Procedures for Processing Voted Ballots That Have Votes for a Write-In Candidate

PROCEDURESFORPROCESSINGWRITE-INVOTES

IntheStateofCalifornia,eachvoterisentitledtowritethenameofanycandidateforanypublicofficeontheballotofanyelection.TheStatehasestablishedguidelinesfortheprocessingofwrite-invotes.CaliforniaElectionsCodesection15342statesthat:

Anynamewrittenuponaballotforaqualifiedwrite-incandidate,includingareasonablefacsimileofthespellingofaname,shallbecountedfortheoffice,ifitiswrittenintheblankspaceprovidedandvotedasspecifiedbelow:

(a)Forvotingsystemsinwhichwrite-inspacesappeardirectlybelowthelistofcandidatesforthatofficeandprovideavotingspace,nowrite-invoteshallbecountedunlessthevotingspacenexttothewrite-inspaceismarkedorslottedasdirectedinthevotinginstructions.

(b)Forvotingsystemsinwhichwrite-inspacesappearseparatelyfromthelistofcandidatesforthatofficeanddonotprovideavotingspace,thenameofthewrite-incandidate,ifotherwisequalified,shallbecountedifitiswritteninthemannerdescribedinthevotinginstructions.

(c)Theuseofpressure-sensitivestickers,gluedstamps,oranyotherdevicenotprovidedforinthevotingproceduresforthevotingsystemsapprovedbytheSecretaryofStatetoindicatethenameofthewrite-incandidatearenotvalid,andanameindicatedbythesemethodsshallnotbecounted.

(d)Neitheravotecastforacandidatewhosenameappearsontheballotnoravotecastforawrite-incandidateshallbecountedifthevoterhasindicated,byacombinationofmarkingandwriting,achoiceofmorenamesthantherearecandidatestobenominatedorelectedtotheoffice.

(e)Allvalidwrite-invotesshallbetabulatedandcertifiedtotheelectionsofficialonformsprovidedforthispurpose,andthewrite-invotesshallbeaddedtotheresultsofthecountoftheballotsatthecountingplaceandbeincludedintheofficialreturnsfortheprecinct.

(f)Intheeventofamanualrecount,thissectionshallbeliberallyconstruedtoensurethateachballotiscountediftheintentofthevotercanbedetermined,regardlessofwhetherthevoterhascompliedwiththevotinginstructions.

TheCityandCountyofSanFranciscoDepartmentofElectionsfollowstheseguidelinesinthedesignoftheproceduresforprocessingvotedballotswithwrite-invotes.

Section1:Vote-by-MailBallots/ProvisionalBallots/AuxiliaryBin

Ballots

InitialSorting

Vote-by-mailballotsareprocessedatCityHallintheDepartmentofElections’computerroomusingthe400-CCentralCountSystem.Provisionalballots,oncedeterminedtobevalid,arealsoprocessedusingthe400-C.Inaddition,anyballotcardsremainingintheAuxiliaryBinofanInsightvotingmachineafterthecloseofpollsareprocessedusingthe400-C,afterverificationthatthecardswerenotcountedatthepollingplace.

Write-invotesmayappearontwodifferenttypesofballots:thosewithranked-choicevoting

contestsandthosewithconventionalnon-ranked-choicevotingcontests.The400-Crouteseachnon-ranked-choicevotingballotcardwithatleastonewrite-invotetoawrite-intray,separatefromtheotherballotcards.

Allvote-by-mail,provisionalandauxiliarybinballotcardsthathaveatleastonewrite-invotearecollectedanddeliveredtothewrite-inprocessingareainCityHall.Vote-by-mailballotcardsandballotcardsfrommail-onlyprecinctsarekepttogether,whiletheprovisionalandauxiliarybinballotcardsareeachkeptseparate.

PROCESSINGBALLOTCARDSWITHWRITE-INVOTES

I.ReviewingVote-by-MailBallots/ProvisionalBallots/AuxiliaryBinBallots

Teamwork

Allworkonwrite-invotesisdoneinteams.Forthesortingstep,twostaffmembersworktogethertocheckthewrite-invotesandmustagreeonadeterminationofthevalidityorinvalidityofthese

votes.Forthereviewstep,adifferentpairwillcheckthefirstpair’swork.

Fortheunofficialtallyofwrite-invotes,whichisonlyperformedfornon-RCVballots,ateamoffourworkstogethertoobserveandrecordanyvalidwrite-invotes.

AnImportantNoteonOvervotes

Whenavotercastsaballotwherethevotesinacontestexceedthenumberofvotespermitted,noneofthevotesinthatcontestcanbecounted.Thisisanovervote.Atapollingplace,thevotingmachinewillreturnthisballotandprintamessagenotifyingthevoteroftheovervote,andthevotermaychoosetomarkanewballot.

However,avoterwhohasvotedviaamailedballot,votedprovisionally,orvotedusingtheAuxiliaryBinhasnotbeengiventheopportunitytocorrecttheovervote.Forthisreason,intheeventofanovervoteinwhichacandidatelistedontheballotisselectedandthesamecandidateisalsoindicatedasawrite-invote,thisshouldbeacceptedasavalidwrite-invoteforthatcandidate,ratherthantreatedasanovervote.

II.SortingNon-RCVBallots:

Tosorttheballotcardsyouwillneed:

•Aboxlabeled“Valid”

•Aboxlabeled“Invalid”

•TheListofQualifiedWrite-InCandidates,iftherearequalifiedwrite-incandidatesinthiselection;or,theUnofficialTallySheetforWrite-ins,whichlistsallthecandidatesthatappearontheballotandanyqualifiedwrite-incandidates.

a. Beginningwiththefirstprecinct,revieweachballotcard,checkingeachcontestwithawrite-invote.Ifthereareanyquestionsaboutthedeterminationofvoterintent,addressthemtotheDepartmentofElectionsmanagersupervisingthewrite-inreviewprocess.

1. Isitanovervote?

•Ifthenumberofvotesfordifferentcandidatesexceedsthenumberofcandidatestobeelectedforthatoffice,anovervoteexistsandnoneofthevotesfortheofficemaybecounted.Placethesecardsintheinvalidbox.

2. Isitavalidwrite-invote?

•Comparewrite-invoteswiththelistofcandidatesforthatcontestonthewrite-intallysheet.Ifthenamewritteninisnotonthelist,thevoteisinvalid.

•Ifthenameisonthelistbutthewrite-inisnotmadeinthespace(s)

provided,thevoteisinvalid.

•Ifthearrownexttoawrite-innameisnotconnectedornotmarkedinanyway,thevoteisinvalid.

•Ifthewrite-invoteisforaqualifiedcandidatefortheoffice,placethecardinthevalidbox.

•If,aftereachcontesthasbeenexamined,allwrite-invotesonacardhavebeendeterminedtobeinvalid,placethecardintheinvalidbox.

NOTE1:Somecardsmayhavebothvalidandinvalidwrite-invotesonthesamecard;theseshouldbeplacedinthevalidbox.

NOTE2:CardsthatwerefoundinBag1butclearlyhavenowrite-invoteswillbesetasideforreviewbytheCanvassSupervisorandpossibleinclusioninthetallyofregularvotedcards.Thesecardswillbestoredseparatelyfromtheotherballotcards

inaboxlabeled“NoWrite-ins”,tofacilitatereconciliation.

b. Continueprocessingallcardsforprecinctasdescribedabove,andthenproceedwithsubsequentprecincts.Keepstacksofballotcardsinorderbyprecinctnumber.

III.ReviewingNon-RCVBallots

Afterthefirstcheckiscomplete,theteamswillchangestationsforasecondreviewandsimultaneousstampingoftheballotcards.

a.Beginningwiththefirstprecinct,revieweachcardaccordingtothesamecriteriausedinthefirstsortingstepabove.Ifthereareanyquestionsaboutthedeterminationofvoterintent,addressthemtotheDepartmentofElectionsmanagersupervisingthewrite-inreviewprocess.

1.Areallthewrite-insonthecardinvalid?

●Ifallofthewrite-invotesthatappearonacardareinvalid,stamp“INVALID”onthemastheadoftheballot(thetoppart),inaplacewhereisthestampiseasilyvisible.Thenreturnthecardtotheinvalidbox,keepingallcardsinprecinctorder.

2.Areallthewrite-insonthecardvalid?

●Stamp“QUALIFIED”beloweachvalidwrite-innameandreturnthecardtothevalidbox,keepingallcardsinprecinctorder.

3.Aretherebothvalidandinvalidwrite-insonthecard?

●Iftherearebothvalidandinvalidwrite-invotesonacard,stamp“INVALID”directlyovertheinvalidwrite-inspace,butavoidthevotingarrow.Stamp“QUALIFIED”beloweachvalidwrite-inname.Donotstamp“INVALID”onthetopoftheballotcard.Returnthecardtothevalidbox,keepingallcardsinprecinctorder.

NOTE:CardsthatwerefoundinBag1butclearlyhavenowrite-invoteswillbesetaside,inprecinctorder,forreviewbytheCanvassmanagerandpossibleinclusioninthetallyofregularvotedcards.Thesecardswillbestoredseparatelyfromtheotherballotcards,tofacilitatereconciliation.

a. Continueprocessingallballotcardsforasabove.Keepstacksofballotcardsinorderbyprecinctnumber.

IV.UnofficialTallyofWrite-InVotes(AppliestoAllNon-RCVBallotswithWrite-Ins)

Aftersortingandstampingarecomplete,ateamoffourwillrecordthevalidwrite-invotesfromnon-RCVballotcards:

a. Afteralloftheballotcardswithwrite-invoteshavebeenreviewedandseparated,beginatallyofvotesforqualifiedwrite-incandidates.ThistallywillberecordedontheUnofficial

TallySheetforWrite-Ins,withtheappropriateboxcheckedindicatingthesourceoftheballots(“Vote-by-MailBallots,”“ProvisionalBallots,”or“AuxiliaryBinBallots.”).

b. Therecordingteamwillconsistoffourpeople:theCaller,theObserver,andtwoRecorders.

Inaddition,theMonitorwilloverseetheworkflow.

c. Theteamwillworkoneprecinctatatime,onecardatatime.

d. First,theCallerwillreadaloudtheprecinctnumber,thecardnumber(ifapplicable),thecontestthatcontainsavalidwrite-invote,andthenameinthewrite-inspace.

e. TheObserver,whositscloseenoughtothecallertobeabletoreadtheballot,willensurethattheCalleriscorrect.Ifthereisanydiscrepancy,theObserverwillcallforastopandcorrecttheCaller.

f.WhentheCallerreadsthenameonthecard,eachRecorderwilllookforthecandidate’snameontheUnofficialTallySheetforWrite-Ins.Thissheetlistsonlyqualifiedwrite-incandidates(candidateswhosenamesalreadyappearontheballotpluscertifiedwrite-incandidates)foreachcontest.Eachrecorderwillwritethecorrespondingprecinctnumberonthetallysheet,inthefirstavailableslotnexttothecandidate’sname.

g. Thisprocesswillcontinueuntileachcontestwithavalidwrite-invotehasbeenrecorded.h. Continueuntilallballotcardswithwrite-invoteshavebeenprocessed.

i.EachRecorderwillthenenterthetotalnumberofvotesforeachqualifiedwrite-incandidateforeachcontestandcheckthemagainsttheotherrecorder’snumbers.Thereshouldnowbetwoidentical,simultaneouslygeneratedUnofficialTallySheetsforWrite-Ins,onefromeachRecorder.

j.IfthetwoUnofficialTallySheetsdonotmatch,theballotcardswillberevieweduntilthecauseforthediscrepancyisdeterminedandthediscrepancyisresolved.

V.OfficialCountofWrite-InVotes

Oncealloftheballotcardswithwrite-invoteshavebeenprocessed,theresultsrecordedontheUnofficialTallySheetsforWrite-InswillbereviewedbytheMISdivisionandmanuallyaddedtothevotetotals,byprecinct,forinclusionintheOfficialElectionResults.

UpontheDirector'scertificationofthefinalCanvassreportandOfficialResults,theCanvassiscompleteandtheresultsarepresentedtotheBoardofSupervisorsasofficial,andinthecaseoffederalorstateelections,reportedtotheCaliforniaSecretaryofState.

Section2:PrecinctBallots(BallotscastonElectionDayataregularpollingplace)

InitialSorting

PrecinctballotsareprocessedineachpollingplaceusinganInsightopticalscanvotingmachine.

TheInsightmachinesrouteeachballotcardwithatleastonewrite-invotetoitsinternalBin1.Bin1islinedwithaplasticbag,andafterclosingthepoll,pollinspectorsremovethisbagwiththeballotcardscontainedinsideandsealitfortransporttothePier48warehouse.ThisisBag1.

DuringCanvass,Bag1isseparatedfromeachprecinct’sRiceBagandplacedinadesignatedarea.Thewrite-instaffisprovidedwithalistofthenumberofcardswithwrite-invotesprocessedbytheInsightmachine,listedbyprecinct.ThestaffchecksthenumberofcardsinBag1againstthenumberonthelist,whilesimultaneouslyconfirmingthatthecardshavewrite-invotes.

Bagsthatpassthisreviewareplacedinadesignatedareaforfurtherprocessing.Bagswithanincorrectnumberofcardsareplacedinadesignatedareaforinvestigation.

NOTE:DuringthecourseoftheCanvass,cardswithwrite-invotesmaybefoundfromsourcesotherthanBag1’s.ThesecardsaretobecombinedwiththeBag1write-inballotcardsandprocessedaccordingly.

PROCESSINGOFBALLOTCARDSWITHWRITE-INVOTES

Teamwork

Allworkonwrite-invotesisdoneinteams.Forthesortingstep,twostaffmembersworktogethertocheckthewrite-invotesandmustagreeonadeterminationofthevalidityorinvalidityofthese

votes.Forthereviewstep,adifferentpairwillcheckthefirstpair’swork.

Fortheunofficialtallyofwrite-invotes,whichisonlyperformedfornon-RCVballots,ateamoffourworkstogethertoobserveandrecordanyvalidwrite-invotes.

I.SortingNon-RCVBallots:

Tosorttheballotcardsyouwillneed:

•Aboxlabeled“Valid”

•Aboxlabeled“Invalid”

1. Isitanovervote?

•Ifthenumberofvotesfordifferentcandidatesexceedsthenumberofcandidatestobeelectedforthatoffice,anovervoteexistsandnoneofthevotesfortheofficemaybecounted.Placethesecardsintheinvalidbox.

2. Isitavalidwrite-invote?

•Comparewrite-invoteswiththelistofcandidatesforthatcontestonthewrite-intallysheet.Ifthenamewritteninisnotonthelist,thevoteisinvalid.

•Ifthenameisonthelistbutthewrite-inisnotmadeinthespace(s)

provided,thevoteisinvalid.

•Ifthearrownexttoawrite-innameisnotconnectedormarkedinanyway,thevoteisinvalid.

•Ifthewrite-invoteisforaqualifiedcandidatefortheoffice,placethecardintheboxdesignatedforvalidwrite-invotes.

•If,aftereachcontesthasbeenexamined,allwrite-invotesonacardhavebeendeterminedtobeinvalid,placethecardintheboxdesignatedforinvalidwrite-invotes.

NOTE1:Somecardsmayhavebothvalidandinvalidwrite-invotesonthesamecard;theseshouldbeplacedwiththecardswithvalidwrite-ins.

NOTE2:CardsthatwerefoundinBag1butclearlyhavenowrite-invoteswillbesetaside,inprecinctorder,forreviewbytheCanvassSupervisorandpossibleinclusion

inthetallyofregularvotedcards.Thesecardswillbestoredseparatelyfromtheotherballotcardsinaclearlylabeledbox,tofacilitatereconciliation.

b. Continueprocessingallcardsforprecinctasabove,andthenproceedwithsubsequentprecincts.Keepstacksofballotcardsinorderbyprecinctnumber.

II.ReviewingNon-RCVPrecinctBallots(BallotscastonElectionDayataregularpollingplace)

Afterthefirstcheckiscomplete,theteamswillchangestationsforasecondreviewandsimultaneousstampingoftheballotcards.

1.Areallthewrite-insonthecardinvalid?

2.Areallthewrite-insonthecardvalid?

●Stamp“QUALIFIED”beloweachvalidwrite-innameandreturnthecardtothevalidbox,keepingallcardsinprecinctorder.

3.Aretherebothvalidandinvalidwrite-insonthecard?

●Iftherearebothvalidandinvalidwrite-invotesonacard,stamp“INVALID”directlyovertheinvalidwrite-inspace,butavoidthevotingarrow.Stamp“QUALIFIED”beloweachvalidwrite-inname.Donotstamp“INVALID”onthetopoftheballotcard.Returnthecardtothevalidbox,keepingallcardsinprecinctorder.

a. Continueprocessingallballotcardsforasabove.Keepstacksofballotcardsinorderbyprecinctnumber.

III.UnofficialTallyofWrite-InVotes(AppliestoAllNon-RCVBallotswithWrite-Ins)

Aftersortingandstampingarecomplete,ateamoffourwillrecordthevalidwrite-invotesonnon-RCVballotcards:

a. Afteralloftheballotcardswithwrite-invoteshavebeenreviewedandseparated,beginatallyofvotesforqualifiedwrite-incandidates.ThistallywillberecordedontheUnofficialTallySheetforWrite-Ins,withtheappropriateboxcheckedindicatingthesourceoftheballots(“PrecinctBallots”).

b. AtleastonerecordingteamwillbesetupattheCanvassprocessingareatocompletetheUnofficialTallySheetforWrite-Ins.Eachrecordingteamwillconsistoffourpeople:theCaller,theObserver,andtwoRecorders.Inaddition,theMonitorwilloverseetheworkflow.

c. Eachdatarecordingteamwillworkoneprecinctatatime,onecardatatime.

d. First,theCallerwillreadaloudtheprecinctnumber,thecardnumber(ifapplicable),thecontestthatcontainsavalidwrite-invote,andthecontentsofthenamefield.

e. TheObserver,whositscloseenoughtothecallertobeabletoreadtheballot,willensurethattheCalleriscorrect.Ifthereisanydiscrepancy,theObserverwillcallforahaltandcorrecttheCaller.

f.WhentheCallerreadsthenameonthecard,eachRecorderwilllookforthecandidate’snameonanUnofficialTallySheetforWrite-Ins.Thissheetlistsonlyqualifiedwrite-incandidates(certifiedwrite-incandidatespluscandidateswhosenamesappearontheballot)foreachcontest.Eachrecorderwillwritethecorrespondingprecinctnumberonthetallysheet,inthefirstavailableslotnexttothecandidate’sname.

g. Thisprocesswillcontinueuntileachcontestwithavalidwrite-invotehasbeenrecorded.h. Continueuntilallballotcardswithwrite-invoteshavebeenprocessed.

j.IfthetwoUnofficialTallySheetsdonotmatch,theballotcardswillberevieweduntilthecauseforthediscrepancyisdeterminedandthediscrepancyisresolved.

IV.OfficialCountofWrite-InVotes

Oncealloftheballotcardswithwrite-invoteshavebeenprocessed,theresultsrecordedontheUnofficialTallySheetswillbereviewedbytheMISdivisionandmanuallyaddedtothevotetotals,byprecinct,inWin-EDSforinclusionintheOfficialElectionResults.

UpontheDirector'scertificationofthefinalCanvassreportandOfficialResults,thecanvassiscompleteandtheresultsarepresentedtotheBoardofSupervisorsasofficial,andinthecaseoffederalorstateelections,reportedtotheCaliforniaSecretaryofState.