Conservation District Elections and Appointments

1. Conservation District Elections and Appointments • 2019-2020 • Bill Eller, Commission Election Officer • September 26, 2019

2. Logistics • All webinar attendees muted • Use the questions tab on your dashboard to type in questions during the presentation • We will take questions after the presentation • Webinar is being recorded and will be posted to Commission’s elections web page

3. Agenda • Overview • 2019 Election Data • Issues from this past cycle - • Forgetting to hold an election. • Forgetting to use the proper notice of the intent to adopt an election resolution & holding an election without the mandatory number of polling officers. • Commission motions – September 2018, May 2019, September 2019 • Proposed changes to the RCW and WAC related to elections (CDEAC committee). • August 21st meeting; CD advertising week

4. RCW Chapter 89.08.190 “The Commission shall establish procedures for elections, canvass the returns and announce the official results thereof.”

5. The Election and Appointment cycle – a simple calendar

6. August – October: • Election webinar • Review procedures, adopt policies

7. October – December: • Advertise – before the board meeting • Adopt – election resolution at the meeting • Advertise – upcoming election after the meeting

8. January - March: • Hold election, process forms • Appointments – advertise, Mar 31

9. By end of April: • Finish processing forms • EF1 and EF2 should be done

10. 3rd Thursday in May: • Certify & announce; appointments • New supervisors begin duties

11. 2019 Election Data

13. Automatic Re-Election of Incumbents • No other candidate files by the filing deadline, plus • PF-A – candidate information, plus • PF-B – 25 valid nominators • 64% (29 of 45 CD’s) re-elected incumbents.

18. Issues from this past election cycle

19. Issue: forgetting to hold an election Solution: set reminders

20. Issues: • forgetting to use the proper notice of the intent to adopt an election resolution & • holding an election without the mandatory number of polling officers Solution: set reminders & have a plan

21. Commission motions from September 20, 2018

22. Pursue Changes • September 2018: SCC motions to have SCC staff look into election changes involving: • WAC change(s), • RCW change(s), and • Put on hold the concept of all CDs elections during one week • Oct-Dec 2018: call for volunteers • Conservation District Election & Appointment Committee (CDEAC) created • Jan-July 2019: 5 meetings, 20+ meeting hours

23. CDEAC Members • Supervisors: • Paul Pickett, Thurston • Larry Davis, Whatcom • Doug Rushton, Thurston • Commission Staff: • Bill Eller • Karla Heinitz • CD Staff: • Pam Furchtenicht, Palouse • Sarah Moorehead, Thurston • Lisa Martin, Cowlitz / Wahkiakum • Ava Souza, King • Dawn Bekenyi, Whatcom • George Boggs, Whatcom • Mark Nielson, Benton & Franklin

24. CDEAC Work Product • Proposed WAC changes • 76 sections amended or created • Proposed RCW change • Talking points document • New election flow chart • Election Quality Assurance Plan • Mandatory training on elections Election Manual and forms changes

26. Highlights include • Removing the distinction between absentee, mail-in, or in-person ballots • Consolidating candidate types into just two – those who will appear on the ballot and those who will not • Eliminating the automatic disqualification of write-in candidates when a ballot contains a candidate whose name is pre-printed on the ballot • Eliminating nominators and the nominating petition

27. Highlights include • Creating a distinction between candidate required and optional information • Aligning the CD election retention schedule with the Secretary of State’s schedule • Setting all CD elections during a full calendar week in March, excluding Sunday • Setting deadlines for certain notices, reporting, and form submittal

28. Highlights include • Requiring CD staff to be trained in conducting elections, as per the proposed EQAP • Explicitly allowing election supervisor duties to be delegated to others • Requiring poll sites to be open for a minimum of 4 consecutive hours • Cancelling an election when just one single candidate files by the filing deadline

29. Highlights include • Setting out the procedure and effect of candidate withdraw • Clarifying who can serve as polling officers • Clarifying when electronic signatures and filing can be used • Setting out the procedure for complaining about or challenging an election • Setting out the procedure for filling vacancies in elected positions

30. September 20, 2018 SCC motions • RCW change – Amend RCW Chapter 42.56 – confidentiality of email addresses and phone numbers on CD ballot request lists. • Already an issue advisory (#01-18), but only a best practice, not a permanent fix. • WCC staff will work on a legislative fix during the next session. • Follow the issue advisory (#01-18) – posted on the SCC web page under the “More Background on Elections” tab.

35. Establishing a Common Date or Week for CD Elections • Put on hold - the discussion was suspended with no date set for it to resume. • However, the CDEAC proposed in their WAC changes to set all CD elections during a full calendar week in March (excluding Sunday).

36. Commission Action • At their September 2019 meeting, the Commission proposed to adopt the changes the CDEAC proposed

37. Timeline for Changes • September 23, 2019: Notice to all CDs and staff of the proposed changes, as per the “Policy on Policies.” Comments due November 8, 2019 • Sept 23, 2019 – Nov 8, 2019: changes made available for CD comment • Commission meeting on December 5, 2019: • Proposed WAC changes begin process of adoption (at least a 4-6 month process with public comment and hearing) • Proposed RCW change – Commission looks for legislative sponsor – hope to have legislation by end of session in 2020 • All other changes adopted • May 2020 (approximately): WAC changes adopted; Manual and forms updated to reflect changes • June 2020 (WADE?): CD staff trained on changes to WAC, Manual and forms • July or September 2020: Commission adopts new Manual and all changes are in effect for the 2020-2021 election and appointment cycle

38. Commission motions from May 16, 2018

39. (1) Exploring the cost of advertising CD elections • SCC staff exploring advertising options that range in cost, time commitment, reach, and ability to target specific audiences. This work will be informed by outcomes from the Area Meetings. • Some of the options being explored include: • Building a more comprehensive “CD Elections Marketing Toolkit” populated by SCC staff and conservation districts with templates for news releases, social media campaigns, newsletter announcements, messaging, etc. (Estimated Cost=low, Time=medium/high, Reach=medium, Ability to target audience=high) • Making a public radio media buy (e.g. KNKX and NW Public Broadcasting) to share announcements about CDs and upcoming elections. The cost of this option will vary greatly depending on whether CDs keep their current elections dates — which means paying for multiple months of announcements — or move to a common day or week. (Estimated cost=med/high, Time=low, Reach=high, Ability to target audiences=low) • Hiring a consulting firm to develop/implement a marketing strategy for CD elections. (Estimated cost=high, Time=medium, Reach=high, Ability to target audiences=medium/high).

40. (2) Hold a 20/21 policy-type meeting to talk about CD elections • Was cancelled and the discussion will be taken up during Area Meetings and at WACD

41. Resources on the Web

42. Election Calculator

43. Manual Forms WAC

46. Questions? Contact: Bill Eller Election Officer beller@scc.wa.gov 509.385.7512