Missouri State Plan Committee Minutes

Statewide Database/Provisional Voting/Voter Identification Subcommittee

The second meeting of the State Plan Committee Database/ Provisional Voting/Voter Identification Subcommittee was held at the Office of the Secretary of State, Jefferson City, Missouri, on Wednesday, March 19, 2003. Pat Conway, Co-Chairman, called meeting to order. Those in attendance were:

Co-Chairman Richard Struckhoff, Greene County Clerk
Co-Chairman Pat Conway, Buchanan County Clerk
Charlene Davis, Jackson County Election Board
Wendy Flanigan, Platte County Election Board
Carol Bennett, Phelps County Clerk
Kelly Christopher, Livingston County Clerk
Dennis VonAllmen, Howell County Clerk
Estil Fretwell, Missouri Farm Bureau
Robert Honan, Governor’s Council on Disability
Ruth Redel, Missouri Department of Revenue
John Sappington, Missouri Department of Revenue
Mary Ratliff, NAACP

Representatives of the Office of the Secretary of State in attendance:

Gayla Vandelicht, Pam Bax and Don Lloyd

Guest in attendance:

Carmel Hinkle, election.com

Pam Bax distributed copies of the minutes from the last meeting. No exceptions were noted. Pat Conway asked for assurance from the Secretary of State’s staff members that the basic objective for this subcommittee is to submit comments and recommendations. Gayla Vandelicht advised that this was correct. Conway then asked for comments from those present regarding public hearings they have attended. Richard Struckhoff advised that in the three hearings he has attended, only one person discussed database. All other comments offered were in regard to accessibility. Mary Ratliff questioned when purging of voter lists is performed. Conway noted that lists are purged constantly, within the confines of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). He stated that this is not disqualifying voters, but inactivating them, in which case they can still vote if they can prove they are qualified. Ratliff questioned what guidelines are used in this process. Conway and Struckhoff explained the laws and procedures related to voter registration canvass. Discussion was held regarding removal of deceased voters and those convicted of a felony. Conway then questioned Pam Bax and Don Lloyd as to the status of their database research. Lloyd advised that he has met with the Department of Revenue and discussed their requirements. He found that the DOR already has an agreement in place with the Social Security Administration. He discussed the possibility of sending voter registration applications from DOR to the Secretary of State electronically on a weekly basis, with signature captured, in lieu of sending hard copies. However, he advised that research must be done as to whether the electronic signature is sufficient to comply with the law. Department of Revenue would prefer this method to sending the hard copy. Those County Clerks and Election Authorities present concurred that they want to have the permanent card. Discussion was held as to whether the courts would accept facsimile in court as opposed to the original record. Discussion was held regarding those voter registration applications which are sent to the wrong county and how they could be forwarded to the proper election authority. Charlene Davis questioned Don Lloyd and Pam Bax as to whether the State has defined the database design and have recommendations for the subcommittee. Conway advised that he is concerned with where the local election official will fit into the database system and requested direction from SOS Staff. Lloyd advised that data will come from the DOR to SOS, then from SOS to local election authorities. Pam Bax advised that they are thinking of the time savings possible if SOS can capture what DOR already does and transmit it to local election officials electronically. Local officials could then check, make corrections, and then accept into database. Discussion ensued regarding jurisdictional issues of DOR doing statewide registration. Ruth Redel, DOR, explained how dissemination of voter registration information is handled by DMV. Lengthy discussion was held regarding the committee members’ opinions of how the database system should work. Don Lloyd discussed the technicalities of security in a system where data is sent from SOS to counties and from counties back to SOS, etc. He advised that DOR also discussed change of address. He asked if there is a bigger expectation by the Federal Government on the information exchange with the agencies. All agreed that they believe the intent was to identify duplicate registrations, fraudulent registrations, etc. Lloyd then questioned if all registrations have to be compared with State databases, etc. and how this will occur. John Sappington, Department of Revenue, advised that his office is on-line live with the Social Security Administration and they know immediately if an applicant gives a false social security number.

Conway then directed the discussion to provisional voting. Robert Honan questioned if the committee has reached a consensus on how a provisional voter is informed as to whether his ballot was counted or not. Gayla Vandelicht provided a sample of a provisional ballot and advised that having them pre-numbered with a removable stub is not prohibitively higher in cost. Mary Ratliff expressed concern that provisional ballots will not be counted, and that more people will use them. Vandelicht explained that provisional voting is regulated by Federal Law. Richard Struckhoff stated that Election Authorities appreciate that Federal Law clearly defines which provisional ballots will be counted and which will not. Conway stated that the educational process may cause more people to take care of their voter registration and result in fewer provisional ballots, not more. He stated that we need factual educational goals to assure that individuals realize the requirements and restrictions of provisional ballots. Recommendation will be made to the Education & Training Subcommittee to provide such education and information to the public. Pam Bax advised that there are three options for a toll free line: 1) 800# for provisional balloters to call. She has discussed this with the Office of Administration and found that the cost of the 800# is $.07 per minute with no installation or phone line charges. A centralized 800# could be set up at the Office of the Secretary of State, and then calls could be transferred to county level, or 2) An 800# could be set up for each election authority at a cost of only $.07 per minute, or 3) A central 800# could be set up at SOS and be programmed to roll to the county based on the area code and prefix of the caller. The problem with this option would be cellular phones and voters calling from a county different than their own. There would probably be some programming fees for this option. Robert Honan questioned if the line will be TDD. Bax advised that this can be done. Discussion ensued regarding the various options. Gayla Vandelicht then asked for input on survey forms to be sent to all counties regarding database, provisional ballots and voter identification. Next meeting is scheduled for April 15, 2003.

Respectfully submitted,

Carol Bennett, Phelps County Clerk
Database, Provisional Ballot, and Voter
Identification Subcommittee