HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0859.001 2010-2012 Page 1 of 1
Murashige, Laura COU 4. S5
From: susan dursin [sgd8 @hawaiiantel.net]
Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2012 10:56 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Testimony for October 3
Attachments: Letter for Jamae Kawauchi.pdf; TESTIMONY ON RESO 311-12.pdf
I would appreciate your distributing the letter along with my testimony on Resolution 311-12.
Thank you,
Susan Dursin
CD
Comm. �� 1 inn
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etc■. Cute OCT 0 3 2012
10/2/2012
TO: Jamae Kawauchi, Hawai'i County Clerk
FROM: Susan Dursin, Hawai'i County Precinct Official 05-04
DATE: October 1„ 2012
RE: General Election Preparations
Dear Ms. Kawauchi:
With the general election only five weeks away, I am writing to detail the problems my precinct
experienced in the primary election and to make some specific suggestions about steps to address our
problems and those I've heard about from other precinct officials. I have commented about these
problems in public meetings including the special council meeting on August 20th and in the meeting you
held at the Civic Center on September 13.Additionally, problems were noted in the precinct record
book. However, recent statements on your part indicate that you still may not fully recognize some of
the pressing concerns for the general election.
The main problems at my precinct:
1.) Roster(staffing):Three weeks before the election, I received a roster which included the names of
two workers who had already notified you (and me)that they were unavailable. In calling the elections
office repeatedly, I was told that they were still on the list; on election day,one of them was still listed. I
had grown concerned when I had only two verified workers and was informed I must find more workers
myself. I did find two more workers who turned out to be very good, but they had never worked an
election. Moreover, I still had no VAO who had served in that position or been trained. One poll worker
who had worked our precinct in 2010 agreed to work with me to learn procedures and to study the
manual, but no matter how many times we called or e-mailed requesting a manual for her,she never
received one. We did our best, and she learned the procedures as well as she could under the
circumstances. However,the morning of the election,a woman whose name was not on the roster
appeared,saying she was to be VAO. She had not been trained as a VAO and had previously worked for
many years as a poll worker and, most recently, as a DC team member.She had been directed to report
to our precinct, but she had not been given my contact information or a manual.
2.) Delivery and Collection Team (D/C team): Our Delivery and Collection Team arrived about forty
minutes late. It consisted of one woman who had not worked as a D/C team member previously. If I am
correct,she is not even an American citizen.She told me she had gone to the training at the request of a
friend who was scheduled to work but could not. When the trainer said that volunteers must be
residents of Hawaii, she immediately said she was not and was on the point of leaving when one of the
trainers told her it would be okay this one time. She did not have the faintest idea of what her duties
were, and we had to show her how to check off the necessary items. She said that her driver and she
had sat at the Civic Center for almost an hour,waiting for the second team member.That second team
member,as it turned out,was the very woman who,the day before the election, had been directed to
be VAO at our precinct.
3.) Missing Items in Precinct Can:When the precinct can finally did arrive with the D/C team,we were
missing correction orders, phone numbers, payroll authorization sheet and codes for opening the
machines,and end-of-day instructions,which meant we had no code for closing the machines either.
Correction orders are "orders issued by the county clerk authorizing a change,addition or deletion in the
poll book." Our correction orders were at another precinct. It was three hours until we finally got
them,which means we might have allowed an unauthorized person to vote or kept a qualified voter
from casting a ballot. Because I have worked elections before and remembered that the same kind of
code had been used for opening machines,we were able to figure out the code through trial and error.
4.)Telephone:We are one of the few precincts using a landline. (That may be a result of the fact that
our site is a rally site for Hart:where the electronic information is gathered and sent in.)There were
three landlines, but no information on which one to use. We had considerable difficulty contacting
control center until after we had already opened. I ended up using my personal cell phone, and from
that time on,we were called not only on the landline but also on the cell phone.
Suggestions:
A.) Be certain that precincts are fully staffed with experienced and trained chairs;VAO's who, at the
very least,are trained and have manuals; poll workers who have attended training or who have worked
in previous elections. I believe that if volunteers attended training before the primary,there is no need
for them to attend further meetings. Multiple trainings only discourage volunteers.
B.) Develop rosters for each precinct and also for D/C teams. Contact the people on the roster several
times, checking for availability and reminding them of their important election day responsibility. Only
when you have full rosters with phone numbers and e-mail addresses,send the rosters to the precinct
chairs. It would be helpful to have the rosters at least ten days before the election. Please designate
one employee to deal with precinct staffing. Let us know who that is and how to contact that person in
the coming month. Do not change that assignment.
C.) If you need to run a campaign for volunteers, begin right away. Use radio and tv as well as print
media.The electronic media can be very helpful: Big Island Chronicle and Big Island News Center reach
many people. Contacting public service organizations might be useful.You have mentioned seven new
positions as troubleshooters. It is possible that these seven people could be better employed as
precinct or D/C team workers.
D.)Of the greatest importance is D/C team staffing and training.The second team that came to my
precinct at the end of the day consisted of two young men who were extremely knowledgeable and
helpful. I believe that team was there to travel from our precinct to Hilo,whereas the other team with
just one person picked up precinct cans from Kona south,ending at our precinct. Perhaps you could use
those two young men as trainers. Repeated contact with the D/C team members, including the night
before the election, may help to avoid problems.
E.)Do not change procedures used during the primary in any meaningful way.Those of us who have
worked several elections know that those procedures worked well in the past, and being creatures of
habit,we may not deal well with changes.
F.) Please reconsider sending out the supply boxes early. In the past, receiving those boxes just a day or
two before the election worked very well.Sending them to precinct chairs ahead of time creates added
responsibility. If they are sent to the precincts weeks ahead,they may well be misplaced.At our
precinct,a school employee has always put the box out for us the day before the election along with the
voting booths.At the September 13th meeting, precinct officials overwhelmingly indicated they did not
want to receive the boxes early.
G.) Allow us to test the phones the day before the election.
Thank you for considering my ideas.
Su4aw Duriv
TO: Hawai'i County Council
FROM: Susan Dursin 328-8514 Captain Cook, HI 96704 sgd8 @hawaiiantel.net
DATE: October 1, 2012
RE: In Support of Resolution 311-12, representing herself
Chairman Yagong and Hawai'i County Council Members:
I ask you to vote"yes" on Resolution 311 12, Supporting Recommendations Made By the State Hawai'i
League of Women Voters To Ensure a Successful General Election in the County of Hawaii.
You have heard from many concerned Big Island residents since before the August 11 Primary Election.
Red flags existed for the conduct of that election, and serious mistakes confirmed that that election had
not been administered in a secure manner.
As a precinct official, I testified at the August 20th Special Council Meeting and will quote two paragraphs
from that testimony.
"We opened twenty-nine minutes late with a line at the door.At least three voters left to go to work; I
don't know whether they returned later to vote.We were missing important items from our precinct
can. Our correction orders were at another precinct.There were no last-minute reminders and no
closing the polls instructions,which meant we had neither opening nor closing codes for the JBC and the
E-scan.There was no payroll authorization sheet. "
"Delay and confusion can be traced directly to the Office of Elections.The office is understaffed.There is
a striking lack of consistency because full-time workers, including those with any real experience, have
been let go, have gone on sick leave,or have quit. Filling those positions with experienced workers is
impossible."
I attended a meeting of precinct officials on September 13th and voiced some of my concerns. However,
I see that there are continuing problems with the mail-out of yellow cards, changes in procedures,and
time-lines for meeting the protocols.The problem is not in the protocols. Following the procedures and
time-lines set by the state,which are the protocols followed by the other counties in Hawai'i--and those
that were followed here for many years--a competent administrator should be able to run an
organized,safe election. I have just sent Ms. Kawauchi a letter stating my concerns.That letter is
attached.
The ongoing scrutiny and media attention --which, in my opinion is thoroughly justified—has brought
the public's attention to this situation. In fact, I understand that CNN is in Hawai'i,asking about voter
participation and access. I believe public confidence would be bolstered by your taking action today.
Thank you for your attention.
Suisavv Du na.i vv