Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Counting Your Ballots A cautionary tale… Christina Worrell Adkins 28th Annual Election Law Seminar for Cities, School and Other Political Subdivisions December 2016 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Topics Covered Categories of Ballots Methods of Voting Central Counting Station Reminders General Counting Reminders Voting System Testing Security Issues 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Categories of Ballots 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Categories of Ballots MUST be counted continuously on Election Day* Early Voting in Person Early Voting by Mail Election Day Ballots Can be counted after Election Day Provisional Ballots Late Ballots mailed from outside the US *Some exceptions apply in higher population counties. 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

As the elections coordinator, what do I need to consider? What type of voting system or systems will I be using? How will each category of ballots be counted? When will the counting occur? Who is responsible for the counting? 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Methods of Voting 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Methods of Voting Three methods of voting in Texas Hand-counted Paper Ballots Ballots Counted with a Scanner Precinct Ballot Scanner Central Scanner Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) Voting System 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Hand Counted Paper Ballots Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Hand Counted Paper Ballots As used by the SOS elections division, this term refers to a ballot that is made of paper and meant to be hand counted; not an optical scan ballot that would normally be counted using a precinct ballot counter or a centralized tabulating machine References in the election code to “paper ballots” are referring to hand counted paper ballots. Election Day Precinct Returns are always prepared by presiding judge of polling place. How are ballots counted? Where? When? Election Day Hand tally by Polling Place officials At Polling Place On Election Day -- after at least 10 ballots have been deposited in ballot box, counting may begin. EV Ballots by Mail Hand tally by Early Voting Ballot Board Location of EVBB meeting After the polls open on election day. EV In Person Provisional Ballots/Late Ballots from Overseas Counting must be completed by the 6th day after election day. 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Hand Counted Paper Ballots Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Hand Counted Paper Ballots Procedures for conducting a hand count: Election Day Ballots Election Judges and Clerks Handbook, Chapter 5. All Early Voting Ballots, Provisional Ballots Early Voting Ballot Board Handbook, Chapter 3 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Hand Counted Paper Ballots Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Hand Counted Paper Ballots How are precinct results accumulated? Presiding judge and the election clerks at the polling place will count the ballots at the polling place. Presiding Judge will complete precinct returns for the polling place. The precinct returns, voted ballots, and other precinct election records are delivered to the General Custodian of Election Records. The General Custodian will take the early voting results, provisional ballot results (if available) and the precinct returns and will add all of them together to determine the unofficial election returns. Ballots are NOT counted by the General Custodian. There is NO Central Counting Station for Hand Counted paper ballots! There is no authority for pollwatchers to be present when the General Custodian is determining unofficial eleciton results. 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Ballots Counted with a Scanner Ballots are designed to be used in a voting system that uses a scanner to read the marked ballots. Ballots are made of paper and marked by using an indelible marker to fill in an oval or arrow next to the candidates’ names or “for” or “against” a ballot measure. Two Variations: Precinct Ballot Scanner: Ballots are deposited by the voter into a scanner at the precinct or polling place. Central Scanner: Ballots are deposited by the voter into a pre-locked, pre-sealed ballot box. The ballot box is later transferred to a central counting station for counting. 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Direct Record Electronic (DRE) Voting System Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Direct Record Electronic (DRE) Voting System A voting machine that is designed to allow a direct vote on the machine by the manual touch of a screen, monitor, wheel, or other device and that records the individual votes and vote totals electronically. Presiding Judge of Central Counting Station is responsible for preparing precinct returns. Cannot use the same DREs for election day and early voting. Simple chart of who prepares counts, prepares precint returns, election night returns. 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Central Counting Station Reminders 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Reminders Central Counting Station Manager must establish and implement a written plan for conducing the CCS. Presiding Judge is responsible for determining voter intent. CCS is not open to the public. Poll watchers CAN be present Keep counting until you’re done. You can’t go home and come back in the morning to resume counting activities. After CCS has adjourned, there is no authority to reconvene CCS to resolve errors. (COURT ORDER) Contact the SOS if the following things happen: Unresolvable errors in counting. Results will be late. Unsure or uncomfortable with assistance from vendor. 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

General Counting Reminders 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 General Reminders Double check the number of voters that voted at each polling place to your totals for that polling place. If your total number of voters doesn’t match your total number of voted ballots by a substantial amount, you may have a problem. If you have questions, contact the SOS THAT NIGHT!!!! Illegal voting, ballot boxes counted twice, locked up results, 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Election Night Returns Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Who is responsible for preparing election night returns and precinct returns? Precinct Returns Election Night Returns Traditional Polling Place Set up Presiding Judge of Polling Place General Custodian of Election Records Central Counting Station Presiding Judge of Central Counting Station Central Counting Station. (Secs. 66.056, 127.131) 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division At the end of the night…. You should have the following: Precinct Returns (65.014, 127.131) Unofficial Results (66.056, 127.1311) 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Announcing Results Traditional Polling Place set-up Precinct Results PJ can make periodic announcements after the polls close and the last voter has voted. (65.015) Election Results Custodian shall periodically make a public announcement of the unofficial tabulation. (66.056) Central Counting Station Precinct Results and Election Results Unofficial election results shall be released as soon as they are available after the polls close. (127.1311) 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Common Mistakes Early Voting Clerk DOES NOT Count Ballots!! Early Voting ballots must be counted by EVBB or Central Counting Station. Election Day ballots are counted either by polling place workers or central counting station, depending on the systems. Counting MUST occur on election day/night. You can’t stop and come back in the morning to resume counting. 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Voting System Testing Logic and Accuracy Testing Testing of Tabulation Equipment 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Voting System Testing For every election, you must conduct: Logic and Accuracy Testing (L&A) Subchapter B, Chapter 129,Texas Election Code Testing of Tabulation Equipment Subchapter D, Chapter 127, Texas Election Code 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Logic And Accuracy Testing Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Logic And Accuracy Testing What is it? Testing an election definition to ensure that it has been set up correctly -- that each contest, candidate, or measure can be voted on and receives the correct number of votes; that all ballot styles are accurate. Public L&A Test must occur at least 48 hours before voting begins on a voting system. SOS RECOMMENDATIONS: Run an internal L&A test before your public test. Schedule public test before mail ballots are mailed out. 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Testing of Tabulation Equipment Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Testing of Tabulation Equipment What is it? Testing the automatic tabulating equipment used for counting ballots to make sure that it accurately count the ballots cast. Three Required Tests: Test 1 (Public Test)- must be conducted at least 48 hours before the equipment is used to count ballots in an election. Test 2 – conducted immediately before the counting of ballots Test 3– conducted immediately after the counting of ballots. 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Voting System Testing L&A Test and the public test of the Tabulating Equipment should be conducted at the same time. The test ballots you use for the L&A testing will produce results that you use for the testing of the tabulation equipment. 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Security Issues Security Procedures Chain of Custody 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Security Procedures Required Procedures under Section 129.051 Inventory of all electronic information storage media. Develop procedure for tracking chain of custody Establish a secure location for: storing electronic storage media when not in use, coding a medium for election, transferring and installing the medium into the voting system equipment, and storing after it’s been loaded into equipment. Create a recovery plan in case there is breach in security procedures. Perform background checks on appropriate personnel. 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 9/20/2018 Chain of Custody Section 129.051(b), Texas Election Code provides as follows:   “The general custodian of election records shall develop a procedure for tracking the custody of each electronic information storage medium from its storage location, through election coding and the election process, to its final post-election disposition and return to storage. The chain of custody must require two or more individuals to perform a check and verification check whenever a transfer of custody occurs.” 9/20/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division