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Report of the Task Force on Election Procedures & Accountability

April 28, 2016

1. 

What happened in St. Louis County on Election Day, April 5, 2016 that led to voter

disenfranchisement?

  The direct cause of the systematic use of wrong numbers of ballots was a computer database

error resulting from a failure of integration between the Secretary of State’s MCVR system and

the internal “unity” system used by the St. Louis County Board of Elections.

o  The fact that St. Louis County uses both the MCVR and their own internal voter

database was a major contributing factor.

o  Election authorities testified that they have made the Secretary of State’s office aware

of MCVR issues on numerous occasions.

  The error resulted during the 2nd integration process which was necessitated by court orders

requiring ballot changes for two small municipalities, McKenzie & Uplands Park. This error

would have been discovered but for a lack of full proofing after the ballot changes were made.

 

The proofing process is mandatory, and generally employees perform a checklist and sign offon individual tasks. In this case, the proofing was not conducted correctly.

o  The fact that the Presidential primary was moved to March, leaving less than 30 days

between elections, led to employees being overworked before the April election.

o 

To date, the St. Louis County Elections Commissioners and Directors have not publicly

identified any individual(s) who failed to conduct this proofing. Elections Coordinator

Laura Goebel was given an one-week unpaid suspension but there was no detail given

about her role in the matter.

o  Staff members of the St. Louis County Board of Elections are often hired based on WHO

they know, rather than WHAT they know about elections.

  St. Louis County Elections Directors testified that employees were preoccupied with fixing

computer issues involving the Military & Overseas Voting Access Portal, which is overseen by

the Secretary of State.

o 

The military portal problems were communicated to the Secretary of State as early as

January 2016, and they were eventually able to fix the issues with consultation from the

Secretary of State’s office. 

o  In addition, election authorities testified that there are long-standing problems with

electronic voter registration which have not been corrected.

  The complexity of the ballot, the large number of ballot styles, the age of the MCVR system,

and the lack of being able to access a judge also added to the problems that occurred.

  Ballot shortages were exacerbated by the lack of touch screen voting machines, which had

been fully deployed for the March 15 presidential preference primary and were unavailable as

a backup.

2. 

What immediate, bipartisan legislation does the task force recommend passing before the end

of this session to improve election procedures and accountability?

  If a municipality submits its ballot after the deadline, rather than allowing them to petition a

 judge, that municipality will be required to hold a special election and will have to pay the cost

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  Pass HB 1686, which lessens the disincorporation thresholds for fourth class cities in St. Louis

County and creates a disincorporation procedure for third-class, charter, and home rule cities in

St. Louis County. (which does not currently exist)

  Pass HB 1826, which improves the electronic voter registration process, updates ballot counting

technology, and allows challengers and watchers to be present until voting equipment is closed.

 

Pass HB 2448, which requires the state & political subdivisions to share proportional costs forprimary & general elections.

3. 

What procedural best practices does the task force recommend that the St. Louis County Board

of Elections and other election authorities adopt to avoid a repeat of what occurred?

Involving election procedures:

  Create a “Casualty Control Book.” This book will contain instructions for every level of Election

Day administration to control any abnormalities in the voting process. This book should cover

every known problem (and improbable hypotheticals) that could occur and detailed steps to

remedy the problems

 

Have a “Control Room” with “watch standers.” These individuals will be responsible for knowing

the “Casualty Control Book” inside and out and will coordinate and catalogue the remediation of

issues that arise.

  Initiate a training program to practice casualty control and require that election workers be

trained in the use of the “Book” and have that training signed off by senior staff. 

  Ensure the ENTIRE matrix is proofread after ANY changes.

  At least two days before Election Day, compare the current matrix with an old matrix from a

comparable election to ensure consistency.

  If not feasible with current equipment, ensure future purchases of electronic voting machines

include the ability to use memory sticks. Multiple sticks can be programmed differently for

different elections. This will allow for quick turnaround when elections are within a short

timeframe.

  Perform pre- and post-election audits.

  Encourage St. Louis County to charge rent to school districts, fire districts, and other political

subdivisions for the use of voting equipment in their elections, which other counties already do.

* Fees collected would go into a designated fund to be used for future election needs.

  There should be more frequent meetings among Election authorities to discuss ways to improve

on the current system and to correct any problems that have existed in the past.

  The Secretary of State should use discretion, with input from local election authorities, when

making updates to the MCVR or changing software after a certain date prior to an election.

Involving staffing at St. Louis County Board of Elections:

  Review each staff position and develop detailed job descriptions and qualifications.

  Ensure that staff are hired based on competence not political or family connections.

  Institute an anti-nepotism rule that prohibits any employee from supervising another employee

who is within three degrees of consanguinity.

  Require applicants for Board of Election positions to meet the same qualifications as St. Louis

County Civil Service employees.

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  Add an academy for cross training to encourage a clear path forward for continued service in

the Board of Elections.

4. 

What are some long-term legislative solutions that the Legislature should consider next session?

 

Move the Presidential preference primary from March to FebruaryAND/OR Force the political parties to pay for the cost of the presidential primary OR 

Eliminate the presidential primary entirely and select convention delegates through caucuses.

  Require at least one touch screen voting machine per polling place to be available in non-federal

elections so that voters will have a backup to paper ballots. If such a mandate is imposed, the

State of Missouri should cover the cost.

  Soften the requirement that election directors be voters in their county for at least one year, so

that a nationwide search can be conducted for those critical positions.

  Move April municipal elections to November, or consolidate with the primary election, and use

the cost savings to help fund costs of those elections as well as purchase of touch screen voting

machines.

  Implement no-excuse absentee voting in order to reduce the crush of voters on Election Day.

 

Consider options for mail-in elections for small municipalities.