Uh Chris, anytime you'd like to start the meeting, you can call that to order.
Is he on you? >> Yes. He's muted.
» This CHIO's
» I'm muted. >> My fault. I'm sorry, Ms. Chicot.
All right. I'd like to call the Erie County Board of Elections special
meeting on July 30th to order. Uh can you call roll call, please, Ms.
Chicot? >> Mr. Bal.
» Here. >> Mr. Copeland.
Mr. Drexel. >> Here. Sorry.
I'm here. >> Uh Ms. Sharman. Here.
Mr. Scutella. >> Here.
» Mr. Wertz. >> Here.
» Mr. Winarski. >> Here.
» All right. Uh is there anybody
uh who would like to speak I don't see anybody, right? Is anybody
like to speak for the public? Anyone from the public? Is anyone from the
public?
Seeing none. All right. Uh this is new business, possible
authorization of county funds to pay return postage on in absentee ballots.
Ms. Chicot.
» Well, it's that time of year where our vendor is preparing the envelopes for
the mail ballots, and in order to do that, they need to know if we are going
to be paying as a county the return postage for those ballots to be returned
to the county. Uh we pay for the postage going out, uh
and that's covered by the election integrity grant, but in order for us to
have that paid for by the voters, we bring that to a vote before the Board of
Elections. So, we're at that time and the vendor is ready to start printing
for the envelopes.
» Mr. Chair, if >> All right.
» Um Ms. Chilcott, it it it's true that um
this postage that we've paid for the return trip, we have end-to-end tracking
on when that voter put that in the mailbox
to getting to us, delivery confirmation. >> Yes.
» And and not paying for postage would uh not allow us to provide that end-to-end
tracking. You know, I'm thinking of 2024 when we had so many issues with uh
obviously different issue with the mail vendor
but, you know, if we might anticipate some issues uh with things being lost in
the mail, etc., etc., that in order to have any kind of intelligence to
understand if the ballots are coming back to us in a timely manner, we would
have to pay for that postage, correct? >> I don't know that there would be a
difference. I know that the previous vendor did not
um provide the tracking information, and
that was a problem. And also, some of those ballots did not have barcodes as
they were expected to have. The new vendor has been compliant with all of
that, and the tracking system is very efficient. Uh this is
this is just a a question that we normally bring. I don't know that there
would be a difference in the service. >> I'm just saying that if we if we're not
providing that return postage, we wouldn't have that tracking to know when
when that mail was received by the post office and and a delivery confirmation
from USPS.
» W- Why does the postage affect How does postage affect that?
I mean, whether a person puts a stamp on it or the stamp is provided on cuz that
cuz that change anything? >> It shouldn't it I don't know I don't see
that that would change any of the service because it's still using the
same barcode information. It's still uh trackable as long as it's in the USPS
system. Uh well
» I guess that's the thing is without if you were not that customer paying for
tracking uh of an item. When you ship things with
a simple postage stamp it doesn't come complete with any kind
of tracking that you can go online. >> It does if it has a barcode on the
envelope. >> Okay.
» So the previous vendor was not providing um some of the barcodes on some of the
batches and they were not tracking the ballots.
And uh in order to track those ballots we had
USPS create addresses as images and went through an entire system through the
United States to track ballots because it's using a barcode technology not the
stamp itself that's being tracked. It's the barcode on the envelope. So people
if you if we would approve the postage to be paid
voters can certainly elect to put a stamp on that as well. And that's one
less one that the county would be paying for. But conversely if voters uh if we
don't pay for it and voters don't put postage on it it's still official
election mail and it'd still be returned to us and we would have to pay for their
postage either way. So uh this is something that that makes it
easier people don't have to think about if you look at it that way but at the
same time we still we have the same options. The county would still be
responsible if someone fails to put postage on it. Uh we would be paying
that or voters can put their stamp on it and save the county money.
» I I appreciate I wasn't sure how that process worked on the tracking. So thank
you.
» Just out of curiosity what it cost the last few years with this?
» Uh I don't have it in front of me, but I think it's varied around 11,000, 15,000,
maybe uh 16 or 17,000.
Depending on the election.
» And this can't use integrity grant funds?
» No. >> Okay.
» Just uh from from my perspective, uh we've been doing this for some time.
Uh I don't like to introduce changes. The original reasoning for
wanting to provide postage still stands that I don't want to create barriers to
people returning their ballot. Uh I've likened it to
uh a poll tax, and I know a stamp doesn't
cost that much, but it still requires the effort. I don't have a single stamp
in my house. I'd have to go out to the post office, go out and purchase a
stamp, uh and in some ways that's more
laborous than even going just to the polling place on election day. Um I
think it's a small cost and and a um a convenience to the electorate,
helps expand access to the ballot, and I think that we should continue doing it.
But also, I'd like to get away from continuing to
approve this election by election, uh cuz I I don't think it would be a
good idea for us to shift uh back and forth uh year to year, uh and I would
suggest that if we approve this that it's a motion to approve as official
policy of the election office.
» Mr. Chairman. >> Yes, sir.
» I agree that it's a a small cost, but I just
you know, think that like with a lot of things in life that you know, everybody
should have skin in the game. I mean, is it impede me from getting to the the
polls that I have to put gas in my car, pay for the insurance, the registration,
or anybody else that goes? I mean, there's costs that are incurred just to
get that. And to me, the the small
as said by Councilman Coke, on the small cost of a stamp, I just I think that
we've gone out of our way. We've made elections more than accessible. I think
that, you know, people have the ability to come in here,
vote in person. If they don't want to take care of that, there's ample ways to
get in here. I just I think it's one more cost that we're passing on to the
taxpayers that not everybody is going to Other people are going to have to incur
costs in order to go vote. Or we're going to force everybody to
say, "I'm not going to go to the polls because I'm just going to mail it in
with the free stamp from the county." So,
just my point of view.
» [clears throat] >> Thank you.
» Yep. >> Mr. Chair?
» Yes. >> I still go back to my original way of
thinking. When we first started with the mail-in ballots, we did not pay postage
on them, and we just started to within the last few years.
And it's almost
we're giving something to some people and nothing to other people. We don't
give people money for their gas or
an exact amount for their getting up, going out, and going to the polls and
vote, but yet we're giving something to somebody
that it only requires a stamp. So, I voted the same way the last several
years, and I'll vote the same way today.
» Thank you. Anyone else?
» Mr. Chair, if I can. We we
» Yes. >> we personally
sit and adjudicate uh defective ballots for missing
signatures, for bad dates, for highly unusual arrangements of
privacy envelope not in there, in there but signed and we we've seen any manner
of ballots being returned to us. Um and
And I I really think you have a scenario where people might not even realize that
the policy has changed and still thought that return postage was paid and just
dropped these things in mailboxes. I mean, the number one thing that we can
do to establish a voter um
uh
voter opinion that our elections are safe and secure is that they're also
stable. And and aren't radically changing from
year to year, that people are very familiar with the processes. It's been,
I believe, 3 years that we've had this in place.
Uh and I just don't think it's a good idea to just shift radically and decide
based off of whatever makeup is on the Board of Elections on the given year
determines our processes. That
I understand that there's a partisan tinge to some of this conversation.
Uh but I mean, just for the sake of stability in our elections that we
should try to adhere to the same processes.
» Mr. Chairman >> Mr. Copeland.
Yes.
» On what Mr. Copeland is saying, I totally agree with
him. Standard way
without confusing the voter out there every time we have
an election. >> Mr. Chairman,
uh in response to that, I would like to make a suggestion that we vote on this
today so that we can let the vendor know to proceed with postage paid or not.
Um and we could draft a resolution for the next Board of Elections meeting so
this could be prepared in a policy format and let the board vote
um to uh renew that as a policy or not. But
let's do a standalone vote today and have a resolution prepared so that we
can adopt that as a formal resolution or not at the next meeting.
» Mr. Chucar, uh you took the words right out of my mouth. I feel strongly with
Mr. Copeland on the consistency level here. I'm definitely not in favor of
changing anything in the middle of an election year. We just had a primary, we
did it one way, we're going into the general, it should be consistent.
Um I would also appreciate you um putting together
um you know, so that we can have this be
policy and the next Board of Elections we can vote on that so we don't have to
continue to keep coming back and and voting on this. Like the
the integrity of the election is greatly affected by the consistency.
We don't want to be changing rules on people. So
and that's that's sort of how I feel about this.
We could put that this question to a vote now for the
postage uh to be approved for this general
election for the vendor. If nobody else has any
anything to add to the conversation.
» Yeah. Mr. Chairman, I guess I'll just I'm confused in how
the stamp keeps the integrity of our elections,
especially when we're talking about a ballot that's filled out
in a person's residence with no witness, no anything. So, we're
relying on a person's personal integrity. So, I failed to draw the the
con- the line between the the stamp and and
having integrity in a a mail-in ballot. That's all.
» Well, it I I can appreciate that point, but consistency definitely does
matter here. And we're in the middle of you know, an election year. We're not
I mean, unless we vote otherwise, I don't think we should be changing that.
» Mr. Chair, I'll make a motion to approve.
» Second.
» Call for the question, Mr. Chilcott.
» Mr. Copeland. >> Yes.
» Mr. Drexel. >> Yes.
» Mr. Sherman. >> No.
» Mr. Scutella. >> Yes.
» Mr. Wertz. >> Yes.
» Mr. Merski. >> No.
» Mr. Bayle. >> No.
» And
motion carries 4 to 3.
» Anything further?
» Uh as a separate matter, uh I just wanted
to let everyone know that Secretary of State Al Schmidt will be in Erie next
week, and he will be >> [clears throat]
» uh presenting an award to the Benedictine Sisters of Erie on Monday,
and will be uh speaking at our election conference that starts at Bayfront on
Tuesday. So, I just wanted to make that
announcement. We're happy to welcome Secretary of State. And we also have uh
a citation here for our members to sign so that can be presented at the the time
on Monday. >> Karen, if you wouldn't mind affixing my
stamp, I would appreciate it. >> All right.
I I have one thing. Karen, um did you get a hold of Janice Morris, uh Godfrey
Glenn? >> Uh we have been reviewing we have some
potential polling location changes and uh we're still looking into all of those
options. And I forwarded those, we discussed those at our last staff
meeting, and he and his staff members have gone out to explore those
locations. >> But that was not on the list.
» Yes. >> All right. I might If I see them, I
might give them a heads-up. >> Okay.
» They might get a phone call if that's okay.
» Okay, sure. >> Okay.
» We're looking at having um a Board of Elections meeting, if not before, on
September 15th to approve the ballot. That gives us the longest amount of time
between uh time of approval and getting mail
ballots out. Uh we just were able to determine that
date this morning, so wanted to communicate that to the board as well.
» Thank you.
If nothing else, um do I have a motion
to adjourn? >> So moved.
» All right, thank you everyone.