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Home My WebLink About2006-26424 Reso RESOLUTION NO. 2006-26~24 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, RELATING TO ELECTIONS; RENEWING THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH'S REQUEST PREVIOUSLY ADDRESSED IN CITY RESOLUTION NO. 2003-25340 THAT THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY MANAGER ENSURE, REGARDLESS OF VOTING SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES, THAT THERE IS A VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER RECORD OF EVERY BALLOT CAST PRODUCED, AS AN ELEMENT OF MINIMUM STANDARDS OF INTEGRITY, SAID PAPER RECORD TO HAVE MANUAL AUDIT CAPACITY TO BE AVAILABLE AS AN ADDITIONAL RECORD FOR ANY RE-COUNT CONDUCTED, AS WELL AS PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR VOTERS TO CORRECT ANY ERROR BEFORE A PERMANENT VOTE IS RECORDED, AND FU.RTHER REQUESTING MIAMI- DADE COUNTY AND THE STATE OF FLORIDA TO ENSURE THAT EACH PAGE OF A FUTURE ELECTION BALLOT WILL BE LIMITED TO ONE RACE OR QUESTION THEREON IN ORDER TO AVOID VOTER CONFUSION AND REINFORCE VOTER CONFIDENCE IN THE ELECTION PROCESS. WHEREAS, the Miami Beach City Commission is committed to protecting the rights of voters in Miami-Dade County, to re-establish voter confidence in the process, and to improve upon past election voting procedures; and WHEREAS, accordingly, in City of Miami Beach Resolution No. 2003-25340, the Miami Beach City Commission requested that the Miami-Dade County Manager ensure production of voter-verified paper records of every ballot cast not later than the 2004 General Election, consistent with the Help America Vote Act of 2002 ("HA V A") requirement of a permanent paper record with a manual audit capacity; and WHEREAS, as of this past November 2006 election season, the implementation of permanent paper records of every ballot cast has not been implemented, thus further eroding voter confidence in the election process; and WHEREAS, in Washington, D.C., Congress is expected to push legislation requiring that a voter be given a chance to verify a paper record of his or her ballot before casting it. Similar "paper trail" proposed legislation is expected to be discussed at the State level in Tallahassee, Florida, supported by Governor-elect Charlie Crist and new State House Speaker Marco Rubio; and WHEREAS, in order further to ensure voter confidence in the election process!, only one race or question should be placed on each ballot page in order to avoid voter confusion. I In this past November's 13th Congressional district race, nearly 15% of the ballots cast on electronic voting machines in Sarasota County showed no votes. Sarasota County's Election Supervisor, Kathy Dent, has acknowledged that the ballot layout may have caused some voters to overlook voting for this race. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA THAT IT HEREBY REQUESTS AND ENCOURAGES MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AND THE STATE OF FLORIDA TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS A VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER RECORD OF EVERY BALLOT CAST PRODUCED AS AN ELEMENT OF MINIMUM STANDARDS OF INTEGRITY, WITH MANUAL AUDIT CAPACITY TO BE AVAILABLE AS AN OFFICIAL RECORD FOR ANY RECOUNT CONDUCTED, AS WELL AS PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR VOTERS TO CORRECT ANY ERROR BEFORE A PERMANENT VOTE IS RECORDED, AND FURTHER REQUESTING MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AND THE STATE OF FLORIDA TO ENSURE THAT EACH PAGE OF A FUTURE ELECTION BALLOT WILL BE LIMITED TO ONE RACE OR QUESTION THEREON IN ORDER TO AVOID VOTER CONFUSION AND REINFORCE VOTER CONFIDENCE IN THE ELECTION PROCESS. This resolution shall be effective immediately upon its passage. PASSED AND ADOPTED this ~ day of December , 2006. ATTEST: ~Q~~ CITY CLERK Robert Parcher Requested by Commissioner Richard L. Steinberg APPROVED AS TO FORM & LANGUAGE & FOR EXECUTION /1/,J." ~ F:\atto\OLU\ELECTION\RESO\P APER TRAIL AUDIT ELECTIONS.doc It. MIAMI BEACH OFFICE OF THE MAYOR AND COMMISSION MEMORANDUM TO: Jose Smith, City Attorney slrtk Richard L. Steinberg, Commissioner {Z. G FROM: DATE: December 5, 2006 SUBJECT: Agenda Item-Resolution Regarding Elections-Requiring a paper record of every ballot cast, and limiting each ballot page screen on electronic voting machines to one candidate or question in order to ensure integrity of the election process Please draft a resolution renewing the City's prior resolution, Resolution 2003-25340, requesting for a paper trail during elections and also asking that future electronic ballots be designed with only one race or question per ballot page screen. I would like to place the resolution on the December 6th Commission Agenda. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact my Aide, Ms. Marlene Taylor, at extension 6087. RLS/mt Attachment: Resolution 2003-25340 Cc: Jorge Gonzalez, City Manager "" r I L i] : h ! . . r_ 0'1("17 JJul. ~~-_. ~1I /~-~-CJ(' ."- ':1 Agenda Item \;Ve ore committed to providing excellent public service and sofel; to a/I who /IVe. work. and plov in ou . Date RESOLUTION NO. 2003-25340 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, RELATING TO ELECTIONS; REQUESTING THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY MANAGER ENSURE THAT, REGARDLESS OF VOTING SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES, THERE IS PRODUCED A VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER RECORD OF EVERY BALLOT CAST, AS AN ELEMENT OF MINIMUM STANDARDS OF INTEGRITY, NOT LATER THAN THE 2004 GENERAL ELECTION PROCESS, AND SUPPORTING THE "HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002" ("HA V A") REQUIREMENTS OF A PERMANENT PAPER RECORD WITH. MANUAL AUDIT CAPACITY TO BE AVAILABLE AS AN OFFICIAL RECORD FOR ANY RECOUNT CONDUCTED, AS WELL AS PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR VOTERS TO CORRECT ANY ERROR BEFORE A PERMANENT VOTE IS RECORDED; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the Miami Beach City Commission is committed to protecting the rights of voters in Miami-Dade County, to re-establishing voter confidence in the processt and to improving upon the 2000 and 2002 elections; and WHEREAS, the Help America Vote Act of 2002 ("HA V AU) requires Ii1tIiE systems produce a permanent paper record with a manual audit capacity that shall be available as an official record for any recount conducted; and WHEREAS, HA V A requires voting systems provide voters an opportunity at the time of voting to correct any error before the permanent vote is recorded; and WHEREAS, providing a verifiable paper record and allowing voters to confirm their choices at the time of voting will help re-establish voter confidence, as well as satisfy the legal requirement that a ballot provide a clear indication of the intent of the voter; and WHEREAS, history has shown that elections can be close, making manual recounts necessary. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA THAT IT HEREBY REQUESTS AND ENCOURAGES MIAMI-DADE COUNTY TO ENSURE THATTHERE IS PRODUCED A VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER RECORD OF EVERY BALLOT CAST AS AN ELEMENT OF MINIMUM STANDARDS OF INTEGRITY, NOT LATER THAN THE 2004 GENERAL -..,.,.,--> ELECTION PROCESS AND SUPPORTING THE "HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002" ("HAVA") REQUIREMENTS OF A PERMANENT PAPER RECORD WITH MANUAL AUDIT CAPACITY TO BE AVAILABLE AS AN OFFICIAL RECORD FOR ANY RECOUNT CONDUCTED, AS WELL AS PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR VOTERS TO CORRECT ANY ERROR BEFORE A PERMANENT VOTE IS RECORDED; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. This resolution shall be effective immediately upon its passage. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 10th day of September . 2003~ ~/~~ .if"-MAYOR ATTEST: -l'".......r...."" . ~r PaAt0- CITY CLERK APPROVED AS TO FORM a LANClUAGE a FOR EXECUTION Requested by Commissioner Richard L. Steinberg , o;~- cfj --- , .c.;.! . ~ ,"- ., 03 ~t\G l6 M-\ \0: 02. I \.. f...... .., . . . '_I.~f I.~: \: \- \ i,.., r.. - CITY OF MIAMI BEACH OFFICE OF THE MAYOR & COMMISSION MEMORANDUM TO: JORGE GONZALEZ CITY MANAGER CC: MURRAY DUBBIN CITY ATTORNEY RICHARD STEINBERG D r ~~ COMMISSIONER [/"1 FROM: DATE: August 21, 2003 RE: Commission Agenda Item 9/10/03--ResolutioD Relating to the Elections .1 would like the following resolution to be placed on'the September 10th Commission Agenda for action. 1 will also be requesting a time certain for this item from the Mayor's Office. My office can provide you with an electronic copy of the draft docwnent in order to facilitate the editing of the document. . If you have any questions, please feel free to contact my Aide, Ms. Dolores Mejia, at extension 6834. RLS/dm Attachments: Draft resolution .....",.,- Agenda Item J q {" Date q-lo"D3