HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-30-2018 Board of Canvass Minutes
ST. CROIX COUNTY BOARD OF CANVASSERS
OFFICIAL MINUTES
APRIL 30, 2018 – 10:00 A.M.
ST. CROIX COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER
1101 CARMICHAEL ROAD, ROOM 1406, HUDSON WI 54016
Call to Order by Cindy Campbell
Present - Board of Canvass members: Deane Skip Jewett (Dem), Hugh H. Gwin (Rep),
County Clerk Cindy Campbell, County Clerk First Deputy Amy Hanson, Corporation
Counsel Scott Cox, Mike Longaecker of Rivertown Multimedia
1. Approval of Minutes from the April 9, 2018 Board of Canvass Meeting for the
April 3, 2018 Spring Election. Gwin recommended room designation and location of
meeting be added. Motion by Gwin, 2nd by Jewett to approve the minutes as amended.
Unanimous.
Longaecker left at 11:20 a.m.
2. Approval of Minutes from the April 11, 2018 County Supervisor District 13 Recount.
A number of changes were suggested by Gwin. Attached is a redlined copy of the
minutes showing the changes (without attachments).
Motion by Gwin, 2nd by Jewett to approved the minutes of the April 11, 2018 Board of
Canvass Recount of County Supervisor District 13. Unanimous.
Adjourn - 1:20 p.m.
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UNOFFICAL
MINUTES OF THE ST. CROIX COUNTY BOARD OF CANVASSERS
RECOUNT COUNTY SUPERVISOR DISTRICT 13
April 3, 2018 Spring Election
April 11, 2018
The Board of Canvassers met April 11, 2018 in Room 1281 at the St. Croix County Government Center in
Hudson, Wisconsin to conduct a recount of the April 3, 2018 County Supervisor District 13 Spring Election. in
the City of New Richmond. The notice was posted on April 9, 2018.
Meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. Those present were: County Clerk Cindy Campbell (and member of
the Board of Canvass); Canvass Board: Deane “Skip” Jewett (Dem), Hugh H. Gwin (Rep). Tabulators Present:
First Deputy County Clerk Amy Hanson, City of New Richmond Clerk Tanya Batchelor and Deputy Clerk Lori
Brinkman. Others Presentpresent at various times during the recount: Scottie Ard, Tom Lindfors, Ryan
Sherley, Bob Feidler, Mike Longaecker, Donna Slominski, Pat Thompson, Dave Ostness, Bob Keller and Ken
Witt. St. Croix County Corporation Counsel Scott Cox was present at various times during the recount. See
attached sign-in sheet. (Exhibit 1)
County Clerk Campbell welcomed everyone, thanked them for their time and explained the process. Campbell
explained the Board of Canvass met Monday, April 9th to certify election results. The results for County
Supervisor District 13 resulted in a tie vote of 213 for Sherley and 213 for Ard with 2 write-ins. There were no
changes to the unofficial results, therefore during the meeting of the Board of Canvass, a name was drawn to
determine the winner. Candidate Scottie Ard’s name was drawn. Immediately following the drawing, the
Board of Canvass took a break and Ryan Sherley filed a recount petition. Both candidates received copies of
the recount petition, the notice of recount, and order of recount. Candidate Ard admitted service of the
documents. The notice was properly noticed as a public meeting.
County Supervisor District 13 is located wholly in the City of New Richmond consisting of wards 4, 5, 6, 10, 11
and 12. The City of New Richmond had six reporting units for the 2018 Spring Election. Wards 3 and 4 are
one reporting unit with Ward 3 isin County Supervisor District 12 and Ward 4 isin County Supervisor District
13; Wards 5 and 6 is one reporting unit and both wards are in County Supervisor District 13; Wards 9 and 10
are one reporting unit with Ward 9 in County Supervisor District 12 and Ward 10 in County Supervisor District
13. Wards 11 and 12 are one reporting unit and both are in County Supervisor District 13.
The boardBoard of canvassCanvass has chosen to hand-count the ballots based on the number of ballots. The
duty of the board of canvassers is to recount the votes cast for the office in question and to correct the errors, if
any. Any objections by either party will be recorded in the minutes. Ground rules were read and the recount
process was explained by Campbell.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission Recount Manual (April 2018) is attached as Exhibit 2.
Recount Process
The recount began and the procedures listed below were followed for each of the four reporting units.
a. Poll lists were reviewed, comparing the numbers on both the County’s and reporting unit’s lists
b. Number of voters were tallied from the poll lists.
c. Lists of absentee voters were reviewed and compared with the number of used absentee certificate
envelopes, and the notations on poll lists, verifying the number of people voting by absentee ballot.
d. Municipal clerk absentee ballot logs with applications provided were reviewed.
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e. Rejected absentee ballot envelopes were reviewed and noted as necessary.
f. Defective absentee ballot envelopes were reviewed and noted as necessary.
g. All ballot bags were inspected for locking seals and signatures.
h. All ballot bag seals were cut and ballots were individually counted by reporting unit, inspected for initials of
election inspectors; all ballots were then separated into piles for regular, absentee, questionable marks,
write-ins, and undervotes.
i. The number of absentee ballots were balanced by reporting unit with the number of potential absentee
voters as listed above.
j. The Board of Canvass confirmed the number of voters to ballots throughout all of the reporting units.
k. There were no provisional ballots issued for the four reporting units.
Hanson retrieved the ballots and election materials from secured storage in the County Clerk’s office.
City of New Richmond
Ward 4 Spring Election Vote Total Recount Vote Total
Sherley 20 20
Ard 43 43
Scattering (Write-in) 0 0
Under Votes 0 0
Reported (Wards 3 & 4) Recount (Ward 4)
Total Voters 138 62
Total Ballots 138 63
Total Absentee Ballots 14 3
Provisional Ballots 0 0
Ballot Bag Wards 3 - 4
Ballot Bag Seal Assigned By County
Ballot Bag Seal # 0755131
Ballot Bag Resealed with # 0755156
Notes:
Ward 3 – County Supervisor District 12
Ward 4 – County Supervisor District 13
Poll book reconciled – reconciliation completed by separating wards 3 and 4.
Ward 3 voters 76; Ward 4 voters 62 = 138
Ward 3 ballots 75; Ward 4 ballots 63 = 138
Election official issued an ExpressVote ballot to voter. Ballot was marked as Ward 3. Voter cast
the ballot in Ward 4 for County Supervisor District 13. Vote counted for Sherley. Campbell
called Wisconsin Elections Commission and talked with Riley Willman regarding ballot count.
Part way through the phone conversation, the call was put on a speaker phone. It was
recommended to leave as is, pending outcome.
Inspector’s statement indicated two remade ballots. Verified one remade ballot with original, the
second was not marked. Clerk confirmed both were for District 12. Noted spoiled in envelope,
but not recorded on Inspector’s Statement.
Page 3 of 8
City of New Richmond
Wards 5 -– 6 Spring Election Vote Total Recount Vote Total
Sherley 51 51
Ard 48 48
Scattering (Write-in) 1 1
Under Votes 3 3
Reported Recount
Total Voters 104 104
Total Ballots 103 103
Total Absentee Ballots 7 7
Provisional Ballots 0 0
Ballot Bag Wards 5 - 6
Ballot Bag Seal Assigned By County
Ballot Bag Seal # 0755122
Ballot Bag Resealed with # 0755157
Notes:
Wards 5 & 6 – County Supervisor District 13
Poll book reconciled – 104 total voters.
ExpressVote ballot found in Ward 5 & 6 ballot bag, but had been cast as Ward 1&2 ballot for
County Supervisor District 12. Ward 5 & 6 indication on bottom of ballot from election official.
Determined Ward 5 & 6 voter selected the wrong ballot on the, cast an ExpressVote. ballot for
Wards 1 & 2. Ballot for 1& & 2 was set aside and later counted with overall ballot count. (Ward
1& & 2 has one more ballot than voter).)
City of New Richmond
Ward 10 Spring Election Vote Total Recount Vote Total
Sherley 44 44
Ard 29 29
Scattering (Write-in) 1 1
Under Votes 4 4
Reported (Wards 9 & 10) Recount (Ward 10)
Total Voters 168 73
Total Ballots 169 78
Total Absentee Ballots 12 1
Provisional Ballots 0 0
Ballot Bag Wards 9 - 10
Ballot Bag Seal Assigned By County
Ballot Bag Seal # 0755139
Ballot Bag Resealed with # 0755156
Notes:
Wards 9 & 10 is one reporting unit. Split:
Ward 9 – District 12
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Ward 10 – District 13
Poll books reconciled separating Wards 9 and 10. Poll book certification indicated 168 voters.
Recount poll book reconciliation was 169 voters.
Ward 9 total voters – 96; Ward 10 total voters 73 = 169
Ward 9 total ballots – 91; Ward 10 total ballots 78 = 169
Ward 9 – 5 more voter than ballots
Ward 10 – 5 more ballots than voters
NoElection officials wrote ward indication on some, but not all ExpressVote ballots.
Lunch break taken @ 12:45pm; reconvened at 1:40pm
City of New Richmond
Wards 11 -– 12 Spring Election Vote Total Recount Vote Total
Sherley 98 98
Ard 93 93
Scattering (Write-in) 0 0
Under Votes 8 8
Reported Recount
Total Voters 202 201
Total Ballots 199 199
Total Absentee Ballots 20 20
Provisional Ballots 0 0
Ballot Bag Wards 11 - 12
Ballot Bag Seal Assigned By County
Ballot Bag Seal # 0755148
Ballot Bag Resealed with # 0755159
Notes:
Wards 11 & 12 – District 13
Poll book reconciled at 201.
Recount ballot count total was 200 including one blank ballot. It was later determined the blank
ballot was not cast on DS200 and therefore removed the blank ballot from the count and set aside,
and eventually placed back in the ballot bag.
SUMMARY:
CANDIDATE RESULTS:
Sherley Ard Write In Under Total Votes
W4 20 43 63
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W5&6 51 48 1 3 103
W10 44 29 1 4 78
W11&12 98 93 8 199
Total Result 213 213 2 15 443
COUNTY SUPERVISOR DISTRICT 13 - POLL LIST / BALLOT COUNT
District 13 Voter (Poll List) Ballots
W4 62 63
W5&6 104 103
W10 73 78
W11&12 201 199
Total 440 443
Discussion regarding more ballots than voters and ballot discrepancies. Gwin raised the issue of a drawdown
and whether or not we had the authority to recount wards not in County Supervisor District 13 because the
petition was limited to District 13. Gwin felt that the next the next step for the BOC was to do a drawdown of
ballots until the number of ballots was equal to the number of voters from the poll lists for District 13.
Otherwise, voters not in District 13 would be allowed to decide the District 13 election. That is not fair.
Campbell called Wisconsin Elections Commission and talked to Election Specialist Riley Willman regarding
incorrectly issued ballots . This phone conversation was on speaker phone. Willman recommended counting
the remainder of the wards indicated that if the BOC wanted to determine voter count and ballot count for that
there was not a question of ballot stuffing, the BOC could recount all wards.the ballots in the City of New
Richmond. Poll lists were reconciled and ballots were counted for Wards 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 and 9. Corporation
Counsel Scott Cox was present during the conversation. Results were as follows:
COUNTY SUPERVISOR DISTRICT 12 - POLL LIST / BALLOT COUNT
District 12 Voter (Poll List) Ballots
W1&2 133 134
W3 76 75
W7&8 143 145
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W9 96 91
Total 448 445
VOTER AND BALLOT COUNT FOR ALL WARDS IN THE CITY OF NEW RICHMOND:
District Voter (Poll List) Ballots
D13 440 443
D12 448 445
Total 888 888
Total voter count for the City of New Richmond (all wards) matched the total number of ballots:
888 voters and 888 ballots.
Campbell prepared a spreadsheet including all voter totals, ballot totals and results and emailed it to Willman at
the Wisconsin Elections Commission., with the following email:
From: Cindy Campbell [mailto:Cindy.Campbell@sccwi.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2018 4:40 PM
To: Willman, Riley P - ELECTIONS <Riley.Willman@wisconsin.gov>
Subject: Tally.xlsx
Importance: High
Riley
This is the final spreadsheet from our recount in County Supervisor District 13. The count evened out after counting the
ballots and reconciling poll lists from the wards not in County Supervisor District 13. The question continues should
ballots should be drawn because we are reconciling overall totals from votes not cast in District 13.
One of the BOC members thinks we should reconcile only from the votes cast in District 13 race.
Cindy Campbell
St. Croix County Clerk
715.386.4610
(Note: a copy of the final spreadsheet is attached as Exhibit 3)
Response: 4/11/2018 4:49 PM
In this case, since the count evened out between the different supervisory districts, you would not draw ballots because
you can see with reasonable certainty that there were three voters who should have voted in District 12, but were given
a District 13 ballot on accident. You only draw down ballots when you cannot explain why you have more ballots than
voters.
Please let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be happy to help.
Best,
Page 7 of 8
Riley Willman
Elections Administration Specialist
Wisconsin Elections Commission
(608)261-2030
Riley.Willman@wisconsin.gov
Discussion regarding next steps and Willman’s recommendation. Gwin requested Corporation Counsel Scott
Cox join the recount for his opinion. Cox reviewed the recount procedures and state statutes. Gwin
reportedstated the recount petition requested a recount of Wards 4 – 6 and 10 – 12 which make up County
Supervisor District 13. He added we are not here to count District 12 and recommended a drawdown of ballots.
Gwin cited Wis. Stat. § 9.01(1)(b)4.e., regarding reconciling the number of ballots with the number of voters.
Discussion regarding the blank ballot found in Wards 11 & 12 which increased the ballot count from 199 which
was on the results tape to 200. Gwin statedBecause the blank ballot was totally blank, all BOC members agreed
it should be removed from the count.
Campbell recommended the Wisconsin Election Commission’s recommendation not to draw ballots as there is
reasonable certainty there were three voters who should have voted in District 12, but were given a District 13
ballot. Campbell read from the Wisconsin Elections Commission Election Day manual “Before drawing down
ballots, be certain that there is no alternative reason for the ballot overage. In the case of two or more reporting
units, if there are more ballots than voters for one reporting unit and less ballots than voters for the other
reporting unit, but the total number of ballots for both units is equal to or less than the number of total voters,
obviously voters were given the wrong ballot. This should be noted on the inspectors’ statement but does not
warrant a drawdown.” Campbell asked if a drawdown is done, which ward is drawn down.
Gwin disagrees with the Wisconsin Elections Commission opinion because of what the statutes say and
reiterated the recount petition is specific to County Supervisor District 13.
Cox stated the Wisconsin Elections Commission has a different opinion and recommended the drawdown of the
number of votes according to the statutes.Gwin disagreed with Campbell that the Election Day manual was the
correct manual to reference because we are not in a general election. We are in a recount, and therefore we
should follow the Election Recount Procedures manual, revised April 2018. Gwin referred to page 9 of the
manual and verbally reviewed the steps to follow under the heading “Reconciling the Number of Ballots with
the Number of Voters”. He stated that the BOC had followed the procedures in the first four paragraphs. The
next paragraph requires a drawdown of ballots until the number of ballots and voters is the same. The manual
then cites Wis. Stats. Section 9.01(1)(b)4.e. Gwin disagrees with the opinion of Willman, because it is
inconsistent with the Wisconsin Election Commission’s recount manual and Wisconsin statutes.
Cox stated his legal opinion was that the BOC should do a drawdown of ballots until the number of ballots is
the same as the number of voters in District 13, which is according to Wisconsin statutes. Cox stated if there is
a drawdown, it should be from all the ballots in District 13.
Ard argued the Wisconsin Elections Commission has a procedure and process in place just as drawing a name
to determine a winner if a tie exists. The procedure is clear.
Campbell asked if there is a drawdown would it be the ballots with under votes for County Supervisor District
13, similar to removing blank ballots first per state statutes.
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Motion by Gwin, 2nd by Jewett to follow the statutes to draw downprocedure for a drawdown as outlined in the
Election Recount Procedures, April 2018 manual at page 9, and Wis. Stats. Section 9.01(1)(b)4.e., in the
recount for District 13, from allthe District 13 ballots per Wis. Stat. §9.01(1)(b)4.e.. Motion passed - Yes: 2;
No - 1 (Campbell).
Ballots for District 13 were gathered together and shuffled. Ballots were placed in a blue bag held by Cox.
Each member of the Board of Canvass drew one ballot. Order drawn: Gwin (W11&12) – Ard; Jewett
(W11&12) – Sherley; Campbell (W4) – Ard.
Change in results is as follows: Sherley – 212; Ard – 211. Campbell completed the certification and it was
signed by the members of the Board of Canvass.
The three draw-downdrawdown ballots were sealed in a separate envelope marked as Exhibit A. All other
ballots were sorted according to ward and placed in corresponding ballots bags and re-sealed.
Re-countRecount adjourned at 6:20 pm
Amy Hanson, First Deputy County Clerk (Recording Secretary)
POLLING PLACE VOTER/BALLOT SUMMARY
POLLING PLACE #1 Voter Ballot
W1&2 133 134 Ward 5&6 voter cast Ward 1&2 ballot for District12
W3&4 138 138 Ward 3 voter cast Ward 4 ballot for District 13 (Sherley)
W5&6 104 103 See 1&2
TOTAL 375 375
POLLING PLACE #2 Voter Ballot
W7&8 143 145 See 11&12
W9&10 169 169 W9 - 5 more voters than ballot (District 12)
W10 - 5 more ballots than voters (District 13)
W11&12 201 199 2 voters in 11&12 signed poll book received a 7&8 ballot
TOTAL 513 513