INDIANA ELECTION COMMISSION MINUTES
APRIL 29, 1998
MEMBERS PRESENT: Dudley Cruea, Chairman of the Indiana Election Commission [IEC]; S. Anthony Long, Vice-Chairman; Butch Morgan; Barbara McClellan, proxy for Joseph M. Perkins, Jr.
MEMBERS ABSENT: Joseph M. Perkins, Jr.
STAFF ATTENDING: Laurie P. Christie, Co-Director, Election Division, Office of the Indiana Secretary of State ("Election Division"), Mary Ann Tippett, Co-Director; J. Bradley King, Co-General Counsel, IEC and Election Division; Kristi Robertson, Co-General Counsel, IEC and Election Division.
ALSO ATTENDING: Ms. Suzanne McBride, The Indianapolis Star/News; Mr. Warren Mathies, of Indianapolis.
1. CALL TO ORDER AND OPENING REMARKS BY THE CHAIR:
The chair called the April 29, 1998 meeting of the Indiana Election Commission to order at 12:33 p.m. in the Indiana Election Division Conference Room, Indiana Government Center South Room E204, 302 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, stating that proper notice of the meeting had been given as required by state law, and that a quorum of Commission members was present.
2. RECOGNITION OF PROXY MEMBERS:
The chair noted that Mr. Perkins had filed a proxy with the Election Division earlier on this date designating Ms. Barbara McClellan as his proxy for this meeting. A copy of the proxy is incorporated by reference into these minutes. [Copies of all documents incorporated by reference are available for public inspection and copying in the Election Division office.]
The chair welcomed Ms. McClellan to the Commission meeting.
3. APPROVAL OF MARCH 25, 1998 MINUTES:
The chair noted that copies of these minutes had been distributed to members before the meeting convened. Mr. Long moved that the March 25, 1998 Commission minutes be approved as submitted. Mr. Morgan seconded the motion. There being no further discussion, the chair called the question, and declared that with four members (Mr. Cruea, Mr. Long, Ms. McClellan, and Mr. Morgan) voting "aye", and no member voting "nay", the motion was adopted.
Indiana Election Commission
April 29, 1998 Minutes
4. APPROVAL OF CONTINUANCES, DISMISSALS, AND OTHER FINAL ORDERS CONCERNING CAMPAIGN FINANCE ENFORCEMENT:
The chair noted that copies of the continuances granted, dismissals granted, and final orders concerning campaign finance enforcement approved by the Commission at its March 25, 1998 Commission meeting had been distributed to Commission members before the meeting convened.
Commission members reviewed Orders 1998-15 through 1998-64, and Order 1998-66, all of which are incorporated by reference in these minutes. Mr. Long stated that he had examined the orders, and that they appeared to be in proper form and to reflect the actions of the Commission at the March 25, 1998 meeting. Mr. Long moved, seconded by Mr. Morgan, that each of these orders be approved as submitted. There being no further discussion, the chair called the question, and declared that with four members (Mr. Cruea, Mr. Long, Ms. McClellan, and Mr. Morgan) voting "aye", and no member voting "nay", the motion was adopted. These orders are incorporated by reference in these minutes.
Mr. Long stated that with regard to Order 1998-63 (concerning Cause #98-1782-84; Indiana 8th District Democrat Committee), he would be affixing his signature to the order, although he had abstained in the Commission's consideration of this cause. He added that he believed that Order 1998-63 accurately reflected the actions of the Commission in this cause.
In response to a question from Mr. Long, Ms. Christie indicated that the civil penalties collected from these enforcement orders would be deposited in the campaign finance enforcement account, a dedicated account from which funds may only be expended for campaign finance enforcement purposes.
Mr. Long commented that the statute requiring regular party committees to file campaign finance reports with the Election Division should be reviewed to determine whether it was reasonable to require a county party committee which gave a contribution to a candidate for statewide office to file a campaign finance report with the Election Division. The chair noted that the information concerning this contribution would already be available in the campaign finance report filed by the statewide candidate with the Election Division, and in the report filed with the county election board by the county central committee.
5. CO-DIRECTORS' REPORT:
The chair recognized Ms. Christie and Ms. Tippett, who stated that they had no additional information to report at this time.
Indiana Election Commission
April 29, 1998 Minutes
6. VOTING SYSTEM CERTIFICATIONS:
A. GOVERNMENTAL BUSINESS SYSTEMS (GBS) ACCU-TAB
The chair recognized Mr. King, who noted that Commission members had received a copy of the following documents concerning this voting system: (1) the April 27, 1998 memorandum from Mr. John D. Kraus of Information Services Division (ISD) concerning ISD's review of this voting system; and (2) a photocopy of an e-mail transmission from Mr. Larry Calvert of GBS to Mr. King, which provided additional information regarding the voting system's compliance with specific provisions of Indiana Code 3-11-15. These documents are incorporated by reference in these minutes.
Mr. King noted that this punch card system is currently in use in Indiana, and that the vendor has applied some time ago for recertification by the Election Commission. He added that the Commission had referred the system to Wyle Laboratories, and had
been advised by Wyle that this system did not contain any components that could be tested at that facility. The Commission then referred the system to ISD for additional investigation regarding the system's compliance with the "Indiana standards" set forth in Indiana Code 3-11-15.
Mr. King stated that the April 27 document sets forth the final report from ISD regarding this system, and noted that while ISD cannot test for the system's compliance with all provisions of IC 3-11-15, Mr. Kraus remarked in the cover letter for this report that "it would appear from the information provided that GBS follows a disciplined approach to software development that should favorably impact the cost-effectiveness of their software." Mr. King added that ISD's report did not identify any area in which this voting system would not comply with the Indiana standards.
Mr. King said that the staff recommendation concerning this matter was: (1) for the Commission to invite representatives of GBS to attend the next Commission meeting and to present a demonstration of the GBS ACCU-TAB voting system to Commission members at that time; and (2) if the Commission was satisfied with the results of the demonstration to proceed with recertification of the system.
The chair noted that GBS had provided a demonstration of its newly certified voting system at a meeting that he had been unable to attend. In response to a question from Mr. Long, Mr. King indicated that the staff had information concerning which Indiana counties currently used this voting system. Mr. Long suggested that staff notify the county users of this upcoming demonstration and invite any user who had experienced problems with this system to attend the Commission meeting. Ms. Christie noted that some counties will be using this system for the first time in the May 1998 primary, and may have comments that they wish to make.
Indiana Election Commission
April 29, 1998 Minutes
Mr. Morgan requested that the staff provide the Commission with a color-coded map indicating which voting system was used in each county. He noted that several counties had acquired new systems in recent years, and that St. Joseph County was considering purchasing a new system to replace its lever machines. In response to a question from Mr. Morgan, Ms. Christie indicated that Marion County, St. Joseph County, and a few other counties still used the lever voting machines.
Mr. Long indicated that staff could send a questionnaire to all county users of this system to permit these counties to submit comments concerning the recertification without the necessity to send a county representative to attend the Commission's meeting.
He added that it might be useful in the future to survey all counties to get additional feedback concerning other voting systems.
Commission members agreed to the staff recommendation concerning this voting system and directed that staff send the questionnaire suggested by Mr. Long to the counties using the GBS ACCU-TAB voting system.
Ms. Christie stated that Mr. Steve Corey of GBS had contacted the staff earlier in the week to advise them that GBS also planned to submit a new direct recording electronic voting system for certification in Indiana in the near future. She added that Mr. Corey had requested an appointment to demonstrate this new system to Commission members before beginning the certification process. Commission members expressed interest in viewing a demonstration of the new GBS voting system.
B. ELECTION SERVICES AND SYSTEMS (ES&S) PC-BT VOTING SYSTEM
The chair recognized Mr. King, who stated that Commission members had received a copy of a letter dated March 27, 1998 from Mr. Herb Deutsch, Manager Technical Support-Elections, ES&S concerning this voting system. The letter is incorporated by reference in these minutes.
Mr. King noted that the letter addressed this voting system's compliance with the Indiana standards set forth in IC 3-11-15, but that the letter did not do so in the same section-by-section format as the information submitted previously by both GBS and MicroVote concerning their voting systems. Mr. King stated that he had left a telephone message for Mr. Deutsch requesting this information, but had not received a response. He added that if the Commission wished, he would send a written request to ES&S to provide this information for the next Commission meeting. Mr. King noted that ISD was prepared to begin its review of the ES&S system upon receiving the additional information from ES&S. The Commission agreed to this course of action.
Indiana Election Commission
April 29, 1998 Minutes
7. ORDER 1998-65 (CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT BALLOT LANGUAGE):
The chair recognized Mr. King, who noted that a draft of Order 1998-65 had been distributed to Commission members before this meeting. A copy of this Order is incorporated by reference in these minutes.
Mr. King stated that two proposed state constitutional amendments would be submitted to the electorate in November 1998: (1) an amendment to protect the voting rights of individuals who move to another precinct in Indiana during the final thirty days before an election; and (2) an amendment to repeal the current requirement that the secretary of state, the auditor of state, and the treasurer of state reside in Indianapolis, which would permit these officials to reside anywhere in Indiana.
Mr. King remarked that although legislation had been considered in the 1998 session of the General Assembly to specify the ballot language for these two constitutional amendments, the legislation had not been enacted and sent to the Governor. He noted that under Indiana Code 3-10-3-2, the Election Commission was required to specify the ballot language whenever the General Assembly failed to do so. He added that the ballot language included in this order was identical to that considered by the General Assembly during the 1998 session.
In response to a question from Mr. Long, Mr. King noted that the first proposed constitutional amendment would incorporate an election procedure authorized by statute since 1987, which permits a voter who moves during the final thirty days before an election to return to vote one last time at the precinct where the voter formerly resided, if the voter is willing to complete a form to request transfer of the voter's registration following the election. Mr. King added that after this statute was enacted in 1987, the Indiana Supreme Court handed down a ruling indicating that the thirty day residency requirement for voters in the State Constitution required thirty days of continuous residence in a precinct before election day. He remarked that although most election administrators had understood this to be the cause, the ruling had raised questions concerning the constitutionality of the 1987 statute. Mr. King added that the enactment of the National Voter Registration Act in 1993 had established additional "fail-safe" voting procedures similar to the Indiana statute that would apply in elections to federal office.
In response to questions from the chair and Mr. Morgan, Mr. King noted that the second proposed state constitutional amendment did not apply to the attorney general or the clerk of the supreme court, since these offices were established by state statute, not by the Indiana Constitution.
Indiana Election Commission
April 29, 1998 Minutes
Mr. Cruea moved, seconded by Mr. Long, that Order 1998-65 be approved as submitted. There being no further discussion, the chair called the question, and declared that with four members (Mr. Cruea, Mr. Long, Ms. McClellan, and Mr. Morgan) voting "aye", and no member voting "nay", the motion was adopted. The order is incorporated by reference in these minutes.
8. OTHER BUSINESS:
After discussion, Commission members set the date and time for the next Commission meeting as Tuesday, June 9, 1998, at 9:00 a.m., at a location to be announced.
The chair requested that the GBS voting system demonstration be scheduled as the first item of Commission business at this meeting. Mr. King reported that twenty-two campaign finance causes had been continued from March 25, 1998 meeting, and would be included on the agenda for the June 9 meeting if that was the will of the Commission. The Commission consented to this course of action. The chair noted that this meeting could also include delinquent pre-primary campaign finance reports and delinquent pre-primary supplemental reports. The chair asked that staff prepare the notice for the June 9 meeting to advise each committee that the committee was not required to send a representative to attend this meeting.
9. ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business to come before the Commission, Mr. Long moved, seconded by Mr. Cruea, that the Commission do now adjourn. The chair called the question and declared the motion adopted with four members (Mr. Cruea, Mr. Long, Ms. McClellan, and Mr. Morgan) voting "aye", and no member voting "nay." The Commission then adjourned at 1:04 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
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Laurie P. Christie Mary Ann Tippett
Co-Director Co-Director
APPROVED:
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