Boards and Commissions

 Board of Supervisors of Elections

Meeting Minutes
City of Rockville Board of Supervisors of Elections
January 9, 2006

The City of Rockville Board of Supervisors of Elections met on Monday, January 9, 2006 at 4:20 p.m. in the Diamondback Terrapin Conference Room (formerly known as the City Manager’s Conference Room).

Present: Doris Ecelbarger, Chair, Sid Gottlieb, Linda Aksamit and Margaretta Tutson
Absent: David Celeste
In attendance: City Attorney Paul Glasgow and City Clerk Claire Funkhouser

Re:    Welcome/Update

Because the Board had not met since Election Day, everyone briefly discussed what they had been doing since November.

Re:  Report and Discussion on Election Day issues based on materials presented
by the City Clerk and the City Attorney

City Clerk Claire Funkhouser reviewed some of the issues that had come up on Election Day, primarily using information submitted by the judges at each polling place.  The comments had been compiled so they could be used as a reference prior to the next election.  Each member of the Board offered their own personal comments of their experiences on Election Day.  Everyone agreed that, in general, things had gone very well, and that complaints or concerns from both judges and voters had been relatively minor.  It was also mentioned that feedback about the use of the machines had again been very positive.

Ms. Funkhouser said that she and the City Attorney also needed to inform the Board about an incident regarding the behavior of one of the judges on Election Day.  Ms. Funkhouser said that over the last few weeks, information had come to light, that, after further investigation and discussion, she and the City Attorney felt needed to be brought to the attention of the Board about the situation.

Ms. Funkhouser said that she had spoken with the judge in question and the person had admitted that the incident had occurred.  The person had agreed never to ask to serve as an election judge for the City of Rockville again.  Ms. Funkhouser said the judge deeply regretted the error and that she and the City Attorney were recommending that there be no other punishment other than to accept this person’s apology and resignation.

After a short discussion, the Board agreed with the staff’s recommendation.

Re: Wrap-up and Next Steps

The Board agreed not to set a date for the next meeting, but to meet in a few months to begin to prepare for the 2007 election.  There being no other business, the meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.