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Vote By Mail

Dolores Gilmore, Elections Manager dgilmore@co.kitsap.wa.us. Vote By Mail. A County Perspective. Kitsap County 145,500 voters. Data Information Management Software – DIMS Dominion (formerly Sequoia) ballot counting system. Mail Voting – Step by Step.

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Vote By Mail

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  1. Dolores Gilmore, Elections Manager dgilmore@co.kitsap.wa.us Vote By Mail A County Perspective

  2. Kitsap County145,500 voters Data Information Management Software – DIMS Dominion (formerly Sequoia) ballot counting system

  3. Mail Voting – Step by Step • 1983 – District requested special elections • 1991 – Ongoing absentee voter requests • 2003 – Nonpartisan Primaries • 2005 – All mail with County legislative approval • 2011 - All counties in Washington State

  4. Expectations • Perfect Elections • Document and demonstrate accuracy • Hundreds of poll workers and temporary staff make no errors • You can’t put a price on Elections • Voters want to stand in line at poll sites to place the ballot in a box • Voters won’t like the change

  5. Reality • Elections are more complex • Electronic, provisional, audio, languages, etc. • Trust and transparency is maintained • Shrinking budgets • Vote centers and Ballot Drop sites • 50% of California voters have already made the change

  6. Will CA Laws Change? • When mail ballots reach 88% of the vote? • When it is too costly to open poll sites & conduct a mail election simultaneously? • When legislators say the time is right? • When some states west of the Mississippi vote by mail?

  7. Start Now • We looked at our election program • Are all poll sites easily accessible? • Sites with parking or size limitations? • Low voter turnout • Close to another poll site? • Should poll sites decrease by 50% if poll votes decreased by 50%? • Consolidated several precincts to our best poll sites

  8. Considerations • Timing is everything • Built in flexibility • Added workers for larger elections • Have a plan B • Precinct consolidation logic • Grouped by district • What works for your county?

  9. Vote Centers - Divide the Line

  10. Consolidated precinct poll book Provisional A to L M to Z B box B box

  11. Mail Ballot Processing • Counting ballots by batch is more efficient • From 189 precinct sorts to 11 • A full batch has 200 ballots • Consolidated precincts by district to ensure easy access for recounts

  12. Mail Voting = More Options • Political Party Observers • Our biggest fans • Have helped us improve the process • Voters now have more choices • Mail Box • Ballot drop site • Vote Center

  13. The Benefits • More efficient processes • Less workers to hire and train • Fewer worker discrepancies • Cost savings • Flexible for small or large elections • Election night at 8:30 p.m.

  14. What about all our Poll workers? • We will always need good workers • Mail ballot processing • Voting Centers • Political Party Observers • Retirement Party

  15. Online Registration From Data Entry to Data Verification

  16. Online Registration • Implementation, timing and testing • Bi-weekly conference calls at the technical level • State, county and vendor key contacts • We let go of the paper, but • Kept control of voter record accuracy • From single record to report verification

  17. What Took us so Long? • Huge benefit prior to elections • Gone are the boxes of applications • Currently 80% of our transactions are received online • Record processing is 3 – 4 times faster • Drastically reduced temporary staffing

  18. Dolores Gilmore, Elections Manager dgilmore@co.kitsap.wa.us Questions?

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