R2008-018 2008-02-11
RESOLUTION NO. R2008-18
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND,
TEXAS EXPRESSING THE CITY'S INTENT TO PARTICIPATE IN
BRAZORIA COUNTY'S VOTING CENTER PILOT PROGRAM.
WHEREAS, the Vote Center concept will make it easier for voters to cast a ballot
due to convenience of multiple locations; and
WHEREAS, it is recognized that citizens are more likely to vote if Voting Centers are
conveniently located ; and
WHEREAS, the Voting Center concept denotes progress in making voting locations
more accessible to the public.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS:
Section 1. All of the above paragraphs are incorporated into and made part of
this Resolution.
Section 2. The City Council of the City of Pearland hereby supports the concept
of a Voting Center Pilot Program
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this the 11 th day of February,
A.D., 2008.
~f20
TOM REID
MAYOR
ATTEST:
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
RESOLUTION NO. 2008-18
Cd~f1.~
DARRIN M. COKER
CITY ATTORNEY
2
JOYCE HUDMAN
COUNTY CLERK
111 E, Locust, Suile 200
Angleton, Texas 77515
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DEBORAH PAYNE
Chief Deputy
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BRAZORIA COUNTY
ANGLETON, TEXAS 77515
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TO:
ALL POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS
FROM:
JOYCE HUDMAN
COUNTY CLERK, BRAZORIA COUNTY
RE:
VOTING CENTER PILOT PROGRAM
I",.
In 2005, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 758, requiring the Secretary of
State to establish a pilot program for the November 7, 2006 general election for
state and county offices. These counties would conduct Election Day voting at
countywide voting locations (also termed "super precincts" or "voting centers").
Voting Centers means that voters will be able to cast their ballot at any of the
countywide polling places on Election Day, Potential participants in the pilot
program were limited to counties which use direct recording electronic (ORE)
voting systems and provide real time voter registration systems at each polling
place.
I....
In November, 2006, Lubbock County was the only participant in the pilot program
and the concept was well received by the county officials and the voters of the
county. Lubbock did a "wonderful" job in this pilot program and submitted its
reports and findings to the Texas Legislature last session. The Texas Legislature
in turn passed House Bill 3105 requiring the Secretary of State to implement a
pilot program to evaluate use of countywide Election Day polling places in the
November 4, 2008 general election for state and county offices and countywide
elections held on May 10, 2008 uniform election day.
Brazoria County would like to apply to participate in the pilot program for the
November 4,2008 General Election. In order to be considered by the Secretary
of State's Office to participate in this program, we must first meet three special
requirements:
Requirement No, 1: To participate in this program the county must have all
ORE's for voting on Election Day.
Brazoria County has met this requirement.
Phone: (979) 864-1373 . (979) 388-1373 . (281) 756-1373
Fax (979) 864-1011 . (979) 388-1011 . (281) 756-1011
Page 2
Voting Centers
Requirement No.2: To participate in the program the county must be on a real
time voter registration system. That means that when a person votes at one of
the voting centers it is recorded, at that time, in the county voter registrar's
system that is networked into the county's main office. If that voter appears at a
different voting center and attempts to vote a second time, the countywide voter
registration would immediately indicate in the system that they have already
voted.
At this time, the county's information system department is working on a
program that will allow us to be on real time. IF WE DO NOT GET A
REAL TIME VOTERS REGISTRATION SYSTEM, WE WILL NOT
QUALIFY OR APPLY TO BE IN THE PROGRAM.
Requirement No.3: House Bill 3105 requires that we hold public hearings to
inform and solicit opinions from voters and interested parties on participation in
the program.
It is at this point that we are in need of assistance from the governing
bodies of all political subdivisions in Brazoria County. We have already
met with the Democratic and Republican Parties and each approved a
proclamation of support for the voting center pilot program. We would like
for each political subdivision in Brazoria County to provide us with a
proclamation of "support" or "opposition" to this voting center program as
well. I have attached a copy of a sample order or proclamation that may
be used for this purpose.
At this time, we do not know if we will qualify for the pilot program or have the
county's support for the program. With your help, we can start initiating the
process to meet the qualifications that would allow us to participate in this
program. We would need the proclamations from all governing bodies by the
end of February, 2008. Public hearings would be scheduled to present the
proclamations to the Commissioner's Court. We may ask that some
representatives attend the hearing to verbally express their opinions.
Other information we can provide about the voting center pilot program:
Once we have completed the first three requirements we would formally apply to
the Secretary of State's Office for acceptance to the program. This must be
completed by April 30, 2008.
The Secretary of State's Office has until May 30, 2008 to notify counties of their
acceptance.
Phone: (979) 864-1373. (979) 388-1373. (281) 756-1373
Fax (979) 864-1011. (979) 388-1011 · (281) 756-1011
Page 3
Voting Centers
Once accepted into the program, we would appoint a site selection committee
which would help in the selection of the voting center locations and assist in
selecting the criteria for the locations. These would include, large meeting rooms
or the space to set up, sufficient parking and that are ADA compliant. We are
allowed to reduce the number of voting locations to no less than half of our
existing 70 precincts. Lubbock County' selection committee included:
Two County Commissioners
Republican Party Chair
Democratic Party Chair
Assistant District Attorney - Civil Division
Managing Attorney for Advocacy, Inc.
Election Staff
Once the sites are selected, we would publish the locations and consider holding
public hearings to announce the voting sites.
If Brazoria County is accepted to participate, we must submit a plan for the pilot
program to the Secretary of State by July 18, 2008. The Secretary of State
would review our plan and give us the final approval that we are accepted or
denied. August 23, 2008 is the final date for Brazoria County to submit our plan
for the local pilot program to the Department of Justice for pre-clearance.
We realize this is a lot of information as well as a new concept for voting, but we
ask that you keep an open mind. My staff and I are available anytime to answer
any questions and are prepared to attend counsel meetings as necessary.
Thank you for your time and cooperation.
Sincerely yours,
Joyce Hudman, County Clerk
Brazoria County, Texas
Phone: (979) 864-1373 . (979) 388-1373 . (281) 756-1373
Fax (979) 864-1011 . (979) 388-1011 . (281) 756-1011