NOTICE OF PRE-ELECTION LOGIC AND ACCURACY TESTING

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Doc_01 NOTICE OF PRE-ELECTION LOGIC AND ACCURACY TESTING Notice is hereby given that the Board of Election for the City of Chicago will conduct pre-election logic and accuracy testing ( Pre-LAT ) of

1 Doc_01 NOTICE OF PRE-ELECTION LOGIC AND ACCURACY TESTING Notice is hereby given that the Board of Election for the City of Chicago will conduct pre-election logic and accuracy testing ( Pre-LAT ) of Grace Period, Early Voting and in-precinct voting equipment to be used for the counting and recording of the votes cast in the February 26, 2019 Municipal General Election in the City of Chicago and that the test will commence on January 28, 2019 at 9:00 a.m at the Board Warehouse, 1869 West Pershing Road, 2 nd Floor, Chicago, Illinois. 69 West Washington Street, Suites 600/800, Chicago IL TTY

2 Doc_02 NOTICE PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on February 21, 2019 at the hour of 10:00 a.m., in the 6th Floor Central Office, 69 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois, the Board of Election for the City of Chicago shall, pursuant to Sections 24B-9 and 24C-9 of the Election Code (10 ILCS 5/24B-9; 5/24C-9), publicly test the optical scan technology tabulating equipment, program and marking device and the direct recording electronic voting system and programs to determine that they will correctly detect voting defects and accurately count the votes for all offices and all public questions with respect to the February 26, 2019 Municipal General Election in the City of Chicago. 69 West Washington Street, Suites 600/800, Chicago IL TTY

3 Doc_03 NOTICE PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on Sunday, February 17, 2019, at the hour of 9:00 a.m., the Board shall commence the processing of vote by mail ballots cast for the February 26, 2019 Municipal General Election in the LL05 BOE Conference Room A, Central Office, 69 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois. 69 West Washington Street, Suites 600/800, Chicago IL TTY

4 INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING REPLACEMENT BALLOTS FOR VOTE BY MAIL BALLOTS 1 1. The Board shall make replacement ballots for the following categories of ballots by making a true duplicate official ballot that can be counted and tabulated by the Board s 400C automatic tabulating equipment: Paper Ballots. Paper ballots shall include the following: (i) Under the provisions of Article 20 of the Election Code (10 ILCS 5/20-1 et seq.) and the Uniformed and Overseas Civilian Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff-1 et seq.) ( UOCAVA ), the Board shall transmit electronically, via or fax, a paper ballot to each eligible military or overseas civilian voter who filed an application for a ballot under the provisions of Article 20 and who expressed a preference to receive such ballot by or fax. In addition, the Board shall also make a ballot available on-line to eligible military and overseas civilian voters via the Board s UOCAVA online ballot-access and ballot-marking system, which allows such voters to obtain and mark the ballot on-line. These ballots list the names of all eligible candidates for the election. (ii) Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots ( FWAB ) may be submitted by eligible military and overseas civilians at elections in which Federal offices are to be elected. (b) (c) Damaged or defective ballots. Ballots that are defective or damaged, including any ballot submitted by military and overseas voters under the provisions of Article 20 of the Election Code and marked using the Chicago UOCAVA online ballot-access and ballot-marking system, in that they contain overvotes involving a write-in vote or they cannot be read by the automatic tabulating equipment (including ballots for which no markings can be read by the equipment). Provisional ballots cast in the incorrect precinct and on the wrong ballot style. 2. For UOCAVA ballots, Board staff shall, on Election Day or on a day designated by notice for the processing of ballots, verify whether a voter's official ballot has been returned by the voter to the Board in addition to a paper ballot. If a voter s official ballot has been returned to the Board before the time for processing and counting vote by mail ballots, then the official ballot shall be 1 The terms ballot or ballots as used in these procedures shall mean and include all vote by mail ballots, FWAB ballots, paper ballots or official optical scan ballots unless otherwise stated herein. Official or regular ballot shall mean a paper optical scan ballot capable of being scanned and read by an optical scanner or 400-C high speed optical scanner. 69 West Washington Street, Suites 600/800, Chicago IL TTY

5 MAKING REPLACEMENT BALLOTS FOR VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOTS (b) (c) counted and the voter s paper ballot will not be counted but will be marked void and kept on file. If no official ballot is returned by the voter to the Board by the time processing of ballots begins, Board staff shall deliver the paper ballot to teams of judges of election appointed in the manner provided by law for the purpose of transferring all valid votes cast on said ballot to an official replacement ballot. If an official ballot is received from a voter after a replacement ballot has been counted, the official ballot will not be counted, shall be marked void and kept on file. 3. Each panel or team of election judges shall consist of one Democratic and one Republican judge of election. Each team shall be assigned a Team #. 4. For all ballots requiring a replacement ballot, Board staff will deliver to the judges of election for processing: (b) The original ballot; and A blank official replacement ballot (a ballot of same ballot style containing the same offices, candidates and propositions as the original marked ballot and that is capable of being counted and tabulated by the Board s 400C automatic tabulating equipment, or, if the original ballot is still in the Vote by Mail Ballot Certification Envelope, then a ballot that corresponds to the ballot style for the voter s residence address). 5. Each election judge team shall cause a replacement ballot to be made performing the following tasks: (b) (c) If the original ballot is still in the Vote by Mail Ballot Certification Envelope, separate the blank replacement ballot, open the Certification Envelope and remove the original ballot (ballots discovered to be damaged or defective during the processing of the ballot through the 400C will have already been separated from the Ballot Certification Envelope). Verify that the political party (if a primary election) and the Precinct and Ward numbers on the ballot match the blank replacement ballot. Mark the original ballot and the replacement ballot as follows: (i) If the original ballot is damaged or defective, (1) Mark the original ballot Damaged Ballot, affix the Team # (e.g., Team #1 ) and sequentially number the ballot as you proceed, starting with #1 (e.g., Team #1 1, Team #1 2, Team # 1 3, etc.). (2) Mark the replacement ballot Damaged Replacement or DR and number the replacement ballot to correspond to the Team # and ballot # assigned to the original ballot being replaced (e.g., Team #1 DR 1, Team #1 DR 2, Team #1 DR 3, etc.). Doc_04 Page 2 of 5

6 MAKING REPLACEMENT BALLOTS FOR VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOTS (ii) If the original ballot is a paper ballot, (1) Mark the original paper ballot Paper Ballot, affix the Team # (e.g., Team #1 ) and sequentially number the ballot as you proceed, starting with #1 (e.g., Team #1 1, Team #1 2, Team # 1 3, etc.). (2) Mark the replacement ballot Replacement Ballot or RB and number the replacement ballot to correspond to the Team # and ballot # assigned to the original ballot being replaced (e.g., Team #1 RB 1, Team #1 RB 2, Team #1 RB 3, etc.). (d) One of the judges shall examine the original ballot and shall call out the office and the name of the candidate for whom the voter cast his or her ballot or, in the case of a referendum, whether the voter marked the ballot for a Yes or No. The other judge of election shall mark the replacement ballot accordingly so as to transfer all valid votes cast on the original ballot to the replacement ballot. (i) In the case of a ballot submitted under the Chicago UOCAVA on-line ballot-access and ballot-marking system, either (1) the bar code on the paper ballot will be scanned to produce the official replacement ballot; or (2) the judges shall examine the ballot returned in the Certification Envelope by the voter if the paper ballot is defective and cannot be counted by the equipment. (e) Examine the original ballot for write-in votes. (i) Record a vote on the replacement ballot for each valid write-in vote for a candidate that does not create an overvote (more votes than allowed for an office). To be a valid write-in vote: (1) The voter must have written in the name of the candidate on the line reserved for write-in candidates at the bottom of listing of candidates for the office sought (the spelling of a candidate s name does not have to be exact so long as the intention of the voter can be determined); (2) The voter must have placed an arrow or solid mark in the designated area reserved for casting a write-in candidate; (3) The candidate s name must be on a list of write-in candidates who timely filed a Declaration of Intent to be a Write-in Candidate, which list shall be supplied to the judges of election; (4) In a party primary, the candidate s name must be written-in on the correct party ballot; Doc_04 Page 3 of 5

7 MAKING REPLACEMENT BALLOTS FOR VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOTS (5) There are no identifying marks on the ballot; and (6) The write-in vote does not create an overvote for the office. (ii) DO NOT record a vote on the replacement ballot for any candidate for an office if (1) There is a write-in vote but the write-in vote is invalid (i.e., the write-in vote does not meet the criteria set forth in subparagraphs (i)(1) through (6) above), or (2) There is an otherwise valid write-in vote but it creates an overvote. An overvote is created if the voter: a. casts an otherwise valid vote for a write-in candidate (i.e., meets the criteria set forth in subparagraphs (i)(1) through (5) above, but not (6)) and b. also casts a vote for another candidate whose name is printed on the ballot for the same office. (iii) Record a vote on the replacement ballot for the candidate whose name is printed on the ballot for an office (but not for the write-in candidate for the same office) if the voter: (f) (g) (1) casts a vote for such candidate and (2) also casts an invalid write-in vote for the same or a different candidate for the same office. If the judges spoil a ballot, they should ask the Board's staff for a new ballot. Place the completed replacement ballot, the original ballot and the Certification Envelope in their respective trays. 6. Special rules for Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB). In addition to the above procedures, there are special rules that apply with respect to the FWAB: (i) In completing the ballot, the overseas voter may designate a candidate by writing in the name of the candidate or by writing in the name of a political party, in which case the ballot shall be counted for the candidate of that political party (this provision applies to General Elections only). (ii) Any abbreviation, misspelling, or other minor variation in the form of the name of a candidate or a political party (for General Elections only) shall be disregarded in determining the validity of the ballot, if the intention of the voter can be ascertained. Doc_04 Page 4 of 5

8 MAKING REPLACEMENT BALLOTS FOR VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOTS 7. For any damaged or defective ballot that does not register any of the votes or marks made on the ballot, the following shall constitute a valid vote on the ballot that shall be transferred to the replacement ballot: The designated area for casting a vote (the arrow ) for a particular ballot position on the ballot is fully darkened or shaded in; (b) The designated area for casting a vote for a particular ballot position on the ballot is partially darkened or shaded in; (c) (d) (e) The designated area for casting a vote for a particular ballot position on the ballot sheet contains a dot or., a check, a plus or +, or a cross or X ; The designated area for casting a vote for a particular ballot position on the ballot contains some other type of mark that indicates the clearly ascertainable intent of the voter to vote based on the totality of circumstances, including but not limited to any pattern or frequency of marks on other ballot positions from the same ballot; The designated area for casting a vote for a particular ballot position on the ballot is not marked, but the ballot sheet contains other markings associated with a particular ballot position, such as circling a candidate s name or the arrow associated with that candidate, that indicates the clearly ascertainable intent of the voter to vote, based on the totality of the circumstances, including but not limited to any pattern or frequency of markings on other ballot positions from the same ballot. 8. For any ballot that contains what appears to be an overvote (other than one created by a write-in vote), DO NOT transfer such votes to the replacement ballot. The result will be that no votes will be counted for the office for which there is an overvote. 9. When the judges have completed processing all of the ballots given to them for processing, they should notify the Board's staff, who will then secure and preserve said ballots until they are transported to the Central Counting Station for processing and counting. 10. The replacement ballot shall be counted in lieu of the original ballot. Such ballots shall be counted after 7:00 p.m. on Election Day in the same manner as near as possible as other ballots counted in-house by the Board after 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. 11. Pollwatchers as authorized by Sections 7-34 and of the Election Code and with proper credentials shall be permitted to observe all proceedings with regard to the making of replacement ballots. However, pollwatchers must obtain pollwatcher credentials marked "Replacement". Doc_04 Page 5 of 5

9 Doc_05 NOTICE PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on Monday, February 18, 2019, at the hour of 9:00 a.m., the Board of Election for the City of Chicago shall commence the insertion of vote by mail ballots, including making replacement ballots for ballots that are defective or damaged cast for the February 26, 2019 Municipal General Election, into the 400C high-speed ballot reader (no tabulation of results until after 7:00 p.m. on Election Day) in the LL05 BOE Conference Room A, Central Office, 69 West Washington, Chicago, Illinois. 69 West Washington Street, Suites 600/800, Chicago IL TTY

10 Doc_06 CANVASS OF THE RETURNS OF THE FEBRUARY 26, 2019 MUNICIPAL GENERAL ELECTION HELD IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO NOTICE PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to Sections 7-56 and 22-8 of the Election Code (10 ILCS 5/7-56; 5/22-8), the Board of Election for the City of Chicago shall convene at 7:00 p.m., on Tuesday, February 26, 2019, in Suite 800, 69 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois, and shall meet continuously for the purpose of canvassing the results of the February 26, 2019 Municipal General Election, making an abstract or statement of the votes cast in said election, and proclaiming the results of said elections. 69 West Washington Street, Suites 600/800, Chicago IL TTY

11 Doc_07 CANVASS OF THE RETURNS OF THE FEBRUARY 26, 2019 MUNICIPAL GENERAL ELECTION HELD IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO AGENDA Tuesday, February 26, :00 p.m. Suite West Washington Street Chicago, Illinois I. Call to order by the Chair pursuant to Sections 7-56 and 22-8 of the Election Code (10 ILCS 5/7-56 and 5/22-8) II. Roll Call III. Consideration and adoption of Rules that are to Govern the Canvass of Returns of the February 26, 2019 Municipal General Election in the City of Chicago IV. Public Comment V. Recess 69 West Washington Street, Suites 600/800, Chicago IL TTY

12 RULES GOVERNING THE CANVASS OF THE RETURNS OF THE FEBRUARY 26, 2019 MUNICIPAL GENERAL ELECTION IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO 1. It shall be the duty of the Board of Election of the City of Chicagoto canvass and add up and declare the result of every election hereafter held within the boundaries of the City of Chicago. The Board shall open all returns and shall make abstracts or statements of the votes for all offices voted on at the election. The powers and duties of the Board in canvassing the votes are those specified in Articles 7 and 22 of the Election Code. 2. Preliminary, unofficial vote totals for all candidates shall be obtained by the transfer of the precinct vote totals into the Board of Election central computer system by one or more means, including (b) (c) (d) (e) by wireless telephone modem transmission; by inserting the precinct Insight Memory Card and the Edge Results Cartridge into memory pack readers located at Remote Transmission Sites in Receiving Stations throughout the city of Chicago; by inserting the precinct Insight Memory Card and the Edge Results Cartridge into the central computer system and entering the results directly into WinEDS; by standard telephone modem transmission; or by direct manual entry. 3. On Tuesday, February 26, 2019, at 7:00 p.m., the Board shall tabulate all valid early voting ballots and grace period ballots. 4. Vote by mail ballots shall be processed, counted and tabulated in the offices of the Board according to the Board s instructions for Processing, Counting and Tabulating Vote By Mail Ballots. Tabulation shall commence after 7:00 p.m. but no later than 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. The tabulation shall continue until all vote by mail ballots required to be counted on Election Day have been tabulated. Such ballots shall have been inserted into the 400-C Vote By Mail Ballot Counter in the Board s office by a panel or panels of election judges appointed in the manner provided by law. The results shall be entered into the central computer system, tabulated and made a part of the preliminary vote totals. 9 West Washington Street, Suites 600/800, Chicago IL TTY

13 Rules Governing the Canvass of Returns 5. Whenever a discrepancy exists during the canvass of votes between the unofficial results and the certificate of results, or whenever a discrepancy exists during the canvass of votes between the certificate of results and the set of totals which has been affixed to the certificate of results, the ballots for that precinct shall be retabulated to correct the return in the manner prescribed in the Board s procedures for Audit & Retabulation of Ballots in Precincts Where a Discrepancy Exists. Such retabulation shall begin on Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. The Board shall first check to determine whether the memory pack(s) and/or results cartridge for a precinct contain vote totals data that can be read electronically. (i) (ii) If so, such data shall be reviewed to determine whether the data is correct and accurate and, if so, entered into the central computer system. If not, or if the Board suspects that the data is incorrect, the Board shall cause the optical scan ballots and/or the permanent paper record from the touch screen printer for such precinct to be retabulated. 6. On Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. the Board s staff shall begin entering provisional voters information. 7. Preliminary and unofficial candidate vote totals shall be periodically printed by the central computer system and copies released to the public. Preliminary and unofficial precinct vote totals of all precincts read into the central computer system shall be printed by the central computer system and copies thereof shall be available at approximately 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 27, A panel or panels of judges of election shall review appeals of rejected vote by mail ballots on dates and times as determined and announced by the Board. 9. On Friday, March 1, 2019, at 9:00 a.m. authorized staff of the Board shall begin validating provisional ballots to determine whether they are valid and should be counted. In determining whether provisional ballots are valid and should be counted, the Board s staff shall follow the Board s procedures for Validating and Counting Provisional Ballots. 10. On Monday, March 4, 2019, at 9:00 a.m. the verification of preliminary and unofficial totals shall begin. (b) The official precinct Certificate of Results (Form 80) shall be compared with the preliminary and unofficial precinct vote totals and any differences shall be reconciled. If the reconciliation is not apparent and an obvious discrepancy exists between the number of ballots cast and the precinct vote totals, then the ballots shall be retabulated as set forth in paragraph 5 herein. A candidate, political party or qualified civic organization may have two watchers for each of the Board's canvassing teams. Such watchers may, during their good Page 2 of 4

14 Rules Governing the Canvass of Returns conduct, be present during the canvass. The Board reserves the right to determine or change at any time the number of canvassing teams. The Board also reserves the right to remove watchers if their conduct disrupts or interferes with the orderly conduct of the canvass. 11. Voters who cast provisional ballots may submit to the Board additional information in support of their provisional ballot not later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5, On Tuesday, March 5, 2019 at 9:00 a.m., the Board shall begin to test (i) ballots cast in 5% of the precincts and (ii) 5% of the Early Voting devices in accordance with Sections 24B-15 and 24C-15 of the Election Code. 13. Beginning on Monday, March 11, 2019, but not later than Tuesday, March 12, 2019 the Board shall count all valid provisional ballots in the manner prescribed by the Board s procedures for Validating and Counting Provisional Ballots. After all valid provisional ballots have been counted, all information that has been entered into the Board s master provisional voting database concerning whether a provisional ballot has been counted, partially counted or not counted, and the reason for not counting the ballot, as the case may be, shall be uploaded to the Board s Internet Web site so that provisional voters may be able to check on the status of their provisional ballots. 14. The Board will stand ready to reconcile any vote total differences noted by any political party, candidate or interested citizen by 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 12, The Board will consider all written suggestions of error in the preliminary precinct vote totals prior to the proclamation of the results. 16. Final totals of all the votes cast for all candidates and referenda (if any) will be officially proclaimed by the Board at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 13, 2019 in the 8 th floor conference room, 69 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois. 17. The Board may amend these rules as needed and may, in its discretion, modify the date and time for performing any act specified by these rules, except that the Board may not extend the last date for counting valid provisional ballots beyond the 14 th day following the election or for proclaiming the final totals and results of the election beyond the 21 st day following the election. Page 3 of 4

15 Rules Governing the Canvass of Returns 18. The Board shall, upon completion of the canvassing of the returns, make and transmit to the Cook County Clerk a certified copy of the proclamation of the results of the election. The Board shall also transmit to the State Board of Elections a copy of the proclamation of the results of the election via facsimile, or other electronic means or by overnight mail so that it arrives at the State Board of Elections main office the following calendar day. Adopted on:. ) MARISEL A. HERNANDEZ, CHAIR ) ) ) ) Constituting the WILLIAM J. KRESSE, COMMISSIONER-SECRETARY ) Board of Election ) for the ) City of Chicago ) JONATHAN T. SWAIN, COMMISSIONER ) Page 4 of 4

16 Doc_09 NOTICE PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on Tuesday, February 26, 2019, at the hour of 7:00 p.m., the Board of Election for the City of Chicago shall, in its offices on the Sixth Floor of 69 West Washington, Chicago, Illinois, commence tabulation of Vote By Mail, Grace Period, and Early Voting ballots cast at the February 26, 2019 Municipal General Election. 69 West Washington Street, Suites 600/800, Chicago IL TTY

PROCESSING, COUNTING AND TABULATING EARLY VOTING AND GRACE PERIOD VOTING BALLOTS

Commissioners MARISEL A. HERNANDEZ, Chair WILLIAM J. KRESSE, Commissioner/Secretary JONATHAN T. SWAIN, Commissioner LANCE GOUGH, Executive Director Doc_10 PROCESSING, COUNTING AND TABULATING EARLY VOTING