Forsyth County Board of Voter Registrations & Elections  Regular Monthly Meeting August 1, 2023 at9 9 a.m. 1201 Sawnee Drive Cumming, Georgia 30040  Forsyth County Voter Registrations & Elections Office  MINUTES  Present at the meeting: Barbara Luth, Chairman Carla Radzikinas, Secretary Dan Thalimer, Assistant Secretary Anita Tucker, Member Mandi Smith, Director  Stephen Joyce, Coordinator - Voter Registration and Absentee Bryce Wilson, Coordinator = Communications and Training Jamain Whyce - Coordinator - Elections EqupmentWarehouse  Carol Balcome, Assistant to the Director Karen Pachuta, Jarrard & Davis Lori Wexler, Challenger Absent from the meeting: Joel Natt, Vice Chairman  I.  Call Meeting to Order  Chairman Luth called the meeting to order at 9 a.m.  II.  Pledge of Allegiance III. Adoption of Agenda  Member Tucker with a second from Assistant Secretary Thalimer made a motion to adopt the agenda as published. Motion carried 4-0 with Vice  Chairman Natt absent. IV. Adoption of Minutes  A. Regular meeting of July 11, 2023    Member Tucker with a second from Secretary Radzikinas made a motion to adopt the minutes as prepared by staff. Motion carried 4-0 with Vice  Chairman Natt absent.  V. Old Business  A. Parks and Recreation Architectural Design Liaison update Secretary Radzikinas stated there were no updates at this time. B. Discussion of evaluation of precinct and polling places  Director Smith reported she had given the board a packet of the summary of potential precinct changes for the 2024 election cycle. Director Smith said she is looking for feedback from the board on the proposed maps to Director Smith said staff is getting more statistics to see how many voters will be affected by the proposed changes. She said their focus was on the addition of Browns Bridge Church as a new Election Day polling place in a new precinct. While Central Park Recreation Center is available for use, Member Tucker asked when the board needed to vote on the precinct and polling place changes. Director Smith said the topic could be included as an item for consideration at the special called meeting on August 15, 2023. She said ads will be run before a final vote is taken. Regarding the City of Cumming precinct lines, Director Smith said the board was given maps at the last meeting that accommodated annexations that have recently taken place. A: second copy of maps was Director Smith said our population has exceeded 250,000 residents SO pursuant to O.C.G.A. 21-2-262(d) the governing authority of the county will have to approve the change in precinct lines. The final vote for the proposed precinct line changes for the City of Cumming will go before the BRE on September 5, 2023. Director Smith said the Board of Commissioners (BOC) will discuss the City of Cumming precinct line changes at their August 22, 2023 work session and then for a final vote at  see if staff is going in the right direction.  construction is ongoing at the facility.  provided in today's meeting packet.  their regular meeting on September 7, 2023.  1.  Advance Voting for City of Cumming Municipal General  Election November 7, 2023    Director Smith reported she and Chairman Luth attended the Cumming City Council meeting on July 18, 2023. She said the council voted to hold Advance Voting for the November 7 election Election Day voting in the City of Cumming starting with the Director Smith reported the council voted to hold Election Day voting staring with 2024 election cycle at their City of Cumming  at the Elections Office.  2.  2024 election cycle  Recreation and Parks facility.  To recap the BRE previously voted to use the City of Cumming Recreation and Parks facility for Advance Voting for the 2024 General Primary and General Election. Director Smith reported the discussion regarding the cost of using the facility for this purpose is ongoing and asked the BRE for  direction with those conversations. BRE members discussed the topic.  Chairman Luth stated it was a good location. Member Tucker asked ift this was budgeted and whether it would have to go before the BOC. Director Smith said she anticipates the item will have to go before the BOC depending on the cost that is agreed upon by this board and the City. Chairman Luth asked if we would have to pay the City for Election Day. Director Smith said she spoke with City and believes there would be no cost for Election Day, but Advance Voting would be a cost to the county. Chairman Luth stated the City of Cumming Recreation and Parks building was a good facility and we should use it ifthe cost is reduced from the previous quote when there was a possibility we would use the facility for all Advance Voting during all elections. Director Smith said the cost remains the same with only two elections which is $25,500.  Attorney Pachuta stated she and Attorney Jarrard have reached out to the Member Tucker asked if the quote was comparable to the other park facilities. Director Smith stated we do not pay for the use of county parks Chairman Luth asked Director Smith to see if we could get the cost reduced even if we only use the facility for Advance Voting for the November General Election. She asked Director Smith to get a price for the Primary and General elections VS just the General Election.  City to discuss the charges for the facility.  and recreation facilities.    C. Consideration of Board of Registrations & Elections Bylaws Chairman Luth reported the change in the bylaws included the recent legislation regarding the terms of the Board of Registrations and Elections. Member Tucker stated she had asked Attorney Jarrard at the last meeting to research the issue of adding into the bylaws who would take over operations of the elections office if the director was out of the office for an extended period. Attorney Pachuta said she was unaware of Member Tucker's request but would speak with Attorney Jarrard and get back with Director Smith stated there was also a discussion on whether the bylaws was the appropriate place to add this information and there could be a Member Tucker with a second from Assistant Secretary Thalimer made a motion to accept the changes to the bylaws as presented. Motion carried  her.  separate document of rules for the board.  4-0 with Vice Chairman Natt absent.  VI. New Business  A. Discussion of list of challenged voters affected by Georgia Election Code O.C.G.A. 21-2-229 - July 10, 2023 Wexler Challenge Discussion was had about holding a special called meeting to hear these voter challenges on August 15. BRE members, staff and the challenger are available on this day. Brief discussion was held after Member Tucker inquired about the BRE's process for addressing voter challenges. Attorney Pachuta and Director Smith have been in talks to draft more formal procedures for handling voter challenges and will provide a draft Member Tucker with a second from Assistant Thalimer made a motion to set the date for the hearings for the challenges pursuant to O.C.G.A. 21-2- 229 to August 15, 2023 at 9 a.m. Motion carried 4-0 with Vice Chairman  copy to the BRE before their next regular meeting.  Natt absent.  VII. Director's Report  Director Smith and staff presented the Director's Report.    Voter Registrations & Elections Department  Director's Report August t1, 2023  Board Members  House Bill 776 seeking to amend local law amendments regarding the Forsyth County BRE was passed by both the House and the Senate in the 2023 session. HB 776 (Act 319) was signed by the Governor on May 3, 2023. This legislation does not change the current term end/start dates for BRE members. The new start dates will be. June 30, 2027 and June 30, 2029, respectively. This legislation becomes effective on July 1, 2023. House Bill 837 was dropped on March 27, 2023 to amend the provisions relating to the start and end date of BRE members as it was set in HB 776. HB 837 will come before Judge Weeks-Marisko will be administering the oaths of office to' Vice Chairman Natt and  Changes in BRE pay will be reflected in the July 14, 2023 paycheck.  the General Assembly in next year's session. Member Tucker at the September 5, 2023 meeting.  Board Member Barbara Luth Joel E. Natt Anita Tucker Dan Thalimer  Party Chief Registrar & Chairperson Republican Democratic Democratic  Took Office 4/2/2019 7/1/2021 2/3/2015 9/1/2019 3/1/2022* 9/1/2019 4/4/2016 9/1/2021 9/1/2021 9/1/2021  Current  Current 6/30/2025 8/31/2023 8/31/2023 8/31/2025 8/31/2025  Term Start Term End  Carla Radzikinas Republican *Filled the unexpired term of Randy Ingram  Staff  Current filled staff/positions: 11 full-time (0 unfilled) and 7 part-time (1 unfilled). Legislation pendinglapproved bills)/Change to Election Code/State Election The SEB is holding a meeting today, August 1, 2023 at 9:00am at the Georgia State  Board (SEB)  Capitol. The public notice and agenda have been posted.  Election Information  2023 possible Election Dates (from the SOS comprehensive calendar)  March 21: Special Election to fill a vacancy and/or propose a question*  April 18: Special Election Runoff** June 20: Special Election to fill a vacancy* July 18: Special Election Runoff** September 19: Special Election to fill a vacancy" October 17: Special Election Runoff** Municipal General Election  August 21 through August 23: Candidate Qualifying for the City of Cumming  November 7: General Election / Special Election*    December 5: General Election Runoff/Special Election Runoff**  *Special Election, ifneeded **Runoff, ifneeded  2024 Election Dates (dates calculated internally; SOS has posted with some outstanding questions regarding events that fall on holidays) March 4-8: Candidate Qualifying for the May 2024 General Primary March 12: Presidential Preference Primary May 21: General Primary June 18: General Primary Runoff November 5: General Election December 3: General Election Runoff  Polling Places and Precincts  O.C.G.A. 21-2-262(d) provides that "in any county having a population of more than 250,000 according to the United States decennial census of 1970 or any such future census, the powers and duties conferred upon the superintendent by this Code section and Code Sections 21-2-261 and 21-2-261.1 [related to precincts] shall be exercised and performed by the governing authority of the county." The 2020 federal census found Forsyth County's population to be 251,283. This means that future precinct changes will need to gol before the governing authority,'i.e., the BOC, for a vote. Pursuanti to O.C.G.A. 1-3-1(d)(2)(D), the effective date of this election code provision was July 1, 2022. The proposed changes to municipal precinct lines for the City of Cumming were presented in lasti month's BRE meeting Acopy oft the notice printed in the Forsyth County News was provided to the BRE today. These proposed changes are set to come before the BRE on September 5, 2023 and as is indicated above, will appear on the Board of Commissioners (BOC) agenda on August 22 and September 7 for a vote. Chairperson Luth and Director Smith attended the Cumming City Council meeting on July 18, 2023, where the council discussed Advance Voting for the November 2023 municipal General Election as well as the Election Day polling place in the city starting with the 2024 election cycle. The Council voted to hold Advance Voting for the November 2023 City of Cuming municipal General Election at the Forsyth County Elections Office (1201 Sawnee Drive) instead of at City Hall. Election Day voting in 2023 remains at Cumming City Hall (100 Main Street). They also voted to utilize the Recreation & Parks facility (437 Pilgrim Mill Road) as the Election Day polling place for the 07-Cumming precinct starting with the 2024 election cycle instead of Cumming City Hall. Any change to the Election Day polling place for the 2024 election cycle will need to be advertised in the Forsyth County News and voted on by the BRE. This will come before the BRE in the coming months. Staff continues to research the possibility of adding polling places and/or amending existing precinct lines. Al briefn review of the staff's current plans was discussed ini today's  meeting.    Polling place visits and mock election equipment setups continued during the month of July. Staff visited Brown Bridge Church to review the setup and possible use oft the facility  as an Election Day polling place during the 2024 Election Cycle.  Ethics Reporting/Candidate Qualifying  Open Records Request(s) (ORR) Number in parenthesis indicates the number  from the same month last year  #r received b/w 07/01 - 07/30/2023 10 (4)  2023 Cumulative 2022 Cumulative 2021 Cumulative Budget/Finance Voter Registration  30 109 48  The transition in statewide voter registration systems from ENet to GARViS continues. Staff continue to process some voter registration applications. Staff is primarily processing in-county address/name/atner changes. The Director and three coordinators attended a regional meeting on July 27 in Dawson County. Staff from the Secretary of State's (SOS) Office were in attendance. SOS staff provided updates to the status of workflows within GARVIS and identified which workflows should be used with no issues, workflows which should be used with caution, and which workflows to avoid working or to use carefully until further training or guidance is provided by SOS. The SOS releases updates to the system regularly and staff communicates issues we encounter. Procedures are being updated to reflect the layout and workflow of GARVIS. Some List The SOS notified county election officials on Friday, July 7 of their plans to conduct list maintenance activities byi issuing confirmation notices to voters for no activity through two general elections (NGE) and for no contact. The SOS mailed NGE notices the week of July 24. As of July 31, our office has not received any NGE notices completed by voters. The SOS is also in the process of shipping the No Contact confirmation notices to all county registration offices. SOS has directed counties to mail the No Contact notices on Thursday, August 10, 2023 to ensure all notices are mailed the same day throughout the  Maintenance activities continued during the month of July.  state.  Voter Registration Statistics by Status: As of July 31, 2023  Countywide Total registered voters:  176,856 (174,367) 164,174(161,817) 12,682 (12,550) 4,024 3,757  Active voters: Inactive voters: Active voters:  City of Cumming Total registered voters:    Inactive voters: Pending voters Total: Pending age Pending verification Pending 40-day clock Pending 26-month clock Challenged voters Total: Felon Voter challenge Cancelled voters Total: Deceased Felon Hearing Mentally Incompetent Moved out of county Moved out of state Not verified Voter requested Notes:  267 50 4 3 26 17 290 54 236 141 114 0 0 0 ** 26 0 0 1  No Activity for 2 General Election cycles  **Statistics not included as we are not currently able to produce the reports needed to generate these statistics. The SOS team has provided regular updates with all county offices on the improvements being made to GARVIS. Improvements on all reports has  been identified on the "Up & Coming" enhancements to GARVIS.  Election Equipment/Supplies  Routine charging and inventory of the touchscreens and printers are in progress. Charging and inventory of ballot scanners and UPS are currently being conducted. As noted in previous reports, each piece of election equipment identified needing possible repairs or additional attention during the charging cycle earlier this year has been addressed. In the month of July, a Dominion Voting Field Service Technician reviewed each of the identified pieces of equipment. Those pieces of equipment that could be serviced on site were serviced on site. Two pieces of equipment require additional attention and will be scheduled for shipment to Dominion Voting Systems for repair/replacement. All pieces of repaired equipment are set aside awaiting acceptance SOS staff conducted their Voting Systems Health Check on July 7 & 11. All equipment  testing by the SOS.  selected and tested passed their inspection with no issues to report.  IS&T/Software/Hardware Building Update Disaster Recovery Training/Outreach    Ini the month of July, staff set up and manned a table at the following locations/events:  Thursday, July 13 - Central Park Recreation Center Tuesday, July 18 - Fowler Park Recreation Center Thursday, July 20 - Old Atlanta Recreation Center Monday, July 24 - New Educator Orientation (FOCAL Center) Tuesday, July 25 - State of the Schools (New Hope Elementary School) We thank Forsyth County Parks and Recreation and Forsyth County Schools for the opportunities to have an outreach table at each of these facilities/events. We look forward Our first New Poll Worker Preview Session was held on Thursday, July 27. There were 23 new potential poll workers in attendance. At the end of the session, all 23 attendees expressed interest in continuing to become poll workers for the 2024 election cycle. The GIS Department provided training to all office staff on the use ofGIS Viewer software The director and three coordinators attended a regional meeting in Dawson County on July 27. Staff members from the SOS office were in attendance and provided updates on A shout out to some of our seasoned poll workers who joined office staff on Thursday, July 20 to participate in mock polling place setup photos. In addition to most office staff members, 9 poll workers helped play the roles of poll workers and voters in photos we plan to use during training and in communcatonsouteacn publications. Staff continue to work on planning and training for the upcoming elections. Calendar for Poll Worker and Outreach Upcoming Events  to future opportunities for poll worker recruitment in the future.  on July 26, 2023. GARViS.  August 3 August 9 August 10 August 18 August 24 September 7 September 12 September 20 September 25  New Poll Worker Preview Session New Poll Worker Preview Sessions Outreach Event with Forsyth County Libraries Outreach Event with Senior Services New Poll Worker Preview Sessions New Poll Worker Preview Sessions New Poll Worker Preview Sessions New Poll Worker Preview Sessions New Poll Worker Preview Sessions  Calendar of Upcoming Events  August 21-23: Election September 4 September 5 September 5 October 3 November 7 November 10  Candidate Qualifying for the City of Cumming Municipal General  Labor Day; county holiday; offices closed  Board Meeting Board Meeting Election Day  Swearing in of Vice Chairman Natt and Member Tucker Veteran's Day; county holiday; offices closed    November 14 December 5  Board Meeting Board Meeting  November 23&24 Thanksgiving; county holiday; offices closed December 25 &26 Christmas; county holiday; offices closed  Respectfully Submitted, Mandi Smith  Director, Voter Registrations and Elections  Member Tucker asked Coordinator Joyce for clarification on the confirmation notice process. Coordinator Joyce clarified the NGE voters are cancelled if there is no response within 30 days and clarified the No Contact voters are Member Tucker with a second from Assistant Secretary Thalimer made a motion to recess at 10:03 a.m. for ten minutes. Motion carried 4-0 with Vice  marked as inactive after no response after 30 days.  Chairman Natt absent.  Chairman Luth called the meeting back to order at 10:13 a.m. VIII. Hearings Pursuant to Georgia Election Code O.C.G.A. 21-2-230  A. Hear challenges to the qualification of voters and their eligibility to vote pursuant to Georgia Election Code O.C.G.A. 21-2-230 - July 10, Member Tucker asked the Challenger Wexler if she knows personally anyone on the challenged list. Challenger Wexler stated she did not. Brief discussion was had about the Secretary of State list maintenance activities and possible affected voters on this list of voters being challenged. The challenger indicated she will compare her list to the Secretary of State list and will advise the BRE of the results at the next Member Tucker with a second from Secretary Radzikinas made a motion to postpone the challenges pursuant to O.C.G.A. 21-2-230 to the August 15, 2023 special called meeting. Motion carried 4-0 with Vice Chairman  2023 Wexler Challenge  meeting.  Natt absent.  IX. Recess Regular Meeting  X.  Executive Session (if needed)  There was no need for an Executive Session.  XI. Adjournment    Director Smith stated the county has been working with the Forsyth County Schools and has posted internship positions within the county last week. She said our office has posted a position and we may potentially get an intern to Assistant Secretary Thalimer with a second from Secretary Radzikinas made ar motion to adjourn at 10:19 a.m. Motion carried 4-0 with Vice Chairman Natt  work with us for the school year.  absent.  The above and foregoing minutes are hereby certified as being correct and ordered  recorded. Today's Date:  September 5, 2023  3LSb Barbara Luth, Chairman  Joel E. Natt, Vice   Chairman  libhike Carla Radzikinas, Secretary OABIA Daniel Thalimer, Assistant Secretary DobToh Anita Tucker, Member