2009 Elections Study Group

Welcometo the

Travis County Clerk

1. Ensure that Travis County voters have an accurate, fair, secure, transparent to the public, and accessible voting system.

2. Determine a minimum and maximum time range as to when replacement of the current voting system is necessary. When the voting system was purchased in 2003, it was assumed that the life of this type of technology was at least ten years.

3. Evaluate concerns regarding the existing electronic voting system and any other type of system that may be under consideration. These concerns include, but are not limited to, security; ease of use for voters; intent of voter issues; accessibility; accuracy of count; transparency to the public, and efficient use of taxpayer money to purchase, operate, and maintain a system.

4. Make recommendations to Commissioners Court regarding options for upgrading or replacing the current election system.

Mission Statement

ELECTIONS 101

BASICS OF CONDUCTING AN ELECTION

COUNTY CLERK

County Clerk

Chief Deputy

Recording

Accounting

Elections

Records Management

Misdemeanor

Computer Resources

Civil Probate

Travis County Clerk Managerial Organizational Chart

ELECTIONS

Divison Manager

Program Manager

Personnel

Technical Support

Training Sites/BBM/Call

Center

Public Information

Operations

Elections Division Managerial Organizational Chart

GOALS

ELECTION LAWS

252Number of election bills we are currently tracking

ELECTIONS

CYCLE

4Number of years in a complete election cycle

Year 1

Odd-numbered year

•May Local

with possible•June Runoffs

•November Constitutional Amendment

Year 2

Even-numbered year

•March Gubernatorial Primaries•April Primary Runoffs

•May Local

with possible •June Runoffs

•November Gubernatorial

Year 3

Odd-numbered year

•May Local

with possible •June Runoffs

•November Constitutional Amendment

Year 4

Even-numbered year

•March Presidential Primaries•April Primary Runoffs

•May Local •with possible June Runoffs

•November Presidential

VOTER REGISTRA

TION

VOTER REGISTRA

TION

Valid from(Valido desde)

Gender (Sexo)VUID (VUID)

Year of Birth(Año de Nacimiento)

Prec. No.(Pct. Num.) thru (hasta)

Cong. Sen. Leg. Comm. JP School Dist. SMD

City

25 25 47 3 3 AISD 7 AUSFP01/01/2008F0055555555

01/01/20083581952

VOTER REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE(Certificado de Registro Electoral)

TRAVIS COUNTY (Condado de Travis)

Madame X11555 Happy LaneAustin, TX 78749

Madame X11555 Happy LaneAustin, TX 78749

576,961Number of registered voters in Travis County in April 2009

LOCALJURISDICTI

ONS

121Number of election contracts we have with local jurisdictions

Ahhhhh, the good old days

…and now…

CREATING THE

BALLOT

706Number of ballot styles for the November 2008 election

8Highest number of ballot styles in one precinct in the

November 2008 election

Precinct 326

326A AISD, County326B RRISD, County326C Austin FP, AISD, County326D Austin FP, RRISD, County326E Austin LP, AISD, County326F Austin LP, RRISD, County326G County326H Austin FP, County

Precinct 326 Ballot Styles

83Total number of contests programmed into the ballot for the

November 2008 election

2Number of weeks of prep time between

lockdown and mailing of a ballot

TESTING THE

BALLOT

5,000Average number of ballots we typically test before each election

BALLOT BY MAIL

45Number of days before the election that we must begin mailing

early voting ballots by mail

20,948Number of applications for ballots by mail received in the

November 2008 election

18,749Number of ballots by mail counted in the

November 2008 election

47Number of ballot board members in the

November 2008 election

EVIP

Preparations for Early Voting in Person

5Number of Days in the Early Voting Period

911

12

300Average number of Early Voting poll workers

recruited and trained per election

23Number of items in a supply box

51Number of types of forms in a forms box

EDAY

Preparations for Election Day

210Number of precincts in Travis County

1200

Average number of Election Day poll workers recruited and trained per election

SECURITY

Preparations for Securing the Ballots

11,954Number of tamper-proof seals prepared for training

classes, Early Voting, and Election Day equipment

VOTING

BEGINS

Life on the first Day of Early Voting

5amOperations StaffTech Trouble Shooters

5:30am

Sheriff and ConstablesCall Center

6am

Management StaffRecruiters

Sites StaffTech Support Team

Poll Workers7am

Parallel TestersPOLLS OPEN

8am

Supply WorkersTraining Trouble Shooters

Voting Happens7pm

POLLS CLOSESheriff and ConstablesVerification Team

8pm

Tech Trouble ShootersPublic Information

Early Voting law enforcement schedule

Failsafe Voting

ESD

School

City

School

ESD

City

X

X

Y

Y

13,125Number of failsafe calls processed in the

November 2008 election

1,661

Number of provisional votes processed in the November 2008 election

Limited Ballots

Williamson County

Travis County

State Rep

Court

X

X

1,044

Number of limited ballots processed in the November 2008 election

VOTING ENDS

14 -

15Number of hours a poll worker has worked by the time

they show up at the Receiving Substation

6Number of check stations a poll worker must pass through

at the Receiving Substation

120Number of workers recruited to work

at the four Receiving Substations

TABULATION AND RESULTS

10:00

Time when Election Night results are substantially completed for broadcast

4.5Average number of hours after polls close that final Election

Night results are posted

POST-ELECTION AUDITS

400Average number of person hours spent in post election audits

FINAL CANVA

SS

8 -

11Number of days after Election Day to canvass the election

24Number of person hours spent preparing canvasses

MANDATORY

RECOUNT

144Number of person hours spent performing

the mandatory recount

RECOUNTS AND

CONTESTED ELECTIONS

RECORDS

RETENTION

22Number of months that election records must be retained

THE FUTURE

OF ELECTION

S

THE FUTURE

OF ELECTIONS

• Vote Centers• Internet Voting• Same-day Registration• Overseas Electronic Voting• Open Ballot by Mail Voting

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

?

QUESTIONS TO ASK

• Accurate• Secure• Fair• Transparent• Accessible to all voters

Is the system:

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

?

• How does the system handle multiple ballot styles?• How are ballots programmed?• How are ballots printed?• How are ballots proofed?• How are ballots tested?• How is ballot security handled?• How does the system handle ballots by mail?• How does the system handle Early Voting in Person?• How does the system handle Election Day voting?• How are the ballots handled at the end of each voting day?• How are the ballots transported?• How are the ballots tabulated?• How are results posted?• How are post-election audits handled?• How are results canvassed?• How are recounts performed?• Will the system meet the needs of Travis County in the future?• Is the system cost effective?

THANKYOU!