HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Board of Civil Authority - 07/23/2015
BOARD OF CIVIL AUTHORITY 23 JULY 2015
The South Burlington Board of Civil Authority held a meeting on Thursday, 23 July 2015, at
6:10 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St.
MEMBERS PRESENT: P. Taylor, Chair; D. Kinville, P. Benner, P. Picard, T. Harrington, Rep. A.
Pugh, L. Vera, B. Burgess, K. Burgess, M. Emery, C. Shaw, P. Nowak, T. Chittenden, B. Nowak
1. Agenda Review: Additions, deletions or changes in order of Agenda items:
No changes were made to the Agenda.
2. Comments & Questions from the public not related to the Agenda:
No issues were raised.
3. Approve Minutes of 19 February 2015:
Ms. Harrington moved to approve the Minutes of 19 February as written. Ms. Vera seconded.
Motion passed unanimously.
4. Organizational meeting to set schedule to her property value appeals:
Mr. Taylor said the only appeal is from the City of Burlington. He believed they would be
bringing the Board a stipulation. Last year, the Board accepted the stipulation then made a
final decision.
Members agreed to meet again on 20 August at 6 p.m., to continue the appeal of the City of
Burlington.
Mr. Burgess moved to continue the hearing on the appeal of the City of Burlington until 20
August 2015, 6 p.m. Ms. Kinville seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
5. Update on bi-annual purging of the checklist:
Ms. Kinville said that anyone who hasn’t voted as of March 2012 was sent a notice which equals
750 voters. About 500 notices have been sent out; 50 have been returned, some with
forwarding addresses.
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23 JULY 2015
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Ms. Kinville explained the process if a Board member knows someone doesn’t reside in the city
of South Burlington. She also asked that if a member knows that an address doesn’t exist, this
should be reported to the City Clerk’s office.
6. Discussion of S.29 (now S.44) on Election Day Voter Registration:
Ms. Kinville noted this will affect everyone as it removes all deadlines for registering to vote. It
also eliminates the ability of the Clerk’s office to get check lists done early.
The new law will allow anyone to come in to a voting location, fill out a form with no proof of
identity or residence, and be allowed to vote. If an issue arises at the polls, Ms. Kinville said
BCA members present should meet and make a decision; the voter in question can go to the
Court if not satisfied with the decision.
Rep. Pugh said the Secretary of State is supposed to present a report by January addressing the
concerns of City Clerks. A group is meeting to discuss this, and they are looking for a way to get
input from clerks who are not participating in that group.
Ms. Kinville expressed concern with the lack of accountability. She noted that by the time an
issue is heard, the ballot is already in the machine.
Mr. Taylor said he can foresee a logjam up front; they will need to consider having a location
where registering voters can sit and fill out the form. This will also require more staff.
It was also noted that there is the possibility of a political faction bussing in loads of “new
voters” to try to swing an election.
Rep. Pugh said the aim of the bill is to address the low percentage of voters. Ms. Kinville said
that one needs to look at the number of people who voted not the percentage of people on the
checklist who voted. The problem is that you can’t get people off the check list for years, even
though they are long gone. It was noted that in areas where there are large numbers of
students, names remain on the check lists long after the students have graduated and moved
on.
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23 JULY 2015
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Mr. Taylor expressed concern with the whole election process. He said there is no control over
who is sending in absentee ballots. Ms. Kinville cited a specific case where absentee ballots
were requested and returned by one household member for everyone in the family, and it was
later learned that several members of the family had moved and requested absentee ballots in
the other town. Luckily the situation was averted due to the ability to process things prior to
the election. On election day there would have been no stopping the double vote. She also
noted that another person, well known by people at the polls, was still voting in South
Burlington although he had moved out of the city several years ago. Ms. Kinville has challenged
this voter.
Mr. Taylor asked members if they wanted to take a position on same-day registration.
Members wanted time to get up to speed on all the details. They agreed to put it on the
October agenda.
7. Upcoming October/November Election:
Ms. Kinville noted there is a better then 50% chance of a special election on 3 November 2015.
She also noted that 2016 will have at least 3 elections (Town Meeting Day/Presidential primary,
State primary, and Presidential election).
8. Other Business:
Ms. Kinville advised that the City Fest celebration will include a formal ceremony at 4:30 p.m.
which will recognize notable persons in the city’s history and invited all in attendance to be
there. Ms. Kinville is in charge of a history display which will include copies of special
documents.
As there was no further business to come before the Board, Mr. Burgess moved to adjourn. Mr
Shaw seconded. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7:01 p.m.
_____________________________
Clerk