May 27, 2016

August 2, 2016 Primary Ballot Certification

Yesterday the Bureau of Elections released the official August 2, 2016 Primary Candidate List. Counties should have received an email yesterday consisting of several items, including the Candidate List, formal Call of Election and other pertinent information and instructions related to the August 2nd primary. An Official Candidate List is available on the BOE website.

Ballot Orders

Once again, the Bureau of Elections would like to stress the importance of fully analyzing your potential ballot needs before placing ballot orders for the August 2nd primary.  In both the March 8 Presidential Primary and the May 3 election this year, a number of jurisdictions faced ballot shortage problems.  Remember that Michigan Election Law Law defines the minimum requirement for your August Primary ballot orders.  MCL 168.563 requires "the number of ballots to be printed for the use of the electors at any primary election in any election shall be not less than 25% more than the total number of ballots cast therein at the corresponding primary election held 4 years previously." 

We encourage all jurisdictions to use this requirement as a starting point – you should also carefully analyze previous primary election turnout statistics, and consider other local factors that may increase voter turnout in your area.  Formulas are always helpful but they do not account for local interest in various races and proposals.  Look at the primary turnout the last four primary election years to see how the August turnout has varied. It is imperative that local and county election officials work together to carefully consider the appropriate ballot order and adjust those orders as necessary. 

Also remember – prior Absent Voter (AV) ballot statistics for your jurisdiction should be available via the Qualified Voter File (QVF).  These statistics were helpful to many in anticipating the spike in voter turnout for the March 8 presidential primary.  Jurisdictions are encouraged to use the QVF to regularly track their AV activity for this election, to compare and confirm their current AV traffic as compared to their 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014 totals.

Submit Ballot Proofs to the Bureau of Elections

Counties please forward a copy of the ballot prepared for the August 2nd Primary Election to the Bureau prior to production in PDF format. Bureau staff will review all ballots to ensure that they conform to the current ballot production standards.

Submit all proofs by email to the attention of Carol Pierce at piercec1@michigan.gov. Please include "Ballot Proofs" and the name of your county in the subject line of your email submission. If corrections are needed or any changes are made to the ballots following submission and/or approval, the PDFs must be re- submitted.

Ballot production standards, ballot instructional language and political party vignettes:  Revised Ballot Production Standards are currently available in draft form, as they are under revision to incorporate changes necessitated by the elimination of Straight-Ticket voting.  Please contact Carol Pierce if you need a copy of the most recent standards (Carol’s contact information appears above). Ballot Marking Instructions must follow the prescribed format for the primary as outlined in Michigan Election Law (MCL 168.736b). 

August eWizard

IMPORTANT REMINDER FOR COUNTIES:  The deadline for entering Stage 1 and Stage 2 has passed.  Please ensure that you have entered all information accurately and completely and that you have marked the offices as complete.  Counties that have not completed eWizard are listed in Overdue Reports Listing. Take a moment and review the list to ensure your county has fully completed this task. 

If you find any discrepancies with offices or proposals you have entered, or with State offices that are entered by this office, please e-mail Julia Veale at vealej@michigan.gov to make necessary corrections.

Data will be released to MVIC for sample ballots and EMP for electronic MOVE ballots on June 3rd, 2016 so please be sure that everything has been reviewed by then to ensure your ballots are accurate.

IN THIS ISSUE

• Primary Ballot Certification
• Presidential Primary Reimbursement
• Back to Basics: Opening the Polls

Presidential Primary Reimbursement

 Due June 6, 2016

The Online Reimbursement Claim Form - Cities & Townships and Online Reimbursement Claim Form - Counties are available in the eLearning Center.

To see all documents related to Reimbursement, simply login to the eLearning Center and Browse by Subject - Reimbursement.

We recommend that you print the associated worksheet first, fill that out, do your math and calculate the section totals to prepare for entry into the online form. You cannot save the form and come back to it to edit it.

If you need to make changes, simply re-submit the form and check the button "Submitting Changes" (instead of New Claim).

By law, submissions must be received by June 6, 2016. The Department of Treasury must release payment by early September.  BOE will announce more specifics at that time.

2016 Election Planning – Reviewing the Basics

This article is the first of a series of articles designed to assist in the preparation of training programs and other related planning for the upcoming August and November elections. Opening the Polls Preparing the polling place for Election Day is a large task for election inspectors. Polls must be open to voters by 7 a.m. And the following tasks must be complete: *Take and sign the constitutional oath of office and complete the Election Inspector’s Preparation Certificate found in the Pollbook or on a form provided by the clerk. *Check all forms and supplies against the list furnished by the clerk. Contact the clerk if any of the supplies are missing. *Prepare the ePollbook, tabulator, and disability device for proper operation.  *Set up and arrange the voting room, ensuring: voter privacy in the voting stations (including a sit-down voting station) and disability device (screen should face away from the processing area) workstations are arranged to process voters in an orderly manner a public area for poll watchers to observe without disrupting the process a ten foot perimeter around the tabulator  *Display the following (removing any old instructions displayed in the room): A flag of the United States inside or outside of the polling place Sample ballots in places where the voters will have an opportunity to examine them prior to voting Two 2 copies of the What Every Voter Should Know poster Notice to Voters: Voter Identification Requirement in Effect Vote here, directional & barrier free signage Proposal language posters (if applicable) These instructions can be found on pages 2-3 of the Managing Your Precinct on Election day - Election Inspectors' Procedure Manual.

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