Maryland Association
of Election Officials
Representing the Local Election Boards of the State of Maryland
MINUTES
MARYLAND ASSOCIATION OF ELECTION OFFICIALS
AUGUST 22, 2012
A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Maryland Association of Election Officials (MAEO)
was held on Wednesday, August 22, 2012, at the Calvert County Election Board Office in Prince
Frederick, Maryland.
The following members were present:
Gail Hatfield, President, Calvert County
Anthony Gutierrez, Vice President, Wicomico County
Allison Murphy, Treasurer, Caroline County
Mary DePelteau, Secretary, Calvert County
David Garreis, Board Member, Anne Arundel County
Abigail Goldman, Board Member, Baltimore City
Katherine Berry, Board Member, Carroll County
Katie Brown, Board Member, Baltimore County
Guy Mickley, Board Member, Howard County
Guests present:
Armstead Jones, Baltimore City
Alice Grove, Baltimore County
Rena’ Waggoner, Baltimore County
Gail Carter, Carroll County
Paula Troxell, Carroll County
Stuart Harvey, Frederick County
Kevin Keene, Harford County
Shawn Larson, Harford County
Dale Livingston, Harford County
Charlotte Davis, Calvert County
Carol Hart, Howard County
Ben Frey, Somerset County
Keith Ross, State Board of Elections
Call to Order
President Gail Hatfield called the meeting to order at 10:34 a.m. A quorum was established.
Minutes
The minutes from the meetings of April 17, May 2, June 3, and June 6, 2012, were reviewed.
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MOTION: Katie Brown motioned to accept the minutes as written.
SECOND: David Garreis
ACTION: Favorable and unanimous
Agenda
Ms. Hatfield asked the Board to review the agenda for additions or corrections.
MOTION: Davis Garreis motioned to accept the Agenda as presented.
SECOND: Anthony Gutierrez
ACTION: Favorable and unanimous
Treasurer’s Report
Allison Murphy presented the Treasurer’s Report covering the period May 30 to August 20,
2012, which reflected Receivables in the amount of $15,093.60, which included $14,610 in
conference fees and $40 to the Educational Grants Fund from the sale of jackets and t-shirts.
Disbursements were reflected in the amount of $3,207.91, including $400 in Educational Grant
Funding. The Balance on Hand of $79,660.74 does not yet reflect the invoice in the amount of
$34,991.60 recently received from the Wisp Resort. There is a balance of $6,980 in the
Educational Grants Fund.
MOTION: Abigail Goldman motioned to accept the report as presented.
SECOND: Mary DePelteau
ACTION: Favorable and unanimous
MAEO Committee Reports
a. Constitution and Bylaws – Charlotte Davis, Chair, reported that the Committee has had
no recent activity.
b. Legislative – Stuart Harvey, Chair, reported that MAEO’s presentation at the annual
Maryland Association of Counties meeting went well. Delegate Jon Cardin was a part of
the panel, as well as Margaret Jurgensen, Montgomery County and David Garreis, Anne
Arundel County. The topic of early voting will be revisited in 2013 since the original law
only covered the years 2010 and 2012. Questions to consider are the length of the early
voting period, the voting hours, and if Sunday should continue to be a voting day. This
will most certainly be addressed in the 2013 legislative session. Other considerations are
a primary versus a general election and a gubernatorial versus a presidential election.
Vote Centers were also mentioned.
c. Continuing Education – Gail Hatfield, Chair, reported that grants were awarded to
Anthony Gutierrez, Wicomico County, and Abigail Goldman and Armstead Jones,
Baltimore City.
d. Personnel – Alice Grove, Chair, announced her resignation as Chair of this committee as
she is retiring in January 2013. She reported that Linda Lamone, State Elections
Administrator, took the information presented by the committee to Department of Budget
and Management (DBM), which denied the request to increase salaries of deputies and
directors. The information is currently with Jackie Bryley of the State Board of Elections
(SBE) in an effort to continue to convince DBM that the increases are justified.
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e. Voter Registration System – Walter Maddox, Chair, announced plans to send an email to
committee members regarding a meeting to discuss outstanding Spirit issues. He also
reported that SBE has moved Candidacy and Polling Place Accessibility to
MDVOTERS. Ballot Management will stay with ElecTrack for now but will be phased
out in 2013.
f. Early Voting – Gilberto Zelaya, Chair. No report.
Old Business
Ms. Hatfield reported of an issue at the Wisp Resort on the final night of the conference where a
member slipped and fell outside of the Resort, resulting in an injury.
Behavior and excessive drinking by some members at the conference was discussed and will be
addressed with Directors again at a later date.
Shawn Larson, Conference Planner, acknowledged efforts by Mr. Garreis at bringing the
multiple vendors to the conference.
Mr. Larson announced that the 2013 conference is scheduled for June 16-19, 2013, at the UMUC
Marriott in College Park.
New Business
The topic of SBE piggy-backing their biennial meeting in 2013 was raised. Mr. Larson stated
that it’s easier on him to have the conferences back-to-back, and it’s also more cost-effective for
the local boards. It was recommended to invite Jackie Bryley in 2013.
Ben Frey, Somerset County, had previously approached Ms. Hatfield about developing an
Information/Election Technology users group to focus on election equipment issues, a good faith
effort to meet and improve processes. Utilizing ‘Yammer’, Mr. Frey created an online ballot
forum and recommends that all election directors join. SBE apparently supports the site and is
involved as well. Mr. Gutierrez thanked Mr. Frey for his efforts. Guy Mickley motioned to
support the formation of an Election Technology Committee, which was seconded by Mr.
Garreis and unanimously approved. Ms. Hatfield appointed Mr. Frey as Chair of this committee.
In July, Mary DePelteau solicited applications by members to join the various committees within
MAEO. Many applications were received from the local boards. Another new committee
recommended by Katherine “Katie” Berry was the formation of an Election Judges Committee.
Guy Mickley motioned to support this committee, which was seconded by Ms. Berry and
approved unanimously. Ms. Hatfield appointed Ms. Berry as Chair of this committee.
All other committee chairs will remain the same, except for the Personnel Committee. Due to
Ms. Grove’s resignation and impending retirement, Ms. Hatfield appointed Guy Mickley as
Chair of this committee, as he has been very involved in the work of the committee thus far.
Ms. DePelteau will send the contact information of the committee applicants to the applicable
chairs for them to choose their members who will provide the most contribution.
Ms. Berry offered some good ideas for improving MAEO’s website, including password
protection.
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The idea of offering Associate Memberships to retirees was discussed and will be forwarded to
the Bylaws Committee for consideration. It was also suggested to bestow Lifetime Memberships
as gifts, as well as to Antonetti recipients. The creation of a “Hall of Fame” was also discussed
in conjunction with MAEO’s 50th anniversary in 2014.
The topic of duplicates in the OLVR system (online voter registration) was discussed.
According to Mary Wagner of SBE, a mistake from MVA caused bad data on OLVR batches.
Carroll County alone has found six voters thus far whose records were affected, e.g., different
data on top versus bottom of forms. Gail Carter has suggested that SBE create a report/list of the
issues. She also suggested that the DOB field be locked. These mistakes by MVA will result in
an increase of provisional ballots. Election Directors expressed frustration at not being listened
to and recommend a GoTo Meeting to discuss these issues. It was felt overall that we need more
training on OLVR, rather than training on Runbeck, at this time. Apparently there was a petition
module ‘00’ problem, but only three local boards in today’s meeting were even aware of the
problem. Ms. Berry stressed the importance of reporting all issues to the Help Desk to ensure
legislative services is made aware. Keith Ross of SBE recommended that MAEO send a letter.
It is imperative for the local boards to have good data going into a major election.
Next Meeting
The Board will plan a meeting in December following the general election, at which time MAEO
will host a holiday luncheon.
Adjournment
With no further business, on a motion made by Guy Mickley and seconded by Abigail Goldman,
the meeting adjourned at 1:46 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary DePelteau, Secretary
Approved ___12/17/12_______
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