1. Audit of Provisional Ballots 2012 Presidential Election Presented by: Gerald Micciulla, CPA, CFE Deputy City Controller

2. Phase 1 A provisional ballot is a conditional ballot cast, in most cases, by a voter whose name does not appear on the registration list for that polling place location, or whose eligibility is challenged by an election official. Defining a Provisional Ballot 2

3. History of Provisional Ballot Part of the reforms implemented after the 2000 Presidential Election between George Bush and Al Gore - Supreme Court eventually decided the winner. Signed into law, October 29, 2002. Help America Vote Act 3

4. Provisional Ballot Process Voter required to anonymously complete a paper ballot that is often unique to the ward/division where he or she appears to vote. After completing ballot, the voter places and seals it inside a “secrecy envelope” which bears no voter identification. The “secrecy envelope” is then sealed inside the provisional ballot envelope. (outside envelope) 4

5. Provisional Ballot Process Voter must complete the outside (affidavit) envelope and sign it twice - once in front of the election board. Voter asserts the address where the voter lived at the time he or she registered to vote. After the polls close the envelopes containing the provisional ballots are returned to the Board of Elections and checked and counted. 5

6. Provisional Ballot (envelope) 6

7. Scope of Audit Philadelphia voters cast 27,306 provisional ballots in the 2012 Presidential Election, a 116% increase from the 13,634 cast in the 2008 Presidential Election. Our audit objective was to determine the reasons why the widespread use of provisional ballots was required. 7

8. Scope of Audit 116% Increase from 2008 to 2012 8

9. Methodology Selected a statistical sample of 379 provisional ballot envelopes from the population of 27,306 cast. The sampling parameters employed provided for a 95% confidence level with a margin of error of +/- 5%. 9

10. Comparing Similar Counties Allegheny County includes the City of Pittsburgh, the second largest city in Pennsylvania - Philadelphia being the largest. Philadelphia has 1,039,522 registered voters. Allegheny County has 924,465 registered voters Allegheny County cast 3,812 provisional ballots in 2012 presidential election. Philadelphia Cast 27,306 provisional ballots - seven times as many as Allegheny County. Philadelphia County vs Allegheny County 10

11. Philadelphia vs Allegheny 27,306 3,812 11

12. Findings Flawed Election Process Led to Significant use of Provisional Ballots in Philadelphia’s 2012 Presidential Election. 12

13. Findings Finding 1. Errors by Poll Workers 4,899 provisional ballots were cast by voters even though they were in the poll books at the their polling place. 13

14. Findings Finding 2. Problems in Printing Supplemental Poll Books 4,827 provisional ballots were cast due to errors in the printing of the supplemental polling books. 14

15. Finding 3. New Registered Voters Not Added to Poll Books Findings 649 first-time voters needed to cast provisional ballots because the City Commissioners failed to run the “Update Underage Voters Utility” computer program prior to creating the poll books. 15

16. Findings Finding 4. Voters Using the Wrong Polling Location 9,078 voters cast provisional ballots because they went to the wrong polling place. 70% of them went to an improper polling place that was not in a geographical proximity to where they registered. 16

17. Findings Finding 5. Ineligible to Vote 7,637 ballots were cast by ineligible voters. Voters not registered in the county of Philadelphia. Voters no longer in the system due to failing to vote in the past two federal elections. Voters who cast votes on a voting machine. 17

18. Findings Finding 6. Other 216 were cast for other reasons including data entry errors, damaged envelopes and incomplete envelopes. 18

19. Additional Findings Ballots that were not properly counted that should have been counted in six random samples. 79 ballots still in their sealed envelopes that were not counted. 73 cases where the ballots were removed from the provisional ballot envelopes, even though the available evidence indicated the ballots should have been rejected. It appears that all 73 ballots were inappropriately counted. 19

20. Recommendations City Commissioners should perform independent reviews of provisional ballots to identify those poll workers which may require additional training. City Commissioners should work with State officials to identify and correct the cause of errors in the printing of the poll books. 20

21. Recommendations Require the checklist of procedures used in the poll book preparation process to be signed off and reviewed. Increase the election board training bonus from $20 to $50. Develop a new and more user friendly “Guide for Elections Officers.” 21

22. Media Philadelphia City Controller digs into last year’s bumper crop of provisional ballots Philadelphia Controller Says Poll Workers Need Better Pay, More Training 22

23. Media Click image above to view the City Controller’s comments on the Provisional Ballot Audit 23