97-R-08
....
..",
RESOLUTION NO. 97-R-08
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF EDGEWATER, FLORIDA, ESTABLISHING SECURITY
PROCEDURES FOR ABSENTEE BALLOTS; REPEALING ALL
RESOLUTIONS IN CONFLICT HEREWITH AND
ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City of Edgewater desires to maintain the highest
standards of adherence to pertinent state election laws and to
maintain the highest integrity regarding the administration of
local municipal elections; and
WHEREAS, in 1995 the Legislature applied the election code to
municipalities; and
WHEREAS, it behooves the City Council of the City of Edgewater
to establish security procedures regulating the lssuance,
maintenance and completion of absentee ballots in municipal
elections.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City
of Edgewater, Florida:
Section 1.
The City of Edgewater hereby establishes
procedures regarding the issuance, maintenance and completion of
absentee ballots in municipal elections as set forth in Exhibit A
which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference.
Section 2.
If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of
the
established procedures
are
held
to be
invalid
or
unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, then said
holding shall in no way affect the validity of the remaining
portion of said procedures.
Section 3.
A copy of this Resolution shall be forwarded to
the Volusia County Supervisor of Elections by the City Clerk.
Section 4.
All resolutions or parts of resolutions in
conflict herewith be and the same are hereby repealed.
Section 5.
This resolution shall take effect immediately
upon adoption.
97-R-08
1
After motion by Councilman Mitchum and Second by Councilwoman
Martin, the vote on this resolution is as follows:
Mayor Jack Hayman, Sr. AYE
Councilman Danny Hatfield AYE
Councilwoman Louise A. Martin AYE
Councilman Mike Hays AYE
Councilman David L. Mitchum AYE
PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this 21st day of April, 1997.
CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF EDGEWATER, FLORIDA
Jack H. Hay Sr.
/ Mayo
APPROVED FOR FORK
AND CORRECTNESS:
Rris a A. Storey ,
City Attorney
97-R-08 2
EXHIBIT "A"
CITY OF EDGEWATER
SECURITY PROCEDURES REGARDING ABSENTEE BALLOTS
POLICY: ISSUANCE OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS
Based upon Section 101.62, Florida Statutes, and the city's
intent to maintain the highest standards of adherence to
pertinent State election laws and to maintain the highest
integrity in the administration of local municipal elections, the
following policy shall be adhered to by the City of Edgewater
regarding the issuance, maintenance and completion of absentee
ballots for municipal elections.
The City Clerk, designated as the Chief Elections Officer of
the City, shall be responsible for all security procedures
relating to the issuance, maintenance and completion of
absentee ballots for the City of Edgewater elections. The
City Clerk shall be authorized to delegate any or all of the
said responsibilities to the Volusia County Supervisor of
Elections; whereby, security procedures as set forth by the
Supervisor of Elections for Volusia County shall take
precedence.
In advance of City of Edgewater municipal election dates and
in accordance with prescribed election law, the Chief
Elections Officer in conjunction with the Volusia County
Supervisor of Elections shall correspond with registered
voters living outside of Volusia County to provide written
notice of a scheduled election in order that the elector may
make a request for an absentee ballot.
The Chief Elections Officer shall sign for receipt of
ballots on the appropriate form supplied by the Volusia
County Department of Elections, and the ballots shall be
inspected for numerical sequence and completeness. The
Chief Elections Officer shall deposit the absentee ballots
and all accompanying pertinent materials in a locked cabinet
located within the City Hall vault. The Chief Elections
Officer shall remove the ballot materials from the locked
cabinet for the purpose of issuance, maintenance and
completion of ballots, returning the ballots to the security
of the locked cabinet upon execution of assigned work
involving said ballots. The Chief Elections Officer and her
designee will have sole custody of the key to the cabinet.
Requests for absentee ballots from registered voters in good
standing, within the municipal boundaries of the City of
Edgewater, or from a person designated by the elector to
make such a request, shall be accepted by the Chief
Elections Officer in person, by mail, by telephone or by
facsimile machine. All such requests shall be placed on the
City's approved Absentee Ballot Request Form attached
hereto as Exhibit 1, by the elector, if in person, or by the
Chief Elections Officer, if the request is made by
telephone, facsimile machine or through written
correspondence. All requests made by facsimile machine or
through written correspondence shall be appended to an
approved City Absentee Ballot Request Form which shall be
executed by the Chief Elections Officer.
The Chief Elections Officer shall make every effort to
determine if a request for an absentee ballot is, in fact,
made by or for a registered voter in good standing within
the municipal boundaries of the City of Edgewater by
ascertaining that the petitioner/elector is so listed on the
current Volusia County Registered Voter's List as compiled
by the Volusia County Department of Elections at the close
of the voter registration books in accordance with
prescribed law prior to said election. Said confirmation
shall be made in a timely manner so as not to impede the
delivery of the absentee ballots to the petitioner/elector.
The Chief Elections Officer shall provide by mail, in
person, or by facsimile machine any number of blank City -
approved Absentee Ballot Request Forms to any individual
requesting said forms, but shall only accept said forms when
fully executed and signed by an elector/registered voter
whose name is in good standing with the Volusia County
Department of Elections as a registered voter within the
corporate limits of the City of Edgewater, as set forth in
paragraph 5. In the event said request form is returned
without pertinent information and/or the signature of the
elector/registered voter, the Chief Elections Officer shall
make an effort to contact the petitioner concerning these
matters.
In the event it is determined that the petitioner/elector is
not on the current printed Volusia county Registered Voter's
List as set forth in paragraph 5, the Chief Elections
Officer shall, in a timely manner, contact the Volusia
County Department of Elections by telephone to ascertain
whether said petitioner/elector is a registered voter in
good standing within the corporate limits of the City of
Edgewater and shall proceed according to the information
supplied by the Volusia County Department of Elections as to
whether an absentee ballot shall be mailed or provided in
person to the petitioner.
In the event the Chief Elections Officer determines the
petitioner is not a registered voter in good standing as set
forth in paragraph 7, the Chief Elections Officer shall make
every effort via telephone or by mail to notify the
petitioner that an absentee ballot will not be forwarded and
that the petitioner should contact the Volusia County
Department of Elections concerning the status of their voter
registration.
If the Chief Elections Officer determines that a request for
an absentee ballot is being made by a petitioner who has
moved outside the corporate limits of the City of Edgewater,
and said petitioner has not changed his or her voter
registration to the new precinct, the Chief Elections
Officer shall notify the petitioner, verbally or in writing,
that said petitioner must contact the Volusia County
Department of Elections and vote in accordance with
prescribed election law. The Chief Elections officer shall
not knowingly provide an absentee ballot to any registered
voter who no longer resides within the corporate limits of
the City of Edgewater and has failed to notify the Volusia
County Department of Elections that he or she is residing in
a new precinct.
10. In the event the petitioner can produce no voter
registration identification card, the Chief Elections
Officer shall assist the petitioner in the process of
obtaining a new voter identification card and shall, upon
the production of satisfactory personal identification by
the petitioner, issue an absentee ballot to the petitioner
if the petitioner/elector's name is found to be in good
standing with the Volusia County Department of Elections as
set forth in paragraph 5. All such actions shall be listed
by the Chief Elections Officer within the comment section of
an absentee ballot log.
11. The Absentee Ballot Log, attached hereto as Exhibit 2, shall
be maintained by the Chief Elections Officer for the purpose
of tracking the request, distribution and return of all
absentee ballots, and shall include a comment section for
notations as to the reason for any request to receive an
absentee ballot made by an individual other than the elector
or the petitioner/elector's immediate family or to note any
irregularities ascertained in determining an elector's
standing with the Volusia County Department of Elections as
set forth in paragraph 5. Ballots picked up by the elector
or his/her designee shall be so noted within the comment
section of the absentee ballot log.
12. Requests for absentee ballots to be picked up by a person
designated by the elector and delivered by that designee to
the elector shall be accepted under the following
conditions:
A) The designee must provide written authorization from
the elector, naming the designee and specifying for
which election the absentee ballot is being requested.
A copy of the authorization shall be sent by facsimile
machine to the Supervisor of Elections for verification
of the voter's signature. Such written permission
shall be appended to the city's approved absentee
ballot request form.
B) A designee is limited to pick up and deliver a total of
two absentee ballots per election, other than the
designee's own ballot, except that said designee may
pick up additional ballots for members of the
designee's immediately family as set forth in Section
101.62(4)(b), Florida Statutes. A primary and a
general election shall be considered as separate
elections.
C) Said designee shall provide personal picture
identification in the form of a driver's license, or
other similar identification deemed sufficient by the
Chief Elections officer and shall complete the Absentee
Ballot Designee Affidavit prior to picking up any
absentee ballot as set forth above. The Absentee
Ballot Designee Affidavit is attached hereto as Exhibit
3.
D) In addition to listing on the Absentee Ballot Log the
name of the elector to whom the absentee ballot is
being issued, a log listing said designee, shall be
maintained. This log attached hereto as Exhibit 4,
which shall also include the name and voter
identification number of those electors for whom the
petitioner has picked up absentee ballots to assure
that no petitioner picks up more than two ballots as
set forth in paragraph 12(B).
13. The Chief Elections officer shall only provide an absentee
ballot to a candidate for use by the candidate personally or
for a member of said candidate's immediate family after the
conditions in paragraph 12 have been met.
14. The Chief Elections officer shall not determine the identity
of any petitioner who claims to be a registered voter within
the corporate limits of the City of Edgewater except through
petitioner's production of personal identification and a
voter registration identification card. The Chief Elections
officer shall determine if the petitioner is a registered
voter as prescribed in paragraph 7, prior to issuing an
absentee ballot in person to a petitioner.
15. The Chief Elections Officer shall provide copies of all
requests for all absentee ballots to the Volusia County
Department of Elections and said Department of Elections
shall provide copies of all requests for absentee ballots
for voters within the City's boundaries to the Chief
Elections Officer. When there is a County and City election
held the same year, the Chief Elections Officer shall
compare such requests with the Absentee Ballot Log to assure
that duplicate ballots are not mailed to the
petitioner/elector.
16. The Chief Elections Officer shall compare signatures on all
fully executed, returned absentee ballots with the
registered voters' signatures on file in the Volusia County
Department of Elections prior to the counting of the
absentee ballots. Any returned absentee ballots which come
under question by the Chief Elections officer as a result of
missing or questionable information on the absentee ballot,
including signatures, shall be presented to the canvassing
board, consisting of the Chief Election Officer or her
designee and the City Attorney or her designee, for a final
decision concerning the acceptance or denial of the absentee
ballots.
17. After the returned absentee ballots are received by the
Chief Elections Officer and prior to transport to the
Volusia County Department of Elections, the ballots will be
reconciled against the Absentee Ballot Log. The Chief
Elections Officer shall also reconcile the number of
absentee ballots originally received from the Volusia County
Department of Elections with the number of absentee ballots
provided to electors and the number of absentee ballots
remaining to be returned to the Volusia County Department of
Elections, using the Ballot Report Form supplied by the
Volusia County Department of Elections and attached hereto
as Exhibit 5.
18. Absentee ballots will be accepted by the Chief Elections
Officer at the Edgewater City Hall until 7:00 p.m. on the
night the election is held. The Chief Elections Officer or
her designee, and the City Attorney or her designee shall
hand carry returned absentee ballots, as well as any
relevant materials as required by the Volusia County
Department of Elections, to the Volusia County Department of
Elections as soon as possible after 7 p.m. on the night of
the election. The names of the persons transporting ballots
and their time of departure and arrival shall also be
recorded with the Edgewater Police Department. As an
alternative, the Chief Elections Officer may contract with
the Volusia County Department of Elections to transport
absentee ballots that have come in by 6:00 p.m.
19. Upon the arrival at the Volusia County Department of
Elections, the Chief Elections Officer or her designee and
City Attorney or her designee, shall tabulate absentee
ballots. If there is any discrepancy, all steps necessary
to correct any imbalance will be taken, including but not
limited to: hand counting absentee ballot envelopes and
double checking each envelope to ensure that all ballots
have been removed. The Chief Elections Officer shall return
all unvoted and voted ballots to the Volusia County
Department of Elections for their custody for the required
retention period and shall return all other related
election supplies, secrecy envelopes, mailing envelopes,
etc. to the Volusia County Department of Elections and
provide a xerox copy of the absentee ballot log to the
Volusia County Department of Elections at the time of the
absentee ballot canvassing.
20. The City Council, shall, in accordance with the City
Charter, be the judge of the election and shall within 3
days after said election, canvass the election returns and
declare the results.
21. The Chief Elections Officer may delegate various aspects of
work relating to the issuance of absentee ballots to support
staff in her absence; however, it is the goal of the City
Clerk/Chief Elections Officer to limit the handling of
absentee ballots and pertinent materials relating to said
work to as few individuals as possible in order to maintain
integrity in the absentee balloting system and eliminate any
possibility for miss communication or error.
EX®ITAF
EXHIBIT 1
NAME REG]
VOTER ID#_
PRECINCT#
CITY OF EDGEWATER
REQUEST FOR ABSENTEE BALLOT
TELEPHONE NUMBER
DATE OF BIRTH PLACE OF BIRTH
RESIDENCE ADDRESS
CITY STATE ZIP
ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUESTED FOR THE FOLLOWING ELECTIONS
EDGEWATER PRIMARY
EDGEWATER GENERAL
BALLOT TO BE MAILED
ADDRESS
CITY STATE ZIP[
SIGNATURE OF VOTER REQUESTING BALLOT DATE
SIGNATURE OF PERSON TAKING REQUEST
t--I
EXHIBIT 3
CITY OF EDGEWATER
ABSENTEE BALLOT
DESIGNEE AFFIDAVIT
(Name of Designee)
show picture identification) do
hereby certify that has authorized me
(Name of Voter)
to pick up his/her ballot for the election to be held on and
(Date)
to the best of my information and belief this elector is qualified as an absentee for the
reason listed in Section 101.64 (1) Florida Statutes.
Date
Signature of Designee Voters Id Number
Subscribed and sworn to (affirmed) before me this day of
19
Chief Election Officer or Her Designee
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EXHIBPC 5
DATE:
PRECINCT:
ELECTION:
BALLOT TYPE:
1.
BALLOT CARDS RECEIVED -eEFoaE Pnus oaav
2.
UNUSED BALLOT CARDS —AFTBR Fou ACLOBE
(UwM BA PAcu x 50 a CUM w Pumuy ulm Pico)
3.
SPOILED BALLOT CARDS —ImL9 anus open
(B. CAao DAM ...o A.n.; Vora) A.. New C.)
4.
TOTAL UNUSED AND SPOILED BALLOT CARDS
(AAe W4 2 A. L.3)
S.
TOTAL NUMBER OF BALLOT CARDS USED
(SumucT l l4 nwR LPI[ 1)
6. NUMBER ON PUBLIC COUNTER— BEFOREPOus opE
7. NUMBER ON PUBLIC COUNTER —ATCLOSEOFPOLLS
NNW
I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR AND HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THE ABOVE IS A TRUE AND CORRECT
REPORT OF THE NUMBER OF VOTED BALLOTS, UNUSED BALLOTS AND SPOILED BALLOTS
PLACED IN THE PROPER TRANSPORT CONTAINERS IN PRECINCT NO.
IN THE (NAME OF ELECTION) HELD ON
(DATE) IN VOLUSIA COVN7Y. I FURTHER CERTIFY
THAT THE TRANSPORT CONTAINERS WERE PROPERLY SEALED IN MY PRESENCE
PLACE IRIS REPO
IMO YOUA