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Board Meeting Agenda Packet 01-12-2021 MEETING AGENDA Date: January 12, 2021 Time: 4:00 PM Location: Government Center Complex, Ste 34 Type: Regular Scheduled Attendees: Thomas C. Pollard, Chair Rae Hunter-Havens, Elections Director Evelyn A. Bryant, Secretary Joan Geiszler-Ludlum, Administrative Technician Jonathan W. Washburn, Member Caroline Dawkins, Elections Program & Outreach Derrick R. Miller, Member Coordinator Russ C. Bryan, Member Visitor(s): Sheryl Kelly, Assistant County Manager AGENDA ITEMS 1. Meeting Opening a. Call to Order b. Pledge of Allegiance c. Approval of Agenda d. Approval of Minutes (10/27/2020, 11/2/2020, 11/3/2020, 11/12/2020, 11/13/2020, 11/16/2020, 11/20/2020, 11/25/2020, 12/7/2020, and 12/9/2020) 2. Public Comment and Questions  Public Comment (2-minute limit) 3. General Discussion  Other Elections-Related Matters 4. Director’s Report a. Financial Update b. List Maintenance 5. New Business a. 2021 Board Meeting Schedule b. FY21/22 Budget Enhancement Requests 6. Adjournnment *Agenda packets are sent via email in advance of meetings. Draft Regular Meeting New Hanover County Board of Elections January 12, 2021 Subject: Approval of Agenda Summary: N/A Board Action Required: Staff recommends approval Item # 1c Draft Regular Meeting New Hanover County Board of Elections January 12, 2021 Subject: Approval of Minutes Applicable Statutes and/or Rules N.C. Gen. Stat. §§163-31(e) and 143-318.10(e) Summary: This includes minutes from the 10/27/2020, 11/2/2020, 11/3/2020, 11/12/2020, 11/13/2020, 11/16/2020, 11/20/2020, 11/25/2020, 12/7/2020, and 12/9/2020 meetings. Board Action Required: Staff recommends approval Item # 1d Item # 1d Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 10/27/2020 SPECIAL MEETING New Hanover County Board of Elections October 27, 2020 5:00 PM ATTENDANCE Members: Thomas C. Pollard, Chair Evelyn D. Adger, Secretary Jonathan W. Washburn, Member Derrick R. Miller, Member Russ C. Bryan, Member Staff:Rae Hunter-Havens, Executive Director Sharon Smith, Technology Coordinator Joan Geiszler-Ludlum, Administration Technician Visitors: Sheryl Kelly, Assistant County Manager Public Attendees: Bob Gatewood; Julius Rothlein, NHC GOP; Alex Sands, Port City Daily; Patsy Odom; Audrey Hammonds; Lynn Dunn; Jimmy Carter. Telephonic attendees: 1 OPENING Chair Pollard called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m. The New Hanover County Board of Elections meeting was held at 230 Government Center Drive, Finance Conference Room 500, Wilmington, NC. All members were present. AGENDA Secretary Adger moved that the agenda be approved as submitted, second by Member Bryan. Motion carried unanimously. MINUTES Member Miller moved that the minutes of the 09/29/2020 and 10/06/2020 Board meetings be approved as submitted, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 10/27/2020 PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Pollard called upon the public in-person attendees for their comments or questions, limited to two minutes each. Julius Rothlein, representing NHC GOP, reported receiving reports from two voters of similar incidents at two different One Stop sites that resulted in the voters casting blank ballots due to the actions of election officials in placing the ballots in the tabulator prematurely and then having to complete provisional ballots. He asked for assurance that these two provisional ballots are counted. His second question refers back to the question he asked at the last meeting regarding the last day for receiving absentee ballots which are postmarked on or before Election Day: is it November 6 as required by statute, or November 12 as directed by the settlement approved by federal court order? He feels that only ballots received by November 6 as state law requires should be counted. Chair Pollard stated that the date is November 12 according the court order entered October 14, 2020, upheld by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which he expects the US Supreme Court will review. There being no further comments or questions from in-person attendees, Chair Pollard called for any questions or comments from the telephone attendees. Hearing none, he closed the Public Comment period. GENERAL DISCUSSION Chair Pollard called on the Board members for general discussion. Hearing none, he closed the General Discussion period. NEW BUSINESS a.Review of Absentee Ballot Applications Chair Pollard called on Director Hunter-Havens for her report. She presented 3,971 civilian absentee-by-mail applications with her recommendation for Board approval. Included are 95 ballots made eligible with cure certifications to correct previous deficiencies which she distributed to the Board for review. Sample packets of applications that met all criteria for acceptance were also circulated among the Board. The deficiencies include missing voter signature, missing witness or assistant printed name or address. Member Washburn moved to approve the 3,876 fully compliant absentee ballots including civilian, military and overseas ballots, second by Member Miller. Motion carried unanimously. The Board reviewed 95 absentee-by-mail ballots cured by certification which are recommended for approval. A total of 261 cure letters were sent, with 184 absentee Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 10/27/2020 ballots reissued at the voter’s request; 109 absentee ballots spoiled and the voter voted in-person during One Stop Early Voting; and these 95 were cured by certification. After discussion, Secretary Adger moved approval of the 95 absentee-by-mail applications with cure certifications, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens presented 26 absentee-by-mail ballots, received since the last Board meeting, which were returned by an ineligible person, not the voter or a statutory near relative. SBE guidance is this does not automatically invalidate the ballot, leaving it to the Board to decide. Guidance on the definition of “near relative” is found in NCGS §163-226 (f) and 08 NCAC 18.0102. After discussion, Member Washburn moved to reject the 26 absentee-by-mail ballots returned by an ineligible person, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried, 4 to 1, Member Miller dissenting. Director Hunter-Havens presented 12 absentee-by-mail ballots returned to One Stop sites by unknown deliverers, pointing to poll worker error in accepting the ballots without directing the deliverer to a laptop operator. Previous Boards have chosen not to penalize the voter when poll worker error occurred. The Board discussed their concerns with rejecting ballots that appear valid and suggested ways to make the consequences clearer to the voters. Chair Pollard moved to approve these 12 ballots, second by Member Miller. Motion carried, 4 to 1, Member Adger dissenting. Director Hunter-Havens recommended the Board approve the 25,522 One Stop applications. Member Bryan moved approval, second by Member Miller. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens presented the revised reconciliation report for the absentee-by- mail applications approved by the Board at the Special Absentee Meeting on October 20: 3,168 were approved, 3,165 were scanned successfully. Upon opening the ballots, 3 had received and voted the wrong ballot style which affects voting in North Carolina House and/or Senate contests. Two were contacted and asked to have their ballots processed as voted. One could not be reached and staff will continue efforts to reach this voter. The two accepted as voted will be run first after this meeting. The Director will revise the Absentee Meeting Ballot Certifications for the Board members to sign. b.2020 Precinct Official Appointments Director Hunter-Havens presented a list of Chief Judge and Judge Substitution Recommendations for the 2020 General Election. To fill the precinct vacancies, she recommends promoting Judges to fill Chief Judge positions, opening vacancies in the Judge slots. Due to the recent change in State law, she has more freedom to transfer people across precincts. She submitted the recommendations to the party chairs for their review. The second list shows the remaining vacancies to be filled for Election Day. Member Miller questioned the lack of experience in these important positions. Director Hunter-Havens evaluated the recommended people for their particular skill sets for these Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 10/27/2020 positions. She will continue to work with the parties to identify people for the remaining vacancies. Member Washburn noted the number of substitutes who are Unaffiliated. Director Hunter-Havens observed that Unaffiliated voters are now the largest party registration group in this county and they are available to work. Chair Pollard moved to approve the list of recommended Chief Judge and Judge appointments, second by Secretary Adger. Motion carried unanimously. Chair Pollard noted that the Board is scheduled to meet next on Monday, November 2, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. and on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. After that, the Board’s regular monthly meeting is November 10, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. and inquired the Board’s preference on canceling that meeting since the Board will also meet on Thursday, November 12, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. and Friday, November 13, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. for the pre-canvass and canvass meetings respectively. The Board agreed to cancel the November 10 meeting. At 6:30 p.m., the agenda being completed, Chair Pollard announced that the meeting would now move to the Board of Elections conference room for scanning the approved absentee by mail ballots. ADJOURNMENT On completion of the scanning of absentee by mail ballots, Chair Pollard announced that of the originally approved 3,971 applications, scanning is completed for 3,964. The remaining 7 will be reviewed, researched and addressed for the anomalies identified during scanning for further consideration. Chair Pollard moved that the meeting be adjourned at 10:06 p.m. The next Board meetings are scheduled to be held on Monday, November 2, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. at 230 Government Center Drive, Finance Meeting Room 500 and Tuesday, November 3, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. at 230 Government Center Drive in Suite 34. APPROVED BY: RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY: __________________________ _______________________________ EVELYN D. ADGER RAE HUNTER-HAVENS SECRETARY ELECTIONS DIRECTOR Draft DRAFT Board Minutes –11/02/2020 SPECIAL MEETING New Hanover County Board of Elections November 2, 2020 5:00 PM ATTENDANCE Members: Thomas C. Pollard, Chair Evelyn D. Adger, Secretary Jonathan W. Washburn, Member Derrick R. Miller, Member Russ C. Bryan, Member Staff: Rae Hunter-Havens, Executive Director Caroline Dawkins, Elections Program & Outreach Coordinator Joan Geiszler-Ludlum, Administration Technician Visitors: Sheryl Kelly, Assistant County Manager Public Attendees: Bob Gatewood; Julius Rothlein, NHC GOP; Jimmy Carter; Lynn Dunn; Steph Fetzer; Richard Poole, NHCDP; Will Knecht, NHC GOP; Audrey Hammonds, NHCDP; illegible name, NHCDP. Telephonic attendees: 2 OPENING Chair Pollard called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. The New Hanover County Board of Elections meeting was held at 230 Government Center Drive, Finance Conference Room 500, Wilmington, NC. All members were present. AGENDA Secretary Adger moved that the agenda be approved as submitted, second by Member Miller. Motion carried unanimously. MINUTES Chair Pollard moved that the minutes of the 10/13/2020 and 10/20/2020 Board meetings be approved as submitted and amended, second by Member Miller. Motion carried unanimously. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes –11/02/2020 PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Pollard called on the public in-person attendees for their comments or questions, limited to two minutes each. Will Knecht, NHC GOP, asked several questions: 1. What is the total number of absentee ballots mailed to voters? 2. What is the total number of absentee ballots returned and received? 3. What is the number of absentee ballots approved for counting? 4. What is the number of absentee ballots outstanding to be voted? Chair Pollard called on Director Hunter-Havens to respond. She reported that about 40,000 absentee ballot requests have been received; approximately 25,000 absentee ballots have been returned so far; and approximately 15,000 are outstanding. She does not have the total approved by the Board, but will update the numbers more specifically for the Board meeting on November 3, 2020. Julius Rothlein, NHC GOP, had questions about counting absentee-by-mail ballots received on and after November 3 (Election Day) and on or before November 12, 2020? Chair Pollard stated the standard is whether there is evidence that the absentee-by-mail ballot was in the custody of the US Postal Service not later than November 3. The best evidence is a postmark, but the evidence may also be found in other sources, such as the postmark date of other mail received in the same batch of mail, or through data available in BallotTrax. The ballot enters BallotTrax when it is scanned by the US Postal Service and updated daily. The guidance from the State Board of Elections (SBE) provides the “in the custody of the US Postal Service” standard to determine whether the ballot was mailed on or before Election Day. Ballots hand-delivered after 5:00 p.m. on November 3 will be deemed not timely. There being no further comments or questions from the in-person attendees, Chair Pollard called for any questions or comments from the telephone attendees. Hearing none, he closed the Public Comment period. GENERAL DISCUSSION Chair Pollard called on the Board members for general discussion. Member Miller reported he would like to revisit the 26 ballots rejected by the Board at the October 27 meeting because the ballots were returned by a person not eligible to return an absentee-by-mail ballot, when the Board gets to new business. Hearing no further items from the Board for general discussion, Chair Pollard closed the General Discussion period. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes –11/02/2020 NEW BUSINESS Member Miller moved that the Board reconsider the 26 absentee ballots rejected when the Board met on October 27. The reason these were rejected is that they were returned by a person not eligible to return an absentee ballot, namely not the voter or a near relative as defined by statute. Member Washburn seconded the motion for purposes of discussion. Motion carried by a vote of 4 to 1, Member Bryan dissenting. Director Hunter-Havens gave an update reporting that of the 26 absentee-by-mail ballots returned by an ineligible person, 15 have voted in person and only 11 remain in question. The voters were notified following the Board’s October 27 decision to reject those ballots. The State Board of Elections has instructed that the 26 be reconsidered based on the directive that the Board shall not reject an absentee ballot solely on the basis of its return by an ineligible person. In response to a question, she reported that all the ballots in question were returned individually. Member Miller noted the Board has two precedents before it. First, the Board cannot ignore a State Board of Elections directive, based on the relationships between the State and County Boards. Second, the Board has approved absentee ballots returned to One Stop sites where there was poll worker error. He noted his own situation is that he has no qualifying near relative in this area who is eligible to return his absentee ballot for him. Chair Pollard reminded the Board that their split decision was based on poll worker error in how the ballot was handled. The Board is asked to reconsider that decision to be sure the Board is applying the proper legal standard: Is there evidence that the voter who signed the ballot did not lawfully vote that ballot? In the case of these 11 ballots, all have the required signatures. The regulation setting this standard has been in effect since 2018. The status of the person who returned the ballot does not automatically invalidate the ballot as voted by the voter. After further discussion, Member Miller moved to approve the 11 ballots. The motion died for lack of a second. a. Review of Absentee Ballot Applications Chair Pollard called the next item on the agenda, approval of One Stop and absentee-by- mail applications and ballots, and called on Director Hunter-Havens for her report. There are 19,997 One Stop applications and ballots received since the last Board meeting. The cumulative total of One Stop applications is 87,233, tabulated by individual One Stop site first, then totaled across all sites. Member Washburn moved approval of the 19,997 One Stop applications, second by Secretary Adger. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens reported 3,714 absentee-by-mail applications are recommended for Board approval, having met all requirements. Of these, 3,625 meet all requirements for approval, and 89 have cured deficiency certifications. Member Washburn moved approval of the 3,625 which met all requirements, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes –11/02/2020 Chair Pollard called the Board’s attention to the 89 absentee-by-mail container-return envelopes with cure deficiency certifications recommended for approval. Member Bryan noted he would like the certification form to tell the voter what was done wrong to educate voters for the future. It is now too late for the voter to vote and return timely their absentee ballot and the voter’s better option is to vote in person on Election Day. Chair Pollard moved approval of the 89 ballots with cure deficiency certifications, second by Member Miller. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens presented 7 ballots recommended for rejection due to return by an ineligible person. Voters are contacted by the available phone and/or email contact information, if provided, and by letter. Member Washburn moved to reject the 7 ballots returned by an ineligible person, second by Secretary Adger. Motion carried by a vote of 4 to 1, Member Miller dissenting. Director Hunter-Havens presented 1 absentee-by-mail ballot that was returned in the County Tax Department’s drop-box and the returning person is unknown. Chair Pollard moved to reject this 1 ballot, second by Member Washburn. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens presented 2 absentee-by-mail ballots returned at One Stop sites but not logged as to who returned the ballot due to poll worker error. Secretary Adger moved approval of the 2 ballots, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens presented 1 absentee-by-mail ballot which the voter received with a container-return envelope that had sealed in transit. The voter returned the sealed container-return envelope and the ballot together in a separate envelope with an attestation by the voter about the circumstances. The father of the voter, an eligible person, returned the ballot in person and served as the witness on the return envelope and to the attestation. The voter signed the container-return envelope but the ballot was not in it. Member Washburn moved approval of this 1 absentee-by-mail ballot, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. b. 2020 Precinct Official Appointments Director Hunter-Havens presented the Chief Judge/Judge Substitution Recommendation to fill the remaining 15 positions for Election Day. Member Bryan moved approval of the recommended appointments, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. Chair Pollard commended and thanked the staff for doing a great job in processing 87,000 One Stop and 25,000 absentee-by-mail ballots under very challenging circumstances. The 45 permanent and temporary staff have worked hard and provided great customer service, reflected in the few number of ballots that had to be rejected. At 6:26 p.m., Chair Pollard announced that the meeting would now move to the Board of Elections conference room to scan the 3,714 approved absentee-by-mail ballots as soon as a full complement of staff are available to do so. He suggested the Board and staff Draft DRAFT Board Minutes –11/02/2020 take a break and reconvene at 7:30 p.m. in the conference room. The Board will remain until scanning is completed. Member Bryan asked what happens at the meeting at 2:00 p.m. on November 3rd? Director Hunter-Havens described the process to close and tabulate all 9 One Stop DS200 tabulators, print reports on the scanned absentee-by-mail ballots, and send that data electronically to the State Board of Elections. There will be no public report of the results until the polls close at 7:30 p.m., which could be delayed if there are lines at closing time. Chair Pollard moved to reconvene this meeting at 7:30 p.m. to scan the approved absentee ballots, second by Secretary Adger. Motion carried unanimously. ADJOURNMENT Chair Pollard announced that scanning of the approved absentee-by-mail ballots was completed at approximately 10:15 p.m. and moved that the meeting be adjourned. The next Board meetings is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. at 230 Government Center Drive, Finance Conference Room 500, Wilmington, NC. APPROVED BY: RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY: __________________________ __________________________________ EVELYN D. ADGER RAE HUNTER-HAVENS SECRETARY ELECTIONS DIRECTOR Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/03/2020 SPECIAL MEETING New Hanover County Board of Elections November 3, 2020 2:00 PM ATTENDANCE Members: Thomas C. Pollard, Chair Evelyn D. Adger, Secretary Jonathan W. Washburn, Member Derrick R. Miller, Member Russ C. Bryan, Member Staff:Rae Hunter-Havens, Executive Director Sharon Smith, Temporary Support Technician Gladys Sanders, Temporary Support Technician Visitors: Sheryl Kelly, Assistant County Manager Jennifer Sparks, PrintElect Public Attendees: Lynn Dunn; Audrey Hammonds, NHCDP Telephonic attendees: 1 OPENING Chair Pollard called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. The New Hanover County Board of Elections meeting was held at 230 Government Center Drive, Finance Conference Room 500, Wilmington, NC. All members were present. AGENDA Secretary Adger moved that the agenda be approved as submitted, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Pollard called on the public attendees for their comments or questions, limited to two minutes each. Hearing no comments or questions from the in-person attendees, he called on the telephone attendees for comments or questions. Hearing none, he closed the Public Comment period. GENERAL DISCUSSION Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/03/2020 Chair Pollard called on the Board members for any general discussion. Hearing none, he proceeded with the agenda. NEW BUSINESS a. Absentee Ballot Challenge Chair Pollard called on Director Hunter-Havens for her report. Qualifications of voters are judged as of Election Day (NCGS §163-226). To dispute the ballot of a voter who has already cast a ballot through absentee One Stop voting, a timely challenge must be brought by Election Day. Herman Verrand Daniels II completed the same day registration process on October 23, 2020 at the Senior Resource Center One Stop site. The New Hanover County Board of Elections determined that he is not eligible to register to vote at this time based upon felony conviction records indicating he is an active felon. “Active felon” means a person serving a felony sentence, including any probation, parole, or post-release supervision. A convicted felon’s rights of citizenship are restored automatically upon discharge of a felony sentence, including periods of probation, parole, or post-release supervision, or upon receiving a full pardon. No additional documentation is required. He must complete and submit a new voter registration form to the county board of elections in the county where he resides. However, based on a recent court order, a felon is qualified to vote if he is serving an extended term of probation, post-release supervision, or parole, has outstanding fines, fees or restitution, and does not know of another reason that his probation, post-release supervision, or parole was extended. In addition, if he has been discharged from probation, parole, or post-release supervision, he is eligible to register to vote even if he still owes money or has a civil lien. A voter may appeal a denial of registration within five days of receiving the required notice to appear at a hearing on the date of the canvass to determine whether he is eligible to vote. The notice must be sent writing, preferably by first class mail, in advance of the hearing, stating the reason for the challenge, and the date and time of the county canvass. If the challenge is sustained, the Board shall direct county board staff to retrieve the challenged one-stop absentee ballot, complete the process to deduct the votes cast from the vote tally, and send the required documentation to the State Board of Elections. Member Washburn moved to challenge the registration and ballot of Herman Verrand Daniels II, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. b. Counting of Absentee Ballots Chair Pollard called on Director Hunter-Havens for her report. She introduced Jennifer Sparks of PrintElect who will assist staff in the tabulation process. Chair Pollard announced the process of closing the DS200 One Stop voting machines from the Absentee One Stop sites will proceed. Director Hunter-Havens described the process: staff will close the machines, print results tapes, remove the USB drives containing the results, and upload the tabulated data into the ElectionWare reporting software. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/03/2020 By resolution adopted at their September 15, 2020 meeting, the New Hanover County Board of Elections determined that the counting of absentee-by-mail ballots would occur at 2:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 3, 2020. Only ballots received not later than 5:00 p.m. on the day preceding Election Day and approved by the Board of Elections will be counted. Staff will compile the results of tabulating the optically scanned absentee- by-mail ballots using the DS850 central tabulator onto a USB drive and upload the data into the ElectionWare reporting software. Prior to 7:30 p.m., staff will verify all results of the previously scanned absentee-by-mail ballots and the DS200 results from One Stop voting as entered into the ElectionWare reporting software and imported into the SEIMS Election Reporting Software. The NC State Board of Elections will release the results to the publicly viewable site at 7:30 p.m., once all polling places are closed. Assistant County Manager Kelly asked how write-in votes are tabulated. Write-in votes are entered from the closing print-outs into an Access database and counted. The One Stop results are reported by site; absentee-by-mail results by precinct; and Election Day results will be available by precinct within 30 days of the canvass. Upon completion of closing the DS200 One Stop tabulators, Director Hunter-Havens reviewed the chain of custody certification and absentee abstract which the Board members signed. Chair Pollard announced the meeting would now move to the Board of Elections conference room to run the absentee-by-mail results on the DS850. ADJOURNMENT Director Hunter-Havens reported that, as of 2:00 p.m., 10,908 voters have voted on Election Day so far. The Board reviewed and signed the abstracts of the tabulated results and adjourned at 4:15 p.m. by unanimous consent. The next Board meetings are scheduled to be held on Thursday, November 12, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. for the pre-canvass meeting, and Friday, November 13, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. for the canvass and certification of all election results. Both meetings will take place at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, Wilmington, NC. APPROVED BY: RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY: __________________________ _____________________________ EVELYN D. ADGER RAE HUNTER-HAVENS SECRETARY ELECTIONS DIRECTOR Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/12/2020 SPECIAL MEETING New Hanover County Board of Elections November 12, 2020 2:00 PM ATTENDANCE Members: Thomas C. Pollard, Chair Evelyn D. Adger, Secretary Jonathan W. Washburn, Member Derrick R. Miller, Member Russ C. Bryan, Member Staff: Rae Hunter-Havens, Executive Director Caroline Dawkins, Elections Program & Outreach Coordinator Joan Geiszler-Ludlum, Administration Technician Sharon Smith, Temporary Support Technician Visitors: Sheryl Kelly, Assistant County Manager Public Attendees: Will Knecht, NHC GOP; Julius Rothlein, NHC GOP; Richard Poole, NHCDP; Bob Gatewood, Jimmy Carter; Elli Klein, Women Organizing for Wilmington; Audrey Hammonds, NCDP; Carmen Denby, NC GOP; David Benford, Dane Scalise; Johanna F. Still, Port City Daily; Chris Shenton, Democracy NC; Congressman David Rouzer, NHC GOP; Skip Watkins, Candidate; Chase Horton, Michael Lee for Senate Campaign. Telephonic attendees: 5 OPENING Chair Pollard called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. The New Hanover County Board of Elections meeting was held at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, Wilmington, NC. All members were present. AGENDA Secretary Adger moved that the agenda be approved as submitted, second by Member Bryan. Motion carried unanimously. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/12/2020 PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Pollard called on the public in-person attendees for their comments or questions, limited to two minutes each. Will Knect, NHC GOP, presented two requests: first, he reported that several observer teams reviewed the 25,000 absentee-by-mail envelopes on November 10, finding that a few hundred raised questions about signatures and chain of custody. He requests that the Board review the questions of substance. Second, he requested that observer teams have the opportunity to review the approximately 1,500 absentee-by-mail envelopes for the ballots under consideration today. Chair Pollard responded that the 25,000 absentee-by-mail ballots have already been accepted and approved. He noted that about 1,700 additional absentee-by-mail ballots were received through the previous day and called on Director Hunter-Havens. She noted that observers are not permitted to review live ballots. In a quick look at the list presented by Mr. Knecht, some envelopes had the same person serve as both witness and assistant, which is permissible, and signature verification by signature matching is not permitted. The deadline for challenging a voter is already past. Elli Klein, Women Organizing for Wilmington, stated that these voter suppression efforts are shameful, and now focused on upsetting the election. Jules Rothlein, NHC GOP, reported he observed two absentee-by-mail envelopes without voter signatures and four with no witness signatures, among a lot of other irregularities. Director Hunter-Havens said that such information can be noted in the abstracts sent to the State Board of Elections (SBE) but are not outcome determinative. Audrey Hammonds rose to thank the New Hanover County Board of Elections and staff for their integrity and hard work as she has observed in the Board meetings. Chair Pollard echoed those sentiments and thanked the staff, both professional and temporary, saying he cannot praise them enough for their work during this election. Hearing no further comments from the in-person attendees, Chair Pollard called for any public comments from telephone attendees. Hearing none, he closed the Public Comment period. GENERAL DISCUSSION Chair Pollard opened the General Discussion period for discussion by the Board. Member Washburn heard the public comments as calling for the Board to reconsider certain absentee-by-mail ballots. All are numbered, can these be retrieved for individual review by the Board? Director Hunter-Havens reported her understanding is the deadline to challenge a ballot is Election Day. A voter’s ballot cannot be pulled unless it is under challenge. A timely public records request was received but it simply was not feasible to arrange due to statutory pre-election duties until November 10 and tied up six staff Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/12/2020 members for a full day. Staff review all absentee-by-mail ballots as diligently as possible and some require Board action. To challenge a ballot requires challenging the voter. Ballots cannot be reviewed while in a pending status. Chair Pollard stated that this discussion sounds more like an election challenge. A challenge must either challenge the voter’s right to vote or challenge the election. NCGS §163-230.1 states the Board’s decision on absentee-by-mail ballots is final, except in the context of an election challenge. He encouraged the Board to acknowledge a perceived issue, review and tabulate the 1,781 absentee-by-mail ballots presented to the Board today, and if close, then reconsider approval. Member Washburn moved to approve what the Board needs to review and set these aside, and if votes are relevant to the results, then the Board can reconsider, second by Member Bryan. Chair Pollard called for a vote. Members Washburn and Bryan voted aye, Chair Pollard, Secretary Adger, and Member Miller voted nay. The motion failed. NEW BUSINESS a. Sample Audit Count Chair Pollard called on Director Hunter-Havens for her report. All North Carolina county boards of election are required to complete a sample audit of one of the following as determined by the State Board of Elections after each election:  One or more full precincts  Full counts of mailed absentee ballots  Full counts of one or more one-stop early voting sites For the 2020 General Election, the North Carolina State Board of Elections has determined that New Hanover County will complete sample audit counts of two Election Day precincts in the specified contest:  CF01 – Wrightsboro Elementary School – Full count of precinct returns for the Presidential Contest  W29 – Williston Middle School – Full count of precinct returns for the Presidential Contest Two bipartisan teams of four members each, assigned as two counters, one caller and one reviewer, will conduct a hand/eye count using tally marks. Their totals will be checked against the machine total. If the totals differ, the report will address any differences, usually attributed to stray or improper marks on the ballot, and be submitted to the State Board of Elections. Chair Pollard moved to instruct the staff to proceed with the Sample Audit Count, second by Member Washburn. Motion carried unanimously. b. Review of Provisional Ballot Applications Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/12/2020 Chair Pollard called on Director Hunter-Havens for her report. A total of 1,200 provisional ballots were received on Election Day. After initial review, 11 were initiated in error and were cancelled, leaving 1,189 provisional applications for research. She presented her reports: Provisional Voter Statistics by Result and Provisional Voters Statistics by Precinct Voted. She is recommending rejection of provisional ballots based on evidence that the voter is removed due to move out of this county. An eligible provisional ballot cast in the incorrect precinct is given partial or full credit, depending on whether both precincts are voting the same ballot style. There were 120 such situations where the wrong ballot style was voted. Each will be duplicated on the correct ballot style and scanned into the home precinct. Member Washburn commended the staff for their thorough work and proposed addressing each group separately. Member Washburn moved to approve 282 provisional applications recommended for full approval, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. Member Washburn moved to approve 120 provisional applications recommended for partial approval and authorize staff to proceed with duplication, second by Member Miller. Motion carried unanimously. Member Washburn moved not to approve 770 provisional applications, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. Chair Pollard directed the Board’s attention to 17 pending provisional applications requiring Board review and action and called on Director Hunter-Havens for her report. In 7 cases, the voter claimed to have voted a blank ballot at One Stop for reasons that are unclear. The ballots were identified through their coding and found to be blank. According to incident reports, these were the result of miscommunication between the poll worker and the voter and were allowed to vote provisionally. Chair Pollard moved to approve these 7 ballots, second by Member Bryan. Motion carried unanimously. There are 8 provisional applications where the voter was not registered but One Stop officials failed to offer Same Day Registration. In these cases, research was unclear whether this was due to poll worker error. These were all from the Cape Fear North site. Given the volume of Same Day Registrations processed by the site, it is difficult to attribute these entirely to poll worker error. Member Washburn moved not to approve these 8 provisional applications, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. There is 1 provisional application where the voter presented on Election Day and reported placing a blank ballot into the tabulator. Because there is no coding to place on a ballot, the ballot cannot be identified and retrieved. The voter proceeded to vote a provisional ballot. Staff are unable to verify that the voter did not cast 2 ballots. Member Washburn moved not to approve this provisional application, second by Chair Pollard and Member Adger. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens reported on 1 provisional application where the voter voted an absentee-by-mail ballot, then presented to One Stop to vote, and voted a provisional Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/12/2020 ballot. Research showed that the Board approved the absentee-by-mail ballot at their Special Absentee meeting on September 29. Member Washburn moved not to approve this provisional application, second by Secretary Adger and Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens reported on administrative action taken for 2 provisional applications. The provisional ballots were placed in the tabulator in error and were retrieved because poll workers marked the ballots as provisional as instructed. After research, the two provisional applications are rejected and the votes were manually deducted from the results. Chair Pollard moved to affirm this administrative action, second by Member Washburn. Motion carried unanimously. c. Review of Supplemental Absentee Ballot Applications Chair Pollard called on Director Hunter-Havens for her report. Director Hunter-Havens presented 1,787 absentee-by-mail applications which were reviewed for signatures in the proper places and verifiable addresses. The total includes 1,679 civilian, 62 overseas, and 46 military absentee ballots. Of these absentee-by-mail applications, 1,737 were postmarked on or before Election Day and delivered between Election Day and November 6 or hand-delivered by 5:00 p.m. on Election Day and are recommended for the Board’s approval. The remaining group of 50 absentee-by-mail applications have certifications to address a curable deficiency which were received timely. Sample packets were distributed for Board review. Chair Pollard moved approval of 1,737 absentee-by-mail applications, second by Secretary Adger. Motion carried unanimously. Chair Pollard called for Board discussion or questions regarding 50 absentee-by-mail applications with cure certifications. These ballots were received timely with cure certifications sent, completed and returned by 5:00 p.m. on November 12. Chair Pollard moved approval of 50 absentee-by-mail applications with cure certifications pursuant to SBE guidance and court order, second by Member Miller. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens presented 4 absentee-by-mail applications without postmarks. SBE guidance allows consideration of information from the Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) and BallotTrax applications. There may be a difference between when the ballot entered the care, custody and control of the US Postal Service (USPS) and when the postmark is affixed to the container-return envelope, or there is no postmark affixed. This may also apply to a ballot returned using a commercial delivery service, such as DHL, FedEx or UPS, which offer similar tracking services. Member Miller noted the guidance allows accepting these 4 absentee-by-mail ballots because there is positive evidence that confirms they were in the care, custody, and control of the USPS on or before Election Day. Member Miller moved approval of 4 absentee-by-mail applications without postmarks, second by Secretary Adger. Motion carried by a vote of 4 to 1, Member Washburn dissenting. Chair Pollard called on Director Hunter-Havens to continue with her report. She presented 8 absentee-by-mail applications received after November 6 with timely Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/12/2020 postmarks on or before Election Day. This extension of the deadline to receive absentee ballots has been upheld by both the North Carolina Supreme Court and the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court let the extension order stand. This is the law and these ballots meet this standard in this unique and unprecedented year. These ballots had timely and readable postmarks. Member Miller moved approval of 8 absentee-by-mail ballots with timely postmarks and received before 5:00 p.m. on November 12, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried by a vote of 4 ayes, Member Bryan abstaining. Director Hunter-Havens next presented 2 absentee-by-mail applications received in overnight mailers suggesting these were sent on November 5 and received on November 6. Staff were unable to track the ballot because these were in an overnight mailer and unable to read the IMB. One had no postmark but appears it was mailed from Hampstead. It is reasonably certain these were not mailed by Election Day. Member Washburn moved not to approve these 2 absentee-by-mail applications, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens next presented 17 absentee-by-mail applications received late or without postmarks. IMB review suggests 16 were not mailed timely. The remaining 1 ballot was turned in to the Westchester County (NY) Board of Elections on November 4. Chair Pollard moved not to approve these 17 absentee-by-mail applications, second by Member Washburn. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens presented 2 absentee-by-mail applications received after November 6 without postmarks, but IMB suggests were timely mailed: one was posted on October 31 and received November 9; the second one has no postmark but IMB verified it was timely posted and received November 9. Chair Pollard moved approval of these 2 absentee-by-mail applications, second by Member Miller. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens presented 13 absentee-by-mail applications received after November 6th, 9 not timely mailed based on IMB, and 4 with late postmarks. Chair Pollard moved not to approve these 13 absentee-by-mail applications, second by Member Washburn. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens presented 1 absentee-by-mail application that was returned to a drop-box in Delaware County, Ohio. Chair Pollard moved not to approve this 1 absentee-by-mail application, second by Member Miller. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens presented 4 absentee-by-mail applications returned to the Absentee Center by ineligible returners. Chair Pollard moved not to approve these 4 absentee-by-mail applications, second by Member Washburn. Motion carried by a vote of 4 to 1, Member Miller dissenting. Director Hunter-Havens presented 1 absentee-by-mail application that is missing the witness address. While it is clear that the husband of the voter signed as the voter and the voter signed as the witness, no address was entered for the witness and the deficiency Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/12/2020 could not be cured timely. Chair Pollard moved not to approve this 1 absentee-by-mail application, second by Member Washburn. Motion carried unanimously. Member Bryan inquired when the public might be able to review the container-return envelopes of the absentee-by-mail ballots approved in this meeting. Director Hunter- Havens will make arrangements next week. Chair Pollard announced that the meeting remains in session while the Board moves to the Board of Elections conference room to supervise the opening, scanning and tabulating of the absentee-by-mail ballots approved in this meeting. Once the results are tabulated and uploaded to the SBE, the results will be released through the SBE public website. Director Hunter-Havens noted the results will include all approved provisional ballots, approved absentee-by-mail ballots, and 112 machine-rejected ballots. At 8:50 p.m., Chair Pollard announced that the scanning of the approved supplemental absentee-by-mail ballots and provisional ballots is completed, with the machine-rejected ballots from One Stop and Election Day still to be scanned. The Board agreed that the machine-rejected ballots will be scanned administratively and reported at the next scheduled meeting. The Board will meet at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 13, 2020 to complete the canvass, which is the certification of the final results, including about 5 additional absentee-by-mail ballots and the machine-rejected totals. Two voter challenge hearings are also scheduled at that time. The Board will also receive the report from the Sample Audit Count. ADJOURNMENT Chair Pollard moved that the meeting be adjourned at 9:04 p.m., second by Member Adger. Motion to adjourn carried unanimously. The next Board meeting is scheduled to be held on Friday, November 13, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, Wilmington, NC. APPROVED BY: RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY: __________________________ ________________________________ EVELYN D. ADGER RAE HUNTER-HAVENS SECRETARY ELECTIONS DIRECTOR Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/13/2020 SPECIAL MEETING New Hanover County Board of Elections November 13, 2020 11:00 AM ATTENDANCE Members: Thomas C. Pollard, Chair Evelyn D. Adger, Secretary Jonathan W. Washburn, Member Derrick R. Miller, Member Russ C. Bryan, Member Staff: Rae Hunter-Havens, Executive Director Caroline Dawkins, Elections Program & Outreach Coordinator Joan Geiszler-Ludlum, Administration Technician Visitors: Sheryl Kelly, Assistant County Manager Public Attendees: Katelin Kaiser, Southern Coalition for Social Justice; Kathleen Glancy, NC Dem Party, SC Chief Justice Cheri Beasley and AG Josh Stein; Bob Gatewood; Julius Rothlein, NHC GOP; Elli Klein, Women Organizing for Wilmington; Patsy Odom; Audrey Hammonds, NCDP; Mia Goetz, You Can Vote/Democracy NC; Richard Poole, NHCDP; Will Knecht, NHC GOP; Deb Hays; Chase Horton, Michael Lee for Senate Campaign. Telephonic attendees: 3 OPENING Chair Pollard called the meeting to order at 11:03 a.m. The New Hanover County Board of Elections meeting was held at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, Wilmington, NC. All members were present. AGENDA Chair Pollard announced that the purpose of the meeting is to address the canvass of New Hanover County voting results. He welcomed all attendees and their interest in the election canvass. Chair Pollard moved that the agenda be approved as submitted, second by Member Washburn. Motion carried unanimously. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/13/2020 PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Pollard called on the public in-person attendees for their comments or questions, limited to two minutes each. Kaitlyn Kaiser, Southern Coalition for Social Justice, requested that the Board explain their decisions as they proceed through the agenda. Hearing no further comments from the in-person attendees, Chair Pollard called for any comments from the telephone attendees. Hearing none, he closed the Public Comment period. GENERAL DISCUSSION Chair Pollard opened the General Discussion period for discussion among the Board members. Chair Pollard reported the Board received notice of an election protest around 9:00 p.m. last night from Justice Newby regarding the NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Seat 01 contest. The County Board of Elections must schedule and give notice of a meeting as soon as possible to give preliminary consideration to the election protest. At the preliminary hearing, the Board will consider (1) whether the protest has substantially complied with the form requirement, and (2) whether the protest establishes sufficient probable cause to proceed to a hearing. The standard is whether the protest establishes probable cause of an outcome-determinative irregularity, violation of law, or misconduct. “Probable cause” means a “nontechnical probability that incriminating evidence is involved.” Probable cause does not require a showing that the protest “be correct or more likely true than false.” Rather, it is a relatively low bar that simply indicates the possibility of a protest’s truthfulness. (Citing Adams v. City of Raleigh, 782 S. E. 2d 108, 113-14 (NC Ct. App. 2016), further citations omitted) Chair Pollard proposed scheduling the preliminary hearing for Monday, November 16. Member Washburn noted the preliminary hearing is a quasi-judicial proceeding and it would be prudent to have counsel present to advise the Board. Sheryl Kelly, Assistant County Manager, agreed to contact Kemp Burpeau, Deputy County Attorney, for his availability to attend the preliminary hearing on Monday, November 16. NEW BUSINESS a. Challenge Hearing – Herman Verrand Daniels II Chair Pollard called for the voter challenge hearing for Herman Daniels II and asked Director Hunter-Havens to give her report. Director Hunter-Havens reported the Board held a preliminary hearing on a challenge to Mr. Daniels’ registration and right to vote on November 3, 2020 affecting his right to register and vote, setting a hearing for this date and time. Mr. Daniels was given written Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/13/2020 notice of the challenge and hearing by certified first class mail. Staff were also able to reach Mr. Daniels by phone and explained the challenge to him and he indicated his understanding. Mr. Daniels completed his same day registration on October 23, 2020 at the Senior Resource Center One Stop early voting site. The registration application was flagged as denied in the usual review process because Mr. Daniels is a convicted active felon and has not had his rights of citizenship restored. “Active felon” means that he is serving a felony sentence, including any probation, parole, or post-release supervision. Chair Pollard asked if Mr. Daniels was present to be heard. Hearing no response, Chair Pollard moved to uphold the denial of his registration and withdrawal of his cast ballot, second by Member Washburn. Motion carried unanimously. b. Challenge Hearing – Antwuan Glendale Watson Chair Pollard called for the voter challenge hearing for Antwuan Watson and asked Director Hunter-Havens to give her report. Director Hunter-Havens reported the Board received a challenge to Mr. Watson’s registration and right to vote on November 3, 2020, setting a hearing for this date and time. Mr. Watson was given written notice of the challenge and hearing by certified first class mail. Staff was unable to contact Mr. Watson by other means because he provided only his residence address in his SOSA application. Chair Pollard asked if Mr. Watson was present to be heard. Hearing no response, Chair Pollard moved to uphold denial of his registration and withdrawal of his cast ballot, second by Secretary Adger. Motion carried unanimously. c. Canvass of the 2020 General Election Chair Pollard called on Director Hunter-Havens for her report on the canvass of the 2020 General Election. Director Hunter-Havens reported on two late-arriving absentee-by-mail ballots. The first one has no postmark and no Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) or BallotTrax information. She recommends disapproval of the absentee-by-mail application. Member Washburn moved to disapprove the absentee-by-mail application as it does not meet the statutory requirements, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens presented one absentee-by-mail application for which a cure certification was received timely yesterday, November 12. Member Washburn moved approval of this absentee-by-mail application, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. Director Hunter-Havens called on Caroline Dawkins, Elections Program & Outreach Coordinator, to present the Sample Audit Count results. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/13/2020 Ms. Dawkins described the Sample Audit Count procedure: two bipartisan teams of four members each conducted a hand-eye count of the Presidential contest to verify the machine-counted results in two randomly-selected precincts: CF01 – Wrightsboro School, and W29 – Williston Middle School. Sample Audit Count of CF01 is completed with a 1 vote difference, which was expected based on an Election Day incident report. A provisional voter inserted their ballot in the tabulator in error, and the Chief Judge incorrectly pulled the provisional ballot from the ballot bin and placed it in the provisional envelope. The voter’s name was not in the incident report, thus confirmation of the identification of the ballot and the provisional record is not possible. The machine count reflects all properly cast ballots and the provisional ballot that was inserted in the tabulator and removed. Machine count for 1 candidate is one more than the hand-eye count. Sample Audit Count of W29 is completed with zero difference. On the first count, the team did not count over-voted contests, requiring a second count. On the second count, which properly set aside any over- or under- voted presidential preferences, the hand-eye count matched the machine tape count exactly. Director Hunter-Havens presented the canvass report. The canvass report covers the entire process of determining that the votes have been counted and tabulated correctly, culminating in the authentication of the official results. Once the Board has made this determination, the election results may be finalized. The Board will sign original canvass abstracts for internal records and distribution to the NC State Board of Elections and Clerk of Superior Court for New Hanover County as required. Director Hunter-Havens presented 15 supplemental absentee-by-mail ballots timely received and 108 machine-rejected ballots, a total of 123 ballots, that need to be scanned and tabulated under Board supervision. Director Hunter-Havens called on Caroline Dawkins to present the reconciliation and voter history report. Ms. Dawkins compiles this report from a review of all data, all incident reports and all errors reports to match reports to people. The voter history matched the tabulated results in 37 of the 43 election day precincts. The exceptions most frequently involved inserting a blank ballot into the DS200 and improperly issuing a replacement ballot, instead of requiring the voter to vote provisionally to prevent double- voting, or election official error in selecting the wrong voter at check-in. Voter history matched in 4 of the 9 one stop sites. There is one note pending additional research from the Northeast Library site which otherwise reconciled daily throughout the One Stop period. Ms. Dawkins attributed their success to experienced site leads with an experienced team of election officials who have worked together in previous elections. The Board acknowledged and accepted the report. At 11:40 a.m., Chair Pollard announced that the Board would now pause the meeting to allow for scanning and tabulating the ballots approved in this meeting and will return to finalize the canvass as soon as the scanning and tabulating is completed. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/13/2020 Chair Pollard moved that the preliminary hearing on the Newby election protest be held on Monday, November 16 at 1:00 p.m. at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, second by Member Washburn. Motion carried unanimously. At 12:31 p.m., Chair Pollard resumed the meeting. Director Hunter-Havens distributed the November 3, 2020 General Election Results by Contest Report for Board review. She noted that two contests are not reported, Attorney General and Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court, because protest petitions are filed and pending in these contests. Candidates have until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 16, to demand a recount in an eligible contest. Chair Pollard moved approval of the canvass abstract of the 2020 General Election results for signature by the Board and distribution according to statute, second by Secretary Adger. Motion carried unanimously. ADJOURNMENT Chair Pollard moved that the meeting be adjourned at 12:36 p.m., second by Member Miller. Motion carried unanimously. The next Board meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, November 16, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, Wilmington, NC. APPROVED BY: RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY: __________________________ _______________________________ EVELYN D. ADGER RAE HUNTER-HAVENS SECRETARY ELECTIONS DIRECTOR Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/16/2020 SPECIAL MEETING New Hanover County Board of Elections November 16, 2020 1:00 PM ATTENDANCE Members: Thomas C. Pollard, Chair Evelyn D. Adger, Secretary Jonathan W. Washburn, Member Derrick R. Miller, Member Russ C. Bryan, Member Staff: Rae Hunter-Havens, Executive Director Caroline Dawkins, Elections Program & Outreach Coordinator Joan Geiszler-Ludlum, Administration Technician Visitors: Sheryl Kelly, Assistant County Manager; Kemp Burpeau, Deputy County Attorney Public Attendees: Bob Gatewood; Kathleen Glancy, Chief Justice Beasley, Attorney General Josh Stein and NC Democratic Party; Brian LiVecchi, Justice Paul Newby; Dane Scalise, Audrey Hammonds. Telephonic attendees: 6 OPENING Chair Pollard called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m., welcomed the public attendees, and introduced Deputy County Attorney Kemp Burpeau. The New Hanover County Board of Elections meeting was held at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, Wilmington, NC. All members were present. AGENDA Secretary Adger moved that the agenda be approved as submitted, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Pollard called on the public in-person attendees for their comments or questions, limited to two minutes each. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/16/2020 Kathleen Shannon Glancy introduced herself as representing Chief Justice Beasley, Attorney General Josh Stein, and the NC Democratic Party. She requested time to speak to the protest petition at the appropriate time. Hearing no further comments from the in-person attendees or the telephone attendees, Chair Pollard closed the Public Comment period. GENERAL DISCUSSION Chair Pollard opened the General Discussion period for discussion among the Board members. Hearing none, he closed the General Discussion period. NEW BUSINESS a. Preliminary Consideration Hearing on Election Protest Chair Pollard reported that the New Hanover County Board of Elections, along with several other counties, received an election protest from Justice Newby regarding vote count and tabulation consistent with NCGS §163-182.9 (b) (4) (a). Per NCGS §163- 182.10 (a), the Board must conduct a preliminary hearing to determine whether the protest (1) is timely filed and in the proper form, and (2) establishes probable cause of an outcome-determinative violation. Preliminary consideration is based on the sufficiency of the protest on its face. Member Bryan moved to accept the protest as timely and in proper form, second by Member Washburn. Motion carried unanimously. To address the second requirement, Chair Pollard announced the Board will not admit new evidence and will consider only the protest form, allowing counsel for each side 5 minutes to speak. Chair Pollard called on Brian LiVecchi, representing Justice Newby. Mr. LiVecchi stated this is a probable cause hearing and not an evidentiary hearing, so the Board should only consider the protest form and its allegations. He compared the standard for review as that of a police officer stopping a driver. At that point the officer has no probable cause to search the vehicle. But then the officer gets a whiff of marijuana and there is probable cause to search. The question here is whether the protest petition gives such a whiff to warrant an evidentiary hearing. Mr. LiVecchi noted that the list submitted in support of the protest petition is incorporated by reference and not attached because of voter privacy concerns. This election is unprecedented for the volume of absentee-by-mail ballots cast. The protestor is intended to lend a hand by going behind the Board and staff to catch mistakes and keep things from slipping through the cracks. For the 49 absentee-by mail ballots listed, the question is not one of malfeasance or misfeasance, but rather questions of whether the ballots meet statutory requirements. Mr. LiVecchi contended that the Chief Justice race has seesawed between the candidates, thus any 1 of the counties where the protest is filed could determine the contest and thus the outcome-determinative standard is met. The protest is presented in the interests of transparency and getting it right. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/16/2020 Chair Pollard called on Kathleen Shannon Glancy, representing Chief Justice Beasley, Attorney General Stein and the NC Democratic Party. Ms. Glancy called the Board’s attention to the brief she has submitted and addressed several points. To Justice Newby’s main point, he now wants to add material to support the allegations of the protest, when the only matter before the Board is the protest itself. The form of the protest petition is deficient because it contains no supporting evidence for the allegations. In addition, the petition makes several misstatements of law. First, the petition alleges that at least 3 absentee-by-mail ballots were approved when these ballots were received after the statutory deadline of November 6, 2020. In fact, by court order, the deadline was extended to November 12, 2020 and these ballots were received timely. Second, the petition alleges that absentee-by-mail ballots were received after November 3, 2020 without a postmark stamped by the US Postal Service and approved by the Board. In fact, the court order set the standard to determine whether the absentee-by-mail ballot was postmarked as whether there is evidence that the ballot was in the care, custody and control of the US Postal Service or a commercial delivery carrier. Third, the petitioner is now trying to present evidence that should have been a part of the original petition. The Board cannot look beyond the four corners of the petition form to make its determination of probable cause. Finally, Ms. Glancy reported that, of the 8 counties where this protest was filed, 7 have dismissed it for its insufficiency. Chair Pollard called on the Board for their questions and discussion. He noted that the standard requires more than notice pleading and more than good faith allegations. Member Bryan pointed to the definition of probable cause set out on page 5 of the Election Protest Procedures Guide: Probable cause means a “nontechnical probability that incriminating evidence is involved.” Probable cause does not require a showing that the protest “be correct or more likely true than false.” Rather, it is a relatively low bar that simply indicates the possibility of a protest’s truthfulness. (Citing Adams v. City of Raleigh, 782 S. E. 2d 108, 113-14 (NC Ct. App. 201)6, further citations omitted) He finds there is something behind the allegations, more reason to find there is probable cause that not based on the low bar set out. The outcome in any one of the counties may make the difference in the outcome of the contest. Member Washburn asked whether it is outcome-determinative with the other 7 counties dismissing the petition. The Board cannot be certain the protest is not outcome-determinative Chair Pollard stated the attorneys are raising matters already considered and resolved by the courts. The Board has followed State Board of Elections (SBE) guidance which was affirmed by the courts, appealed and upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/16/2020 Circuit and the US Supreme Court declined to take the appeal. Member Washburn agreed. Chair Pollard reviewed the allegations presented in the protest petition:  At least 3 absentee-by-mail ballots that were received after the statutory deadline of November 6, 2020 were approved and added to the vote count;  Absentee-by-mail ballots received after November 3, 2020 without a postmark stamped by the US Postal Service were approved and added to the vote count; and  At least approximately 49 absentee-by-mail ballots contained in envelopes that do not meet the statutory requirements were approved and added to the vote count. Statutory deficiencies included no witness signature, no assistant signature, and deficient witness address, among others. He noted that, as to the first 2 allegations, the Board followed State Board of Elections guidance and court orders. The issue is the third allegation about the 49 ballots which are conclusory. The Board discussed the adequacy of the protest petition. Deputy County Attorney Burpeau responded to questions from the Board regarding considerations for determining probable cause. His reading of Adams v. Raleigh suggests that the first two allegations are already decided by law which supersedes the authority of the county Board. As to the third allegation, while it is a low bar, the standard of review requires supporting evidence. Assertions regarding 49 absentee-by- mail ballots are conclusory and unsupported and were a late attempt to supplement the protest. The Board has discretion to set an evidentiary hearing. This effort to supplement is not labelled as an amended protest, but the Board has discretion to consider it as an amended filing. Chair Pollard moved to dismiss the protests filed regarding the Chief Justice and Attorney General contests because, based on the petitions, the protests fail to meet the outcome-determinative requirement. His motion is to dismiss allegations 1 and 2 as a matter of law, and to dismiss allegation 3 because it does not meet the statutory standard for probable cause in that, in the totality of the circumstances, it is unsupported by evidence, second by Member Miller. Chair Pollard called on the Board for discussion of the motion. Member Washburn made a substitute motion to dismiss the petition as to the Attorney General contest as the protest is not outcome-determinative, second by Member Bryan. Member Miller asked whether the Board has the authority to divide the question? Deputy County Attorney Burpeau responded that it is one petition, but counsel could stipulate to such a division. Chair Pollard ruled that it is one petition and should be considered together. Member Washburn withdrew the substitute motion and Member Bryan withdrew his second. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/16/2020 Chair Pollard returned to the main motion and called the question. Members Pollard, Adger and Miller voted aye, Members Washburn and Bryan voted nay. Chair Pollard ruled that the motion passed and the protest petition is dismissed. Chair Pollard reviewed the abstract of the county canvass as presented and approved on November 13 including the Chief Justice and Attorney General contest results. Chair Pollard moved to approve the revised abstract, second by Secretary Adger. Motion carried unanimously. Chair Pollard circulated the required copies among the Board for their signatures. Chair Pollard expressed his appreciation to the Board for their good work and discussion on this matter. He expressed his thanks the New Hanover County voters for coming out to vote in this election, noting 75 percent turnout is great. He thanked Director Hunter- Havens and the staff, full-time, temporary and Election Day workers, for all their hard work and focus on conducting the local election. ADJOURNMENT Chair Pollard moved that the meeting be adjourned at 2:21 p.m., second by Secretary Adger. Motion carried unanimously. The next Board meeting is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, December 15, 2020, at 4:00 p.m., a regular meeting to conduct business as needed. APPROVED BY: RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY: ____________________________ _______________________________ EVELYN D. ADGER RAE HUNTER-HAVENS SECRETARY ELECTIONS DIRECTOR Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/20/2020 – 11/22/2020 SPECIAL MEETING New Hanover County Board of Elections November 20 - 22, 2020 10:00 AM ATTENDANCE Members: Thomas C. Pollard, Chair Evelyn D. Adger, Secretary Jonathan W. Washburn, Member Derrick R. Miller, Member Russ C. Bryan, Member Staff: Rae Hunter-Havens, Executive Director Caroline Dawkins, Elections Program & Outreach Coordinator Joan Geiszler-Ludlum, Administration Technician Visitors: Sheryl Kelly, Assistant County Manager; Kemp Burpeau, Deputy County Attorney Public Attendees: Julius Rothlein, NHC GOP; Bob Gatewood; Kathleen Glancy for Chief Justice Beasley and NC Democratic Party; Ralph DeSimone. Telephonic attendees: 2 OPENING Chair Pollard called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. The New Hanover County Board of Elections meeting was held at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, Wilmington, NC. All members were present. AGENDA Chair Pollard asked the Board whether there were any questions or changes to the agenda. Chair Pollard moved that the agenda be approved as submitted, second by Secretary Adger. Motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Pollard called on the public in-person attendees for their comments or questions, limited to two minutes each. Kathleen Glancy noted she would like to speak to the Beasley protest at the appropriate time. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/20/2020 – 11/22/2020 Hearing no further comments from the in-person attendees or from the telephone attendees, Chair Pollard closed the Public Comment period. GENERAL DISCUSSION Chair Pollard opened the General Discussion period for discussion among the Board members. Hearing none, he closed the General Discussion period. NEW BUSINESS a. Preliminary Consideration Hearing on Election Protest Chair Pollard reported that this Board, along with 89 other counties, received an election protest on Tuesday, November 17, 2020 around 4:00 pm via email. The protest is before the Board for a preliminary hearing to determine whether the protest was timely filed and in the correct form, and whether there is probable cause to proceed to a hearing. Chair Pollard called on Kathleen Glancy, counsel for Chief Justice Beasley, to comment, limited to 5 minutes. Attorney Glancy addressed whether there is probable cause to proceed to a hearing. She called the Board’s attention to the supporting affidavit which describes how ballots and irregularities were identified, grouped by the type of ballot and the irregularity noted. The protest petition is supported by specific evidence that was checked using readily available information, including BallotTrax. She asked the Board to find there is probable cause to proceed to a hearing. Chair Pollard called for counsel for Justice Newby to comment, limited to 5 minutes. Hearing none, he called for discussion among the Board members. There are approximately 108 New Hanover County residents listed in the supporting evidence and over 2,000 ballots challenged state-wide. This number meets the outcome- determinative requirement. The previous petition was rejected for hearing because it was just bare-bones conclusions without supporting evidence. In response to questions from the Board, Deputy County Attorney Burpeau responded that the reasons for other counties dismissing the petition are unknown. The key is this Board’s analysis of this petition. Some of the evidence may be hearsay, but may still be adequate to meet the burden of proof. Other Boards may be dismissing the petition as to that county based on it not being filed timely and failing to state good cause for the delay in filing. The petitioner may appeal a rejection of the petition to the State Board. Chair Pollard moved to hear the petition, finding that it has met the burden of establishing probable cause, is outcome-determinative, and is filed timely, second by Member Miller. There being no further discussion, Chair Pollard called the question. Members Pollard, Adger and Miller voted aye, Members Bryan and Washburn voted nay. Chair Pollard ruled the motion passed, 3 to 2. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/20/2020 – 11/22/2020 After discussion about setting the hearing date and its guiding rules, Chair Pollard moved to schedule the hearing for Wednesday, November 25, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. in Suite 34, 230 Government Center Drive, Wilmington, NC. The parties must serve all documents to be presented in the hearing to the Board and to opposing counsel by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 23. Opening statements will be limited to a maximum of 5 minutes each and each party will have an hour and a half to present their evidence. Upon second by Secretary Adger, motion carried unanimously. b. Recount of the NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Seat 01 Chair Pollard reported that Chief Justice Beasley has invoked her right to demand a recount according to NCGS §163-182.7 (c) (2) based on the difference between the votes cast for the two candidates in the NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Seat 01 contest. He called on Director Hunter-Havens to walk the Board through the recount procedure. Director Hunter-Havens summarized the recount process. Under the Board’s supervision, staff will retabulate the results for the Chief Justice contest by rescanning all paper ballots and comparing the totals to the canvass results using 2 high-speed scanners. Ballots will be scanned by One Stop site and by precinct by three-person secure bipartisan teams, consisting of a scanner, an attendant, and an observer. Reports will be printed by reporting group. Slight differences in the totals are common and expected due to using different equipment with slightly variable sensitivities. Suite 34 will be rearranged to separate the work area from the observer area because some ballots have identifying information and must remain confidential. A duplication team will be standing by to duplicate any ballot that is rejected or damaged by the machine. During the recount, a quorum of the Board, including at least 1 member from each party, must be present at all times. She expects the recount to take 2 days, beginning as soon as the Board directs, working until 7:00 p.m. on Friday and resuming at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday until completed, hopefully around 3:00 p.m. There are approximately 133,000 total ballots. Hearing no further questions or comments from the Board, Chair Pollard moved to direct the staff to begin the recount following State Board of Elections procedures, second by Secretary Adger. Motion carried unanimously. The recount began at 11:27 a.m. At 2:00 p.m., Chair Pollard called for a pause in the recount to allow the Board and staff to take a lunch break. The recount resumed at 2:54 p.m. At 7:10 p.m., the recount stopped for the day. With Chair Pollard and Members Washburn and Miller present, Chair Pollard moved to recess until 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 21, second by Member Washburn. Motion carried unanimously. On Saturday, November 21, 2020 at 9:10 a.m., the recount resumed with Chair Pollard and Members Bryan and Miller present. Observers present: Robert Cutting and Lisa McDow, NHC DP; Julius Rothlein, Nancy McGrail, and Carmen Denby, NHC GOP. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/20/2020 – 11/22/2020 At 10:59 a.m., Member Washburn arrived and Member Bryan left the meeting. At 1:05 p.m., the recount paused for a lunch break. Chair Pollard announced that the Board would take up consideration of 12 cases of possible double-voting and called on Director Hunter-Havens for her report. Director Hunter-Havens reported that the 12 cases were discovered during reconciliation of voter history which occurs routinely after Election Day. She was able to retrieve these ballots and now presents them for Board review and action. If the Board agrees the voter cast two ballots, the Board will direct which ballot to count and which ballot to deduct manually from the vote totals. She called on Caroline Dawkins, Election Program & Outreach Coordinator, to present the details. Ms. Dawkins noted in 8 cases a record of in-person voting on Election Day and an absentee-by-mail ballot that was received timely and approved by the Board on November 12, including 1 ballot with a cure certification received timely. In 2 additional cases, a voter cast a retrievable ballot at One Stop and a provisional ballot on Election Day. The remaining 2 cases involve voters identified with an Election Day in-person ballot and a provisional ballot, neither of which is retrievable. Member Washburn moved to approve the 10 ballots that are identifiable and remove the absentee-by-mail votes and voter history from the total results, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. Chair Pollard noted the remaining 2 voter histories cannot be reconciled because there is no way to identify and retrieve either ballot. Director Hunter-Havens asked for the Board’s guidance: should the State Board require cancellation of one of the voter histories for these 2 voters, which one should be cancelled? Chair Pollard moved that, if mandated, remove the provisional ballot voter history, second by Member Washburn. Motion carried unanimously. The cancelled ballots will be manually deducted from the vote totals. At 1:16 p.m., Chair Pollard announced the recount would resume at 2:00 p.m. after a lunch break. The recount resumed at 2:03 p.m. At 7:01 p.m., Chair Pollard announced that the recount would stop for the day and resume at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 22. On Sunday, November 22, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. the recount resumed with Chair Pollard and Members Washburn and Miller present. Observers present: Julius Rothlein and Ryan Setliff, NHC GOP; Robert Cutting, Philip White, and Cramer Vaughn, NHC DP. At 1:23 p.m., Chair Pollard announced the recount was concluded and reported the results. In the NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Seat 01 contest, Cherie Beasley received a net +2 votes for a total of 66,373 votes and Paul Newby received a net +5 votes for a total of 61,369 votes after the recount. He stated that these results will be manually Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/20/2020 – 11/22/2020 adjusted by removing the 10 ballots as approved on Saturday, once the Director receives further guidance from the State Board of Elections. The Board members present proceeded to sign and certify the results summary. Copies of the results were distributed to the observers present. ADJOURNMENT Chair Pollard moved that the meeting be adjourned at 1:28 p.m., second by Member Washburn. Motion carried unanimously. The next Board meeting is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, November 25, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. for the purpose of the hearing on the protest petition from Chief Justice Beasley. The Board will meet at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, Wilmington, North Carolina. APPROVED BY: RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY: __________________________ __________________________________ EVELYN D. ADGER RAE HUNTER-HAVENS SECRETARY ELECTIONS DIRECTOR Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/25/2020 SPECIAL MEETING New Hanover County Board of Elections November 25, 2020 1:00 PM ATTENDANCE Members: Thomas C. Pollard, Chair Evelyn D. Adger, Secretary Jonathan W. Washburn, Member Derrick R. Miller, Member (present by telephone) Russ C. Bryan, Member Staff: Rae Hunter-Havens, Executive Director Caroline Dawkins, Elections Program & Outreach Coordinator Joan Geiszler-Ludlum, Administration Technician Visitors: Sheryl Kelly, Assistant County Manager; Kemp Burpeau, Deputy County Attorney Public Attendees: Alex Dale for Justice Paul Newby; Bob Gatewood and Dane Scalise. Telephonic attendees: 2 OPENING Chair Pollard called the meeting to order at 1:02 p.m. The New Hanover County Board of Elections meeting was held at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, Wilmington, NC. All members were present. He noted that Member Miller joined the meeting by telephone and Secretary Adger was expected shortly, arriving at 1:06 p.m. Chair Pollard announced the purpose of this meeting is to hold a hearing on the protest filed by Chief Justice Cherie Beasley. AGENDA Chair Pollard moved that the agenda be approved as submitted, second by Member Washburn. Motion carried unanimously. NEW BUSINESS a. Hearing on Election Protest by Chief Justice Cherie Beasley Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 11/25/2020 Chair Pollard reported that Justice Newby has filed a motion to dismiss the protest and he has just received Chief Justice Beasley’s response today. Both parties should be heard on the motion to dismiss. In addition, the parties have filed a petition to postpone the hearing to give them additional time to review the evidentiary documents filed by 5:00 pm on Monday, November 23, 2020, as they were instructed. The Board discussed the motion to continue the hearing and the guidelines for the hearing. Member Washburn moved to require the parties to serve all documents to be presented in the hearing to the Board and to opposing counsel by 5:00 pm on December 3, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. Chair Pollard moved to continue the hearing to Monday, December 7, to convene at 1:00 pm and to end not later than 5:00 pm, second by Member Washburn. Motion carried unanimously. Chair Pollard stated the Board would hear the parties on the motion to dismiss the petition first in the hearing. ADJOURNMENT Chair Pollard moved that the meeting be adjourned at 1:35 pm, second by Member Bryan. Motion carried unanimously. The next Board meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, December 7, 2020, at 1:00 pm at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, Wilmington, NC. APPROVED BY: RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY: __________________________ ________________________________ EVELYN D. ADGER RAE HUNTER-HAVENS SECRETARY ELECTIONS DIRECTOR Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/07/2020 SPECIAL MEETING New Hanover County Board of Elections December 7, 2020 1:00 PM ATTENDANCE Members: Thomas C. Pollard, Chair Evelyn D. Adger, Secretary Jonathan W. Washburn, Member Derrick R. Miller, Member Russ C. Bryan, Member Staff: Rae Hunter-Havens, Executive Director Caroline Dawkins, Elections Program & Outreach Coordinator Joan Geiszler-Ludlum, Administration Technician Visitors: Sheryl Kelly, Assistant County Manager; Kemp Burpeau, Deputy County Attorney; Diane Byrd and Lynn Houchison, Overby Court Reporting Service Public Attendees: Julius Rothlein, NHC GOP; Bob Gatewood; Dane Scalise; Richard Poole, NHCDP. Telephonic attendees: 8 OPENING Chair Pollard called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. The New Hanover County Board of Elections meeting was held at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, Wilmington, NC. All members were present. Chair Pollard announced that the purpose of the meeting is to hold a hearing on the election protest in the NC Supreme Court Chief Justice contest, filed by candidate Cheri Beasley. He introduced the members of the Board of Elections to the court reporters present for the hearing, along with counsel for Chief Justice Beasley, Kathleen Glancy; counsel for Justice Newby, Alex Dale; and counsel to the Board, Kemp Burpeau, Deputy County Attorney. Chair Pollard announced the first item before the Board is the motion to dismiss, filed by Justice Newby, noting that the Board received response briefs to the motion to dismiss from counsel for Chief Justice Beasley. Member Bryan stated he received the response brief about 8:00 am today and has not had time to review it, further stating the deadline to receive all documents was Thursday, December 3 by 5:00 pm. Chair Pollard confirmed Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/07/2020 that that deadline applied to documentary evidence. The Board received a Memo of Law with three attachments, including the affidavit of Jillian Hopman who is present and prepared to testify. Counsel for Chief Justice Beasley has not submitted additional evidence. He allowed counsel for each party to present their case on the motion, limited to 10 minutes. Chair Pollard called on Mr. Dale, counsel for Justice Newby. Mr. Dale noted that the grounds for dismissal remain valid as a preliminary matter or after hearing the evidence. First, the protest addresses how votes were counted and is therefore not timely. According to NCGS §163-182.9 (b) (4), such a protest must be filed before the beginning of the canvass. Second, the protest addresses not the general rules for counting of ballots but rather how specific ballots were treated, and calls for the specific ballots to be counted. This leads to the third issue, grounded in the equal protection clause, addressing how the Board might remedy the alleged issues. Is the Board prepared to recanvass all ballots or hunt for other ballots similarly situated as the ones presented here and reconsider those as well? Review of the documentation submitted in support of the protest reduced the number of ballots in question from approximately 109 to 18, then that group was reduced further to 10, which is not outcome-determinative. Mr. Dale renewed his motion to dismiss the protest, which leaves Chief Justice Beasley with the option to appeal to the State Board of Elections (SBE). Chair Pollard called on Ms. Glancy, counsel for Chief Justice Beasley, for her response. Ms. Glancy noted that the Newby memo in support of the motion to dismiss missed the point. The protest does not address Election Day tabulation but rather the reasons for rejecting absentee-by-mail (ABM) and provisional ballots. The Beasley protest has already cleared the initial basis for dismissal when the Board agreed to proceed with this hearing. Whether the effect of the protest may be outcome-determinative is not based on the results in this county but must be measured state-wide. Ms. Glancy confirmed that she has reduced the challenge to the 18 voters listed in Attachment A to the Memorandum in Support of Challenged Ballots. Chair Pollard asked whether Mr. Dale had any response. Mr. Dale pointed out that SBE Memo 2020-25 is not related to this issue as it addresses the scanning process, not tabulation. Chair Pollard asked whether Ms. Glancy had any further response. She noted that this protest addresses other irregularities and therefore the deadline to file is two business days after the canvass by 5:00 pm. Even if the deadline was before the canvass, she has presented good cause for the delay in filing pursuant to NCGS §163-182.9 (b)(4). The Board discussed the possible reasons to dismiss the petition; considered the potential implications of reconsidering rejection of absentee ballots returned by an ineligible deliverer; and whether the protestor is submitting new evidence. Chair Pollard identified the two issues before the Board. The first is whether the protest was timely filed. The second is what a remedy might look like. He finds it inappropriate to rule on Mr. Dale’s motion to dismiss without hearing the evidence. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/07/2020 Chair Pollard asked Ms. Glancy to address the 6 new names added to her list. Ms. Glancy reported that there are 6 additional names. A public records request was filed on October 6, asking to see 93 absentee-by-mail return envelopes, but only 33 were available for inspection. The remaining 60 were not yet classified as public records because these were pending cure. They were not able to inspect the pending cure envelopes until December 4, when Justice Newby was also represented during the review. Member Bryan moved to dismiss the Beasley protest based on the reasons Mr. Dale put forward. Hearing no second, Chair Pollard ruled that the motion failed for lack of a second. Member Bryan moved to dismiss the protest as to the 6 added names. Hearing no second, Chair Pollard ruled that the motion failed for lack of a second. Chair Pollard moved the meeting into the evidentiary hearing at 1:35 pm. Three witnesses were sworn in anticipation of giving testimony: Director Hunter- Havens, Jillian Hopman and Bob Gatewood. Chair Pollard called on Ms. Glancy to present her evidence. Ms. Glancy verified she has 1½ hours to present her case and reserves any balance of her time for rebuttal. Her case will focus on 18 wrongfully rejected ballots, down from the original list of approximately 109. Of the 18, 7 were rejected due to delivery by an unauthorized deliverer; 5 had witness signature deficiencies; 3 had name deficiencies; and 3 presented with other deficiencies. Ms. Glancy called on Ms. Hopman to testify. After answering questions to establish her qualifications to give testimony, she testified that she received a list of 93 names of voters whose absentee ballots were rejected from the North Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) and attempted to review them on November 10. She was unable to review any of the rejected ballots that were “pending cure” because Director Hunter-Havens said these were still considered live ballots actively before the Board. She was able to review 33 of these ballots on November 10, but 60 were not made available. Director Hunter-Havens promised an electronic copy of these 60 ballots in time for the protest hearing scheduled for November 25, but this list was received on November 24, too late to review in time for the scheduled hearing. Upon motion, the Board kindly granted postponement of the hearing to December 7. Upon review, the electronic copies of the remaining ballots were scans of only the front of the return envelope, missing important details such as the staff’s hand-written notes and attached post-its on the back of the envelope explaining conversations with the voter and the reason the ballot was rejected. Petitioner respectfully requested to inspect the envelopes, which occurred on December 1st and 4th. Ms. Hopman proceeded to give her testimony regarding a group of 6 voters whose absentee ballots the Board rejected erroneously because the ballot was delivered in- Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/07/2020 person by third parties or individuals who were not the voter’s near relative or legal guardian as defined by statute. Member Bryan asked whether the Board is accepting hearsay evidence. Ms. Glancy cited the SBE’s Election Protest Procedures Guide, page 7, to support its admissibility. Chair Pollard asked if the witness’s testimony needs to go beyond her affidavit. The witness responded that the information is on the actual ballot. Deputy County Attorney Burpeau advised that the Board is not required to follow strictly the rules of evidence and can accept the affidavit as an exception to the hearsay rule as a record kept in the course of business. Chair Pollard advised the witness to limit her testimony to the affidavit and not testify as to what the voter may have told the witness. The witness responded that the affidavit contains details of what staff wrote about their conversations with the voter. Ms. Hopman proceeded with her testimony regarding the 6 voters:  Anita Michelle Brown: ballot returned by her pastor who is her power of attorney, but not her legal guardian. The ballot envelope included all required information. She was advised to submit a new ballot.  Ruby Hill Davis: ballot was returned by her niece, who is not an authorized near relative. Voter was upset and declared she would not vote again. The ballot envelope included all required information except the witness’s zip code.  Grace Pauline Talbot Fierimonte: ballot was returned by her godmother, who is not an authorized near relative. On follow up contact, staff learned that her godmother is also her legal guardian. The ballot envelope included all required information except the witness’s state in the address.  Jennifer Kim Martin: ballot returned by her fiancé, who is not an authorized deliverer. The envelope included all required information except the witness’s zip code.  Philip Henry Morgan, Jr.: ballot returned by his roommate, who is not an authorized deliverer. The envelope included all required information except the witness’s zip code.  Margaret Eames Murrell: ballot returned by her caregiver, who is not an authorized deliverer. Ms. Hopman testified that SBE Numbered Memo 2020-23 allows the Board to accept a ballot even though the deliverer is not a defined near relative or legal guardian. She observed the Brunswick County Board accept such ballots upon confirmation from the voter that is was their ballot and the voter had given it to the deliverer. Mr. Dale objected as to the relevance of the testimony as to what other Boards did. Chair Pollard sustained the objection. Deputy County Attorney Burpeau advised that the Board has full discretion to interpret the statute and to decline to hear or consider what other Board did. Ms. Glancy opposed the objection, stating that the SBE has supervisory authority and sets the standards for all county Boards to follow. The guidelines are not voluntary but directive. Mr. Dale responded that this is a legal argument. Chair Pollard noted that these 6 voters were included in the original petition. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/07/2020 Ms. Hopman resumed her testimony based on paragraph 14 of her affidavit. She testified that the Board erroneously rejected certain absentee-by-mail ballots that were submitted with witness-address deficiencies. According to her testimony, these types of deficiencies are addressed in SBE Numbered Memos 2020-19 and 2020-29, and gave the following examples:  Maranda Brooks: The witness, Larry Bass, gave his street address but did not include his city, state and zip code. Using the NCSBE “voter search” tool, she was able to find Mr. Bass registered at the street address given, located in Durham, NC 27707.  Haley Kathryn Dunn: The witness, Lydia Hendrix, provided her street address but did not include her city, state and zip code. By searching her name and street address, only one individual was found residing in Olean, NY 14760.  Alfonso and Jeanette Angelastro: A married couple, they returned their ballots together on October 28 and served as the witness for each other. In the witness section of both ballots, they correctly printed and signed their names but left the address line blank. When reviewed together, all identifying information is clearly available to locate and identify the witness or confirm the ballots are valid. Ms. Hopman found other county Boards that accepted such ballots according to the available minutes. Mr. Dale objected to the testimony regarding voters Dunn and Angelastro as these names were not presented in the original petition. Chair Pollard allowed the witness to continue. Ms. Hopman continued her testimony based on paragraph 15 of her affidavit. She contended that the Board erroneously rejected ballots submitted by voters with witness- name deficiencies but provided sufficient identifying information that the ballots should have been ultimately accepted according to SBE Numbered Memos 2020-19 and 2020- 29, and gave the following voter examples:  Kristin Graham: Voter Kristin Graham’s witness, Katelyn Graham, provided all required information, clearly and legibly signed her name, but failed to print her name on the line provided  June Schnovel: Voter Schnovel’s witness, Edith Russel, provided all required address information, clearly and legibly signed her name, but used the “print name” line to enter the first line of her address, thus failing to print her name.  Kimberly Wynn Morgan: Voter Kimberly Wynn Morgan’s witness, Kim Wilde Morgan, provided all required address information, and clearly and legibly signed her name. Given the similarity between the voter’s and witness’s names, it appears the Board may have concluded that the voter signed as her own witness.  Paige Hogan: Voter Hogan’s witness, Catie Corolla, provided all required address information, clearly and legibly signed her name, but failed to print her name on the line required.  Yisroel Tzvi Leibowitz: Voter Leibowitz’s witness, Zachary Ulrich, provided all required address information, clearly and legibly signed his name, but did not print his name on the line provided. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/07/2020 Mr. Dale objected, stating Ms. Schnovel voted in person and voters Morgan, Hogan and Leibowitz were not included in the original petition. Chair Pollard allowed the witness to continue. In each case, Ms. Hopman testified that the voter’s witness correctly executed the address and signature but failed to print their name. The absentee ballots were not approved even though the witness’s name was clearly legible and visible. In the case of voter Morgan, her witness had a very similar name, Kim Wilde Morgan, which may have mistakenly appeared to the Board as the voter signing as her own witness. However, using the NCSBE “voter tool”, Ms. Hopman was able to verify the voter and the witness and their respective addresses. Chair Pollard asked how Ms. Hopman determined that voter Morgan and her witness were not the same person. Ms. Hopman responded that while the names appear similar, her testimony is based on her actual inspection of the ballot return envelope. Member Bryan asked whether a cure deficiency letter was sent in these cases. Ms. Hopman answered that there was no staff indication that a cure letter was sent in these cases. Ms. Glancy answered that these deficiencies were not sufficient to disqualify these ballots and a cure letter was not necessary, whether sent or not. In fact, she was not able to verify a cure was sent at all when these ballot envelopes were inspected on December 4. Chair Pollard allowed witness Hopman to continue. Ms. Hopman testified that the Board also erroneously rejected absentee ballots due to other issues, even though the voter provided all required information on their container-return envelopes and the ballots should have been approved, and presenting these examples:  Raquan Xavier Browne: Voter Browne correctly filled out his first absentee ballot, including all required address and witness information, but a staff note on the envelope stated, “Rec’d Unsealed. Reissued 10/17/2020. Voter voted reissued ballot 10/28/2020.” There is no evidence that his first ballot was tampered with or damaged. When he returned his reissued ballot, the witness section was left blank. When the container-return envelopes are viewed together, all identifying information is available to validate his ballot. She cited a situation from Buncombe County that she thought to be similar where the Board accepted the second ballot returned in the first spoiled ballot container-return envelope.  Taylor Grey Twisdale: Mr. Twisdale correctly filled out his absentee ballot, but the Board wrote “SPOIL” with a line through the envelope. On the front, the Board wrote “VR NHC 3/6/2017; Abs Req. 10/7/2020; VR Forsyth 10/6/2020; Removed 10/10/2020.” According to the NCSBE website, Mr. Twisdale appears to be an active voter in Forsyth County, having changed his registration from New Hanover to Forsyth on October 6th, before requesting an absentee ballot in New Hanover on October 7th. She cited other situations where the Board for another county accepted similarly situated ballots, giving the example of a Buncombe County ballot mailed to the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections stamped as received on November 2nd and forwarded to and received by Buncombe County on November 9th. The Buncombe County Board unanimously accepted the ballot as having been received timely by a Board of Elections and the voter did not vote by any other method. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/07/2020  Leslie Rae Serban: Ms. Serban correctly filled out and sealed her ballot envelope, but on receipt the Board noted the top right corner was slightly torn and placed a note on the envelope, “Damaged + Reissued – 10/17/2020.” There was no indication that the ballot itself was tampered with or damaged. Other county Boards accepted ballots received in damaged container-return envelopes. Chair Pollard called on Mr. Dale to cross-examine the witness. Mr. Dale asked the witness whether she is familiar with this definition in NCGS §163- 230.1(h): "near relative" means spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent, or stepchild. He addressed the voters listed in paragraph 7 of Ms. Hopman’s affidavit which asserts that these absentee-by-mail ballots were erroneously not approved solely because these were returned by persons who do not meet the statutory definition of near relative. Upon questioning, Ms. Hopman confirmed that voter Fieremonte’s ballot was delivered by her godmother and legal guardian upon investigation; voter A. Brown’s was returned by her niece and according to Mr. Dale, citing her voter history, she voted in-person on Election Day, of which Ms. Hopman indicated she was not aware but the voter should not have been required to do so; voter R. Davis’s ballot was returned by her niece who is not a statute-authorized returner; voter Morgan’s ballot was returned by his roommate, not a statute-authorized returner and the envelope was missing his city and state, to which Ms. Hopman pointed out his zip code was indicated which confirms his city and state according to SBE Numbered Memo 2020-29; voter Murrell’s ballot was returned by her caregiver, not a statute-authorized returner, and according to Mr. Dale, citing her voter history, she voted in-person curbside on Election Day, of which Ms. Hopman indicated she was not aware but she should not have been required to do so. Mr. Dale asked Ms. Hopman if she agreed that both the North Carolina General Statutes and the North Carolina Administrative Code require in-person delivery of an absentee ballot by the voter or the voter’s near relative? She responded that the law requires the Board to accept the ballot if the only basis for rejection is who returned the ballot. In these cases, the Board spoke with the voter who affirmed their ballot, that the voter gave it to the returner, and it should have been accepted since there was no other basis on which to reject the ballot. Mr. Dale directed Ms. Hopman’s attention to the voters listed in paragraph 14 of her affidavit. The witness for voter Brooks did not include his city, state or zip code, only his street address. They discussed the requirements of SBE Numbered Memo 2020-29 for such missing information. SBE 2020-29 provides that if both the city and zip code are missing, staff must determine whether the correct address can be identified. If the correct address cannot be identified, the envelope is deficient. The memo gives criteria by which to determine the address, making the envelope not deficient:  The witness or assistant’s address is the same as the voter’s address, either because the witness or assistant wrote “same as above” or something similar or Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/07/2020 because the partial address matches the address of the voter or is on the same street as the voter’s address;  The witness’s or assistant’s name and partial address match that of a registered voter in the Board’s county in SEIMS; or  The street address is a valid address in the Board’s county, confirmed by using the county GIS website or similar tool. Use of an online directions tool, such as Google Maps, is not valid confirmation because it does not confirm whether an address is valid. Mr. Dale asked if voter Dunn was included in the support for the original protest petition. Ms. Hopman responded that Ms. Dunn was included in the list she received from the NCDP on or about November 10. Her witness’s address was missing the city, state and zip code. Her address was not the same as the voter’s, did not match a New Hanover County voter registration, and is not an address in New Hanover County. According to Ms. Hopman, using legal public record search tools, the address was found in Olean, NY. The search tool is not prohibited by SBE Numbered Memo 2020-29. Mr. Dale asked if the Angelastros were included in the support for the original protest petition. Ms. Hopman replied she was not sure. The couple submitted mutual ballots and neither provided an address as the witness for the other. Their ballots were not approved because of this deficiency. However, the available evidence was not considered and she offered to brief the issue for the Board. Mr. Dale directed Ms. Hopman’s attention to the voters listed in paragraph 15 of her affidavit. Ms. Hopman testified that, of the 5 voters listed, only Ms. Graham was included in the original petition. Although all were requested for review on October 6, Ms. Graham’s ballot envelope was the only one made available at that time. Mr. Dale cited SBE Numbered Memo 2020-19 which addresses container-return envelope deficiencies. Failure of the witness to print their name on the correct line is listed as a curable deficiency. Ms. Graham’s witness signed her name on the correct line but did not print her name on the line calling for that entry. Ms. Hopman contended that footnote 2 addressed this situation. Footnote 2 states: “If the name is readable and on the correct line, even if it is written in cursive script, for example, it does not invalidate the container- return envelope.” While the witness’s signature is on the correct line and is readable, the witness did not print her name on the line as instructed. Mr. Dale questioned Ms. Hopman about voter Ms. Schnovel, asking if Ms. Hopman was aware that, according to Ms. Schnovel’s voter history, she voted curbside on Election Day. Ms. Hopman contended that Ms. Schnovel should not have been required to vote in person on Election Day as she had completed and returned an absentee-by-mail ballot, signed the envelope but failed to print her name on the required line. This is a curable deficiency and a cure letter was sent. Ms. Hopman contended that the cure letter was not necessary as all the required information was present, although the voter used the printed name line for her street address. Mr. Dale asked similar questions about voters Morgan, Hogan and Leibowitz whose witnesses also failed to print their names on the required line. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/07/2020 Mr. Dale directed witness Hopman’s attention to the voters listed in paragraph 16 of her affidavit which classified other deficiencies as the basis for not approving their absentee- by-mail ballots. Mr. Browne’s first absentee ballot was spoiled because, although the envelope was correctly filled out, it arrived unsealed and a replacement was issued. The replacement ballot was returned without any witness signature or information. Ms. Hopman contended that the Board should have reviewed both envelopes together and found that all valid information was provided. Mr. Dale contended that each ballot and return envelope must stand on its own. He questioned the witness on the other voters and their situations as described in Ms. Hopman’s affidavit. In closing, Ms. Hopman noted that her testimony relied on her inspection of the envelopes as set out in her affidavit, all available county Board minutes, and observer reports from the Board’s absentee ballot review meetings. Ms. Glancy had no questions on redirect. At 2:59 p.m., Chair Pollard called for a 10-minute break. The hearing resumed at 3:14 p.m. Chair Pollard called on Ms. Glancy to call her next witness. Ms. Glancy called Bob Gatewood. Mr. Gatewood testified as an observer present at the Board’s absentee meetings. He testified regarding the Board’s treatment of ballots that were returned by ineligible returners because the returner was not a near relative or legal guardian, or was unknown due to poll worker error. He testified to the absentee ballots considered at the October 27 Board meeting as an example. The Board declined to approve 26 ballots that were returned by persons who were not the voters’ near relative or legal guardian, while the Board approved 12 absentee ballots returned at One Stop sites where the person who returned the ballot was unknown and attributed to poll worker error. Mr. Dale had no questions for this witness and Ms. Glancy had no further questions. Mr. Dale asked the Board to receive the evidence submitted timely with Justice Newby’s Supplemental Pre-Hearing Brief. Chair Pollard accepted the Supplemental Brief. Mr. Dale asked to address questions to Director Hunter-Havens. Chair Pollard granted the request. Mr. Dale asked Director Hunter-Havens whether she had reviewed the list of 18 voters listed on petitioner Beasley’s Attachment A. She replied that she had only looked at the list briefly. Her focus in preparing for the hearing was on verification of staff research notes. Mr. Dale reported that at least one of the voters, Ms. Browne, voted in person. He asked Director Hunter-Havens to explain the reasons absentee-by-mail ballots of the listed voters were not accepted:  Ms. Davis: staff notes indicate the ballot was returned by an ineligible deliverer.  Ms. Fierimonte: same reason. The deliverer did not identify herself as the voter’s legal guardian at the time of delivery. That status was asked on the form but was not reported or marked. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/07/2020  Ms. Martin: staff notes indicate the ballot was returned by an ineligible deliverer. Staff contacted the voter, explained the issue and described the voter’s options. There was no other follow up noted.  Mr. Morgan: staff notes indicate part of the address was missing. SBE Numbered Memo 2020-29 gave direction on the methods that may be used to verify a partial address. Here there was no city, state or zip code entered, making it deficient.  Ms. Murrell: her voter history showed she voted in person on Election Day. Director Hunter-Havens noted that SBE voter history is accurate but there is a lag time up to 2 weeks before it may be available.  Ms. Brooks: the witness gave only a street address, making it deficient.  Mr. Browne: SBE Numbered Memo 2020-29 requires that a ballot received in an unsealed return envelope must be automatically spoiled and reissued. There is no provision that allows reviewing two separate return envelopes together to determine acceptance. Each envelope must meet all qualifications to be approved. Mr. Dale had no further questions for this witness. Chair Pollard called on Ms. Glancy for her cross-examination. Ms. Glancy asked Director Hunter-Havens about several of the voters listed in Attachment A:  Ms. Fierimonte: this ballot was returned by the voter’s godmother who was also the witness. The voter confirmed that she gave the ballot to her godmother, who is also her legal guardian, to return and is a person known to the voter.  Mr. Morgan: ballot was returned by the voter’s roommate and the witness did not provide their city, state or zip code, making the witness’s address deficient.  Ms. Brooks: the witness’s address is missing the city, state and zip code and does not live in New Hanover County. The staff relies on the guidance from the SBE. Ms. Glancy had no further questions for this witness. Mr. Dale had no redirect. Chair Pollard invited any questions from the Board. He asked about voter Twisdale who changed his registration to Forsyth County. Director Hunter-Havens reported that the SBE continuously does periodic checks for removed or deceased voters throughout the absentee voting period. In this case the SBE removed the voter from the New Hanover County rolls because of his new registration in Forsyth County. Chair Pollard asked how damaged ballots and envelopes are handled. Director Hunter-Havens said these are accepted if staff is confident that the ballot was not tampered with based on the degree of damage. In the case of Ms. Serban’s absentee ballot, 2 large chunks were missing from 2 locations, making it possible to slide the ballot out. The ballot was spoiled and reissued per SBE guidance. Mr. Dale listed voters A. Browne, J. Schnovel, M. Murrell, and P. Morgan as having voted in person or curbside on Election Day. Ms. Glancy agreed to withdraw Chief Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/07/2020 Justice Beasley’s protest as to these 4 voters. Chair Pollard noted that leaves 14 for the Board’s consideration. Ms. Glancy asked whether the Director sought specific guidance for each of the absentee- by-mail ballots returned by someone who was not the voter’s near relative or legal guardian. Director Hunter-Havens sought guidance and the SBE directed the Board to reconsider these ballots which it did and held a second vote. Ms. Glancy asked whether the SBE’s guidance was to reconsider or to accept those ballots? Director Hunter-Havens stated the direction to the Board was to consider all the evidence. Ms. Glancy pointed out that 26 ballots were not approved on October 27, while 12 were approved based on poll worker error. Were any of the 26 identified in the Beasley protest? The 26 and the 6 identified in the Beasley protest all received Board review. There being no further questions, Chair Pollard, at the request of Member Washburn, noted that the evidentiary phase of the hearing was closed at 3:51 p.m. Chair Pollard called on Mr. Dale for his closing argument. Mr. Dale began by noting that the number of challenged absentee-by-mail ballots is now down from 18 to 14. No voters testified on their own behalf. Justice Newby’s memo, dated December 3, 2020, submitted timely, outlines his arguments. He urged the Board to reject consideration of the added names received today because they are submitted far beyond the protest deadline. He further pointed out there is no way for the Board to address issues such as these after the canvass is completed. Mr. Dale addressed these specific points: 1. Of the 6 voters included in the protest with issues of who returned their absentee ballot, 3 voted in person. The statute is mandatory as to who is authorized to return an absentee ballot. The 3 remaining protested ballots simply did not comply with the statute. The SBE must interpret the statute to achieve the legislature’s intent and SBE guidance cannot conflict with the statute. These ballots were properly rejected: R. Davis, G. Fierimonte, and J. Martin. 2. Ballots with issues of the deficiency of witness addresses were properly rejected: M. Brooks. The Board must exclude consideration of the H. Dunn, A. Angelastro, and J. Angelastro because these were added after the protest was filed. 3. Ballots with witness name deficiencies, specifically the witness failed to print their name on the correct line, must also be rejected: K. Graham. The Board must exclude consideration of the J. Schnovel, K. Morgan, T. Leibowitz, and P. Hogan ballots because these were added after the protest was filed. 4. Ballots with other deficiencies submitted by R. Browne, L. Serban, and T. Twisdale were properly rejected. The Board decided these absentee-by-mail ballot issues correctly in not accepting the ballots. Plaintiff has not met her burden of proof. Chair Pollard called on Ms. Glancy for her closing argument. Ms. Glancy addressed these points: Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/07/2020 1. The protest is filed timely and, based on SBE Numbered Memo 2020-25, addresses irregularities, not scanning or tabulating ballots. Protestor’s representatives appeared on October 6 to review the ballots in question but were only permitted to review about a third of the ballots requested. 2. The Board relied on binding memos from the SBE regarding delivery issues, specifically Numbered Memo 2020-23. Conducting this election in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused confusion with absentee-by-mail voting procedures and delivery by the US Postal Service. The statute draws arbitrary lines in the definition of near relative. The SBE guidance is clear that delivery by someone who does not meet the near-relative definition cannot be the sole basis for rejecting an absentee ballot. She encouraged the Board to reconsider and accept the ballots identified. 3. The Board should also accept the ballots submitted by the Angelastros because their address appears on the ballot envelope even though not printed on the witness line provided. The Board ought also to accept the ballots where the witnesses signed but did not also print their name because the name of the witness is clear in their readable signatures. In closing, she thanked the Board for taking their duties seriously throughout this election. Chair Pollard called on the Board members for discussion. The Board discussed the statutory definition of who may deliver an absentee-by-mail ballot and what a remedy would require if the Board reversed its previous decisions. Mr. Dale, on behalf of Justice Newby, renewed his motion to dismiss the protest. The protest argues that the Board erred in how it applied the SBE guidance to these 10 ballots. The Board must find that there was a violation of election law, irregularity or misconduct sufficient to cast doubt on the results of the election. Secretary Adger expressed her support for the Board’s previous decisions. New Hanover County has done an excellent job in administering this election and this Board has done its due diligence. This Board cannot defer to what other county boards did, which may have been improper. Member Bryan expressed his concern that all votes get counted and asked Director Hunter-Havens whether there were any cases of no voter follow up? All such voters were contacted at least once and given their options. There is no witness testimony otherwise. Chair Pollard reminded the Board that it must make findings of fact in support of their decision. He set out the Board’s options:  Was the protest timely filed?  Was the form of the protest proper?  Did the Board comply with the law?  Were there irregularities sufficient to cast doubt on the results? Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/07/2020  Were there irregularities but unable to determine those were sufficient to affect the results?  What is the remedy? Member Washburn moved to dismiss the protest because it lacks sufficient substantial evidence of a violation of law, irregularity or misconduct, second by Secretary Adger. Motion carried 4 to 1, Member Miller dissenting. Chair Pollard will be preparing a formal order which can be appealed to the State Board. He noted the parties have oral notice of the decision now and he will send the order to the parties within 5 business days as required. He expressed his thanks to counsel and appreciated the incredible work the Director and staff have done and noted the staff were as responsive to all public records requests as possible in the face of 75 percent voter turnout. ADJOURNMENT Chair Pollard declared the hearing adjourned at 4:53 p.m. The next Board meeting is scheduled to be held on December 9, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, Wilmington, NC. The purpose of the special meeting is to conduct the mandated hand-eye recount. APPROVED BY: RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY: __________________________ ______________________________ EVELYN D. ADGER RAE HUNTER-HAVENS SECRETARY ELECTIONS DIRECTOR Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/09/2020 SPECIAL MEETING New Hanover County Board of Elections December 9, 2020 1:00 PM ATTENDANCE Members: Thomas C. Pollard, Chair Evelyn D. Adger, Secretary Jonathan W. Washburn, Member Derrick R. Miller, Member Russ C. Bryan, Member Staff: Rae Hunter-Havens, Executive Director Caroline Dawkins, Elections Program & Outreach Coordinator Joan Geiszler-Ludlum, Administration Technician Sharon Smith, Temporary Support Technician Visitors: Sheryl Kelly, Assistant County Manager Public Attendees: Julius Rothlein, NHC GOP; Richard Poole, NHCDP; Trieste Dunn, NCDP/Beasley Campaign Telephonic attendees: None OPENING Chair Pollard called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. The New Hanover County Board of Elections meeting was held at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, Wilmington, NC. All members were present. AGENDA Secretary Adger moved that the agenda be approved as submitted, second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Pollard called on the public in-person attendees for their comments or questions, limited to two minutes each. Richard Poole introduced Trieste Dunn, an observer for Chief Justice Beasley’s campaign. Hearing no additional comments from the in-person or telephone attendees, Chair Pollard closed the Public Comment period. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/09/2020 GENERAL DISCUSSION Chair Pollard called on the Board members for any general discussion. Hearing none, he proceeded with the agenda. NEW BUSINESS Chair Pollard introduced the main purpose of the meeting: to conduct a hand-eye recount in the North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Seat 01 contest. The meeting will move to Human Resources Training Rooms A and B where the recount will occur, allowing more room and an area free of other materials. The recount is done by random selection by the North Carolina State Board of Elections. For New Hanover County, the recount will address a full count of Election Day precinct returns in precincts FP08, Carolina Beach Municipal Complex Recreation Center, and H03, Bradley Creek Elementary School. The observer area is cordoned off to protect ballot confidentiality and privacy. Observers are to be as quiet as possible and are required to turn off their phones and avoid texting to allow the teams to concentrate on their work. No videos or pictures are allowed during the recount. Board supervision is required throughout the recount, consisting of a minimum of quorum of the Board (any 3 members) or a bipartisan team of 2 members, 1 from each party. There will be two bi-partisan teams made up of a caller, an observer and 2 talliers. They will tally the called results in groups of 5 denoted by a diagonal line across the group and call “tally”. If both talliers do not call tally at the same time, the team will stop to resolve the difference before proceeding. Either the full Board or a quorum may be called on to adjudicate the voter’s intent when the bi-partisan counting team cannot clearly identify a vote for one candidate or another. Adjudicated ballots will be secured separately and retained. The Board asked questions about the conduct of the hand-eye recount and received clarifications. At 1:15 p.m., the meeting moved to HR Training Rooms A and B and the hand-eye recount began. At 1:52 p.m., the hand-eye recount was completed for both precincts. Chair Pollard announced the results: a. FP08 Carolina Beach Municipal Complex Recreation Center Beasley 153 Newby 347 Undervotes 28 The hand-eye count results match the machine count exactly and no vote changes are noted. Draft DRAFT Board Minutes – 12/09/2020 b. H03 Bradley Creek Elementary School Beasley 165 no change Newby 347 +1 Undervotes 27 Overvotes - 1 The hand-eye count tallied 1 more vote for Justice Newby than the machine count. One ballot was adjudicated, marked for Beasley then crossed out and marked for Newby. The machine would have read this ballot as an over-vote and not counted as a vote for either candidate. This concludes the hand-eye recount. ADJOURNMENT Member Washburn moved that the meeting be adjourned at 2:03 p.m., second by Chair Pollard. Motion carried unanimously. The next Board meeting is scheduled to be held on January 12, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, Wilmington, NC. APPROVED BY: RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY: __________________________ _____________________________ EVELYN D. ADGER RAE HUNTER-HAVENS SECRETARY ELECTIONS DIRECTOR Draft Regular Meeting New Hanover County Board of Elections January 12, 2021 Subject: Public Comment Summary: This is an opportunity for members of the public to provide comment on elections-related matters. Each commenter will be limited to two minutes. Board Action Required: Discuss as necessary Item # 2 Item # 2 Draft Regular Meeting New Hanover County Board of Elections January 12, 2021 Subject: General Discussion Summary: This is an opportunity for discussion on other elections-related matters not included in the meeting agenda. Board Action Required: Discuss as necessary Item # 3 Draft Regular Meeting New Hanover County Board of ElectionsJanuary 12, 2021 Subject: Director’s Report Summary: a.Financial Update The attached table provides the Board with a budget update, including the following: •Salaries and Benefits expended through FY20-21 6th Period (December) •Operating Expenses expended through FY20-21 6th Period (December) •Grand Total expended through FY20-21 6th Period (December) b.List Maintenance Update Per data provided from the Statewide Elections Information Management System (SEIMS), the New Hanover County Board of Elections completed the following: •Removed 5,461 voters from the voter registration rolls from September to December 2020 consistent with NC Gen. Stat. §163-82.14. •Processed 13,296 new registration forms, 24,317 duplicate registration forms, and 15,898 registration update forms from September to December 2020. Document/s Included: Financial Update FY20-21 6th Period (December); NVRA Report from September through December 2020; NVRA Visualizations Report; NVRA Report Definitions Board Action Required: Discuss as necessary Item # 2 Item # 4 Draft January 8, 2021 BOARD OF ELECTIONS BUDGET REPORT CHARGES FOR SERVICES FY19-20 ACTUALS FY19-20 6TH PERIOD ACTUALS FY20-21 6TH PERIOD ACTUALS FY20-21 TRANSFERS /ADJUSTMENTS FY20-21 ENC/REQ FY20-21 REVISED BUDGET FY20-21 PERCENT USED COUNTY CANDIDATE FILING FEES -10,251.00 -10,251.00 -20.00 0.00 0.00 -15.00 133.3% FEES -121,513.18 -92.40 -21.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 100.0% PRINTING FEES 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -100.00 0.0% TOTAL CHARGES FOR SERVICES -131,764.18 -10,343.40 -41.00 0.00 0.00 -115.00 35.7% INTERGOV REV-FEDERAL FY19-20 ACTUALS FY19-20 6TH PERIOD ACTUALS FY20-21 6TH PERIOD ACTUALS FY20-21 TRANSFERS /ADJUSTMENTS FY20-21 ENC/REQ FY20-21 REVISED BUDGET FY20-21 PERCENT USED G0531 GRANT-FEDERAL 0.00 0.00 0.00 -210,810.00 0.00 -210,810.00 0.0% G0532 GRANT-FEDERAL 0.00 0.00 0.00 -10,000.00 0.00 -10,000.00 0.0% G0532 GRANT-FEDERAL 0.00 0.00 -85,000.00 -85,000.00 0.00 -85,000.00 100.0% SALARIES & BENEFITS FY19-20 ACTUALS FY19-20 6TH PERIOD ACTUALS FY20-21 6TH PERIOD ACTUALS FY20-21 TRANSFERS /ADJUSTMENTS FY20-21 ENC/REQ FY20-21 REVISED BUDGET FY20-21 PERCENT USED SALARIES AND WAGES 292,566.29 135,799.32 159,758.10 0.00 0.00 438,478.00 36.4% CASUAL PART TIME SALARIES 205,766.14 64,463.63 303,424.74 0.00 0.00 193,389.00 156.9% G0531 CASUAL PART TIME SALARIES 0.00 0.00 0.00 105,405.00 0.00 105,405.00 0.0% G0532 CASUAL PART TIME SALARIES 0.00 0.00 0.00 5,000.00 0.00 5,000.00 0.0% G0540 CASUAL PART TIME SALARIES 0.00 0.00 0.00 75,000.00 75,000.00 0.0% OVERTIME PAY (OTP)5,832.27 1,086.51 13,489.56 0.00 0.00 24,218.00 55.7% SOCIAL SECURITY TAXES 23,709.84 10,985.66 18,494.35 0.00 0.00 50,193.00 36.8% RETIREMENT-LOCAL GOVT EMPL 26,880.49 12,317.67 17,667.80 0.00 0.00 36,899.00 47.9% MEDICAL INSURANCE EXPENSE 42,980.47 18,717.27 20,319.34 0.00 0.00 60,204.00 33.8% LONG TERM DISABILITY INSUR 572.85 271.12 311.11 0.00 0.00 722.00 43.1% SALARIES & BENEFITS TOTAL 598,308.35 243,641.18 533,465.00 185,405.00 0.00 989,508.00 53.9% Draft January 8, 2021 BOARD OF ELECTIONS BUDGET REPORT OPERATING EXPENSES FY19-20 ACTUALS FY19-20 6TH PERIOD ACTUALS FY20-21 6TH PERIOD ACTUALS FY20-21 TRANSFERS /ADJUSTMENTS FY20-21 ENC/REQ FY20-21 REVISED BUDGET FY20-21 PERCENT USED CONTR SERVS 174,909.39 54,014.41 311,368.10 26,313.00 69,923.44 265,903.00 143.4% G0531 CONTR SERV 0.00 0.00 0.00 105,405.00 0.00 105,405.00 0.0% G0532 CONTR SERV 0.00 0.00 0.00 5,000.00 0.00 5,000.00 0.0% G0540 CONTR SERV 0.00 0.00 0.00 10,000.00 0.00 10,000.00 0.0% RENT 2,375.00 625.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1,750.00 0.0% RENT-EQUIPMENT 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 200.00 0.0% ADVERTISING COST 4,078.45 2,385.60 0.00 0.00 0.00 2,500.00 0.0% CELLULAR EXPENSE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 456.00 0.0% POSTAGE EXPENSE 30,592.65 13,213.84 61,240.85 0.00 0.00 53,450.00 114.6% M&R-EQUIPMENT 21,596.22 37,066.30 0.00 0.00 0.00 50,900.00 0.0% PRINTING 120,620.62 21,342.83 8,116.16 0.00 74,725.50 61,330.00 135.1% PRINTER-COPIER COSTS &SUPP 6,459.36 2,493.58 3,429.96 0.00 0.00 10,000.00 34.3% SUPPLIES 65,955.58 7,425.42 79,985.07 0.00 23,994.00 88,901.00 117.0% SUPPLIES-COMPUTER&OTHER 15,227.64 11,679.64 1,721.16 0.00 0.00 962.00 178.9% DUES & SUBSCRIPTIONS 165.00 125.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 470.00 0.0% EMPLOYEE REIMBURSEMENTS 487.06 211.06 0.00 0.00 0.00 500.00 0.0% TRAINING & TRAVEL 6,614.03 4,055.40 201.98 0.00 0.00 8,500.00 2.4% INSURANCE&BONDS 3,746.71 3,746.71 4,214.62 -444.00 0.00 4,215.00 100.0% TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES 452,827.71 402,025.97 470,277.90 146,274.00 168,642.94 670,442.00 95.3% CAPITAL OUTLAY FY19-20 ACTUALS FY19-20 6TH PERIOD ACTUALS FY20-21 6TH PERIOD ACTUALS FY20-21 TRANSFERS /ADJUSTMENTS FY20-21 ENC/REQ FY20-21 REVISED BUDGET FY20-21 PERCENT USED CAPITAL OUTLAY 749,668.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0% TOTAL CAPITAL OUTLAY 749,668.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0% GRAND TOTAL 1,800,804.06 918,701.90 25,869.00 168,642.94 1,354,025.00 80.3% Draft NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS NVRA REPORT Reporting Period:-9/1/2020 12/31/2020 Totals Active 159,424 Inactive 19,816 Total Registration 179,240 REPORTING PERIOD Registrations Approved 13,427 Total Registrations Removed 5,461 Inactive Registrations Removed 1,684 New Registrations 00 - No Application Source 274 01 - Public Assistance 60 02 - Disability 1 03 - Other (ESC) 0 04 - Armed Forces 0 05 - DMV 2,410 06 - Mail-in 980 07 - In-person 3,684 08 - Library & High School 2 09 - Spanish Language Application 66 10 - Online Registration 4,276 17 - Registration Drives 1,350 21 - Medicaid Renewal 73 96 - Temporary FWAB Registrant 6 97 - Temporary FPCA Registrant 114 13,296 Duplicates 00 - No Application Source 123 01 - Public Assistance 32 02 - Disability 0 03 - Other (ESC) 0 04 - Armed Forces 0 05 - DMV 984 06 - Mail-in 17,440 07 - In-person 2,980 08 - Library & High School 3 09 - Spanish Language Application 19 10 - Online Registration 1,224 17 - Registration Drives 733 21 - Medicaid Renewal 65 95 - Voter Return of NCOA 75 96 - Temporary FWAB Registrant 23 97 - Temporary FPCA Registrant 187 98 - Voter Change On Confirmation 131 vtr_nvra_stat.rpt Page 1 of 5Jan 10, 2021 1:03 pm Draft NVRA REPORTNEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS 99 - Voter Change On Verification 298 24,317 vtr_nvra_stat.rpt Page 2 of 5Jan 10, 2021 1:03 pm Draft NVRA REPORTNEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS Changes of Information 00 - No Application Source 284 01 - Public Assistance 47 02 - Disability 4 03 - Other (ESC) 2 04 - Armed Forces 0 05 - DMV 1,835 06 - Mail-in 3,494 07 - In-person 5,433 08 - Library & High School 4 09 - Spanish Language Application 48 10 - Online Registration 2,900 17 - Registration Drives 1,189 21 - Medicaid Renewal 78 95 - Voter Return of NCOA 112 96 - Temporary FWAB Registrant 3 97 - Temporary FPCA Registrant 141 98 - Voter Change On Confirmation 129 99 - Voter Change On Verification 195 15,898 Verifications # of 1st & 2nd verification mailings sent 49,634 # of 1st NCOA mailings sent 0 # of 1st verification returned undeliverable 3,004 # of verification returned by voter 471 Confirmations # of confirmations returned by voter 256 # of confirmations sent 3,451 # of confirmations returned undeliverable 1,168 # of confirmations not returned at all 680 COUNTY STATISTICAL Constitution 106 Democratic 53,411 Green 137 Libertarian 1,450 Republican 55,771 Unaffiliated 68,365 American Indian 390 Asian 1,288 Black 20,630 Multi-Racial 1,051 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 11 White 133,209 Other 3,172 Undesignated 19,489 Hispanic 3,298 Not Hispanic 119,299 Undesignated 56,643 vtr_nvra_stat.rpt Page 3 of 5Jan 10, 2021 1:03 pm Draft NVRA REPORTNEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS Female 85,829 Male 73,312 Undesignated 20,099 Unprocessed Registrations - Incomplete Queue 00 - No Application Source 99 01 - Public Assistance 32 02 - Disability 0 03 - Other (ESC) 0 04 - Armed Forces 0 05 - DMV 559 06 - Mail-in 100 07 - In-person 114 08 - Library & High School 1 09 - Spanish Language Application 15 10 - Online Registration 224 17 - Registration Drives 230 21 - Medicaid Renewal 9 95 - Voter Return of NCOA 22 96 - Temporary FWAB Registrant 1 97 - Temporary FPCA Registrant 16 98 - Voter Change On Confirmation 46 99 - Voter Change On Verification 32 Unprocessed Registrations - Archive Queue 00 - No Application Source 0 01 - Public Assistance 0 02 - Disability 0 03 - Other (ESC) 0 04 - Armed Forces 0 05 - DMV 0 06 - Mail-in 0 07 - In-person 1 08 - Library & High School 0 09 - Spanish Language Application 0 10 - Online Registration 0 17 - Registration Drives 5 21 - Medicaid Renewal 0 95 - Voter Return of NCOA 1 96 - Temporary FWAB Registrant 1 97 - Temporary FPCA Registrant 26 98 - Voter Change On Confirmation 1 99 - Voter Change On Verification 0 Unprocessed Registrations - Review Queue 00 - No Application Source 6 01 - Public Assistance 0 02 - Disability 0 03 - Other (ESC) 0 04 - Armed Forces 0 05 - DMV 495 06 - Mail-in 80 07 - In-person 1,932 vtr_nvra_stat.rpt Page 4 of 5Jan 10, 2021 1:03 pm Draft NVRA REPORTNEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS 08 - Library & High School 0 09 - Spanish Language Application 0 10 - Online Registration 971 17 - Registration Drives 307 21 - Medicaid Renewal 3 96 - Temporary FWAB Registrant 0 97 - Temporary FPCA Registrant 4 vtr_nvra_stat.rpt Page 5 of 5Jan 10, 2021 1:03 pm Draft 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000 APPROVED REG REMOVED REG NVRA Monthly Statistics: Total Removed and Approved Registrations Dec-18 Jan-19 Feb-19 Mar-19 Apr-19 May-19 Jun-19 Jul-19 Aug-19 Sep-19 Oct-19 Nov-19 Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20 20-Aug 20-Sep 20-Oct 20-Nov 20-Dec Draft 0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 NEW DMV REG NEW REG ALL OTHERS DMV DUPLICATES ALL OTHER DUPLICATES DMV INFO CHANGE ALL OTHER INFO CHANGE NVRA Monthly Statistics: Voter Registrations Dec-18 Jan-19 Feb-19 Mar-19 Apr-19 May-19 Jun-19 Jul-19 Aug-19 Sep-19 Oct-19 Nov-19 Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20 20-Aug 20-Sep 20-Oct 20-Nov 20-Dec Draft 0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 140,000 160,000 1ST & 2ND VERIFICATIONS MAILED 1ST NCOA MAILED UNDELIVERABLE 1ST VERFICIATION RETURNED VERIFICATIONS MAILED CONFIRMATIONS RETURNED CONFIRMATIONS UNDELIVERABLE CONFIRMATIONS NVRA Monthly Statistics: Voter Card Mailings Dec-18 Jan-19 Feb-19 Mar-19 Apr-19 May-19 Jun-19 Jul-19 Aug-19 Sep-19 Oct-19 Nov-19 Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20 20-Aug 20-Sep 20-Oct 20-Nov 20-Dec Draft NVRA The SBE has an automated process, so there is no need to submit the report on a monthly basis, it is available for counties that would like to run the report for informational use. NVRA Report definitions: Prior to reviewing the NVRA report the following items need to be considered  Statistics are based on a time period  Temporary voters are ignored in these statistics.  These are interpretations of the SEIMS NVRA reports, not anything generated outside the SEIMS application.  See NVRA change explanation in the supplemental section. Description Definition Registrations Approved Number of verified voters during the time period. This is based off the following verification description: ‘NEW VOTER: VERIFIED’ Total Registrations Removed Number of voters that had their status changed to REMOVED during the time period Inactive Registrations Removed Number of voters that had their status changed from INACTIVE to REMOVED during the time period Total Registrations Removed Number of voters that had their status changed to REMOVED during the time period New Number of NVRA flagged new voter records by source code during the time period. Sources ‘15’, ‘17’, ‘19’ are combined into ‘05’, ‘07’, ‘09’ respectively. Sources ‘98’ and ‘99’ are ignored because these are change source codes Change Number of NVRA flagged change voter records by source code during the time period. Sources ‘15’, ‘17’, ‘19’ are combined into ‘05’, ‘07’, ‘09’ respectively Duplicate Number of NVRA flagged duplicate voter records by source code during the time period. Sources ‘15’, ‘17’, ‘19’ are combined into ‘05’, ‘07’, ‘09’ respectively Draft Verification:# of 1st & 2nd verification mailings sent This is based off the following verification descriptions: ‘NEW VOTER: 1ST VERIFICATION PENDING’, ‘NEW VOTER: 2ND VERIFICATION PENDING’, ‘VOTER CHG: 1ST VERIFICATION PENDING’, ‘VOTER CHG: 1ST VERIFICATION PENDING’, ‘LIST MAINT: 1ST VERIFICATION PENDING’ Verification:# of 1st verification returned undeliverable Number of 1st verification mailings returned undeliverable to the county during the time period. This is based off the following verification descriptions: ‘NEW VOTER: ADDR CONFIRMATION TO FWD ADDR (PRIOR TO MAILING)’, ‘NEW VOTER: 2ND VERIFICATION (PRIOR TO MAILING)’, ‘VOTER CHG: ADDR CONFIRMATION TO FWD ADDR (PRIOR TO MAILING)’, ‘VOTER CHG: ADDR CONFIRMATION TO OLD ADDR (PRIOR TO MAILING) Verification:# of verification returned by voter Number of verifications returned to the county by the voter during the time period. This is based off of source code ‘99’ changes Confirmation:# of confirmations returned by voter Number of verifications returned to the county by the voter during the time period. This is based off of source code ‘98’ changes Confirmation:# of confirmations sent Number of verifications returned to the county by the voter during the time period. This is based off of source code ‘98’ changes Confirmation:# of confirmations returned undeliverable Number of confirmation mailings returned undeliverable to the county during the time period. This is based off the reason changes to ‘CONFIRMATION RETURNED UNDELIVERABLE’ Confirmation:# of confirmations not returned at all Number of confirmation mailings not returned to the county at all during the time period. This is based off the reason changes to ‘CONFIRMATION NOT RETURNED’ Supplemental Explanation – NVRA Change/Duplicate Description For 1/7/2012 forward: NOTE: An NVRA Voter Change is marked if one of the following fields is changed (with a non-administrative change).  Name  Mailing Address  Birth Date Draft  Party  Residential Address NOTE: An NVRA Duplicate is marked if a voter change occurs but was not one of the fields indicated above to represent an NVRA change. Prior to 1/7/2012: NOTE: An NVRA Voter Change is marked if any of the fields below are updated for a voter.  Drivers license  Gender  Confidential Flag  Race  Party  Precinct  Mailing Address  Status  Municipality  Phone number  Name  Ward  Birth date  Residential Address  SSN NOTE: An NVRA Duplicate is flagged if none of the above occur, but one of the following fields are changed:  Reason  Registration date  Source  Application date  Comments  Language Draft Regular Meeting New Hanover County Board of Elections January 12, 2021 Subject: Adoption of Regular Meeting Schedule Applicable Statutes and/or Rules N.C. Gen. Stat §143-318.12(a) Provided is a proposed regular meeting schedule for the 2021 calendar year. Also included on the proposed regular meeting calendar are the following: Special Meetings: Board members are required to attend these meetings, in accordance with Chapter 163 of the NC General Statutes in order to review absentee ballot applications, count approved absentee ballots, and conduct the county canvass. Holidays: These are dates that the Board of Elections will be closed. One-Stop Voting Period: These are the dates that Absentee One-Stop Voting must be conducted for the 2021 Municipal Elections. The Board is not required to open for voting outside of normal business hours during this period, with the exception of the final Saturday preceding the election. Document/s Included: 2021 Calendar, 2021 Proposed Board Meeting Schedule Board Action Required: Staff recommends approval Item # 5a Draft Legend Holidays Absentee One-Stop Voting Voter Registration Deadline Regular Board Meeting Election Day Voting * Absentee Meetings Canvass Board Member Appointment Chief Judge/Judge Appointment 2021 JANUARY S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 FEBRUARY S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 MARCH S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 APRIL S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 MAY S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 JUNE S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 JULY S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 AUGUST S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 SEPTEMBER S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 OCTOBER S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12* 13 14 15 16 17 18 19* 20 21 22 23 24 25 26* 27 28 29 30 31 NOVEMBER S M T W T F S 1* 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 DECEMBER S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Draft NOTICE OF MEETINGS In accordance with N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-318.12(a), the New Hanover County Board of Elections will meet on the Tuesday following the second Monday of each month at 4:00 PM. All meetings are held at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34, Wilmington, NC 28403, unless otherwise noted in the board meeting notice. The schedule for all meetings in 2020 is as follows: Date Type Time Purpose 1/ 12/ 2021 Regular 4:00 P.M. Conduct business as needed 2/ 9/ 2021 Regular 4:00 P.M. Conduct business as needed 3/ 9/ 2021 Regular 4:00 P.M. Conduct business as needed 4/ 13/ 2021 Regular 4:00 P.M. Conduct business as needed 5/ 11/ 2021 Regular 4:00 P.M. Conduct business as needed 6/ 15/ 2021 Regular 4:00 P.M. Conduct business as needed 7/ 13/ 2021 Regular 4:00 P.M. Conduct business as needed 7/ 27/ 2021 Special 4:00 P.M. Board Member Appointments 8/ 10/ 2021 Regular 4:00 P.M. Conduct business as needed 8/ 17/ 2021 Special 4:00 P.M. Chief Judge/Judge Appointments 21-23 9/ 14/ 2021 Regular 4:00 P.M. Conduct business as needed 10/ 12/ 2021 *Special 5:00 P.M. Absentee Review Meeting 10/ 19/ 2021 Special 5:00 P.M. Absentee Review Meeting 10/ 26/ 2021 Special 5:00 P.M. Absentee Review Meeting 11/ 1/ 2021 Special 5:00 P.M. Absentee Review Meeting 11/ 2/ 2021 Special 2:00 P.M. Count Absentee Ballots 11/ 9/ 2021 Regular 4:00 P.M. Conduct business as needed TBD Special 2:00 P.M. Count Absentee & Provisional Ballots 11/12/2021 Special 11:00 A.M. County Canvass of Election Results 12/ 14/ 2021 Regular 4:00 P.M. Conduct business as needed * Denotes a regular meeting that falls on the date of a special meeting required by statute If any meetings of the Board of Elections are added to this calendar, or cancelled, notice will be provided. For more details on the Board of Elections, please call 910-798-7330 or visit our website at nhcvote.com. Draft Regular Meeting New Hanover County Board of Elections January 12, 2021 Subject: FY21/22 Budget Enhancement Requests Applicable Statutes and/or Rules N/A Summary: The attached budget enhancement requests will be submitted with the proposed FY21/22 budget. The proposed budget will be submitted for review by the Board at the February board meeting. Document/s Included: Organization Charts; Job Assessment Tool-Deputy Director; Job Assessment Tool-Logistics Specialist; Enhancement Request Forms-Election Official Management Software; New Position Enhancement Request Forms (Provided at Meeting) Board Action Required: Staff recommends approval Item # 5b Draft Board of Elections Elections Compliance Database & Systems Elections Director Elections Specialist Elections Specialist Program & Outreach Administrative Rae Hunter-Havens Vacant Sornatha Fulford Elizabeth Burns Gina Herring Caroline Dawkins Joan Geiszler– Ludlum Current Hierarchy Draft Board of Elections Elections Compliance Database & Systems Elections Director Elections Specialist Elections Specialist Program & Outreach Administrative Rae Hunter-Havens Vacant Sornatha Fulford Elizabeth Burns Gina Herring Caroline Dawkins Joan Geiszler– Ludlum Elections Deputy Director Logistics Specialist Vacant Vacant Projected Hierarchy with Added Positions Draft 1 Job Assessment Tool © New Hanover County, North Carolina The Job Assessment Tool is a document used to gather information from employees about their jobs. Specifically, you will be asked to give us feedback on your role, responsibilities, and duties in the organization. Your information is critical to Evergreen Solutions’ review of how fairly the organization compensates employees performing similar jobs. The Evergreen Solutions team will use this information to determine how work is organized, to recommend appropriate pay levels and ranges, and to design a new compensation and classification system that is fair and equitable to all employees. Your information is not used to assess individual performance, adjust staffing levels in your organization, reduce current salaries, or eliminate positions. Please complete all sections to the best of your ability. By providing clear and complete information about your job, you can help the Evergreen Solutions team gain a thorough understanding of the jobs in your organization. Evergreen Solutions, LLC 2878 Remington Green Circle Tallahassee, Florida 32308 850.383.0111 850.383.1511 fax www.ConsultEvergreen.com Employee’s Name: Rae Hunter-Havens Individual Completing JAT (if different than above): Phone/Extension: 910-798-7287 Job Title: Elections Director Agency/Department: NHC Board of Elections Working Title: Elections Deputy Director (Proposed New Position) Date: January 5, 2021 E-mail Address: rhavens@nhcgov.com User ID for online JAT: Draft Job Assessment Tool 2 SECTION 1.0 JOB OVERVIEW Official Workweek in hours (please identify your official workweek, rather than actual hours worked) Less than 15 15 – 20 21 – 30 31 - 37.5 40 Greater than 40 Status (please choose one) Full time Less than full time SECTION 2.0 JOB DESCRIPTION Briefly provide an overview of your job, including a description of the purpose of your job and the type of work you do. This may be the same as the introduction to your current job description, but it does not need to be. Performs specialized work supporting the Director, including supervision of staff, development and implementation of procedural and technical improvements, conduction of voter education programs, oversight of elections website, in-person voting, fulfillment of public records requests, public affairs liaison, board meeting preparation, and oversight of social marketing, election official training, inventory management/distribution and management of election budget expenditures related to election officials, community education and outreach, and voting site management . The Deputy Director’s primary role is to ensure continuity of operations in the event of the Director’s absence and directly supervise employees responsible for voter registration, program and outreach, and logistics. The introduction of the Deputy Director role establishes long-term safeguards to ensure that the highest level of customer service is maintained even in the event of departmental vacancies and increased demands of large elections events. Draft Job Assessment Tool 3 Please indicate below the number of people you supervise directly and/or indirectly. Directly: Full-time 3 Part-time, Reduced Hours, and Temporary 3 to 7 (Direct supervision is the management or supervision of employees who report work to you and who you evaluate without assistance. Please do not include subcontractors.) Indirectly: Full-time Part-time, Reduced Hours, and Temporary (Indirect supervision is the management or oversight of employees who report to you through another supervisor who reports directly to you. Please do not include subcontractors.) SECTION 3.0 JOB FUNCTIONS In the tables provided on following pages, please include all essential job functions you perform. For every function you list, please note how often you perform the function— Daily, Weekly, Monthly, A Few Times Per Year, or Annually. Then, estimate the total percent of your time spent on each function on an annual basis. Lastly, please check off the five most important functions you perform. Example 1 Job Function Create and maintain department filing system Frequency of Function Daily Percentage of time spent on function 25 Most Important Function YES Example 2 Job Function Compile, calculate, and maintain department payroll records Frequency of Function Monthly Percentage of time spent on function 15 Most Important Function YES Draft Job Assessment Tool 4 JOB FUNCTIONS (Continued) Job Function Supervises staff to include prioritizing and assigning work; conducting performance evaluations; ensuring staff is trained. Frequency of Function Weekly Percentage of time spent on function 20% Most Important Function YES Job Function Develops and implements procedural and technical improvements. Frequency of Function Monthly Percentage of time spent on function 10% Most Important Function YES Job Function Provide assistance in development and conduction of voter education and registration drive programs in cooperation with candidates, political parties, and civic organizations Frequency of Function Monthly Percentage of time spent on function 5% Most Important Function YES Job Function Oversight of Elections Website Frequency of Function Monthly Percentage of time spent on function 5% Most Important Function YES Draft Job Assessment Tool 5 JOB FUNCTIONS (Continued) Job Function In-person Voting Specialist Frequency of Function Monthly Percentage of time spent on function 15% Most Important Function YES Job Function Assist Director in Fulfillment of Public Records Requests (Election Events Records, Party Requests, Press Requests) Frequency of Function Semi-Annually Percentage of time spent on function 5% Most Important Function YES Job Function Public Affairs Frequency of Function Weekly Percentage of time spent on function 10% Most Important Function YES Job Function Supervision of Voter Registration Processes Frequency of Function Weekly Percentage of time spent on function 5% Most Important Function YES Draft Job Assessment Tool 6 JOB FUNCTIONS (Continued) Job Function Oversight of Social Media, Marketing and Press Releases Frequency of Function Monthly Percentage of time spent on function 5% Most Important Function YES Job Function Oversight of Community Engagement and Education (In-Person and Virtual) Frequency of Function Monthly Percentage of time spent on function 5% Most Important Function YES Job Function Oversight of Inventory Management and Distribution Frequency of Function 5% Percentage of time spent on function Monthly Most Important Function Draft Job Assessment Tool 7 JOB FUNCTIONS (Continued) Job Function Ensure continuity of operations in the event of the Director’s absence. Frequency of Function Weekly Percentage of time spent on function 10% Most Important Function YES SECTION 4.0 TYPE OF WORK PERFORMED Please check the one box that best describes the type of work you do. If you check box 3, 4, or 5 there are additional questions below. 1. Clerical or Manual 4. Managerial/Professional 2. Technical/Paraprofessional 5. Executive/Advanced Professional 3. Administrator 6. Laborer/Trade-Based Occupations 4.1 ADMINISTRATOR DESCRIPTION If you checked "Administrator" above, please check "yes" or "no" below to indicate whether the description below applies to the work you perform. My work requires the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance. I regularly compare and evaluate possible courses of conduct, and then act or make a decision after the various possibilities have been considered. My decisions and recommendations may be reviewed at a higher level and, upon occasion, revised or reversed. I customarily and regularly exercise independent judgment in performing my essential tasks because: (The following are examples of the exercise of "discretion and judgment" with respect to "matters of significance". Your job may require one or more duties or responsibilities that are the same or similar to those listed.)  I have authority to formulate, affect, interpret, or implement management policies or operating procedures.  My work affects organization business operations to a substantial degree even though assignments are related to a particular segment.  I can commit the organization in matters that have significant financial impact.  I have authority to waive or deviate from established policies or procedures without prior approval. Draft Job Assessment Tool 8  I can negotiate and bind the organization on significant matters.  I provide consultation or expert advice to management.  I am involved in planning long- or short-term business objectives.  I investigate and resolve matters of significance on behalf of management.  I represent the organization in handling complaints, arbitrating disputes or resolving grievances.  The manuals, guidelines or other established procedures I use contain or relate to highly technical, scientific, legal, financial or other similarly complex matters. (These materials can only be understood or interpreted with advanced or specialized knowledge and skills.). Yes No 4.2 MANAGERIAL/PROFESSIONAL DESCRIPTION If you checked "Managerial or Professional" above, please check "yes" or "no" to indicate whether the description below applies to the work you perform. My primary duty is performance of work requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning. This advanced knowledge was acquired through a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and academic training. I am in a professional job role because:  I use my advanced knowledge to analyze, interpret or make deductions from varying facts or circumstances.  My job does not involve routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical work and knowledge cannot be attained at the high school level.  My occupation has recognized professional status, as distinguished from the mechanical arts or skilled trades.  My job requires possession of an appropriate academic degree. However, the necessary advanced knowledge can be attained through a combination of work experience and intellectual instruction. (For example: a Chemist who does not have a degree in Chemistry.). Yes No Is your professional work considered computer-related? Computer-related occupations have primary duties that include at least one of the following (or similar) tasks:  Application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software, or system functional specifications.  Design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing or modification of computer systems or programs.  Design, documentation, testing, creation, or modification of computer programs related to machine operating systems. Yes No Draft Job Assessment Tool 9 4.3 EXECUTIVE/ADVANCED PROFESSIONAL DESCRIPTION If you checked "Executive or Advanced Professional" above, please check "yes" or "no" to indicate whether the description below applies to the work you perform. My primary duty is management of a recognized department or agency, or subdivision. I regularly direct the work of two or more other full-time employees. I have the authority to hire or fire other employees; or, my suggestions and recommendations as to hiring, firing, advancement and promotion or other change of status of other employees are frequently requested and relied upon. I am in an executive and/or management role because:  I determine policies and work procedures; or the type of materials, supplies, machinery, and equipment of tools to be used.  I also provide for the safety and security of employees or property; plan and control the budget; and monitor or implement legal compliance measures. Yes No SECTION 5.0 EDUCATION To perform your job correctly, how much education should you be required to have? Up to and including some high school Some graduate work *How many hours? High school diploma/GED Master’s Degree Some college *How many hours? Doctorate Degree Associate’s Degree Other Bachelor’s Degree Please list any licenses, certifications, or professional designations you believe should be required for your position. State certification as an elections administrator within 1 year of employment. Please list any licenses, certifications, or professional designations you believe should be preferred for your position. State certification as an elections administrator. Two years of elections experience and 3 years of work experience in managerial/professional positions or other comparable work experience. Draft Job Assessment Tool 10 SECTION 6.0 WORK EXPERIENCE To perform your job correctly, how much experience should you be required to have? No experience required 4 Years Six months 5 Years 1 Year 6 Years 2 Years 7-10 Years 3 Years Over 10 Years Do you think applicants should be able to substitute appropriate education for previous work experience? Yes No Do you think applicants should be able to substitute previous work experience for appropriate education? Yes No Draft Job Assessment Tool 11 SECTION 7.0 LEADERSHIP Please read the responses below and pick the one closest match to your level of leadership in the organization. For all additional responses that reflect your level of leadership, please check “May Apply.” I follow specific directions provided by my supervisor and receive feedback on what I do. Closest Match May Apply I have procedures to follow for my work and my supervisor checks my work often. Closest Match May Apply I have guidelines for my work, but I determine the approach for doing the work. My supervisor focuses on the outcomes of my work. Closest Match May Apply I work from a general outline of duties and responsibilities. Other employees assist me in completing our work. Closest Match May Apply I oversee the work of a team engaged in providing specific services, completing specific projects, or assisting other units. Closest Match May Apply I organize work around broad organizational goals and processes. My supervisor oversees my activities through regular meetings. Closest Match May Apply I oversee, plan, and implement major programs and services for the organization. I report on my progress to the organization's executive team. Closest Match May Apply I determine strategy as well as long range goals for the organization. I design processes, allocate resources, and report to elected officials or the public. Closest Match May Apply Please provide below a brief explanation of why the closest match you selected applies to your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection. The Deputy Director’s primary role is to ensure continuity of operations in the event of the Director’s absence. This function is accomplished through the execution of assigned responsibilities and knowledge advancement and application in all areas associated with elections administration. The Deputy Director performs specialized work supporting the Director, including supervision of staff, development and implementation of procedural and technical improvements, conduction of voter education programs, oversight of elections website, in-person voting administrator, fulfillment of public records requests, public affairs liaison, board meeting preparation, and oversight of social marketing, election official training and inventory management/distribution. In order to Draft Job Assessment Tool 12 successfully complete all required statutory duties associated with these responsibilities, the Deputy Director will oversee three positions: Program and Outreach Coordinator, Elections Specialist (Registrar), and Logistics Specialist (Proposed New Position). SECTION 8.0 WORKING CONDITIONS Please read the responses below and pick the one closest match to the working conditions you experience in your job. For all additional responses that reflect your working conditions, please check “May Apply.” I work in a relatively safe, secure, and stable work environment. Closest Match May Apply I work in a safe and secure work environment that may periodically have unpredicted requirements or demands. Closest Match May Apply I work in a dynamic environment that requires me to be sensitive to change and responsive to changing goals, priorities, and needs. Closest Match May Apply I work in an environment with heavy equipment and machinery that could result in bodily harm to my co-workers or others. Closest Match May Apply I deal with crisis situations that require me to make major decisions involving people, resources, and property. Closest Match May Apply I spend part of my time working in an environment where errors on my part can lead to significant physical or mental consequences for me or others. Closest Match May Apply I spend most of my time working in a physically threatening environment that requires me to make life and death decisions for me and others. Closest Match May Apply I regularly make decisions that could lead to major community or organizational consequences if I fail to make the appropriate decision at the time. Closest Match May Apply Please provide below a brief explanation of why the closest match you selected applies to your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection. The Deputy Director is responsible for executing tasks in a very dynamic environment characterized by changing statutory, administrative, and technical requirements that require a high level of analytical, communication, and technical skills in order to Draft Job Assessment Tool 13 efficiently and productively achieve the desired outcomes and provide a high level of customer service to citizens of New Hanover County. SECTION 9.0 COMPLEXITY Please read the responses below and pick the one closest match to the level of complexity of your job. For all additional responses that reflect your work complexity, please check “May Apply.” I perform specific clerical or manual tasks. Some of my typical responsibilities may include copying, maintaining files, or entering data OR utilizing light mechanical equipment such as a vehicle, lawn mower, or hand tool OR clean and maintain a facility. Closest Match May Apply I perform work that necessitates some specialized knowledge of clerical or trades-based tasks. Some of the typical responsibilities include gathering, formatting, or visually analyzing data OR operating construction or warehouse equipment (moving vans, dump trucks, front-end loaders). Closest Match May Apply I perform technical or trades-based work that requires a solid understanding of basic algebra and statistics OR use of heavy equipment. Some of the tasks performed include participating in data collection and detailed analysis; reporting on the accomplishment of specific departmental goals and tasks; OR operating or repairing heavy equipment (bulldozers, cranes, graders). Closest Match May Apply I perform entry-level professional work including basic data analysis and synthesis, report creation, process performance, and regulatory or compliance activities. My work involves statistics, operations analysis, or forecasting. Closest Match May Apply I perform professional-level work dealing with data, people, and technology that relates to administrative, technical, scientific, engineering, accounting, legal, or managerial skills. Closest Match May Apply I perform work that encompasses advanced technical, scientific, legal, or mathematical concepts. My work directly contributes to the implementation of specific policies, programs, or initiatives of the organization. Closest Match May Apply I oversee work that involves the use of complex technical, scientific, or mathematical concepts that increases the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization. I analyze and make recommendations on how to improve the operational performance of the organization. Closest Match May Apply I develop policies, long range plans, and allocate funds. I make decisions that involve multiple priorities, limited resources, and internal and external challenges. Most of my decisions impact the organization as a whole. I report to elected or appointed officials who hold me accountable for the success of the organization. Closest Match May Apply Draft Job Assessment Tool 14 Please provide below a brief explanation of why the closest match you selected applies to your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection. The administrative, technical, and managerial aspects of the proposed Deputy Director position require advanced analytical, technical, and problem solving skills to identify problems, resolve issues, and improve upon comprehensive structures already currently in place. SECTION 10.0 DECISION MAKING Please read the responses below and pick the one closest match to the level of decision making of your job. For all additional responses that reflect the decision making required in your job, please check “May Apply.” I perform routine or clearly defined activities under close supervision. Most of my decisions regarding my activities and priorities are made by supervisors. Closest Match May Apply I follow specific procedures that may result in interaction with co-workers, citizens, or other individuals. I make a few decisions regarding my activities and priorities. Closest Match May Apply I work in a responsive environment where co-workers or citizens bring problems to me for resolution. I am responsible for determining the problem and creating an individual solution for the issue. Closest Match May Apply I make decisions that govern my activities as well as others. My decisions impact how our unit provides services and support to internal and external customers. Closest Match May Apply I follow basic guidelines for operational activities. I make decisions that govern the activities and behaviors of staff members. My work directly impacts other workers, citizens, or both. Closest Match May Apply I oversee numerous functions and staff. I am principally responsible for determining policies and procedures that will ensure the success of our operation. Closest Match May Apply I am responsible for determining goals, policies, and desired outcomes for multiple units. I determine the appropriate level of resources to meet the organization's needs. Closest Match May Apply I perform work that involves high level issues, processes, or organizational needs. My decisions impact the community at large, most of the staff, or both. I am evaluated by elected officials or senior managers based on the outcomes of my decisions. Closest Match May Apply Draft Job Assessment Tool 15 Please provide below a brief explanation of why the closest match you selected applies to your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection. The Deputy Director will supervise three staff members who are primarily responsible for executing key tasks associated with voter registration, in-person voting, outreach, voter education, and polling place management. While the overall department goals and policies are set by the Director following current statutory and administrative mandates, the Deputy Director will play a central role in the development of internal policies and procedures used to meet the goals associated with the substantive areas outlined above. SECTION 11.0 RELATIONSHIPS Please read the responses below and pick the one closest match to types of relationships present in your position. For all additional responses that reflect the types of relationships found in your job, please check “May Apply.” I work primarily alone. Closest Match May Apply I work with less than ten co-workers who are mostly engaged in the same activities as me. Closest Match May Apply I work with more than ten coworkers who mostly engage in the same activities as me. Closest Match May Apply I oversee and manage more than two employees in the organization performing similar work. Closest Match May Apply I oversee and manage more than two employees in the organization performing different types of work. Closest Match May Apply I oversee and manage work involving multiple units. I work regularly with other managers to successfully meet the goals and objectives of our organization. Closest Match May Apply I provide updates to senior managers, elected officials, or other community groups or organizations. I work regularly with other Directors or senior managers to ensure the provision of efficient and effective services. Closest Match May Apply Draft Job Assessment Tool 16 Part of my performance is tied to how well I respond to members of the community or internal peers within the organization. I interact with senior managers, citizens, and elected officials on a regular basis. My primary role in the organization is to ensure that the principles and objectives of the elected officials are implemented in an efficient and effective manner. Closest Match May Apply Please provide below a brief explanation of why the closest match you selected applies to your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection. The Deputy Director will oversee three employees who are performing very different types of work. The Program & Outreach Coordinator is responsible for the recruitment, training and retention of election officials as well as the planning, creating, and executing community engagement and education initiatives. The Logistics Specialist (Proposed New Position) is responsible for inventory management, voting site logistics, management of multipartisan assistance teams, and Human Resources/Finance liaison. The Elections Specialist (Registration) is the primary manager of the voter registration database and responsible for executing all required statutory and administrative tasks associated with processing voter registration forms and list maintenance of the voter registration rolls. The oversight of each of the substantive areas requires advanced managerial and technical skills. SECTION 12.0 FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES Please check each box that applies to the financial responsibilities you have in your job. You may check as many boxes as apply. Does not apply to my job Determine allocation of budget among departments Accept, receive, and/or collect payments Determine allocation of budget among divisions Prepare and/or process purchase orders Manage the budget within assigned department Draft Job Assessment Tool 17 Accountable for inventory/property management Purchasing authority up to $1,000 without approval from supervisor Determine individual benefit eligibility Purchasing authority up to $5,000 without approval from supervisor Manage or administer grant funds Purchasing authority up to $10,000 without approval from supervisor Make recommendations that impact the budget Purchasing authority up to $25,000 without approval from supervisor Manage the budget within assigned unit/division Purchasing authority up to $50,000 without approval from supervisor Please provide below a brief explanation of why the financial responsibilities you selected apply to your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection(s). The Deputy Director will work closely with the Director of Elections to manage the budget, specifically as it relates to the expenditures associated recruitment, assignment, and training of election officials, community education and outreach, and voting site management. In the execution of his/her assigned duties, the Deputy Director will be responsible for making recommendations that directly impact the elections budget. Draft Job Assessment Tool 18 SECTION 13.0 USE OF EQUIPMENT AND MACHINERY Please check each box that applies to the use of equipment and/or machinery in your job. You may check as many boxes as apply. Does not apply to my job Repair, develop, or install computer hardware or network systems Use small office equipment, including copy machines or multi- line telephone systems Repair, develop, or install complex software or management information systems Use computers for data entry Supervise employees using or repairing heavy or complex machinery Use computers for word processing and/or accounting purposes Supervise employees developing, installing, or repairing technology systems Use highly technical computer applications, such as GIS or CAD Establish policies for using, acquiring, and/or maintaining heavy or complex machinery Use or repair small/light equipment, such as power tools Establish policies for using, acquiring, and/or maintaining technology systems Use or repair medium equipment and machinery, such as vehicles or commercial mowers Create and guide implementation of capital improvement plans or programs Use or repair heavy or complex machinery, such as HVAC systems, construction equipment, or water plants Create plans for and guide implementation of major construction projects Repair, develop, or install telecommunications systems Create plans for and guide implementation of new technology systems Please provide below a brief explanation of why the uses of equipment and machinery you selected apply to your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection(s). The Deputy Director is responsible for using, and managing other employees who use, complex technical programs developed by the NC State of Elections on a daily basis for the management of all election administration processes, including Voter Registration, Petition Processing, GIS Management of Addresses (Geocodes), Election Setup, Candidate Filing, One Stop Management, and Absentee Voting. Draft Job Assessment Tool 19 SECTION 14.0 PHYSICAL ABILITIES Please indicate below all physical abilities you must have to perform your essential job functions. You may check as many abilities as apply to your job. However, you should only check off physical abilities that are required to perform your essential job functions. Does not apply to my job. Crawling: Moving about on hands and knees or hands and feet. Sedentary work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Crouching: Bending the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine. Light work: Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force to move objects. Feeling: Perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips. Medium work: Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 30 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling. Heavy work: Exerting up to 100 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 50 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 20 pounds of force constantly to move objects Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm. Very heavy work: Exerting in excess of 100 pounds of force occasionally and/or in excess of 50 pounds of force frequently, and/or in excess of 20 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Handling: Picking, holding, or otherwise working, primarily with the whole hand Balancing: Maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling while walking, standing or crouching on narrow, slippery, or erratically moving surfaces. The amount of balancing exceeds that needed for ordinary locomotion and maintenance of body equilibrium. Hearing 1: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound. Climbing: Ascending or descending ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, poles and the like, using feet and legs and/or hands and arms. Body agility is emphasized. Hearing 2: Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound. Draft Job Assessment Tool 20 Kneeling: Bending legs at knee to come to a rest on knee or knees. Stooping: Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires full motion of the lower extremities and back muscles. Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires substantial use of upper extremities and back muscles. Talking 1: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly. Mental Acuity: Ability to make rational decisions through sound logic and deductive processes. Talking 2: Shouting in order to be heard above ambient noise level. Pulling: Using upper extremities to exert force in order to draw, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion. Visual Acuity 1: Have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading. Pushing: Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force in order to thrust forward, downward or outward. Visual Acuity 2: Including color, depth perception, and field vision. Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction. Visual Acuity 3: Visual Acuity to determine the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of the work assigned or to make general observations of facilities or structures. Repetitive Motion: Substantial movements (motions) of the wrist, hands, and/or fingers. Visual Acuity 4: Have visual acuity to operate motor vehicles and/or heavy equipment. Speaking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including the ability to convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately and concisely. Visual Acuity 5: Have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: visual inspection involving small defects, small parts, operation of machines; using measurement devices; and/or assembly or fabrication parts at distances close to the eyes. Standing: Particularly for sustained periods of time. Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another. Draft Job Assessment Tool 21 Please provide below a brief explanation of why the physical abilities you selected are required in your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection(s). The Deputy Director will be required to use all of the physical abilities selected to successfully perform the duties assigned to this position. For Supervisors Please review the employee’s Job Assessment Tool and indicate for each section whether you agree or disagree with the information provided by the employee. Additional comments should be included in the space below and should be designed to help Evergreen Solutions gain a clear understanding of the employee’s work. For any section with which you disagree, please include a detailed explanation of your disagreement. SECTION 1.0 JOB OVERVIEW I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 2.0 JOB DESCRIPTION I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 3.0 JOB FUNCTIONS I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Draft Job Assessment Tool 22 Supervisor Comments SECTION 4.0 TYPE OF WORK PERFORMED I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 5.0 EDUCATION I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 6.0 WORK EXPERIENCE I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 7.0 LEADERSHIP I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments Draft Job Assessment Tool 23 SECTION 8.0 WORKING CONDITIONS I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 9.0 COMPLEXITY I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 10.0 DECISION MAKING I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 11.0 RELATIONSHIPS I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments Draft Job Assessment Tool 24 SECTION 12.0 FINANCIAL RESPONSABILITIES I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 13.0 USE OF EQUIPMENT AND MACHINERY I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 14.0 PHYSICAL ABILITIES I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments ADDITIONAL COMMENTS Supervisor Comments Supervisor Name Rae Hunter-Havens Supervisor E-mail Address rhavens@nhcgov.com Supervisor Job Title Elections Director Draft 1 Job Assessment Tool © New Hanover County, North Carolina The Job Assessment Tool is a document used to gather information from employees about their jobs. Specifically, you will be asked to give us feedback on your role, responsibilities, and duties in the organization. Your information is critical to Evergreen Solutions’ review of how fairly the organization compensates employees performing similar jobs. The Evergreen Solutions team will use this information to determine how work is organized, to recommend appropriate pay levels and ranges, and to design a new compensation and classification system that is fair and equitable to all employees. Your information is not used to assess individual performance, adjust staffing levels in your organization, reduce current salaries, or eliminate positions. Please complete all sections to the best of your ability. By providing clear and complete information about your job, you can help the Evergreen Solutions team gain a thorough understanding of the jobs in your organization. Evergreen Solutions, LLC 2878 Remington Green Circle Tallahassee, Florida 32308 850.383.0111 850.383.1511 fax www.ConsultEvergreen.com Employee’s Name: Rae Hunter-Havens Individual Completing JAT (if different than above): Phone/Extension: 910-798-7287 Job Title: Elections Director Agency/Department: NHC Board of Elections Working Title: Logistics Specialist (Proposed New Position) Date: January 6, 2021 E-mail Address: rhavens@nhcgov.com User ID for online JAT: Draft Job Assessment Tool 2 SECTION 1.0 JOB OVERVIEW Official Workweek in hours (please identify your official workweek, rather than actual hours worked) Less than 15 15 – 20 21 – 30 31 - 37.5 40 Greater than 40 Status (please choose one) Full time Less than full time SECTION 2.0 JOB DESCRIPTION Briefly provide an overview of your job, including a description of the purpose of your job and the type of work you do. This may be the same as the introduction to your current job description, but it does not need to be. The Logistics Specialist is responsible for executing key aspects of the elections administration process, including voting site management, supply management and distribution, and Finance & HR Liaison. The Logistics Specialist position is distinguished from the Elections Specialist by its responsibility for managing multiple large projects at one time, including the following:  Provides supervisory, administrative, vendor and compliance support for specialized programs or services within a department area.  Works with, reviews and monitors vendors and financial transactions.  Provides technical assistance and automation support for a specific system, to a department or group of users  Inspects a variety of structures to ensure compliance with ADA regulations.  Schedules and implements programs and ensures contract and statutory compliance  Evaluates processes and programs and recommends changes in procedures. Many of the duties performed by this position were previously assigned to the Elections Database & Systems Specialist (Class Code 166). Some of these tasks include inventory and creation of spreadsheets of supplies, equipment and documents required Draft Job Assessment Tool 3 for management of precincts, survey and inspect potential facilities to be used as polling places. Evaluate and complete the federal survey utilized at polling places to verify the facility will meet ADA requirements, and compile and prepare storage for all unused market ballots, authorizations to vote, reconciliation paperwork, poll books, and other elections records and schedule destruction pursuant to the NC Records Retention schedule. In addition, the Logistics Specialist will assume the HR responsibilities within the office, including coordinating with temporary agency vendor to hire temporary staff. Train and supervise temporary staff to prepare, pack, distribute, and set up all equipment and supplies. The budgetary responsibilities for this position consist of researching for documents, compiling data for computer entry, and/or enters or oversees data entry. The Logistics Specialist, under the supervision of the Deputy Director, a new proposed position, has responsibility for monitoring budget expenditures (typically non- discretionary). This position requires strong interpersonal/human relations skills in order to execute his or her responsibilities in a successful manner. Please indicate below the number of people you supervise directly and/or indirectly. Directly: Full-time Part-time, Reduced Hours, and Temporary (Direct supervision is the management or supervision of employees who report work to you and who you evaluate without assistance. Please do not include subcontractors.) Indirectly: Full-time Part-time, Reduced Hours, and Temporary 2 - 3 (Indirect supervision is the management or oversight of employees who report to you through another supervisor who reports directly to you. Please do not include subcontractors.) Draft Job Assessment Tool 4 SECTION 3.0 JOB FUNCTIONS In the tables provided on following pages, please include all essential job functions you perform. For every function you list, please note how often you perform the function— Daily, Weekly, Monthly, A Few Times Per Year, or Annually. Then, estimate the total percent of your time spent on each function on an annual basis. Lastly, please check off the five most important functions you perform. Example 1 Job Function Create and maintain department filing system Frequency of Function Daily Percentage of time spent on function 25 Most Important Function YES Example 2 Job Function Compile, calculate, and maintain department payroll records Frequency of Function Monthly Percentage of time spent on function 15 Most Important Function YES Draft Job Assessment Tool 5 JOB FUNCTIONS Job Function Provides supervisory, administrative, vendor and compliance support for specialized programs or services within a department area Frequency of Function Weekly Percentage of time spent on function 15% Most Important Function YES Job Function Schedules and implements programs and ensures contract and statutory compliance. Frequency of Function Monthly Percentage of time spent on function 10% Most Important Function YES Job Function Maintains office supply inventory by monitoring stock levels and placing orders with vendors as necessary. Frequency of Function Weekly Percentage of time spent on function 5% Most Important Function Job Function Works with, reviews and monitors vendors and financial transactions, including creation of contracts, purchase orders, requisitions, and payment of invoices. This function includes preparing and reviewing documentation; securing necessary approvals; and maintaining appropriate records. Frequency of Function Monthly Percentage of time spent on function 10% Draft Job Assessment Tool 6 Most Important Function JOB FUNCTIONS (Continued) Job Function Evaluates processes and programs and recommends changes in procedures to ensure statutory compliance. This functions includes maintaining up-to-date process documentation for all programs that fall within the scope of this position. Frequency of Function Monthly Percentage of time spent on function 10% Most Important Function Job Function Voting Site Logistics, including creation and updates of layouts, usage agreements, management of contact database, creation and update of electioneering documentation. This function includes utilizing data analytics, including GIS tools, to make recommendations regarding voting site management. Frequency of Function Varies depending upon the month Percentage of time spent on function 15% Most Important Function YES Job Function Management of Multipartisan Assistance Teams (MAT), including managing Assisted Living Facilities Database, scheduling site visits, and updating process documentation to ensure statutory compliance Frequency of Function Varies depending upon the month Percentage of time spent on function 5% Most Important Function YES JOB FUNCTIONS (Continued) Draft Job Assessment Tool 7 Job Function Processes department payroll to include time entry, verification, adjustments, and batching. Submit said payroll to Finance in the required timeframe. Maintain departmental personnel files and complete the departmental On-Boarding and Off-Boarding procedures. Frequency of Function Varies depending upon the month Percentage of time spent on function 5% Most Important Function YES Job Function Coordinating the hire and supervision of temporary administrative employees contracted through temporary employment agency, including training and scheduling. Frequency of Function Varies depending upon the month Percentage of time spent on function 5% Most Important Function YES Job Function Assists with budget preparation and monitoring to include preparing reports of revenue and expense forecasts. Frequency of Function Monthly Percentage of time spent on function 5% Most Important Function YES Draft Job Assessment Tool 8 JOB FUNCTIONS (Continued) Job Function Supply Logistics, including staging, loading, delivery and pickup of voting equipment with moving company, Election Staff, IT staff, Chief Judges and Polling Place Contacts. Additional components of this task includes supervising Election Staff and Moving Company employees as well as creating Master Supply List, Chain of Custody forms, and Support Materials used by Election Staff, IT Staff, and Moving Company drivers, and updating internal process documents as needed. Frequency of Function Varies depending upon the month Percentage of time spent on function 15% Most Important Function YES SECTION 4.0 TYPE OF WORK PERFORMED Please check the one box that best describes the type of work you do. If you check box 3, 4, or 5 there are additional questions below. 1. Clerical or Manual 4. Managerial/Professional 2. Technical/Paraprofessional 5. Executive/Advanced Professional 3. Administrator 6. Laborer/Trade-Based Occupations 4.1 ADMINISTRATOR DESCRIPTION If you checked "Administrator" above, please check "yes" or "no" below to indicate whether the description below applies to the work you perform. My work requires the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance. I regularly compare and evaluate possible courses of conduct, and then act or make a decision after the various possibilities have been considered. My decisions and recommendations may be reviewed at a higher level and, upon occasion, revised or reversed. I customarily and regularly exercise independent judgment in performing my essential tasks because: (The following are examples of the exercise of "discretion and judgment" with respect to "matters of significance". Your job may require one or more duties or responsibilities that are the same or similar to those listed.)  I have authority to formulate, affect, interpret, or implement management policies or operating procedures. Draft Job Assessment Tool 9  My work affects organization business operations to a substantial degree even though assignments are related to a particular segment.  I can commit the organization in matters that have significant financial impact.  I have authority to waive or deviate from established policies or procedures without prior approval.  I can negotiate and bind the organization on significant matters.  I provide consultation or expert advice to management.  I am involved in planning long- or short-term business objectives.  I investigate and resolve matters of significance on behalf of management.  I represent the organization in handling complaints, arbitrating disputes or resolving grievances.  The manuals, guidelines or other established procedures I use contain or relate to highly technical, scientific, legal, financial or other similarly complex matters. (These materials can only be understood or interpreted with advanced or specialized knowledge and skills.). Yes No 4.2 MANAGERIAL/PROFESSIONAL DESCRIPTION If you checked "Managerial or Professional" above, please check "yes" or "no" to indicate whether the description below applies to the work you perform. My primary duty is performance of work requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning. This advanced knowledge was acquired through a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and academic training. I am in a professional job role because:  I use my advanced knowledge to analyze, interpret or make deductions from varying facts or circumstances.  My job does not involve routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical work and knowledge cannot be attained at the high school level.  My occupation has recognized professional status, as distinguished from the mechanical arts or skilled trades.  My job requires possession of an appropriate academic degree. However, the necessary advanced knowledge can be attained through a combination of work experience and intellectual instruction. (For example: a Chemist who does not have a degree in Chemistry.). Yes No Is your professional work considered computer-related? Computer-related occupations have primary duties that include at least one of the following (or similar) tasks:  Application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software, or system functional specifications.  Design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing or modification of computer systems or programs.  Design, documentation, testing, creation, or modification of computer programs related to machine operating systems. Draft Job Assessment Tool 10 Yes No EXECUTIVE/ADVANCED PROFESSIONAL DESCRIPTION If you checked "Executive or Advanced Professional" above, please check "yes" or "no" to indicate whether the description below applies to the work you perform. My primary duty is management of a recognized department or agency, or subdivision. I regularly direct the work of two or more other full-time employees. I have the authority to hire or fire other employees; or, my suggestions and recommendations as to hiring, firing, advancement and promotion or other change of status of other employees are frequently requested and relied upon. I am in an executive and/or management role because:  I determine policies and work procedures; or the type of materials, supplies, machinery, and equipment of tools to be used.  I also provide for the safety and security of employees or property; plan and control the budget; and monitor or implement legal compliance measures. Yes No SECTION 5.0 EDUCATION To perform your job correctly, how much education should you be required to have? Up to and including some high school Some graduate work *How many hours? High school diploma/GED Master’s Degree Some college *How many hours? Doctorate Degree Associate’s Degree Other Bachelor’s Degree Please list any licenses, certifications, or professional designations you believe should be required for your position. Two years of experience in logistics or supply chain management. Please list any licenses, certifications, or professional designations you believe should be preferred for your position. Experience in elections administration. Draft Job Assessment Tool 11 SECTION 6.0 WORK EXPERIENCE To perform your job correctly, how much experience should you be required to have? No experience required 4 Years Six months 5 Years 1 Year 6 Years 2 Years 7-10 Years 3 Years Over 10 Years Do you think applicants should be able to substitute appropriate education for previous work experience? Yes No Do you think applicants should be able to substitute previous work experience for appropriate education? Yes No SECTION 7.0 LEADERSHIP Please read the responses below and pick the one closest match to your level of leadership in the organization. For all additional responses that reflect your level of leadership, please check “May Apply.” I follow specific directions provided by my supervisor and receive feedback on what I do. Closest Match May Apply I have procedures to follow for my work and my supervisor checks my work often. Closest Match May Apply I have guidelines for my work, but I determine the approach for doing the work. My supervisor focuses on the outcomes of my work. Closest Match May Apply I work from a general outline of duties and responsibilities. Other employees assist me in completing our work. Closest Match May Apply I oversee the work of a team engaged in providing specific services, completing specific projects, or assisting other units. Closest Match May Apply Draft Job Assessment Tool 12 I organize work around broad organizational goals and processes. My supervisor oversees my activities through regular meetings. Closest Match May Apply I oversee, plan, and implement major programs and services for the organization. I report on my progress to the organization's executive team. Closest Match May Apply I determine strategy as well as long range goals for the organization. I design processes, allocate resources, and report to elected officials or the public. Closest Match May Apply Please provide below a brief explanation of why the closest match you selected applies to your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection. The Logistics Specialist is responsible for executing their assigned tasks using statutory and administrative guidelines set forth in NC General Statutes 163 and by the NC State Board of Elections and NHC County. The direct supervisor for this position will periodically monitor their progress to check their work to ensure accuracy and compliance with all requirements. The Logistics Specialist may use other employees to complete certain projects that require a team approach due to the scope and complexity of the task. The Logistics Specialist performs specialized work supporting the department that requires strong technical and administrative skills as well as the ability to work quickly and adapt to changing requirements and conditions without impeding work progress, quality, or speed. Draft Job Assessment Tool 13 SECTION 8.0 WORKING CONDITIONS Please read the responses below and pick the one closest match to the working conditions you experience in your job. For all additional responses that reflect your working conditions, please check “May Apply.” I work in a relatively safe, secure, and stable work environment. Closest Match May Apply I work in a safe and secure work environment that may periodically have unpredicted requirements or demands. Closest Match May Apply I work in a dynamic environment that requires me to be sensitive to change and responsive to changing goals, priorities, and needs. Closest Match May Apply I work in an environment with heavy equipment and machinery that could result in bodily harm to my co-workers or others. Closest Match May Apply I deal with crisis situations that require me to make major decisions involving people, resources, and property. Closest Match May Apply I spend part of my time working in an environment where errors on my part can lead to significant physical or mental consequences for me or others. Closest Match May Apply I spend most of my time working in a physically threatening environment that requires me to make life and death decisions for me and others. Closest Match May Apply I regularly make decisions that could lead to major community or organizational consequences if I fail to make the appropriate decision at the time. Closest Match May Apply Please provide below a brief explanation of why the closest match you selected applies to your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection. The Logistics Specialist is responsible for executing tasks in a very dynamic environment characterized by changing statutory, administrative, and technical requirements that require a moderate to high level of analytical, communication, and technical skills in order to efficiently and productively achieve the desired outcomes and provide a high level of customer service to citizens of New Hanover County. Draft Job Assessment Tool 14 SECTION 9.0 COMPLEXITY Please read the responses below and pick the one closest match to the level of complexity of your job. For all additional responses that reflect your work complexity, please check “May Apply.” I perform specific clerical or manual tasks. Some of my typical responsibilities may include copying, maintaining files, or entering data OR utilizing light mechanical equipment such as a vehicle, lawn mower, or hand tool OR clean and maintain a facility. Closest Match May Apply I perform work that necessitates some specialized knowledge of clerical or trades-based tasks. Some of the typical responsibilities include gathering, formatting, or visually analyzing data OR operating construction or warehouse equipment (moving vans, dump trucks, front-end loaders). Closest Match May Apply I perform technical or trades-based work that requires a solid understanding of basic algebra and statistics OR use of heavy equipment. Some of the tasks performed include participating in data collection and detailed analysis; reporting on the accomplishment of specific departmental goals and tasks; OR operating or repairing heavy equipment (bulldozers, cranes, graders). Closest Match May Apply I perform entry-level professional work including basic data analysis and synthesis, report creation, process performance, and regulatory or compliance activities. My work involves statistics, operations analysis, or forecasting. Closest Match May Apply I perform professional-level work dealing with data, people, and technology that relates to administrative, technical, scientific, engineering, accounting, legal, or managerial skills. Closest Match May Apply I perform work that encompasses advanced technical, scientific, legal, or mathematical concepts. My work directly contributes to the implementation of specific policies, programs, or initiatives of the organization. Closest Match May Apply I oversee work that involves the use of complex technical, scientific, or mathematical concepts that increases the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization. I analyze and make recommendations on how to improve the operational performance of the organization. Closest Match May Apply I develop policies, long range plans, and allocate funds. I make decisions that involve multiple priorities, limited resources, and internal and external challenges. Most of my decisions impact the organization as a whole. I report to elected or appointed officials who hold me accountable for the success of the organization. Closest Match May Apply Draft Job Assessment Tool 15 Please provide below a brief explanation of why the closest match you selected applies to your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection. This position requires advanced analytical and problem solving skills to execute the complex tasks, identify problems, resolve issues. The complexity of the tasks assigned to this position is greater than entry-level professional work and requires moderately advanced technical and administrative skills. SECTION 10.0 DECISION MAKING Please read the responses below and pick the one closest match to the level of decision making of your job. For all additional responses that reflect the decision making required in your job, please check “May Apply.” I perform routine or clearly defined activities under close supervision. Most of my decisions regarding my activities and priorities are made by supervisors. Closest Match May Apply I follow specific procedures that may result in interaction with co-workers, citizens, or other individuals. I make a few decisions regarding my activities and priorities. Closest Match May Apply I work in a responsive environment where co-workers or citizens bring problems to me for resolution. I am responsible for determining the problem and creating an individual solution for the issue. Closest Match May Apply I make decisions that govern my activities as well as others. My decisions impact how our unit provides services and support to internal and external customers. Closest Match May Apply I follow basic guidelines for operational activities. I make decisions that govern the activities and behaviors of staff members. My work directly impacts other workers, citizens, or both. Closest Match May Apply I oversee numerous functions and staff. I am principally responsible for determining policies and procedures that will ensure the success of our operation. Closest Match May Apply I am responsible for determining goals, policies, and desired outcomes for multiple units. I determine the appropriate level of resources to meet the organization's needs. Closest Match May Apply I perform work that involves high level issues, processes, or organizational needs. My decisions impact the community at large, most of the staff, or both. I am evaluated by elected officials or senior managers based on the outcomes of my decisions. Closest Match May Apply Draft Job Assessment Tool 16 Please provide below a brief explanation of why the closest match you selected applies to your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection. The decision making skills required for the Logistics Specialist position vary according to the assigned task. The majority of tasks require that the Logistics Specialist follow specific guidelines and frequently result in interactions with co-workers, citizens and external partners. Some tasks, such as those related to the budget and in-person voting, may require the Logistics Specialist to resolve problems for other co-workers or partners in order to achieve the desired outcome. These decisions may impact the activities and behavior of other elections staff members, employees outside the department, external partners and citizens. In these situations, it is critical that the Logistics Specialist exercise a high level of judgment to determine if he or she can correctly resolve the problem without additional guidance or if the problem should be forwarded to their Supervisor for review and decision before taking any actions. SECTION 11.0 RELATIONSHIPS Please read the responses below and pick the one closest match to types of relationships present in your position. For all additional responses that reflect the types of relationships found in your job, please check “May Apply.” I work primarily alone. Closest Match May Apply I work with less than ten co-workers who are mostly engaged in the same activities as me. Closest Match May Apply I work with more than ten coworkers who mostly engage in the same activities as me. Closest Match May Apply I oversee and manage more than two employees in the organization performing similar work. Closest Match May Apply I oversee and manage more than two employees in the organization performing different types of work. Closest Match May Apply I oversee and manage work involving multiple units. I work regularly with other managers to successfully meet the goals and objectives of our organization. Closest Match May Apply Draft Job Assessment Tool 17 I provide updates to senior managers, elected officials, or other community groups or organizations. I work regularly with other Directors or senior managers to ensure the provision of efficient and effective services. Part of my performance is tied to how well I respond to members of the community or internal peers within the organization. Closest Match May Apply I interact with senior managers, citizens, and elected officials on a regular basis. My primary role in the organization is to ensure that the principles and objectives of the elected officials are implemented in an efficient and effective manner. Closest Match May Apply Please provide below a brief explanation of why the closest match you selected applies to your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection. The primary responsibilities of the Logistics Specialist are different from those assigned to other election specialists in the office. As a result, the types of relationships associated with this position also differ from those associated with the Elections Specialist position. The majority of tasks assigned to the Logistics Specialist are completed through independent work under the guidance of a Supervisor. During the two to three months prior to Election Day, the Logistics Specialist will manage two or three other casual part time employees to execute key tasks associated with supply management and distribution. In addition, the Logistics Specialist has outward facing responsibilities regarding the establishment and maintenance of usage agreements with polling places and one-stop voting sites. Draft Job Assessment Tool 18 SECTION 12.0 FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES Please check each box that applies to the financial responsibilities you have in your job. You may check as many boxes as apply. Does not apply to my job Determine allocation of budget among departments Accept, receive, and/or collect payments Determine allocation of budget among divisions Prepare and/or process purchase orders Manage the budget within assigned department Accountable for inventory/property management Purchasing authority up to $1,000 without approval from supervisor Determine individual benefit eligibility Purchasing authority up to $5,000 without approval from supervisor Manage or administer grant funds Purchasing authority up to $10,000 without approval from supervisor Make recommendations that impact the budget Purchasing authority up to $25,000 without approval from supervisor Manage the budget within assigned unit/division Purchasing authority up to $50,000 without approval from supervisor Please provide below a brief explanation of why the financial responsibilities you selected apply to your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection(s). The Logistics Specialist functions as the Finance Liaison for the department. As a result, this position has the financial responsibilities listed above. This position is responsible for preparing, routing, and maintaining all departmental contracts, creating purchase orders, performing clerical tasks associated with paying invoices, processing payroll, processing all requisitions and contracts, researching budget documents, compiling budget data for computer entry, monitoring budget expenditures (typically non-discretionary) that fall within the scope of this position, assist with budget preparation, and maintaining up-to-date internal process documents for cross- training purposes to ensure continuity of operations in the event of personnel turnover or absences. Draft Job Assessment Tool 19 SECTION 13.0 USE OF EQUIPMENT AND MACHINERY Please check each box that applies to the use of equipment and/or machinery in your job. You may check as many boxes as apply. Does not apply to my job Repair, develop, or install computer hardware or network systems Use small office equipment, including copy machines or multi- line telephone systems Repair, develop, or install complex software or management information systems Use computers for data entry Supervise employees using or repairing heavy or complex machinery Use computers for word processing and/or accounting purposes Supervise employees developing, installing, or repairing technology systems Use highly technical computer applications, such as GIS or CAD Establish policies for using, acquiring, and/or maintaining heavy or complex machinery Use or repair small/light equipment, such as power tools Establish policies for using, acquiring, and/or maintaining technology systems Use or repair medium equipment and machinery, such as vehicles or commercial mowers Create and guide implementation of capital improvement plans or programs Use or repair heavy or complex machinery, such as HVAC systems, construction equipment, or water plants Create plans for and guide implementation of major construction projects Repair, develop, or install telecommunications systems Create plans for and guide implementation of new technology systems Please provide below a brief explanation of why the uses of equipment and machinery you selected apply to your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection(s). The Logistics Specialist is responsible for using complex technical programs developed by the NC State of Elections on a daily basis for the management of all election administration processes, including Voter Registration, Petition Processing, GIS Management of Addresses (Geocodes), Election Setup, Candidate Filing, One Stop Management, and Absentee Voting. In addition, the Logistics Specialist uses complex technical programs to fulfill all budgetary responsibilities in the department. Draft Job Assessment Tool 20 SECTION 14.0 PHYSICAL ABILITIES Please indicate below all physical abilities you must have to perform your essential job functions. You may check as many abilities as apply to your job. However, you should only check off physical abilities that are required to perform your essential job functions. Does not apply to my job. Crawling: Moving about on hands and knees or hands and feet. Sedentary work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Crouching: Bending the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine. Light work: Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force to move objects. Feeling: Perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips. Medium work: Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 30 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling. Heavy work: Exerting up to 100 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 50 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 20 pounds of force constantly to move objects Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm. Very heavy work: Exerting in excess of 100 pounds of force occasionally and/or in excess of 50 pounds of force frequently, and/or in excess of 20 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Handling: Picking, holding, or otherwise working, primarily with the whole hand Balancing: Maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling while walking, standing or crouching on narrow, slippery, or erratically moving surfaces. The amount of balancing exceeds that needed for ordinary locomotion and maintenance of body equilibrium. Hearing 1: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound. Climbing: Ascending or descending ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, poles and the like, using feet and legs and/or hands and arms. Body agility is emphasized. Hearing 2: Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound. Draft Job Assessment Tool 21 Kneeling: Bending legs at knee to come to a rest on knee or knees. Stooping: Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires full motion of the lower extremities and back muscles. Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires substantial use of upper extremities and back muscles. Talking 1: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly. Mental Acuity: Ability to make rational decisions through sound logic and deductive processes. Talking 2: Shouting in order to be heard above ambient noise level. Pulling: Using upper extremities to exert force in order to draw, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion. Visual Acuity 1: Have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading. Pushing: Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force in order to thrust forward, downward or outward. Visual Acuity 2: Including color, depth perception, and field vision. Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction. Visual Acuity 3: Visual Acuity to determine the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of the work assigned or to make general observations of facilities or structures. Repetitive Motion: Substantial movements (motions) of the wrist, hands, and/or fingers. Visual Acuity 4: Have visual acuity to operate motor vehicles and/or heavy equipment. Speaking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including the ability to convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately and concisely. Visual Acuity 5: Have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: visual inspection involving small defects, small parts, operation of machines; using measurement devices; and/or assembly or fabrication parts at distances close to the eyes. Standing: Particularly for sustained periods of time. Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another. Draft Job Assessment Tool 22 Please provide below a brief explanation of why the physical abilities you selected are required in your job. You may reference specific job functions, descriptions of projects/programs, and/or any details about your job that will help clarify and support your selection(s). The Logistics Specialist will be required to use all of the physical abilities selected to successfully perform the duties assigned to this position. For Supervisors Please review the employee’s Job Assessment Tool and indicate for each section whether you agree or disagree with the information provided by the employee. Additional comments should be included in the space below and should be designed to help Evergreen Solutions gain a clear understanding of the employee’s work. For any section with which you disagree, please include a detailed explanation of your disagreement. SECTION 1.0 JOB OVERVIEW I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 2.0 JOB DESCRIPTION I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 3.0 JOB FUNCTIONS I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments Draft Job Assessment Tool 23 SECTION 4.0 TYPE OF WORK PERFORMED I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 5.0 EDUCATION I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 6.0 WORK EXPERIENCE I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 7.0 LEADERSHIP I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 8.0 WORKING CONDITIONS I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Draft Job Assessment Tool 24 Supervisor Comments SECTION 9.0 COMPLEXITY I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 10.0 DECISION MAKING I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 11.0 RELATIONSHIPS I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 12.0 FINANCIAL RESPONSABILITIES I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Draft Job Assessment Tool 25 Supervisor Comments SECTION 13.0 USE OF EQUIPMENT AND MACHINERY I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments SECTION 14.0 PHYSICAL ABILITIES I agree with the information provided. I disagree with the information provided. Supervisor Comments ADDITIONAL COMMENTS Supervisor Comments Supervisor Name Rae Hunter-Havens Supervisor E-mail Address rhavens@nhcgov.com Supervisor Job Title Elections Director Draft 1 FY21-22 ENHANCEMENT REQUEST FORM Title for Request: Department: Division: Organization Number: Project Code: FY21-22 Net Cost: TO BE COMPLETED BY FINANCE SHARED WITH: HR IT CIP New Program/Initiative Expansion Position ITCG CIP Capital Outlay One-time 1 - What is the problem you are trying to solve or the need you are addressing? 2 - How and when did the problem or need arise? 3 - How is the problem or need currently impacting your workload or service delivery? Do not fill in, total will auto-populate when estimates are filled out on page 3. Draft 2 4 - What are the steps for implementation of this request? 5 - What are the anticipated outcomes of this request, and how will these outcomes be measured? 6 - What other organizations or resources will be required to implement this request? Please select all categories that characterize the overall objective of this request. Advance a Strategic Focus Area of the County Strategic Plan Improve Customer Experience Improve Operational Efficiency Infrastructure/Equipment Replacement or Expanded Service Capacity Please select one of the strategic objectives this request supports. Leverage public infrastructure to encourage private investment Increase the diversity and number of higher-wage jobs Encourage development of complete communities in the unincorporated county Promote early learning that ensures life-long resiliency Support the private sector’s need for talent to fill higher-wage jobs Prevent and reduce opioid abuse Increase access to programs to prevent and reduce obesity Sustain the community capacity to prepare for and respond to public safety demands Draft 3 Cost and Revenue Estimates Please provide cost and revenue estimates by line item for the request. Enter the FY21-22 Net Cost on Page 1 of the form. These estimates should reflect the full cost of implementation. Expenditures Org Object Description FY21-22 FY22-23 FY23-24 FY24-25 FY25-26 Total Expenditures Revenues Org Object Description FY21-22 FY22-23 FY23-24 FY24-25 FY25-26 Total Revenues FY21-22 FY22-23 FY23-24 FY24-25 FY25-26 Total Net Cost Draft 4 Additional Explanation Optional - Use the space provided below if additional explanation is needed. Please list “continued on next page” on the form for each item requiring additional explanation and enter the number of the item below. Draft