to any ballots that have been incorrectly sorted.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardPre-election Responsibilities

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Absent Voter Counting BoardPre-election Responsibilities

• The day prior to Election Day, after all ballots have been scanned, reports will need to be run and reconciled against the physical number of ballots returned by precinct.

• Your QVF report should total by precinct rather than provide a grand total of the entire jurisdiction.

• Remember, “Garbage in…Garbage Out”. If you don’t provide the AV Board with something that balances, don’t expect them to balance!

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QVF List by Precinct

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Absent Voter Counting BoardPre-election Responsibilities

• Assemble tables, tabulator(s) and make final preparations for AV Board.

• AV Board Members, challengers and poll watchers are sequestered until 8p.m. (close of polls).

• Final preparations include any meals you will provide and special oath sheets.

• Special oath sheet must state “I (name of person taking oath) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I shall not communicate in any way any information relative to the processing or tallying of votes that may come to me while in this counting place until after the polls are closed.”

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Absent Voter Counting BoardPre-election Responsibilities

• Cellular phones or other devices that permit wireless communication are not permitted in the AV Board room.

• Post notices within the AV Board room regarding the use of such devices and not communicating information regarding the processing and tallying of votes.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardPre-election Responsibilities

• Determine how many ballot containers you will need.

• You may either seal all precincts in a single container (or more if necessary) or you may seal each precinct in a separate container.

• If you seal multiple precincts in a single container, YOU MUST INDICATE THIS ON THE CONTAINER CERTIFICATE AND BAND EACH PRECINCT SEPARATELY INSIDE.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities• For a higher turnout election, it is

highly recommended that you start your AV Board in the morning at 7am. It’s better to finish early with time to address issues, than finishing at 2am!

• Assign a staff member specifically to the AV Board during the opening process.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities• Prior to delivering ballots to the AV

counting board for processing, assemble all inspectors and take attendance.

• Administer the oath to all inspectors and collect the necessary signatures.

• After signatures for oath are collected, compare to attendance sheet to check for missing signatures.

• Inspectors only need to sign the documents related to the precincts they are processing. Labels may be used.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities• Remind/Explain the responsibilities/duties to the

inspectors.

• If you’re using a separate memory card for each precinct, break the seal on the bag containing the memory cards and place the appropriate card with the corresponding mail tray.

• If you’re using only one memory card, then it’s sealed in the tabulator.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities• Insert the memory card into the tabulator (if not

already sealed inside) and open the polls.

• Determine if your tabulator is required to rest on top of the ballot bin.

• If this is not a requirement, and you don’t have write-ins, it’s recommended that you rest the tabulator directly on the table.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities• Two inspectors (seated across from each other)

will be responsible for opening the envelope and removing the ballot.

• Verify the ballot number on the stub against the number of the QVF label on the envelope.

• Place the return envelope in a tray and remove the stub and place in another tray.

• Hand the ballot (inside secrecy sleeve) to the next two inspectors who are also seated across from each other.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities• They will remove the ballot from the secrecy sleeve

(place the sleeve in tray) and perform the necessary back folding.

• Once a stack of 25 ballots is assembled, the fifth inspector (stationed at the tabulator) begins to process the stack.

• Ballots are processed in groups of 25 (25, 50, 75, 100, etc.) to ensure all ballots were read properly.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities• Once all of the ballots for that precinct are

tabulated and the number matches the QVF report, the team is ready to begin it’s next precinct. Remove all envelopes, secrecy sleeves, stubs, QVF Reports and ballots and return them to the tray.

• Remove the memory card from the machine and place it in the mail tray. (Note: If all of your precincts are on one card, you will not need to remove the card. It is already prepared to process the next precinct.)

• Deliver the next precinct’s supplies and repeat the process.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities• After all precincts have been processed, await any

additional ballots that are returned by 8:00pm in person or by mail. Clerk’s staff should scan the ballots into the QVF and generate an updated report.

• Remove the old report from the AV board and replace it with the new report. As an alternative, the inspectors can note the late arrivals directly on the report and update the ballots returned number.

• If additional ballots arrive after a precinct has been processed, reinsert the card (if necessary) and resume processing. Process the additional ballots and remove the card. Return the card, envelope and secrecy sleeve to the mail tray.

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Ballot Duplication

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities• In the event that a ballot requires duplication,

it’s important to follow the necessary steps correctly.

• Emailed UOCAVA ballots will require duplication, plus any ballots damaged or with identifiable voter corrections.

• For large elections, consider training two inspectors as a duplication team.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities• If the tabulator beeps after a ballot is inserted,

press the option to return the ballot for examination. DO NOT PRESS THE OPTION TO ACCEPT WITHOUT EXAMINING THE BALLOT.

• If the voter has attempted to correct a mistake, you must duplicate the ballot to account for the voter’s correction.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities• A Republican and Democratic inspector will examine the

original ballot and mark it “ORG-1” in the upper right corner. “1” represents the first duplicated ballot. If additional ballots require duplication later, it would be marked “ORG-2”.

• A blank ballot will need to be retrieved from either the clerk or a supply the clerk has provided. It will be marked “DUP-1” in the upper right corner. If additional ballots require duplication later, it would be marked “DUP-2”.

• These steps are necessary so that the original ballot and duplicate ballot can be matched up in the event of a recount.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities• The ballot will be duplicated by one member

calling out the office and candidate name, and the other member marking the blank ballot.

• After the ballot is completely marked, they must verify the ballot is marked correctly. The individual who marked the ballot will then read the ballot back to the caller.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Day Responsibilities• Place the ballot marked “DUP-1” into the

tabulator and the ballot marked “ORG-1” into the envelope marked “Originals for which duplicates have been made”.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Night Responsibilities• At 8:00pm, if all processing is complete, it’s

time to close the AV Board.

• Insert each memory card into the tabulator (if separate cards are used) and close the polls. The inspectors will need to sign the tape and complete the ballot summary report for that precinct. If the precinct balances, set aside for Receiving Board review. If it does not balance, retain for review by clerk’s staff.

• Reprocess any precincts that do not balace due to ballot jamming.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Night Responsibilities• Seal the necessary containers. If multiple

precincts are sealed in a single container, they must be banded separately.

• IMPORTANT! PLEASE VERIFY THE SEAL IS CORRECT AND THE NUMBER MATCHES BEFORE DELIVERY TO RECEIVING BOARD.

• Forward materials to Receiving Board for review.

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Absent Voter Counting BoardElection Night Responsibilities

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Questions?

Thank you for your commitment to successful elections!