Media Kit Coordinated Election November 7, 2017

Transcription

1 Media Kit Coordinated Election November 7, 2017

2 Table of Contents Election Model... 2 Coordinated Election Calendar... 3 Voter Service and Polling Center Locations and Hours of Operation Hour Ballot Drop-Off Box Locations... 5 Ballot Content... 6 Dominion Voting System... 7 Text Line... 7 Ballot TRACE... 8 Military and Overseas Voters... 9 Provisional Voting... 9 Ballot Processing Election Day Media Arrangements General Election by the Numbers Contacts for News Media Online Resources Colorado Secretary of State Rule 8.18 Media Observers... 14

3 Election Model Vote by mail Ballots for the November 7, 2017 Coordinated Election will be mailed to all active Denver voters beginning the week of October 16. Vote in person Voters may vote in person beginning October 23 at the Denver Elections Division or from October 30 through November 7, 2017 at the Voter Service and Polling Centers located throughout the City and County of Denver. Voter Service and Polling Centers (VSPCs) VSPCs offer: In person voting Replacements for lost or spoiled mail ballots Ballot boxes for voted mail ballots Accessible voting devices Voter registration Our Mobile VSPC offers: In person voting Ballot boxes for voted mail ballots Accessible voting devices Voter registration 2

4 3

5 4

6 5

7 Ballot Content The Denver ballot for the November 7, 2017 Coordinated Election includes the following races: Denver Public Schools Director at Large o Julie Bañuelos o Robert Russell Speth o Barbara O Brien Denver Public Schools - Director District 2 o Angela Cobian o Xochitl Sochi Gaytan Denver Public Schools Director District 3 o Carrie A. Olson o Mike Johnson Denver Public Schools Director District 4 o Tay Anderson o Rachele Espiritu o Jennifer Bacon Referred Question 2A Denver Transportation and Mobility System Bonds Referred Question 2B Denver Cultural Facilities Bonds Referred Question 2C Denver Health and Hospital Authority Bonds Referred Question 2D Denver Public Safety System Bonds Referred Question 2E Denver Library System Bonds Referred Question 2F Denver Parks and Recreation Bonds Referred Question 2G Denver Public Facilities System Bonds Referred Question 2H Denver Department of Environmental Health Charter Amendment Initiated Ordinance 300 Denver Green Roof Initiative 6

8 Dominion Voting System Denver uses an innovative voting system that is highly efficient and cost-effective. On the front end, the system consists of tablets used as ballot marking devices. A voter can use the tablet to make their choices and then print their choices onto a paper ballot that is then placed into a secure ballot box. No votes are stored on the tablets. The tablets replaced the old electronic voting machines. On the back end of the system, off-the-shelf scanners are used to count ballots and any mismarked ballots are sent to a bipartisan team of adjudicators who determine voter intent and fix the ballot on screen. More than 300 election officials from around the United States and from other countries have visited Denver to see the system in action and learn about our other innovations. Text Lines for Voters and Media Denver voters can now text their questions to the Denver Elections Division at In addition to live responses during normal business hours, they can text the following keywords and receive an auto-response: Results Sends the voter a link to our mobile-optimized election results page VSPC Sends the voter a link to an interactive map of all ballot boxes and VSPCs. It will give the customer the closest sites to their current location EJ Sends the voter a link to the election judge interest form Register Sends the voter to TRACE Sends the voter to our mobile-optimized Ballot TRACE SAMPLE Sends the voter a link to the sample ballot TABOR Sends the voter a link to the TABOR Notice. News media can text inquiries to and a member of our communications team will respond. 7

9 Ballot TRACE Voters are encouraged to sign up for the Denver Elections Division s award-winning Ballot TRACE (Ballot Tracking, Reporting, And Communication Engine) service, to track the status of their mail ballot before it enters the mail system, while it is being processed by the U.S. Post Office, and after it has been returned to the Denver Elections Division. Voters can retrieve updates through or may choose to receive updates by or text message. Ballot TRACE is an award-winning, innovative mail ballot tracking, reporting and communication engine developed for Denver s mail-in ballot voters by the Denver Elections Division. Ballot TRACE provides reports about the status of all mail-in ballots to the Denver Elections Division officials so they can be assured that ballots sent to voters are delivered in a timely fashion. 8

10 Military and Overseas Voters Military and overseas voters were mailed ballots on Saturday, September 23. Military and overseas voters have the option of returning their ballot by mail, or fax. They have up to eight days after the election to return their ballot by mail as long as it is postmarked or transmitted by 7 pm on Election Day. Provisional Voting The Federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) mandates that no voter be turned away without the ability to cast a ballot. Whenever a voter s registration, identification or residency is in question, the voter is given a ballot. This voted and sealed ballot is then marked provisional and segregated from other ballots. We will also use ipads as ballot marking devices for provisional voters. A voter s selections are printed onto a paper ballot that the voter can review. Provisional ballots have decreased greatly now that there is a 22 day state residency requirement. After Election Day, provisional ballots are researched by the Denver Elections Division. If a voter s registration is deemed valid, the ballot is counted. If deemed invalid, the ballot is not counted. All provisional ballots must be resolved within 10 days after the Coordinated Election. Ballot Processing There are five ballot processing areas at the Denver Elections Division. Processing activity in each area is visible to the general public through large glass windows. For security, every Ballot Processing Room is card keyed and has camera security surveillance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition, every election worker in each room must wear a color specific vest, an identification badge and a party affiliation button. The next page depicts a flow chart of Ballot Processing. In addition, each room has a description of the process posted on the outside of the room. 9

11 10

12 Election Day Media Arrangements The Denver Elections Division gladly accommodates the news media with the understanding that the integrity of the voting process must be protected. We request that media outlets that plan to report election results take the necessary steps to make sure their results website data is secured and protected from cyber-intrusion. The parking meters on West 14 th Avenue, right in front of the Denver Elections Division, are bagged and the spaces reserved for TV live trucks. Cabling from the outside of the 14 th Avenue building wall into the media area is available for use by the news organizations to which the cabling belongs. Please park any news vehicles that are not cabling into the building west of the alley. Still photographers and videographers will be able to get shots of Election Day activity within the Denver Elections Division s main lobby from an area that will allow full line of sight while protecting voter privacy. Members of the media must keep their credentials visible at all times due to the number of people in the building. Media members are asked to check in the with Election Division s front desk and sign the observer log. At the close of polls on election night (7 pm), the doors at Voter Service Centers automatically lock. However, the Denver Elections Division headquarters will remain open to the public while ballot counting is taking place. Entry will be through the front doors only. Live shots may be conducted in front of the building, to the east or west of the main entrance, or from behind a stanchion located in the main lobby. Do not create a trip hazard by running cable across the front entrance of the Denver Elections Division. Results are posted at 7 pm on Election Night and every 1.5 hours thereafter until counting is completed. Results will be available in the following ways: o Posted on the Denver Elections Division s website, o Posted on the windows of the Ballot Counting Room at the Denver Elections Division o ed in PDF format to news organizations on our media contacts list In addition, we will send out a tweet from every time updated election results are posted. After Voter Service and Polling Centers open on October 30, voter statistics will be posted daily on the website. We will also tweet various items of interest. 11

13 General Election by the Numbers * Total registered voters in Denver 452,364 Total Active Voters 404,560 Total Active Democratic Voters 196,840 Total Active Republican Voters 57,598 Total Active Unaffiliated Voters 142,048 Total Other Active Voters 8,074 Total number of Voter Service and Polling Centers: 7 Total number of 24-hour drop-off boxes: 26 Total number of ballots cast in 2016 General Election: 341,987 *As of October 9, 2017 Contact Information for News Media Alton Dillard, Senior Public Information Officer Media Text Line: (720) Phone: (720) Election Day cell phone: (303) Your fastest contact with the Communications Office is by phone or text Visit for current election results, daily statistics, sample ballots and other news media resources. Candidates, the news media and the public are invited to visit the Denver Elections Division throughout election cycle. Media, candidates and the public will be able to watch ballot processing and counting on the first floor. The building is set up with public WiFi. 12

14 Online Resources The Denver Elections Division will use Twitter as our main social media tool in the days leading up to the election and on Election Day. DenverVotes.org contains useful information, is updated daily and includes items such as: voter registration information voter forms ID requirements important dates and deadlines information on Ballot TRACE sample ballots voter information on how and where to vote maps of all VSPC locations VSPC search pages with driving directions Spanish pages that mirror the English website links to other election resources historical election archives with past election results, turnouts and boundary maps In addition, the Newsroom section of the website will provide such information as: a daily tally of returned ballots news releases bios and photos links to useful information within the website this media kit 13

15 Colorado Secretary of State Rule Media Observers Media observers may witness all election activities. A county clerk may, in his or her discretion, require a media observer to appoint a pool reporter and a pool photographer to represent all media observers. All media observers are subject to the Guidelines established by the Colorado Press Association in conjunction with the Colorado County Clerks Association and the Secretary of State as outlined below: Guidelines for Member of the Media Who Observe Election Counts and Recounts (to be distributed to members of the Colorado Press Association): The Colorado State Association of County Clerks and Recorders, Colorado Broadcasters Association and Colorado Press Association have collaborated to develop the following guidelines and protocols for use when members of the media observe the counting or recounting of ballots. You are strongly encouraged to follow these guidelines to allow meaningful media access while not disrupting the work of county clerks to count ballots or doing anything to compromise the integrity of the election process. 1. If practical, please contact the county clerk s office prior to coming to observe the counting of ballots. If the county clerk knows you are coming, it will be easier to accommodate your request for a place to observe the count or to interview an election official. 2. At the discretion of the county clerk, a specific viewing area for members of the media and other observers may be available. To the extent practicable, the area will have been designated with sight lines to allow you to observe and take pictures or video of the counting process. If there are insufficient sight lines for you to take the photos or video you need, the county clerk may be able to make arrangements to accommodate your needs. 3. Please observe counting procedures without disrupting the count. Please take pictures or video without the use of supplemental lighting. Do not talk to people participating in counting ballots. There may be workers who ask you not to include their images in your pictures or video. We encourage you to honor those requests if you can reasonably do so. 4. The Secretary of State s Election Rules state that if observers leave the area during a recount, they may not reenter without the consent of the county clerk. If you have occasion to leave the area, you may be denied re-admittance. 5. Please do not use the information you see when observing vote counts to report on partial election results. Please do not report anything that could be used to identify the person who casts a particular ballot. The Colorado State Association of County Clerks and Recorders, Colorado Broadcasters Association and Colorado Press Association are all committed to working together to ensure the media has access to election counts and recounts, but that access is afforded in manners that do not disrupt the counts and do nothing to compromise the integrity of the process. Your cooperation in following these standards will help us to meet all these goals. 14