Election Service Levels

Transcription

1 Election Service Levels Rob Williams Chairman, Electoral Board Office of Elections March 13, 2018

2 Election funding Elections are state mandated, locally funded and an essential citizen service. All elections conducted in Prince William County are funded by local tax dollars. 2

3 Taskforce Recommendations Provide adequate physical, financial, and human resources for each election, including a safety margin in the event of a larger than expected turnout, and an adequate reserve for unexpected problems on election day. In considering resource allocation, the standard recommended by the Task Force that no citizen should have to expend more than 30 minutes from the time that he or she arrives at the polling place until the time he or she casts his or her ballot. 3

4 Taskforce Recommendations From Arrival 30 minutes to Departure Voter Arrives Voter Leaves 3 Minute Goal Voter Check-In Ballot Cast 1 Minute Goal Ballot Issued Total elapsed time to vote should be 5 minutes or less depending upon how long to fill out ballot which is not part of calculation 1 Minute Goal Ballot Filled Out With Paper Ballot they can take as long as they like Can impact room size and privacy National goal and Bi-Partisan Task Force adopted this goal is to have a voter arrive at a polling place and leave within 30 minutes. Our processing time should be 5 minutes for each voter. The 30 minute time includes wait time in line and their time to exit BUT doesn t include the time to fill out the ballot which Elections Office can t control. Line length is function of voter arrival which is heaviest at beginning and end of day, and the lunchtime hours. 4

5 Election Office Planning Guidance Office of Elections was on mission to correct 3-4 hour voter wait times from 2012 Presidential Election With corrective actions in Presidential 2016 we established high customer service levels and want to verify we are in sync with BOCS desires. How long a customer service wait is desired and how many precincts? 5

6 Election Service Level PWC Elections strives for 30 minute standard set by Task Force Number of precincts impacts voter travel and wait time In Person Absentee Precincts pull voters out of line on election day but cost more to run VA code requires one we have 3-6 Maximum precinct size is 5,000 voters but 3,500 is reasonable size before we look to split them 6

7 Current Absentee Voting Locations (5) In-Person Absentee Voting (IPAB) opens 45 days before election in public location Haymarket Gainesville Library In-Person Absentee Voting (IPAB) opens 14 days before election in public location PWC Office of Elections James J McCoart Building Brentsville Precinct was used during last election but had small amount of voter traffic Woodbridge DMV AJ Ferlazzo Building 7

8 Proposed Absentee Voting Locations Propose (3) three Absentee Voting locations within PWC. This will offer equitable access and centralized In- Person Absentee within County. Haymarket Gainesville Library All Absentee Voting locations will be open 45 days before election in public locations. This approach addresses concerns from political parties and supervisors about parity across County. PWC Office of Elections Woodbridge DMV 8

9 Budget Challenges Paper Ballots cost more Ballot On Demand saves ballot costs but adds cost for hardware up-front and must have latest Electronic Poll Books County Growth driving some precincts to be very large and should be split to manage voter access and line wait County Budget Congress supported 2 precincts 13 new precincts added in 2013 State previously funded Pollbook software but now County must fund Voter growth, DMV/Online transactions and VERIS driving staff challenges with more voter registration activity 9

10 Budget Challenges Ballots are expensive and were never part of old polling systems $56,000 for versus state guideline of 50% Ballot on Demand allows us to use 20% ballots and will limit extra ballots - $10,000 one time and $19,600 on-going for software license Annual Software Licenses = $50,506 now locally funded Electronic Poll Books $13,230 Voting Machine Licenses $37,276 In Person Absentee = Temporary Staffing $37,000 for one additional location 6 weeks x 3 elections per year = $111,000 ongoing in Temporary Staffing Go to one additional 45 day location with cost of $37,000 per year 10

11 Budget Challenges (continued) Two additional mandated precincts included in proposed budget $43,420 ongoing to support Election Officer staffing $14,000 one time funding for postage, includes equipment cage, signage, voting booths, laptops, cage delivery costs Print Shop $95,950 state no longer provides print materials Election Envelopes, Forms and Training Manuals Voter Education Sample Ballot Guide cost: $31,000 is included in the $95,950 above Postage = $15,374 mailings for voter mailings Transitioning to save money with Voter Registration Postcards Election Day Officers = $160,000 on-going need to support additional Officers to accommodate county growth (larger precincts) Staff Overtime = $26,000 on-going 11

12 Budget Changes (continued) Budget was cost adjusted for inflation with no adjustments for technology changes Paper ballots, election software, increased voter activity, and new precinct costs weren t in budget Would like to re-baseline budget using desired BOCS service levels 12