September 22, 2020

MOVE Ballots

As you are aware, this past Saturday was the MOVE deadline.  As a result of your hard work and dedication, staying late, and working on Saturday, you issued a total of 17,139 ballots to military and overseas voters.  Currently, there are 17,280 requests that were submitted by the deadline; this equals out to a 99.2% compliance rate.  This is more than double the total number of ballots that were issued for the August primary.  Your work and efforts are greatly appreciated, and you and your staff should be commended for this success.

Happy National Voter Registration Day

Today, Tuesday, September 22, is National Voter Registration Day. Please continue your efforts to encourage residents in your community to register to vote, update their voter registration, or verify that their registrations are up to date by visiting Michigan.gov/Vote.

Accessible Electronic Absent Voter Applications and Ballots

For the November election (and future elections), voters with print disabilities apply for and complete electronic accessible absent voter ballots through the Democracy Live OmniBallot program, which is available at Michigan.gov/Vote.  When voters complete the application for an accessible ballot, the Bureau verifies the information provided matches the voter’s QVF information and the application is added to the voter’s QVF record. The Bureau then generates a link for the clerk and a link for the voter for the voter’s accessible ballot on the Democracy Live OmniBallot platform and emails the links to the clerk from the MDOS-Accesible@michigan.gov email.  Emails started going out on Friday, and are continuing go out this week. This is different from the August process, in which the ballot generated out of QVF and emailed to the voter.

When the clerk receives the links, the clerk should click on the clerk link for the ballot (do not click on the voter link) to verify it is the correct ballot for the voter, e-mail the link to the voter, and mark the voter as having been sent an accessible ballot and record the ballot number prefaced with an “A”. If a voter has also requested a regular AV ballot, the clerk should attempt to contact the voter and verify whether the voter wants a regular AV ballot or an accessible ballot. Clerks should not ask whether voters have a disability; they should only ask which ballot the voter wants. If the clerk is unable to reach the voter, the ballot corresponding to the more recent request date should be sent. If a clerk has already sent a regular AV ballot to the voter and needs to send an accessible ballot instead (or the opposite), QVF requires the previous ballot to be spoiled to ensure the voter can vote only one ballot. 

After the voter receives his or her accessible ballot, the voter can complete the ballot electronically and then print the ballot, place it in an envelope, sign the back of the envelope, and return it to the clerk. Ballots cannot be returned electronically.

Notice of Registration and Saturday/Sunday Hours Due Oct. 5!

Oct. 5 is the deadline to report the hours the clerk's office will be open for absentee voting the Saturday and/or Sunday prior to the November election in QVF. Clerks must maintain a minimum of eight hours in some combination over those two days. The time may be split between Saturday and Sunday or all conducted on one day. Clerks should also enter their drop box locations in QVF at this time.  For instructions on how to enter this information please see the QVF Manual Chapter 11 - Clerk Contacts.

Oct. 5 is also the deadline to post the Notice of Registration for the Nov. 3 election. A sample Notice of Registration is in the eLearning Center.

QVF Software Release for September 22, 2020

The release includes the following:

• If a voter has returned an absent voter ballot and has completed an intermediate or long move (to a different city/township, or to a different precinct or different district within the precinct) by the 15-day deadline for registering in any way other than in person with the clerk, the ballot will automatically be rejected with the message of Voter Ballot is Rejected – #0000001 (or corresponding ballot number).  The rejected reason will be “Voter moved and is eligible to vote in new jurisdiction.” The voter will have to vote in their new jurisdiction. Voters who have returned an AV ballot and register in days 0-14 have the option to have their AV ballot count in the old jurisdiction and have their new registration effective after Election Day.
• AV Details and AV Scan. Amber warning message appears for voters who have an absent voter ballot application received in and then perform a short move (same precinct and same district within the precinct), to alert the clerk that the voter address changed and the clerk should review the address to which the ballot will be sent.  The message reads “The voter address may have changed since the av app was returned.”

Voters who Return an AV Ballot, Then Register Elsewhere

After a software release and server process update on September 22, 2020, QVF will automatically reject absent voter ballots from voters who have updated their voter registration reflecting a long move (from one city/township to another) or intermediate move (within the city or township, from one precinct or district within the city/township to another) by the 15-day deadline for registering in any method other than in person with the clerk. Such voters automatically become eligible to vote in their new city or township as soon as they update their voter registration. Previously, clerks received inbox notifications of such moves with outstanding AV applications/ballots, and the moves showed on the Cancelled/Rejected/Moved Out Report. If you have voters who have moved and registered in a new jurisdiction prior to this change (9/22/2020), you will need to mark their ballots rejected in AV Details. These ballots will still display on the Cancelled/Rejected/Moved Out Report, and the AV Rejected Report details rejection reasons.

As explained further in the software update release notes for today, if a voter is listed with an AV application received and registers a short move (within the same jurisdiction, same precinct, and same districts within the precinct), the clerk will see an amber colored warning in AV Scan and AV Details while sending their ballot to alert you that their address may have changed and that their Ballot Address may need to be updated to send the ballot elsewhere:

If the voter moved to a different city/township or to a different precinct or district within the precinct, QVF will require you to update the address before issuing a ballot because the voter will be getting a different ballot style.

AV Ballot Tips from the QVF Help Desk

As you issue ballots, review the 8/31/20 News Update for tips on Profile Preferences, Ballot Style Aliases, Daily AV Reports, and more. See also QVF Manual Chapter 6 on Absentee Voting.

• Ballot number auto-increment and lockout settings are set in your Profile Preferences/AV Preferences.
• Please remember QVF automatically generates your ballot labels as you record sending the ballots. It will print now (to a Dymo printer) or print later (from Reports>Print Queue onto sheets of labels) depending on your Profile Preferences. Your preferences also specify 2 across or 3 across label size, whether precinct or ballot style prints on the label, and whether the ballot number is printed. Labels generated via other methods are missing out on information available from QVF’s AV ballot labels.

Utilizing AV List Versions for November 2020

The AV List is a relatively comprehensive list of AV Ballots which is important for use on Election Day or for detailed review of activity in a precinct. This article introduces new features and shows sample reports to identify where you may be out of balance, how to balance through each day, and how to run the AV List as you would for Election Day (both on Monday night and for Election day ballot deliveries to precincts).

New features have been added to assist you.

• A new default setting to Only Show Eligible Voters helps you focus your efforts on ballots that can be counted on Election Day. You can change that selection to see more information here, and other reports provide additional details on voters’ situations (such as the Cancelled/Rejected/Moved Out report and the AV Rejected Report).

• To help you ensure ballots have been sent to all qualified voters who have requested them, the App Sent/Received dropdown lets you review voters with apps received, apps sent and/or received, or apps sent but not received. 
• To help you ensure ballots have been sent to all qualified voters who have requested them, a yes selection in Out of Balance (apps received/no ballot sent) returns a report of those apps received where no ballot has been sent.

For more details on other QVF reports, see QVF Manual Chapter 7 in QVF under Help, QVF Reference Manuals.

AV List: App Sent/Received and AV List: Out of Balance:

1. Region type: JURISDICTION (autofill from Profile Preferences)
2. Region: pick your jurisdiction from the drop list (autofill from Profile Preferences)
3. Election date: 11/03/2020 – STATE GENERAL (autofill from Profile Preferences)
4. Precinct type: COMBINED or PRECINCT, or even BALLOT STYLE if precincts have splits
5. Precincts involved in election: highlight individual precincts, highlight multiple using the shift key, select the blue ALL to select all or click None to clear all selections.
6. Residency verification: ALL
7. Show only ID confirmed: NO
8. Exclude rejected ballot: NO
9. Returned ballot first: NO
10. Show ballots returned only: NO
11. Show ballots returned after: leave blank for this report.  
12. Sort by: (your local preference for combined/precinct/ballot style and name or ballot number)
13. App Sent/Received: APP RECEIVED
14. Only Show Eligible Voters: YES
15. Out of Balance: YES
16. Report format: PDF

Click CONTINUE and your report will open in a separate browser window for printing.

AV List for daily balancing of the day’s returned ballots:

1. Region type: JURISDICTION (autofill from Profile Preferences)
2. Region: pick your jurisdiction from the drop list (autofill from Profile Preferences)
3. Election date: 11/03/2020 – STATE GENERAL (autofill from Profile Preferences)
4. Precinct type: COMBINED or PRECINCT, or even BALLOT STYLE if precincts have splits
5. Precincts (or ballot styles) involved in election: highlight individual precincts, highlight multiple using the shift key, select the blue ALL to select all or click None to clear all selections. During times of heavy traffic, try printing one or a few precincts rather than a large quantity at once.
6. Residency verification: ALL
7. Show only ID confirmed: NO
8. Exclude rejected ballot: YES
9. Returned ballot first: YES
10. Show ballots returned only: YES
11. Show ballots returned after: desired date and time, probably date and time of opening office that day
    1. Click on calendar to select date
    2. Click on clock to select
12. Sort by: (your local preference for combined/precinct/ballot style and name or ballot number)
13. App Sent/Received: APP RECEIVED
14. Only Show Eligible Voters: YES
15. Out of Balance: NO
16. Report format: PDF
17. Click CONTINUE and your report will open in a separate browser window for printing.

AV List for Election Day:

1. Region type: JURISDICTION (autofill from Profile Preferences)
2. Region: pick your jurisdiction from the drop list (autofill from Profile Preferences)
3. Election date: 11/03/2020 – STATE GENERAL (autofill from Profile Preferences)
4. Precinct type: COMBINED or PRECINCT (either is fine this time)
5. Precincts involved in election: highlight individual precincts, highlight multiple using the shift key, select the blue ALL to select all or click None to clear all selections. During times of heavy traffic, try printing one or a few precincts rather than a large quantity at once.
6. Residency verification: ALL
7. Show only ID confirmed: NO
8. Exclude rejected ballot: YES
9. Returned ballot first: YES
10. Show ballots returned only: YES
11. Show ballots returned after: leave blank for the first run of this report to give to the AV processing board with the initial load of ballots to be processed.   Subsequent ballot deliveries to the board can be tracked this way, down to the time of the report.  How often you run these reports is up to your process and volume; it is recommended that a jurisdiction adopt a routine to avoid multiple reports and election worker confusion. These subsequent reports will be aggregated with the initial report to get total ballots processed numbers and will reside in the pollbook as the List of Voters.
12. Sort by: COMBINED AND LAST NAME or PRECINCT AND LAST NAME
13. App Sent/Received: APP RECEIVED
14. Only Show Eligible Voters: YES
15. Out of Balance: NO
16. Report format: PDF

Click CONTINUE and your report will open in a separate browser window for printing.

IN THIS ISSUE

• MOVE Ballots
• Voters with AV Applications who Move (Related to Today's Software Release)
• Happy National Voter Registration Day
• Accessible Electronic Absent Voter Ballot Applications and Ballots
• Notice of Registration and Saturday/Sunday Hours Due Oct.5
• QVF Software Release for September 22, 2020
• Absent Voter Ballot Availability Starting September 24
• Voters Who Return an AV Ballot and Then Register Elsewhere
• Additional Center for Tech and Civic Life Grant Funding Still Available - Apply by October 1!
• AV Ballot Tips from the QVF Help Desk
• Utilizing AV List Versions for November 2020

Voters with AV Applications who Move (Related to Today's Software Release)

Some voters will move and update their voter registration between requesting an AV ballot and the ballot being mailed to the voter. A voter may have completed a dual application and moved between elections or moved during the 75-day application period before the November election. The steps you should take depend on the situation.

Move within precinct or district within a precinct (short move)

Clerks should review the QVF records of voters who have made a “short move” or moved within a precinct or a district within a precinct (meaning they have the same ballot style) when issuing the voter a ballot. When a voter changes his or her registration address within a ballot style after requesting an AV ballot, the registration address will change for the voter in QVF. Clerks get an Inbox notification indicating a “short” move when this occurs. When clerks use AV Scan to issue an AV ballot to the voter, clerks should review record to determine to which address the ballot should be sent.  If the voter previously requested the ballot be sent to the voter’s prior registration address within the precinct, QVF will maintain the prior registration address from the application as an “alternate” address for the voter and the ballot will be sent that alternate address unless the clerk updates the record.

As explained in today’s software release notes, the AV Scan has been updated to include an amber warning message when an AV ballot is issued to a voter who has completed a short move. This will assist the clerk in determining where the ballot should be sent. If a voter has a current mailing address on record, the ballot should be sent to that address rather than the registration address.  If a voter specified on the application an alternate address different from the voter’s mailing address or registration address to have the AV ballot mailed (which cannot be in the city or township of registration), the ballot should be mailed to that alternate address.

Move to different ballot style within the city or township

When a voter changes his or her registration within a city or township but to a precinct or to a different district within a precinct (meaning a different ballot style) after requesting an AV ballot, the registration address will change for the voter in QVF. Clerks will get an Inbox notification indicating “Intermediate” move when this occurs. If a clerk is using AV Scan, if a voter previously requested the ballot be sent to the voter’s prior registration address within the city, QVF will not allow the clerk to issue the ballot to the voter at the old registration address. Using the voter’s new registration address, the clerk can update the voter’s AV information in AV Scan and send the ballot to the new registration address. As with short moves, the ballot should be sent to the voter’s mailing address or alternate address if the voter has provided those addresses.

Move to different precinct city or township in Michigan

If a voter has applied for AV ballot and then moves and re-registers in another city or township in Michigan, the voter will need to re-apply for an AV ballot in the new jurisdiction. If a clerk receives a “Moved in” Inbox notification for a voter, the clerk should contact the voter and advise the voter of the need to reapply in the new jurisdiction. If the voter is on the permanent absent voter ballot application list, the clerk should send an AV application. For clerks who receive a “moved from” inbox notification for a voter with a pending AV application (that is, a voter applied for an AV ballot in that clerk’s jurisdiction, but moved away to a new city or township in Michigan), it is also a best practice to notify the new city or township.

The Cancelled/Rejected/Moved Out report will provide details on voters who moved out of your jurisdiction and were issued a ballot.  The Inbox List Report can provide details about voters who have applied for an AV ballot and have moved from, to, or within your jurisdiction.  If the voter has already requested or returned a ballot, different rules apply. See today’s software release on the inbox notification for voters who have returned a ballot and then updated their voter registration.

Absent Voter Ballot Availability Starting September 24

Election clerks and staff have been working extremely hard as they receive a high volume of AV ballot requests and make other preparations for the November Election. As clerks are aware, the next critical deadline is Thursday, September 24, the 40^th Day before the November 3, 2020 Election. Under the Michigan Constitution, starting on September 24 voters have the right to apply for and be issued absent voter ballots in person, and voters who have applied for an absent voter ballot prior to September 24 have the right to be sent the ballot.

As noted previously, with clerks having received an unprecedented number of AV ballot applications, and with some ballots arriving from print vendors shortly before (or in some cases after) September 24, In some cases it will be practically impossible for clerks to issue all ballots on September 24. Clerks should use the following procedures to ensure as many ballots as possible can be issued starting September 24.

In-Person AV Ballot Issuance

If clerks have received AV ballots, they must be available for in-person issuance starting September 24 even if ballots have not been mailed out, and even if testing has not been completed. Although the Bureau advises that preliminary testing should be complete before the bulk of ballots are mailed out, it is not necessary to conduct testing before every single ballot is issued. In the unlikely event that a ballot issued before preliminary testing cannot be tabulated on election day, that ballot can always be duplicated onto another ballot and tabulated.

Clerks should expect voters to appear in person to apply for AV ballots on September 24.  Given the record number of AV applications that have already been submitted, some voters may appear to apply for an absent voter ballot in person who have already applied for an AV ballot by mail. In this instance, clerks should notify the voter that the clerk has already issued an AV ballot to the voter by mail and inform the voter that the ballot is on its way. If the voter insists on applying for an AV ballot in person, the voter must make a signed, written request to spoil the mailed AV ballot to receive a replacement ballot in person. Although voters have this right, many voters may choose to wait for their initial ballot to arrive after the process is explained.

Additionally, if there are any changes to business hours or different procedures for how members of the public may enter the clerk’s office, this information should also be posted publicly. For example, if the clerk’s office has adjusted hours because of COVID-19, or if the clerk’s office is located in a city or township building that is closed to the general public but open for voters who are visiting to register to vote or apply for an AV ballot, information about how voters may access the clerk’s office should be posted on the clerk’s website and readily, available. If the building is locked information about how voters may access the building should be posted by the door.  

Post Ballot-Issuing Timeline Updates

If it is not possible for clerks to issue ballots on September 24 (for example, because ballots have not arrived), clerks should publicly post this information, including when ballots will be available. For example, a jurisdiction that has not received ballots could post the following information:

“___ Township has not yet received ballots from our ballot printer. The ballots are expected to arrive on Friday, September 25. Ballots will be available for in-person AV applications starting [insert applicable date; Friday, September 25/Monday, September 28] and will begin being on mailed on [insert applicable date; e.g. Monday, September 28]. Voters who have applied for an AV ballot can see when their ballot is sent by going to Michigan.gov/Vote.”

Issuing AVs by Mail

Clerks should issue absent voter ballots in the order applications were received. Even if it is not possible to issue all ballots on September 24, clerks should begin issuing ballots on that date if it is possible to do so. As with in-person AV ballots, clerks can and should begin sending out the first ballots even if preliminary testing has not been completed. Ballots can and should be send out in batches but should go out daily.

Additional Center for Tech and Civic Life Grant Funding Still Available

Center for Tech and Civic Life about grant funding remains available for election officials in Michigan. Jurisdictions can learn more about applying on the CTCL website: https://www.techandciviclife.org/grants/

Be sure to check out the grant FAQs for important information. If you have additional questions about the COVID-19 Response Grant program, please email help@techandciviclife.org.

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