HomeMy WebLinkAboutBack-Up DocumentsApril 17, 2024
Todd Hannon, City Clerk
City of Miami
Office of the City Clerk
3500 Pan American Drive
Miami, FI 33133
Dear Todd:
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Elections
2700 NW 87th Avenue
Miami, Florida 33172
T 305-499-8683 F 305-499-8501
TTY 305-499-8480
miamidade.gov
As a follow up to our conversation, the Elections Department is hereby requesting the
City of Miami to consider rescheduling their election dates to provide for four weeks
between the regularly scheduled General and Run -Off Elections.
More specifically, this request is for all three cities who share the same schedule (Miami,
Miami Beach and Hialeah) to adopt the dates prescribed by the City of Homestead for
their regularly scheduled election, which would mean your General Election will be held
on the first Tuesday in October in odd years and your Run -Off Election held on the first
Tuesday in November in odd years. Changing the election dates will benefit the Elections
Department in our ability to seamlessly conduct your election, and your voters, as well as
candidates, as it provides additional time. The two -week turnaround as currently
scheduled was designed for a time when elections were conducted exclusively on
Election Day with no Early Voting or Vote by Mail. Now that modern-day elections include
Early Voting, Vote by Mail, and significant post -election requirements, a two -week
turnaround creates a significant burden on all parties.
As you know, there are many steps involved in preparing for an election, all of which must
be done in a matter of days to conduct a Run -Off Election within two weeks. Below are
just a few:
• The General Election results cannot be certified until we have completed our post-
election procedures internally and the canvassing board has completed the review of
cure affidavits received for vote by mail ballots that had a signature deficiency as well
as provisional ballots. This occurs on the Friday after your election due to statutory
deadlines. This is already 3 days into the time allotted.
• Only then can the Department begin coding, proofing, and testing three different voting
systems (optical scan, express vote, and the accessible "enhanced ballot" system
required for our voters with disabilities).
• Only then can we send the ballot for printing. This now takes longer than in the past
as we print ballots by precinct, increasing the number of unique ballot variations.
• Then we can begin processing vote by mail ballots for mailout to your voters.
• Separately, we must reset, reprogram, and retest all election equipment.
• Conduct the state -mandated Logic and Accuracy Test (L&A) .
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• Set up and conduct Early Voting.
• Deliver Election Day equipment before the Monday setup.
• The functions stated above would be further delayed should a recount be called from
the General Election.
As illustrated above, many of these functions must be performed in sequence and with
zero tolerance for error. Bear in mind if/when a citywide Run -Off is necessary, this makes
preparation even more of a challenge in the timeframe currently allotted.
With new laws and subsequent procedural changes, it has become a tremendous
challenge to perform the state -mandated procedures within the confines of a two -week
timeframe between elections. Given this constraint, the Elections Department strongly
urges your municipality to consider holding the General and Run -Off Elections four weeks
apart. The additional timeframe proposed will allow the Department to adequately prepare
for your Run -Off Election.
The concern for voters is primarily related to those who opt to vote by mail. The short
period that currently exists between elections may prevent voters from being able to
successfully return their voted ballot to our office by the state -mandated deadline.
For your 2023 Run -Off for Commission Districts 1 and 2 only, we mailed ballots on
November 11th. The deadline for return was November 21st at 7 p.m. This provided eight
(8) days of mail delivery.
This has become more of a concern in recent years because the USPS has set new
service standards, thereby increasing delivery times. Per information from the USPS:
• Local 1st class mail can take up to 3 days each way
• Out of state 1st class mail can take up to 5 days each way
In the current model, the window is very short and may not provide voters adequate time
to receive, vote, and return their ballots by 7:00 p.m. on Election night. When a ballot is
received after 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, it must be rejected by law.
In the 2023 City of Miami Run -Off Election, nearly 11% or 565 of the 5,239 voters who
submitted a vote by mail ballot had their votes rejected due to late returns. Expanding the
timeframe between elections will afford voters more sufficient time to review their ballot,
complete it, and then mail it back by the deadline.
As for candidates, we have also heard it is difficult for them to conduct outreach to voters
in such a short time frame, relying heavily on the Elections Department for data that is
simply not ready for release to the public until post -election verification procedures are
complete and the election is certified.
With these factors in mind, I believe everyone benefits from providing a modest amount
of additional time between elections. Therefore, I strongly encourage you to follow the
recommendation to provide four weeks between your General and Run -Off Elections and
ask that your City Commission consider amending the election dates in time for the 2025
election cycle.
For reference, this is an excerpt from the city of Homestead's Charter. This is the model
that we would like Miami, Miami Beach, and Hialeah to adopt so all four cities are on the
same calendar:
Sec. 6.01. - Elections.
Regular election dates. A primary election shall be held in each odd -numbered year, on
the first Tuesday in October. A general election shall be held in each odd -numbered
year on the first Tuesday in November.
Below is a statute that may assist you should your City Commission opt to change the
dates. This is an option that many municipalities have exercised in the past:
Florida Statute 101.75(2), states that "the date of the municipal election shall be set
by the municipality by ordinance."
Should your City Commission opt to pose this question to your voters, please keep in
mind that the deadline to submit your finalized ballot language to our office for the
November 5, 2024 General Election is Friday, July 26, 2024.
Because each municipal charter contains different wording as to the description of Run -
Off Elections, we understand that any proposed language will likely be specific to each
municipality and prepared by its respective municipal attorney.
If you would like to have any draft language prepared by your municipal attorneys be
reviewed by Miami -Dade County to ensure that it addresses the concerns of the Elections
Department, your municipal attorney(s) can directly contact Michael Valdes at the Miami -
Dade County Attorney's Office (michael.valdesmiamidade.gov or 305-375-5620) for
follow-up.
Please note we analyzed the option of leaving the General Election on its currently
scheduled date and moving the Run -Off Election out two additional weeks. I have a
difficult time recommending this as a viable option. In 2025, and beyond, this places the
Run -Off Election on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving with Early Voting occurring on
Thanksgiving weekend. Other factors to consider:
• This would negatively impact voter participation during Early Voting.
• It creates the scenario again where voters may potentially return their vote -by -mail
ballot too late (if traveling)
• It will be difficult to staff Early Voting locations over the holiday, including municipal
staff needing to be available for the opening and closing of Early Voting on the
holiday weekend.
• Limited access to polling places for the Run -Off Election equipment delivery. This
occurs the latter part of the week before the election, directly overlapping with
Thanksgiving.
• Candidates having to campaign over the holiday.
In my view, this would solve some challenges and create others. Therefore, the
October/November election schedule is best for all parties involved, allowing for seamless
election preparation, greater voter participation, and less strain on your candidates.
I know we share a common goal to ensure that your elections continue to be fair, accurate,
transparent, and accessible. This will help to ensure this moving forward.
Please let me know if I can offer additional assistance or information as you review this
recommendation. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact
me directly at 305-499-8509.
Si
na White
Supervisor of Elections
Miami -Dade Elections Department