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Board of Elections

Orange County · Board of Elections
Thursday, November 14, 2024

Regular meeting Elections and districts

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved 4.aAct on and Process Supplemental Absentee By-Mail Ballots Received to Date Approved 277 civilian, 76 overseas and 10 military ballots; rejected 12 civilian and 1 military ballot. All motions unanimous.
  2. Approved 4.cAct on and Process Provisional Ballots Cast Accepted staff recommendation unanimously: fully approve 126, partially approve 14, reject 461. Tabulator read 139, one short because a ballot had already been counted during earl…

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

Two days before the county certifies its election results, the Orange County Board of Elections meets to work through the ballots still in question: supplemental absentee ballots that arrived or were resolved after Election Day, and 601 provisional ballots cast by voters whose eligibility staff had to check. The agenda also sets a sample audit count comparing hand counts to machine totals at three precincts, and asks the board to certify the supplemental absentee results for the state board of elections.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The board acted on the supplemental absentee ballots in a series of unanimous votes: it approved 277 civilian, 76 overseas and 10 military ballots, and rejected 12 civilian and 1 military ballot. Staff had flagged 9 civilian ballots for review because photo ID documents appeared to be sealed inside the envelope; the board found all 9 met requirements. A bipartisan spot check of 250 more civilian ballots turned up one additional envelope without the required photo ID, so the board amended an earlier motion to reject it too. Staff then ran the approved ballots through the tabulator, which read 363, and the board certified and signed the abstracts for the state.

How the votes went

Every recorded vote passed unanimously. The board approved 277 civilian, 76 overseas and 10 military supplemental absentee ballots and rejected 12 civilian and 1 military ballot. It then accepted staff's recommendation on provisional ballots without changes: fully approve 126, partially approve 14, and reject 461 of the 601 cast.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (11)

Procedural · 5Staff or committee report · 3Other · 3
  1. 1 Call to Order
    Procedural
    Chair Jamie Cox called the meeting to order.
  2. 2 Recognition of Members of the Public Wishing to Address the Board
    Procedural
    No one signed up to address the board.
  3. 3.a Supplemental Absentee By-Mail Ballots Received to Date
    Staff or committee report Elections and districts
    The director reported 269 civilian, 76 overseas and 10 military supplemental absentee ballots recommended for approval, 9 civilian ballots pending review over possibly sealed photo ID documents, and 11 civilian plus 1 military ballot recommended for rejection.
  4. 3.b Provisional Ballots Cast
    Staff or committee report Elections and districts
    The director reported 601 provisional ballots cast, with staff recommending full approval of 126, partial approval of 14, and rejection of 461.
  5. 3.c Sample Audit Count: Absentee, East Franklin, and UNC
    Staff or committee report Elections and districts
    The state board picked the Absentee and UNC precincts and the county board picked East Franklin for a hand count against the machine tally. All three matched.
  6. 4.a Act on and Process Supplemental Absentee By-Mail Ballots Received to Date
    Other Elections and districts
    After reviewing the 9 flagged envelopes and a bipartisan spot check of 250 more, the board voted through several motions on which supplemental absentee ballots to accept.
    Approved 277 civilian, 76 overseas and 10 military ballots; rejected 12 civilian and 1 military ballot. All motions unanimous.
  7. 4.b Certify Supplemental Absentee Ballots Cast to Date
    Other Elections and districts
    The board watched staff run the approved supplemental absentee ballots through the tabulator, then certified and signed the abstracts for the state board of elections.
    Certified; tabulator read 363 ballots.
  8. 4.c Act on and Process Provisional Ballots Cast
    Other Elections and districts
    The board took up staff's recommendation on the 601 provisional ballots cast, then opened, duplicated and tabulated the approved ones.
    Accepted staff recommendation unanimously: fully approve 126, partially approve 14, reject 461. Tabulator read 139, one short because a ballot had already been counted during early voting.
  9. 4.d Schedule Next Board Meeting
    Procedural
    The board set its next meeting.
    Next meeting set for November 15, 2024 at 11 a.m.
  10. 4.e Update Board Time and Travel Records
    Procedural
    An agenda item for members to update time and travel records. The minutes do not describe this happening.
  11. 5 Adjournment
    Procedural
    The board adjourned.
    Approved unanimously.

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