►
From YouTube: September 17, 2014 Elections & Rules Committee Meeting
Description
Minneapolis Elections & Rules Committee Meeting
A
Good
morning,
I'm
going
to
call
this
meeting
to
order.
My
name
is
Jacob
Frye
and
I'm.
The
chair
of
this
elections
committee
is
September
17th
wednesday
and
I'm
joined
by
council
members,
palmisano
goodman,
Quincy,
yang
Johnson,
glidden,
Reich,
bender,
Cano
and
Gordon
for
this
elections
committee.
We
have
one
item
on
the
agenda
for
today
and
it
involves
expansion
of
the
voting
hours
for
no
excuse
absentee
voting.
A
As
many
of
you
know,
we
saw
a
dramatic
uptick
in
the
number
of
people
that
were
voting
during
the
primary
just
about
a
month
ago,
and
we've
been
approached
by
several
different
community
groups,
noting
that
if
we
also
expand
the
the
voting
hours
for
the
general
election,
we
couldn't
hopefully
increase
turnout
dramatically.
So
with
that,
I
will
turn
it
over
to
our
Clerk
Casey
Carl.
Who
can
give
us
the
rundown.
B
Committee,
the
chair
stated
the
proposal
to
expand
service
our
seeks
to
build
on
efforts
to
improve
service
to
our
voters
by
increasing
opportunity
staff
was
directed
by
Mayor,
Hodges
and
chair
fry
to
evaluate
and
report
back
on
options
in
response
to
these
requests
that
were
received
from
several
community
based
organizations
advocating
for
greater
ballot
access
under
the
current
schedule.
The
elections
and
voter
services
division
expects
to
provide
approximately
278
service
hours
during
the
46
day
absentee
voting
period
that
includes
service
hours.
Each
weekday
during
the
regular
business
hours
8am
to
430
p.m.
B
as
well
as
additional
hours
on
the
two
Saturdays
just
prior
to
election
day
from
nine
a.m.
to
four
p.m.
the
proposal.
That's
been
put
forward
by
the
mayor
and
chair
fry
targets
increases
in
service
hours
during
the
two-week
period
that
leads
up
to
election
day,
including
additional
service
hours
for
each
business
day
and
new
service
hours
on
the
two
Sundays
just
prior
to
election
day.
B
If
approved,
the
proposal,
as
outlined
in
a
staff
report,
would
increase
the
total
number
of
service
hours
by
approximately
ten
percent
for
a
total
of
three
hundred
twelve
hours
during
the
46
day.
Absentee
voting
period,
that's
a
total
of
more
than
34
hours
than
what
was
already
scheduled.
I
also
would
point
out
that
absentee
voting
period
starts
this
Friday
I've,
distributed
at
the
Dyess
a
calendar
view
that
outlines
this
there's
also
a
copy
on
the
overhead
for
our
viewing
public.
This
visually
summarizes
how
the
expanded
service
hours
would
affect
our
plan
schedule.
B
We've
also
put
a
copy
of
that
report.
In
the
report.
That's
online
staff
has
provided
a
high
level
analysis
report
of
this
proposal
primarily
focused
on
two
aspects:
first,
the
staffing
impact
and
second,
the
potential
fiscal
impact,
which
is
an
estimate
based
on
several
assumptions.
Again,
these
evaluations
of
the
staffing
and
fiscal
impacts
are
provided
in
more
detail.
The
staff
reports
circulated
with
the
agenda
and
also
posted
online.
B
As
the
committee
is
aware,
in
Minneapolis,
we
do
provide
a
very
different
level
of
service
for
our
absentee
voters,
which
exceeds
that
which
is
required
by
law
and
is
provided
in
other
communities
starting
in
2012.
We
established
a
polling
place
here
at
City
Hall
to
receive
our
in-person
absentee
voters
under
state
law.
Election
officials
are
merely
required
to
provide
service
in
their
offices,
essentially
a
front
counter
exchange,
because
the
office
space
that's
allocated
for
elections
is
insufficient
to
meet
our
needs.
B
We've
opted
to
establish
a
full-scale
polling
place
in
the
rotunda,
which
gives
maximum
support
and
assistance
to
our
voters
who
choose
to
vote
absentee,
given
that
this
year
also
saw
the
launch
of
no
excuse
absentee
voting.
As
the
chair
pointed
out,
it's
important
that
we
have
the
proper
space
and
resources
to
serve
our
voters.
Those
resources
include
election
judges
to
staff.
B
The
city
hall
polling,
place,
staffing,
the
city
hall
polling
place
during
the
final
two
weeks
prior
to
election
is
extremely
challenging
because
the
permanent
staff
and
the
majority
of
our
core
seasonal
workers
are
focused
on
final
preparations
to
ensure
a
successful
election
day.
Therefore,
staff
is
proposing
to
implement
two
shifts
to
assure
adequate
coverage.
Using
two
shifts
allows
for
overlap
during
when
voters
are
likely
to
arrive
and
also
helps
to
cover
for
lunches
and
breaks.
However,
because
it
is
impossible
to
predict
turnout
from
day
to
day.
B
We
also
anticipate
the
need
for
flexibility
in
our
staffing
approach
and
therefore
we
recommend
that
the
elections
director
be
authorized
to
assign
additional
election
judges
to
the
City
Hall
polling
place
based
on
demand.
We
further
recommend
that
this
expansion
and
voter
service
hours
be
considered
a
test
and
that
recommendations
be
returned
to
this
committee
for
its
consideration
and
how
service
hours
might
be
determined
to
best
meet.
Voters
needs
in
future
elections.
Staff
regularly
provides
a
debriefing
after
each
election
cycle,
and
we
would
plan
to
include
a
discussion
with
analysis
and
recommendations
on
this
particular
issue.
B
A
You
mr.
Karl,
before
I
open
it
up
to
questions,
I'd
like
to
go
ahead
and
move
to
authorize
the
proposed
expansion
and
voter
service
hours
and
to
also
authorize
the
elections
director
to
designate
additional
staffers
as
needed
to
sis
to
sufficiently
staff
the
city
hall
in
person
polling
place
during
the
46
day
absentee
voting
period
with
one
minor
amendment,
which
is
to
expand
the
sunday
voting
hours
in
the
two
weeks
preceding
the
election
by
one.
A
C
B
The
chair
council
member
glyn
I
appreciate
that,
yes,
the
fiscal
impact
that
we
worked
with
the
finance
department
to
analyze
is
relatively
small,
approximately
ten
thousand
dollars,
and
we
would
anticipate
to
cover
that
within
allocated
budget
already
within
the
clerk's
department.
If
we
were
unable
to
do
that
of
course,
and
we
would
work
with
finance
to
find
other
means
of
paying
or
coming
before,
the
council
for
an
allocation
of
contingency
funds,
if
necessary.
Okay,.
A
Have
any
further
questions
for
mr.
Carl
I
will
just
add
that
I
think
this
is
a
really
important
step,
we're
talking
about
it.
Expanding
the
electorate,
we're
talking
about
giving
as
many
people
access
to
voting
as
possible
and
and,
as
you
know,
just
voting
on
that
Tuesday
November.
Fourth,
it
can
at
times
be
very
difficult,
so
this
is
expanding.
No
absent,
no
excuse
absentee
voting
for
the
46
days
prior
to
the
election,
and
we
talked
about
no
excuse.
It's
not
just
you
don't
need
to
provide
an
excuse.
It's
all
so
I'm
thinking
going
forward.
A
You
have
no
excuse
not
to
vote,
so
we
hope
to
get
as
many
people
out
there
as
possible.
I
want
to
thank
the
clerk's
office,
mr.
Carl,
as
well
as
grace
and
all
of
the
community
organizations
that
came
forward
to
express
their
desire
to
increase
that
that
electorate.
I
think
this
is
a
very
important
step
and
with
that
I
will.
D
Thank
You
mr.
chair
I,
you
know
I
just
had
a
question
with
regards
to
this
one.
Is
this
going
to
be
kind
of
like
a
pilot
for
this
year
and
if
it
works
out,
I
mean
we'll
do
it
for
the
following
years,
or
is
this
gonna
be
kind
of
something
that
we're
just
going
to
dab
for
forever?
Let's
say
that's.
A
B
Chair
the
recommendation
from
staff,
which
I
believe
concurs
with
the
parameters
provided
by
policy.
A
curse
was
to
use
this
as
an
opportunity
to
test
what
the
expanded
service
hours
would
do
for
our
voters,
with
the
idea
that
we
would
come
back
to
discuss
a
permanent
policy
that
would
be
applied
in
all
future
elections.
B
A
We
have
any
other
further
questions,
I'm
not
using
speaker
management.
So
if
you
want
to
raise
your
hand
or
put
put
up
your
tag,
seeing
no
further
questions,
I
will
happily
move
approval
of
this
item.
All
those
in
favor
say
aye,
all
those
opposed,
say,
nay.
That
item
has
been
adopted.
Thank
you,
as
we
have
no
further
items
on
the
agenda
for
today.
This
meeting
is
adjourned.