Staff Report - April 2, 2002 - Agenda Item

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to present the all mail ballot election option for Council consideration, following voter approval of Measure M, the Advisory Vote on Mail Ballot Elections, at the February 25, 2003 Primary Nominating Election.

All Mail Ballot Elections:

At the December 18, 2001 meeting, the Council directed staff to prepare a report on the available options with regard to conducting all mail ballot elections for the City�s Primary Nominating and General Municipal Elections. Following staff�s report at the October 8, 2002 meeting, the Council directed that an advisory Ballot Initiative amending the Burbank Municipal Code (BMC) to allow for conducting Primary Nominating Elections and General Municipal Elections wholly by mail ballots beginning in 2005, be placed on the ballot as soon as practicable. Subsequently, Measure M, the Advisory Vote on Mail Ballot Elections, was put on the ballot for voter consideration at the February 25, 2003 Primary Nominating Election. As evidenced by the results, Burbank voters supported Measure M, and of 8,987 votes cast, 63.7 percent (5,724) were in favor and 36.3 percent (3,263) were against the Measure. The results are attached as Exhibit A.

Chapter 11 of the BMC authorizes the conduct of polling place elections. On November 9, 1999, the Council passed Ordinance No. 3532 adding Section 11-608 which authorizes special municipal elections to be conducted wholly by mail ballots. The process for the all mail ballot election is comparable to that currently implemented for all Burbank permanent absentee voters. The voter receives a Sample Ballot, Voter Information Pamphlet and a ballot (along with instructions and a return envelope) in one packet delivered to their home, without submitting an application. For the Measure A Initiative mail ballot special election held in October 2001, the Council authorized paying return postage making it even more convenient for the voter to return the voted ballot.

The 2001 Restore Our Airport Rights Initiative (Measure A) Special Election

On April 17, 2001, the Council passed Ordinance No. 3573 calling for a special election for the Restore Our Airport Rights Initiative (Measure A), and ordering that the election be conducted wholly by mail on October 9, 2001 pursuant to BMC Section 11-608. Notice of the Special All Mail Ballot Election was given as required by law, the voting precincts were established only for the purpose of reporting the results, election officers were appointed for six drop-off sites that were in operation on October 6 and 9, 2001, and the appropriate supplies were furnished. The votes cast were received and canvassed as required by law. Of the 55,997 ballots mailed, a total of 19,479 ballots were returned which equates to a 34.8 percent voter turnout. This represents the highest voter turnout ever in a City of Burbank Municipal Election.

All Mail Ballot Benefits:

Increasing voter turnout

A major challenge facing elections today, at the State and local level, is low voter turnout. In an effort to increase voter turnout in California, the Secretary of State established a Voter Participation Unit prior to the 1998 State Elections, whose mission is to reach out to all eligible citizens in California through a variety of programs and partnerships with the private sector to encourage the highest levels of registration possible. Several counties have implemented different voter education programs, in addition to promoting voting by mail as a tool to increase voter turnout. Consequently, the percentage of absentee voters Statewide increased from 2.63 percent in 1962 to 27.09 percent in 2002.

Without exception, the City of Burbank has continuously struggled with low voter turnout in municipal elections. The statistics for the City�s voter turnout over the past five elections are as summarized below.

ELECTION	REGISTERED VOTERS	VOTES CAST	VOTER TURNOUT PERCENTAGE
PRIMARY 1997	50,287	9,153	18.2
GENERAL 1997	50,508	13,158	26.1
PRIMARY 1999	52,450	8,350	15.9
GENERAL 1999	51,582	8,188	15.9
PRIMARY 2001	55,684	10,909	19.6
GENERAL 2001	55,878	11,165	19.9
MEASURE A - 2001	55,997	19,479	34.8
PRIMARY 2003	50,340	10,259	20.3
GENERAL 2003	50,743	9,059	17.9

Coupled with this trend has been the increased number of absentee voters citywide. For the 2003 General Municipal Election, the City Clerk�s office issued 5,321 absentee ballots, of which 3,591 were returned, representing a 67 percent return rate for absentee ballots only. Also, absentee voters accounted for 40 percent of all votes cast. Apparently, while the number of total votes cast remains constant, the percentage of absentee voters is steadily increasing. In addition, with more residents voting absentee, the all mail ballot option will eliminate the process of conducting two types of elections simultaneously; an absentee election and a polling place election.

Summarized below is the absentee voter history of the City over the past four elections.

ELECTION	TOTAL VOTES CAST	ABSENTEE VOTES CAST	ABSENTEE VOTER PERCENTAGE
PRIMARY 1997	9,153	2,313	25.3
GENERAL 1997	13,158	2,956	22.5
PRIMARY 1999	8,350	2,594	31
GENERAL 1999	8,188	2,578	31.5
PRIMARY 2001	10,909	3,514	32.21
GENERAL 2001	11,165	3,453	31
PRIMARY 2003	10,259	3,797	37
GENERAL 2003	9,059	3,623	40

All mail ballot elections eliminate barriers that can keep people from getting to the polls. More than ever, convenience is becoming a major factor hindering voters from voting at polling sites. Despite the publicity and provision of early voting offered by the City Clerk�s office prior to Election Day, many voters are still unable to make it to the polling sites. The all mail ballot option would therefore provide the ultimate convenience for the voter to vote at their home and have ample time to return the ballot.

Other jurisdictions that have conducted all mail ballot elections have reported higher voter turnout. In 1998, State of Oregon voters overwhelmingly passed Measure 60 directing that the State�s biennial primary and general elections be conducted by mail and has since experienced high voter turnout. Most recently, the City of Santa Monica conducted an all mail ballot special election in March 2003 for an amendment to the City�s Landmark and Historic District Ordinance which resulted in a 34 percent voter turnout rate as opposed to a stand-alone polling place election held in April 1999 with a 14 percent voter turnout rate.

An analysis of the costs incurred in the past three municipal elections and the October 2001 special election indicates that while the overall cost of the mail ballot election was higher than conducting a polling place election, the cost per vote cast was significantly lower. As illustrated below, the cost per voter in the 2003 Primary Nominating Election ($12.59) was almost twice the amount of the 2001 all mail ballot election ($6.57). Assuming a 34 percent voter turnout (48,546 registered voters) for the 2005 municipal elections, the cost per voter, based on the estimated cost of $232,776.12 is $7.

Voters at polling places are not required to show identification, nor are their signatures checked against original registration affidavits. In mail ballot elections, signatures are required on all returned ballots, and voter registration and signatures are verified before the ballots are counted. Each returned ballot is accounted for by address and name to eliminate any possibility of duplicate votes.

The process of locating appropriate polling locations and recruiting poll workers is especially time and labor intensive. It involves obtaining the list of locations and pool of workers used by Los Angeles County during their last election. Burbank Municipal Elections are smaller than County Elections, necessitating the consolidation of precincts and polling location changes which confuse many voters. Even with fewer polling sites, the challenge remains to locate a site in each precinct which provides for disabled access, sufficient parking and sufficient space for polls without disruption to the normal use of the site, and amenities necessary for poll workers during a 12 to14-hour day. The current $25 polling location fee is an insufficient incentive for most business and private residence owners� inconvenience. School sites have been used as polling locations in the past; however, for security purposes, staff is facing more challenges in securing appropriate school sites that would allow the conduct of the election without interfering with normal school activities and providing excessive public access to the school campuses. Also, construction and remodeling projects have presented conflicts with the desired polling sites and impacted parking availability.

Staff also increasingly faces the challenge of recruiting qualified election officers. Cancellations by poll workers are not uncommon due to illness or a change in plans, many of which happen at the last minute, including on Election Day. BMC Section 11-906 requires that election officers be residents and registered voters of Burbank, which further limits the pool from which the City can recruit.

Mail ballots are non-forwardable and are returned to the City Clerk by the U. S. Postal Service. Copies of all returned ballots are sent to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk to purge the records of voters who have moved or are deceased. Subsequent to the 2001 Special Election, copies of over 8,000 undeliverable ballots were forwarded to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk with a request that the voter registration list be purged to accurately reflect active voters in the City. On September 6, 2002 staff received confirmation from the County�s Voter Records Division that Burbank�s voter registration list had been purged. An up-to-date voter registration list decreases the cost of printing and postage for ballots.

Voter fraud, which in California is punishable as a felony, is probably the largest concern in mail ballot elections. To address that concern, strong safeguards have been put in place to protect against any possibility of fraud. Most jurisdictions that use the mail ballot system contend it is safer from fraud than polling place elections because mail ballot elections have both a signature identification check and a residential address check. There is no such safeguard in polling place elections. The second major concern is the loss of secrecy. Polling places were established specifically to provide a safeguard against undue influence and to ensure the voter�s privacy. However, it should be noted that current State law allows a voter at a polling site to receive assistance from a person of the voter�s own choosing, as long as the assistant is not the voter�s employer, an agent of the voter�s employer, or an officer or agent of the union of which the voter is a member. Therefore, the possibility of undue influence may very well exist in these situations at polling sites. In an all mail ballot election the high voter turnout would dilute any efforts of undue influence much more than in low turnout regular precinct elections, when the absentee voters may have much greater influence on the outcome. Burbank�s experience with both absentee ballots and the all mail ballot election has not yielded evidence of problems in these areas.

Burbank voters have traditionally used the polling place during elections and some may be concerned with returning a ballot which clearly displays their signature through the mail. However, it should be noted that voters who prefer to return their ballots in person may do so at the City Clerk�s office during regular business hours, or to a designated ballot drop-off site on a pre-scheduled Saturday and on Election Day. Also, Burbank voters are increasingly utilizing the absentee ballot process which is very similar to the all mail ballot process. State law currently allows any voter to request permanent absentee status. As of the 2004 California Primary Election, the City has 2,498 permanent absentee voters.

Staff contacted the City�s election vendor, Martin and Chapman Co., for an estimate of election services costs associated with the all mail ballot option. The estimate for the vendor�s services is $63,258.56, which is $7,385.95 less than the February 2003 Primary Election invoice. The City will also not be paying for poll workers and polling sites (approximately $10,500 per election); however, the money will compensate for any increase in Los Angeles County fees for signature verification, office assistance and public outreach programs. Exhibit B illustrates the comparison of the 2003 Municipal Elections cost and the cost that would be incurred if the 2005 Municipal Elections were conducted by mail. This estimate does not include the cost of subsidizing candidate statements. Currently, $219,310 is budgeted in the Materials, Supplies and Services account for the 2005 Municipal Elections.

For the 2001 Special Election, the Council authorized paying for the return postage which amounted to $7,239.95. Also, the Council approved the additional expenditure of $15,000 for educational outreach and publicity in order to make voters aware of the election. Since this was a new concept to many voters, bus shelter posters, lawn signs, public service announcements, flyers, banners and ballot drop-off locations were used to make certain the voting public was aware of the election. While such an extensive campaign will not be necessary as the public becomes more familiar with this type of election, continuing voter education efforts will always be of benefit to the City.

It is important to note that regardless of the voting option, the cost of an election, vendor services and postage will continue to increase. The all mail ballot option attempts to achieve one of the primary objectives of the election process, which is greater civic participation in our electoral system, while significantly decreasing the cost per vote cast. It also eliminates the time-consuming and labor-intensive process of recruiting poll workers and locating polling sites.

Adoption of the proposed ordinance amending the Burbank Municipal Code to allow for conducting Primary Nominating Elections and General Municipal Elections wholly by mail ballot beginning in 2005, and providing the Council with the option, at the time of calling the election, of deciding whether the election will be conducted wholly by mail ballot or polling place.

Council Agenda - City of Burbank

Tuesday, April 27, 2004