September 10, 2020

November Election MOVE Ballot Deadline Approaching

Clerks should start preparing for the November election military and overseas voter (MOVE) ballot delivery requirement. Any MOVE voter who has sent you an application for a ballot since November 5, 2019, must be sent a ballot by September 19. You will receive an email from Adam Fracassi today outlining steps you can take now to ensure all of your MOVE voters are appropriately marked in QVF.  County clerks and election directors also received an email from Adam earlier this week with instructions on how to print a report from QVF that lists all of the MOVE voters in your county, along with ballot sent dates.

After the MOVE deadline, we must report to the United States Department of Justice the names of jurisdictions that have not timely sent MOVE ballots. Importantly, if a local clerk sends a MOVE ballot late, the voter is provided with an extension of time equivalent to the number of days late the ballot was sent, so long as the ballot is postmarked by Election Day. MCL 168.759a(16) requires MOVE ballots received under an extension to be counted and tabulated for the final results – which could impact a county’s ability to complete its canvass.

Federal Write-In Ballots (FWAB)

Federal Write-In Ballots (FWABs) can be used by military and overseas voters who are concerned about delays in MOVE ballots being sent or returned from abroad. Under the Michigan Election Law, the FWAB can be used to vote for all offices on a voter’s ballot, not just federal races. FWABs can assist in overcoming these delays because a voter can download the FWAB, print it, write in their selections, and mail the ballot back at any time (as opposed to waiting for a MOVE ballot to arrive).  Due to reported international postal delays, we anticipate an increase in the use of the FWAB.  If clerks receive a FWAB and the voter is not registered to vote in your jurisdiction, use the information provided by the voter on the Voter Information page included with the backup ballot to register the voter in QVF and issue an MOVE ballot.  If clerks receive a FWAB and the voter is registered to vote in your jurisdiction but has not requested a MOVE ballot, issue the voter a MOVE ballot. If clerks receive a FWAB from a voter who has also requested a MOVE ballot, update the voter’s QVF record and hold the FWAB until Election Day. If the voter’s MOVE ballot arrives in time for counting, spoil the FWAB and count the MOVE ballot instead. Otherwise, duplicate and count the FWAB if the MOVE ballot does not arrive. The FWAB may not be immediately identifiable by its envelope. Voters submitting a FWAB are instructed to use two envelopes, one containing their votes on the backup ballot and a mailing envelope containing the sealed voted ballot and the Voter Information page of the FWAB. For more in depth information on MOVE voters and FWABs, please refer to Chapter 7 of the Election Official Accreditation Manual.

Michigan Department of State Mailing and Mailings from Civic Groups

Copies of the voter registration mailers and absent voter postcards sent by the Department of State discussed in Tuesday’s News Update have been posted in the eLearning Center. These are the only mailings that are being sent out by the Department of State or Bureau of Elections. However, voters may also be receiving voter registration or absent voter ballot applications from political parties and civic groups. For example, the Bureau has been informed that the Voter Participation Center is mailing additional voter registration forms, and the Center for Voter Information is mailing absent voter ballot applications. These mailers, in addition to mailers sent by political parties, are not sent by the Bureau, but they are legitimate forms that can be used to register to vote or apply for absent voter ballots.

The Voter Participation Center has informed the Bureau that it has begun addressing voter registration form return-envelopes to local clerks, rather than the Bureau of Elections. The Bureau will continue to forward any voter registration or absent voter ballot applications it receives to local clerks, but this should cut down on any delays associated with the state forwarding forms that should be sent to local jurisdictions.

Reminder: Security Workshop Sept 22

We have scheduled an additional Election Security Workshop on Tuesday, September 22. Please join the Michigan Bureau of Elections, DTMB, Michigan State Police, and Department of Homeland Security for this program, which covers critical election security issues for 2020. Please RSVP to Browna30@Michigan.gov by September 18 to participate in this workshop.

IN THIS ISSUE

• November Election MOVE Ballot Deadline Approaching
• Ballot Scout (Ballot-Tracking) Webinar Friday
• Federal Write-In Ballots (FWAB)
• Ballot Drop Box Guidance and Other Updates
• Michigan Department of State Mailings and Mailings from Civic Groups
• Reminder - Apply for Funding!
• Reminder - Security Workshop Sept 22

Ballot Scout (Ballot-Tracking) Webinar Friday

Since we reached capacity for Tuesday’s webinar, Democracy Works, in partnership with the Bureau of Elections, will be hosting another live Zoom webinar to discuss its ballot-tracking software, which allows ballot envelopes to be tracked as they move through the mail. As a reminder, clerks have the choice of whether or not they want to use Ballot Scout software to track absent voter ballots through the mail for the November election. Use of Ballot Scout is free, and the mail tracking provided will be used in addition to the MVIC application and ballot tracking. This webinar may be helpful to clerks who are deciding whether or not to use the ballot-tracking software. Please refer to the August 20 News Update for more details.

Consider joining us for this short webinar to learn more about this process of using the Ballot Scout Ballot-Tracking web-based software application; the QVF features that enable the tracking, and examples of envelopes with the tracking label. No advance sign-up is necessary. Simply select the link below and enter the meeting ID when prompted.

Topic: Discussing Ballot-Tracking & Ballot Scout Time: Sep 11, 2020 11:00 AM Eastern Time Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89540381804  Meeting ID: 895 4038 1804

This webinar is limited to only 100 participants so join early to guarantee a seat. We recommend that you use your computer to ensure you can benefit from the visual presentation.

Ballot Drop Box Guidance and Other Updates

The Bureau of Elections has released guidance for jurisdictions installing absent voter ballot drop boxes. The guidance is available on eLearning. The guidance covers locations, security, recommended signage, and other issues. If you have specific questions about the placement or characteristics of your ballot drop boxes, please contact the Bureau of Elections. If you ordered a ballot drop box through the August supply order and have not yet received it, you should receive it soon. The vendor has informed us that all remaining drop boxes will be shipped from the facility by Friday, September 11. Finally, remember to add your drop box locations to QVF. This will allow voters to easily find drop box locations they can use on Michigan.gov/Vote.

Reminder: Apply for Funding!

As we shared last week in a news update, the Center for Tech and Civic Life announced a grant of $250 million that it will be making directly available to local election jurisdictions throughout the country to support your election infrastructure needs. These funds can support voter education efforts, including mailings and public service announcements, and can also be used to directly purchase additional technology, tabulators, and the like.

You can find more information and request an application on the Center for Tech and Civic Life’s COVID-19 Response Grant webpage. Jurisdictions should act quickly if they are interested in this funding. Please note that this funding is provided by a nonprofit organization and is totally separate from BOE grants and reimbursement programs – you can apply for both!

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