006-2009 City of Miami Beach Polling Places~-
m MIAMI BEACH ~~°9F~~-~ ~~~~°Q2
~ornc~ cr -HE are Mnva.,Fa MEMORANDUM
No. 006 -c~y
ro: Victor M. Diaz. Jr., Commissioner
FitoM Jorge M. Gonzalez, Ciry Manager ~------/~~~1
DA'L: February 3, 2009 ~~/
V
SUB,_CT City of Miami Beach Polling Places
This information is provided in response to your memorandum regarding possible election
violations occurring at polling places co-located at city fire facilities, and exploring potential
alternative polling places. This request was forwarded by the City Clerk on January 26, 2009 to
Mr. Lester Sola: Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections, as the County's Elections
Department, not the City, is primarily responsible for the location of polling places.
Attached, please find Mr. Sola's response for your information.
The City works with the County to identify new polling places when unique situations have
required an adjustment. There are currently 35 polling places in the Ciry on Election Day. In our
City. potential locations are also impacted by issues such as the availability of accessible (and
free) parking. Mr. Sola has identified other issues involved in moving polling places within a
precinct. Notwithstanding, staff would be happy to forward to the County any suggestions for
alternative polling places within the precinct that you or your staff may recommend, for their
review to determine if the location addresses their storage, security and accessibility needs.
As always, please feel free to call me should you have any questions or require additional
information.
Attachments
Cc: Mayor and City Commission
JMG/rep
F:ICLERICLERIFORMStCommissioner Diaz's
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MIAMIBEACH
o~~ pct ct i ti` .MAYOR AND COMAAISSIOfJ M F iv10 R AN DUM
io: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City P~anager ~~~
FaoM: victor M. Diaz, Jr., Commissioner ~~ ~ L~ ~
u;~'r January 13, 2009
SuB;tCf: City of Miami Beach polling places
In the past, I have seen election violations take place at the polling places that are co-located at
city fire facilities. This is due to the inherent contradiction between a fire union that endorses
candidates and having voting take place at a fire station. Could vve please explore with the
Miami-Dade Elections Department alternative places for locating the two precincts that are co-
located of fire stations? Could you please brief me on what the procedure is to have *.hese
polling locations permanently moved? Thank you.
Vlvlp!sm
Elections
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.~R°~~'~~-^~^'~^•~~^" January 30, 2009
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~.,,,:,~, Robert Parcher, City Clerk
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"""""iD"°'`P'"`"` Miami Beach, FI 33139
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tnR.n„n,ralr.n. Dear Mr. Parcher.
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I Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to review the memorandum
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lnnnmv Sr,rie dated January 13, 2009 regarding the use of Miami Beach fire stations
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as Election Day precincts. I appreciate the concern raised by
alnn_:a~_L: Commissioner Diaz, and I assure you that any violation of election law is
~"~a0ona taken very seriously.
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r, ,. rr:,.,.r.,n ~,,,, As you know, locating sites that are suitable as precincts is very
~„Irpru,..,r.A.i .,. „.- challenging for this Department, particularly in the City of Miami Beach
gyn.,°,nmr,.rl,,. ~ due to the construction that is in progress and the unavailability of
a" °' °• parking. In addition to working around those constraints, precincts are
', "; chosen with the followin
criteria in mind:
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Iliv<ri. ~,r:.,.~:,., Must fall within precinct boundary lines
~r^~"~'~• ~ Must have ample space for equipment and supplies, while
"`""' `''•"' accommodating voters
„•,",,,,•_ ,., Must be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Actj compliant
Intiprn.Lr.~R,-....-.~I•.,,. • Must be accessible to our Department as needed
Immm~pnnJ 1'a,l. r_,nr:..rliorr
"n"'°"`~°'~r While this may not appear to be difficult, it is often ve challen !n For
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:nm~~re-M i•~," example, during the December 16, 2008 Special Runoff Election
the
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Miami Beach Botanical Garden (a long-time precincij was holding an
9h a,d AC:: r~<~,.., event. As such, we were required to find a temporary polling place for
eun„i,,;a=.'~~ ~= that election. After canvassing sites within precinct boundary lines, the
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' Beach Fire Station #2.
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rwr.vb,a Fire stations are very convenient locations because they are open
~~^~"~N~h,hr,~nr~ around the clock allowing us to deliver and pick up equipment at any
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° time, voters are familiar with their location, space is ample, and they
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' meet compliancy standards.
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Please note that there is also a cost associated with notifying voters of a change in location.
We are required to direct mail all affected voters, as well as post signage at the prior site.
Please be assured that while in use on Election Day, firefighters or any other persons not in
the act of voting are not permitted inside the precinct. Fire house operations for that day are
conducted in an alternate room as not to interfere, intimidate, or interrupt voters. Soliciting, by
any means, must remain outside the 100 foot boundary line per state statute just like any
other precinct. Precinct Clerks and Poll Deputies monitor these activities very closely to
ensure state laws are enforced. Therefore at this time, I recommend that we continue to use
city fire stations as precincts.
That said, if any person witnesses activity that should be investigated, we will do so
immediately and lake the appropriate corrective action. In addition, if there is a particular
location of concern, please let me know and we will ensure the Election Board at that precinct
is particularly vigilant.
I would be happy to fuRher discuss this matter with you and/or Commissioner Diaz if needed.
Should you have additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at
305.499.8509.
Sincerely,
Les r Sola ~
Supervisor of ~lections
Miami-Dade Elections Department
cc: Alina T. Hudak, Assisiant County Manager, Miami-Dade County