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Vote By Mail

This article provides a county perspective on the vote by mail system, discussing its history, expectations, and the reality of implementing it. It also explores considerations for starting vote centers and ballot drop sites, as well as the benefits and challenges of mail voting. The article concludes with a discussion on online registration and the benefits it brings to the election process.

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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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