HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Board of Civil Authority - 02/20/2019BOARD OF CIVIL AUTHORITY 20 FEBRUARY 2019
The South Burlington Board of Civil Authority held a meeting on Wednesday, 20 February 2019, at
6:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street
MEMBERS PRESENT: P. Taylor, D. Kinville, B. Nowak, P. Benner, M. Mahoney, M. St. Germain, T.
Barritt, C. Shaw, R. Nowak, A. Milot, H. Riehle
Ms. Kinville presided over the meeting until the organizational meeting was held.
1. Instructions on exiting building in case of emergency:
Ms. Kinville provided emergency exiting instructions.
2. Agenda Review: Additions, deletions or changes in order of agenda items:
Ms. Kinville asked to add General Election Training and the testing of tabulators to the Agenda.
3. Comments & Questions from the public not related to Agenda items:
No issues were raised.
4. Welcome New Justices:
The Board welcomed Richard Nowak.
5. Organization Meeting:
Ms. Kinville opened the floor for nominations for Chair.
Mr. Mahoney nominated Mr. Shaw. Mr. Barritt seconded.
Mr. Benner nominated Mr. Taylor. Ms. Milot seconded.
Members then discussed the possibility of having co-chairs as this will be Mr. Taylor’s last term on the
Board. Members were unsure whether the regulations would allow for co-chairs.
Mr. Taylor said he was willing to commit to serving only a one-year term and to work with anyone
who is interested in becoming chair.
Ms. Milot moved to have Mr. Shaw and Mr. Taylor serve as co-chairs. Ms. Riehle seconded. In the
vote that followed, the motion was defeated 3-8.
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20 FEBRUARY 2019
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Members then returned to the first two nominations. In the vote that followed Mr. Shaw was elected
Chair by a vote of 8-2.
Ms. Milot then nominated Mr. Benner for Vice Chair. Mr. Mahoney seconded. There were no further
nominations, and Mr. Benner was elected unanimously.
Mr. Shaw presided over the remainder of the Agenda.
6. Minutes of 6 December 2018:
Mr. Taylor asked to add to page 2, paragraph 3 the words “in Ms. Kinville’s FY 20 budget.”
Mr. Taylor then moved to approve the Minutes of 6 December 2018 as amended. Mr. Mahoney
seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
7. Review Handbook Links Document:
Mr. Shaw noted that Ms. Kinville is willing to provide a hard copy for any members who would like
one.
Mr. Taylor noted that members can click on various documents and get the text of the full document.
8. Swearing In of Justices:
All Justices were sworn in by Ms. Kinville.
9. Discussion on Election Day Campaigning and Signs:
Mr. Shaw noted the issue that arose at the last election with a candidate placing a very large sign
against the school building and leaving it unattended.
Mr. Taylor reviewed where candidates are permitted to stand. He also noted that all signs should be
held and not left unattended.
Members then reviewed the existing rules:
Rule #1:
Mr. Nowak felt that restrictions should be kept to the minimum required by the state so there is a fair
opportunity for all. He also stressed that campaigners should not obstruct people’s ability to enter
the polling place.
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20 FEBRUARY 2019
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Mr. Shaw suggested the School District could provide language as to what can happen on school
property.
It was noted that in Burlington all campaigners and signs (which can be unattended) are required to
be 30 feet from the entrance to the polling location. Members felt that might be too restrictive
given the nature of some of the school entrances.
Mr. Taylor then moved to amend the Campaign Rules to prohibit any sign from being placed near the
road entrance to any school on school property and to permit small yard signs to be free-standing.
Mr. Mahoney seconded.
Mr. Nowak cited the problem with the posts at Chamberlin School. Ms. Kinville said there can be
taping so the posts are off-limits to candidates.
Mr. Shaw suggested eliminated the words “designated as #1 on the school map” from the
regulations. This language was accepted by those making the motion.
In the vote that followed, the motion passed unanimously.
Rule #2:
Members then considered the size of signs. Mr. Barritt felt that prohibiting “unattended” signs took
care of that issue.
Mr. Mahoney moved to add to the regulations that all signs near the entrance of any school
(designated as #2 on school map) shall be hand held or attended. Ms. Milot seconded. Motion
passed 10-1.
Rule #3:
Ms. Milot moved to approve Rule #3 as written. Mr. Mahoney seconded. Motion passed
unanimously.
Rule #4:
Mr. Mahoney moved to change the word “car” to “vehicle.” Ms. Milot seconded. Motion passed 5-3
with 3 abstentions.
10. Approve Purged Voter List:
Ms. Kinville noted the list reflects voters who responded to a letter or notification from another state
that the voter has registered there or through death records.
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20 FEBRUARY 2019
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Mr. St. Germain moved to approve the list of purged voters. Mr. Mahoney seconded. Motion passed
unanimously.
11. Approve Election Officials for March Election:
Mr. St. Germain moved to approve the list of Election Officials for the March election. Mr. Mahoney
seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
12. Election Training:
Ms. Kinville noted there will be one ballot, front and back.
There will be no disability tablets for this election as they are too expensive for local elections and
were not used in the November 2018 election.
During counting, doors should remain open so the public can view the counting process.
In this election, those who are counting do not have to find write-ins if the total number of write-ins
is fewer than the total number of votes for the leading candidates.
Mr. Taylor noted there is a link to the election guide and asked members to review this.
13. Test Tabulators:
All tabulators were tested by members and found to be in working order. The following tags were
attached to the tabulators.
7-1 #1229516 7-2 #1229594
7-3 #1229511 7-4 #1229588
14. Other Business:
No other business was brought before the Board.
As there was no further business to come before the Board of Civil Authority, the meeting was
adjourned by common consent at 8:00 p.m.
___________________________
Clerk