Source: http://www.scribd.com/doc/191314005/FCEB-Report-on-November-2013-General-Election-for-Board-Ratification
Timestamp: 2015-07-31 17:09:29
Document Index: 587731535

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 8', '§ 24', '§ 8', '§24', '§ 2', '§ 6', '§ 1']

P. 1FCEB Report on November 2013 General Election for Board RatificationFCEB Report on November 2013 General Election for Board RatificationRatings: (0)|Views: 690|Likes: 0Published by normanomtA discussion of the issues surrounding Fairfax county's counting of the absentee and provisional ballots cast in the November, 2013 general election.A discussion of the issues surrounding Fairfax county's counting of the absentee and provisional ballots cast in the November, 2013 general election.More info:Published by: normanomt on Dec 13, 2013Copyright:Attribution Non-commercialAvailability:Read on Scribd mobile: iPhone, iPad and Android.download as PDF, TXT or read online from ScribdFlag for inappropriate content|Add to collectionSee moreSee lesshttps://www.scribd.com/doc/191314005/FCEB-Report-on-November-2013-General-Election-for-Board-Ratification12/15/2013pdftextoriginal Report of the Fairfax County Electoral Board Issues Surrounding the Counting of Absentee and Provisional Ballots November 5, 2013 General Election Adopted by the Board, December 11, 2013 Prepared by Brian W. Schoeneman, Esq. Secretary, Fairfax County Electoral Board and Cameron Quinn, Esq., General Registrar, Fairfax County INTRODUCTION The Fairfax County Electoral Board (“FCEB”) has developed the following report in response to concerns raised by the community regarding issues surrounding the November 5, 2013 General Election in Virginia. Given the intense scrutiny the Board and the Fairfax County Office of Elections (“FCOE”) came under during this election, given tabulation problems in the 8
Congressional District and controversy surrounding the Electoral Board’s handling of the provisional ballot meeting, the Board has chosen to provide this voluntary report on the events that occurred during the election and canvass where questions were raised by various participants. The goal of this report is to explain to interested stakeholders and the public the sequence of events, the decisions made by the Board and the rationale for those decisions. It is the hope of the Board that by being transparent and open about these issues, the public will be reassured about the administration of the election and will conclude that the actions taken by the Board and the errors discovered during the canvass had no substantial impact on the overall outcome of the election in any race, and that all steps taken and Board decisions made were in accordance with the federal and Virginia Constitutions, the Virginia Code and mandatory State Board of Elections (“SBE”) guidance. BACKGROUND In order to place the events of the November 2013 General Election in context, it is important to review the current composition of the Fairfax County Electoral Board, the history of the provisional ballot process in Virginia and Fairfax County, the Democratic Party’s litigation against the Board filed shortly before the November 2012 General Election and the types of voting machines and equipment used in Fairfax County. " THE FAIRFAX COUNTY ELECTORAL BOARD The Constitution of Virginia establishes local electoral boards, comprised of three members, in each county and city in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Members of the Board are chosen by the Circuit Court of the jurisdiction in which they reside,
from names submitted by the two political parties entitled to appointments.
The Electoral Board in Fairfax County currently is comprised of two Republicans and one Democrat.
The Chairman of the Board is Seth T. Stark, Esq., who was appointed by the Court in March 2011 from a list of names submitted by the Fairfax County Democratic Committee (hereinafter “FCDC” or “Democratic Party”). The Vice Chairman of the Board is Stephen Hunt, who was appointed July 2013 to fill the unexpired term of former Secretary Carol Ann Coryell, who resigned for health reasons at the end of June 2013. The Secretary of the Board is Brian W. Schoeneman, Esq., who was appointed in March 2013 and became Vice Chairman. He became Acting Secretary upon the resignation of Carol Ann Coryell and was elected Secretary by a vote of the Board in August 2013. Both Secretary Schoeneman and Vice Chairman Hunt were selected from a list of names submitted by the Fairfax County Republican Committee (hereinafter “FCRC” or “Republican Party”). By law, the Chairman and Secretary must be of differing political parties.
Traditionally in Virginia, the Secretary receives higher compensation than the other two members and is considered the “working” member of the Board, responsible for the day-to-day responsibilities of the Board. In Fairfax the Secretary is also the Board’s chief media spokesman. By tradition statewide the Secretary is a member of the Governor’s political party, but some local boards elect the minority member as Secretary, depending on the decision of a local board and its members. The General Registrar for Fairfax County is Cameron Quinn, Esq. Among other past experience, Ms. Quinn is a former Secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections, a former senior elections attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, and adjunct 1
VA Const. art. I, § 8. 2
VA Code Ann. § 24.2-106 (2013). 3
VA Const. art. I, § 8 (stating “In the appointment of electoral boards, representation, as far as practicable, shall be given to each of the two political parties which, at the general election next preceding their appointment, cast the highest and the next highest number of votes.”) 4
VA Code Ann. §24.2-106 (noting “[t]wo electoral board members shall be of the political party that cast the highest number of votes for Governor at [the preceding] election.”) Unless one of the two Republican members leaves the Board early, the FCEB will not change over to a Democratic Party controlled Board until March 2015, when Republican Vice Chairman Steve Hunt’s term of office ends. Board terms last 3 years and only one member’s term ends each year. 5
# professor of election law at George Mason University. She was appointed General Registrar in September 2011 by the Fairfax County Electoral Board. FCDC v. QUINN, ET AL. LAWSUIT In October 2012, prior to the November 2012 General Election, FCDC filed suit against General Registrar Quinn, the Fairfax County Electoral Board (as it was then constituted – Secretary Carol Ann Coryell (R), Chairman Seth Stark (D), and Vice Chairman Hans von Spakovsky (R)) and the Virginia State Board of Elections. The suit dealt with a number of issues, including issues regarding the rights of party authorized representatives (pollwatchers), election officer training regarding pollwatchers and election officer assignments.
That complaint was amended in January 2013 to include new counts from the 2012 General Election, including a count regarding the provisional ballot log and information that was disclosed to the political parties by the Electoral Board in that election. That complaint was again amended in June 2013, and again in October 2013. As part of the first (and succeeding second and third) amendment,
FCDC alleged that the State Board of Elections guidance
on the information local Electoral Boards could release to political parties regarding voters who had cast a provisional ballot violated the Virginia Freedom of Information Act,
and the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the 14
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,
among other statutory claims. After nearly a year’s worth of negotiations, FCEB entered into a memorandum of agreement with FCDC to resolve the FCEB related counts in FCDC’s complaint.
As of the date of this writing, this lawsuit remains pending before the Fairfax County Circuit Court, and no final decision has been rendered. A trial date has been set for March 2014, but as the parties have reached an agreement in principle, FCEB hopes to settle the case before trial. As a result of this lawsuit, agents of both the SBE and the FCEB each separately engaged in a meet and confer process over the past year with FCDC in order to resolve the lawsuit in an expeditious manner. This has resulted in a number of policy changes made by both SBE and FCEB in regards to the handling of information regarding provisional ballots. At least one of these policies, regarding the release of certain non-
Fairfax County Democratic Committee v. Cameron P. Quinn, et al.
, Case No. 2012-16179, Fairfax Cir. Ct. (2012). 7
¶ 309-329. 8
This guidance came in two forms. First, the “Do’s and Don’ts for Campaigners and Authorized Representatives,” and a memorandum issued by State Board of Elections Secretary Donald Palmer on Friday, November 8, 2013 at 11:44 AM. The “Do’s and Don’ts” was most recently updated in September 2013. 9
VA Code Ann. § 2.2-3700 et seq. (2013). 10
VA Const. art. I, §§ 6, 11, 12. 11
U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. 12
Memorandum of Agreement between the Fairfax County Democratic Committee and the General Registrar and Electoral Board of Fairfax County, adopted October 11, 2013. Activity (1)FiltersAdd to collectionReviewAdd NoteLikeShowingAllMost RecentReviewsAll NotesLikesYou've already reviewed this. Edit your review.Rating 0/5Post notePost reviewPost replyPost note and like1 hundred readsLoad more
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