Preparing for Your Election

Preparing for Your Election
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 4/9/2019 Preparing for Your Election Two parts to this presentation: The legal situation that applies to your entity, and how that affects the law that applies to your entity The logistical needs of your election that you need to consider Texas Secretary of State CSO Election Law Seminar - November 2018 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Type of Entity/Legal Situations
Determine the type of your entity, and any legal situations impacting your entity, i.e. court orders. Why is it important? Determines the law governing your entity. Assists in properly calling elections/special elections. Determines if you can move your date of general election. May have certain requirements under a court order. Look at your handbook! 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State

Texas Secretary of State
Type of Entity Examples for Cities Type A Type B Type C Home Rule Examples of Water Districts Municipal Utility Districts Water Improvement Districts Examples for Schools ISD operating under a court order 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
4/9/2019 Term Lengths Determine the term lengths for your entity’s governing body. Why is this important? Assists in determining what offices will go on the ballot, and if an election needs to be called. Assists in determining if a special election needs to be called. Assists candidates in determining what positions will be on the ballot. It’s important to be aware of the schedule for when each term expires, especially if you’ve cancelled elections in the past due to unopposed candidates 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Method of Election Determine your political subdivision’s method of election. Why is this important? Allows the election to be ordered correctly. Ensures that ballots are correct. Allows candidates to know what positions will be on the ballot, and if they are eligible. Avoids challenge to the election. 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State

4/9/2019 Method of Election Options: Pure-at-Large At-Large-By-Place/Position Single Member District Combination of At-Large and Single Member Cumulative We’ll go through each of these individually 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Pure at-Large The candidates run as one group on the ballot. All qualified voters in the political subdivision may vote in the race. The top “vote-getters” win the number of positions available. Generally, pure at-large is the “default” method of election for cities and school districts, and it takes an action by the governing body (or a court) to change method of election. Special Law Districts have method of election set by enacting legislation. 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State

4/9/2019 Pure at-Large Ballot: Results: Election Results May 4, 2019 Candidates Votes Barney 61 Fred 122 Wilma 133 Bam Bam 71 Dino 85 TOTAL 472 City of Bedrock General Election City Council Vote for none, one, two, or three Barney Fred Wilma Bam Bam Dino City of Bedrock Type A City: 1 Mayor, 5 City Councilmembers 3 council positions expire in 2018 5 people submit applications and are accepted to be on the ballot 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

At-Large By Place/Position
The candidates run in separate groups on the ballot for each available position. All voters within political subdivision get to vote in all races. It generally takes an act of the governing body or a court order to move to this type of method of election. 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State

Single Member District
The territory of the political subdivision is divided into districts, and candidates run in their district of residence. ONLY voters within the district can vote. It generally takes an act of the governing body or a court order to move to this type of method of election. 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 4/9/2019 Single Member District Example: City of Hoo Home Rule City: 5 Single Member Districts District 1 and District 3 positions expire in 2019 3 people submit applications for District 1 2 people submit applications for District 3 Correction from book: Book says 2018, should say 2019 There will be some corrected slides, but I’ll try to draw your attention to any changes Updated versions of slideshows will be available on our website 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 4/9/2019 Single Member District Ballot Results Election Results May 4, 2019 District 1 Candidates Votes Poe 125 O’Keefe 85 Byrd 175 TOTAL 385 District 3 Marshburn 101 Melvin 192 TOTAL 293 City of Hoo General Election District 1 Poe O’Keefe Byrd District 3 Marshburn Melvin This slide is not in your books, but we wanted to add it to clarify our example 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Combination of At-Large & Single Member
Political subdivision is divided into single member districts where voters from that district elect a representative, but also elect at-large members. Example: Eagle ISD: 5 Single Member Trustee Districts 2 At-Large Positions 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State

Cumulative Voting Candidates appear in one group on the ballot, voters cast as many votes as there are open seats and can put more than one vote on a preferred candidate. RARE in Texas, but some school/college and special law districts use cumulative voting. 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State

4/9/2019 Method of Election If you don’t know your method of election: Home-Rule Charters Enacting legislation Previous election records, including sample ballots Newspapers articles Historical DOJ submission files Internal files – board records Legal Files, including court orders School district policy manual Enacting legislation may tell you your method if you are a special law district 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Vote Requirement Plurality: A candidate must receive more votes than any other candidate for the office. Majority Vote: A candidate must receive more than 50% of the total vote. Runoff Election: If no candidate received the vote necessary to be elected in an election requiring a majority vote, a runoff election is required. (2.021) 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State

4/9/2019 Methods of Voting Paper Ballots that are hand counted. Paper Ballots that are counted with an Optical or Digital Scanner based Voting System. Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) Voting System. We talked about Methods of Election, now let’s briefly talk about the Methods of Voting Krystine Ramon will go into more detail on the different types of voting systems on Day 3 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Hand Counted Paper Ballots
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 4/9/2019 Hand Counted Paper Ballots References in the election code to “paper ballots” are referring to hand counted paper ballots. Procedures for conducting a hand count: Election Judges and Clerks Handbook, Chapter 5. Early Voting Ballot Board Handbook, Chapter 3 Brief word on paper ballots 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

4/9/2019 Ballot Preparation No specific statutory deadline. Ballots must be prepared, finalized, and tested in time for mail ballots to be mailed in compliance with Section of the Texas Election Code, UOCAVA, MOVE. 45th day before May 4, 2019= Wednesday, March 20, 2019 Note that we corrected the dates on the slide, but the book still has the old incorrect dates 45th day = deadline to mail overseas ballots Refer to the calendar to double-check your dates 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Who Prepares the Ballot?
Ordering Authority Party Responsible for Preparing Ballot Governor County Elections Officer County City City Secretary Political Subdivision Secretary of the subdivision's governing body. If no secretary, the presiding officer. (Frequently delegated to same employee accepting applications) 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Ballot Format Requirements
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 4/9/2019 Ballot Format Requirements Printed on white or light-colored paper (not yellow) with black ink or some other color as approved by SOS. Numbered consecutively beginning with 1. Must be in uniform size and type. Ballots must in English and Spanish. Don’t use yellow because sample ballots are in yellow and you don’t want to mix them up Some counties have additional language requirements, like Vietnamese or Mandarin in Harris County 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Ballot Format Requirements
Nature of the election and date of the election must be printed at the top of the ballot. “OFFICIAL BALLOT” must be printed in large letters on the ballot immediately below the designation and date of the election. “unexpired term” shall be printed on the ballot following the office title, if applicable. each proposition stating a measure shall appear on the ballot after the listing of offices= Section (c) & (d) of the Texas Election Code NEW: Propositions must include the name of the entity in the title, must be designed by letter, not number “voting squares” and mandatory instructions = Sections , & of the Texas Election Code. 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

4/9/2019 Ballot Drawing Who conducts drawing? Authority responsible for preparing the ballot. Who is entitled to be present? Each candidate who is affected by the drawing may be present or have a representative present. County or Governor Election = County Elections Officer City = City Secretary Other Pol Sub = Secretary or Presiding Officer Also have to do a ballot drawing for runoff elections 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Ballot Drawing Notice Requirements for Candidates City Elections or elections held at county expense: On receipt of a candidate’s written request accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope, authority is required to mail notice to candidate All other political subdivisions, Required to mail written notice of the date, hours and place of the drawing to each candidate at the address on application no later than the fourth day before the date of the drawing 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Ballot Drawing Notice requirements: Date, Hour, and place of drawing. Notice must be posted for at least 72 hours preceding the drawing. Notice must be posted in the office of the authority conducting the drawing. Sample Notice: AW3-2. 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Minimum Number of Ballots
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 4/9/2019 Minimum Number of Ballots Formula for calculating number of ballots to be ordered: A x B* + C = D Legend: A = percentage of voter turnout in a precinct B* = current number of registered voters in precinct C = 25% of A x B D = minimum number of ballots to be ordered *REGISTERED VOTERS WHO APPEAR ON THE LIST WITH A "S" DESIGNATION DO NOT HAVE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE TOTAL NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN THE PRECINCT. Use figures from last like election (May 2018 uniform date or earlier, as applicable) to perform calculations. Be sure to look at the most recent similar election, because voter turnout will often be different in November elections than May elections 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Finalizing Your Ballot
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 4/9/2019 Finalizing Your Ballot Best Practices Have multiple people in your office look at ballot. Provide a copy of ballot to candidates for review. Verify the following: Spelling of Candidate Names. Positions on the Ballot. Order of Names on the Ballot. Accuracy of Translations. This slide is out of order in your book 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

4/9/2019 Ballot Correction Occurs when mistake on ballot could affect the choice of the voter. Three options for correcting a ballot: Stickers, Line out or otherwise obscure, or Reprint. 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

4/9/2019 Ballot Correction Requirements for a Ballot Correction: ( , Election Code) Notify SOS within 24 hours of decision. Destruction of incorrect ballots. Make record of ballots destroyed. Order new ballots beginning with ballot #1. Mail corrected ballots to voters who have been mailed an incorrect ballot. On the carrier envelope, write the words “Corrected Ballot” to tell the voter why they received a second ballot If you’re not sure what to do, give us a call. 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

List of Registered Voters
Talk to your county voter registrar to see if your political subdivision’s information is the most up-to-date. Why is this important? Ensures correct list of registered voters can be provided by Voter Registrar(s). Ensures voters get the correct ballot, and ensure voters that are registered are allowed to vote. Avoids challenge to the election. 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State

The County Voter Registrar will prepare the list upon request. If the list is to include voters from county election precincts partly located in your entity’s territory, you must include a map of the boundaries. The map must be sufficient in detail to allow the registrar to prepare the list. The map must be provided with enough time to allow the registrar to prepare the list. [18.001] 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State

Review information with your voter registrar especially if your political subdivision has: Recently been created Recently been incorporated Annexed land Redistricted Changed to single member districts for method of election 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State

Polling Places We recommend that you review your list of polling places as soon as possible. Allows you to work with building owner schedules, e.g. community center. Allows you to work out security plans for schools. Allows you to find alternate locations. Ensures compliance with state and federal law on accessibility. 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State

4/9/2019 Supplies Order supplies ahead of time. Why is this important? Allows you to be prepared for voting by mail, early voting and election day. Helps determine costs. Ensures ballots go out on time. Be sure to allow time to proof ballots. Supplies = ballots, list of registered voters, voting equipment, etc. 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

4/9/2019 Questions? 4/9/2019 Texas Secretary of State Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Preparing for Your Election

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