The Same Day Ballot for the 2014 Neighborhood Caucus Election Republican Meeting
It started about a year ago with
some at the Utah Republican State Central Committee (SCC) trying to
figure how to grant an exception or maybe even a proxy vote for some
that couldn't come to the the Neighborhood Caucus Election Meeting.
The
idea of a Proxy Vote was defeated, and it has taken many months to come up
with a Same Day Ballot (SDB) system. It has many protections so it isn't
a proxy vote. The person prints out their own ballot, which has a
number to avoid copying it. They fill out their own ballot that day and
put it in an envelope, seal it, and sign across the seal, so we know it
wasn't someone else. They provide the ballot and copies of their state
ID to whoever is bringing the ballot that allows those receiving it to
check the signature and make sure the person is a registered voter in
the precinct. The ID is given back to the person that brought in the
ballot so we don't have issues with ID theft or party liability for the
ID copies.
It was structured in such a way to allow
the mom who was planning on coming to the neighborhood caucus election
meeting, but her kids got sick to still vote, or the firefighter, for
example, that had to work that night. We want people to come to the
meeting, but things can come up that can't be controlled. The Same Day
Ballot (SDB) is designed to not provide an incentive for people to avoid
the meeting. The person that just had knee surgery that uses a SDB, is
not likely to be able to come, and the SDB will actually increase the
number participating and not decrease it.
Because the
ID with the ballot was given outside the envelope, the party never gets
control of it, and the person selected to deliver the ballot is going
to be a spouse, family member or trusted friend. People will not give a
copy of their ID to someone they don't know. That would make sure
someone representing a campaign didn't try to abuse the system.
We
added a pre-meeting before the Neighborhood Caucus Election Meeting
from 6pm to 7pm and advance registration, to encourage, but not require,
those wanting to run for delegate or precinct chair, etc. to let people
know in advance so those that couldn't come would know who to vote for,
and have time to call them up and ask questions. The SDB allows a write
in vote, so if they know or want someone to be nominated that night,
they can vote for them as well.
The next
concern, which was discussed in Filmore, during the October 26th SCC
meeting, was a limit as to how many of the Same Day Ballots could be
brought in by one person.
Since we live in
Utah, and we also have small rural towns, there are people that are
trusted in each community that could pick up quite a number of the SDB.
The proposal in Fillmore was to limit the number of SDB's a person could
bring in to one (1). That was discussed and rejected. five (5) was a
number discussed, but it wasn't approved either. We wanted to have a
large enough number to make sure the mom or the firefighter could find
someone to bring their SDB in, or if a family got sick, the voters in
the household would turn in their votes, but small enough so as to not
encourage abuse. On Saturday, Dec. 14th, the SCC decided three (3) was
the best number for the limit of SDB's a person could bring in.
Some
have raised concerns that the number 3 would be limiting. In the
September 21st SCC meeting, a resolution titled "Resolution to Increase
Voter Participation and Defend the Utah Neighborhood Election" passed
the committee with no one voting against it, so the majority, and
perhaps all the members of the SCC believe we want increased voter
participation. We had over 110,000 voters come to the Republican
Neighborhood Caucus Election Meeting, and we made improvements so that
number can continue to increase. It has doubled and then doubled again.
We don't know that we will have 250,000 voters show up in 2014, but we
want to be as prepared for that as we can, and we want to hear more from
those running at the same time.
It was
made clear that the limit of 3 would not limit the number of
firefighters that could participate, as they would each have family and
friends that could deliver the ballot for them. It was also make clear
that this limit would not apply to the Same Day Military & Mission
Ballots that are sent to the precinct chair and vice chair. That had
other protections to make sure we know who is voting.
I would be happy to provide more information.
Fred C. Cox, representing Salt Lake County on the Utah Republican State Central Committee.