2025 Election Advisory Committee meeting minutes

Registrar of Voters
Election Advisory Committee Meeting
Friday, June 20, 2025, 9:30-11:30 AM
Civic Center Room 125

Attendees

Becky Bingea, Robin Diederich, Cathleen Dorinson, Bonnie Glaser, Andrew Kingsdale, Carolyn Placente, Bob Richard, Steve Silberstein, Cat Woods

Elections Department: Lynda Roberts, Registrar (retiring); Natalie Adona, Registrar (incoming)

Welcome

Lynda Roberts opened the meeting and thanked everyone for attending.

Introductions

Ms. Roberts introduced Natalie Adona, incoming Registrar of Voters.  Ms. Adona reviewed her background (see news release at end of minutes).

Committee members introduced themselves.  Each member spoke briefly about their background and interest in the Election Advisory Committee.

Ms. Adona asked the committee for feedback about their role and possible meeting topics:

• Committee members can be a resource by providing information about concerns or issues in their communities.
• Office tours help members address concerns they hear in their communities.
• The committee appreciates reviewing election statistics, state/federal legislation that impacts elections, and upcoming changes.
• Listening to committee feedback and taking ideas seriously is important, as is finding ways to address concerns.
• Members would like to promote Marin’s Election Advisory Committee as a model for other counties.
• Staff presentations are very helpful in better understanding the various roles and the safeguards that are in place.
• Learning about procedures in different counties, possibly other states, would be informative and good ideas could promote positive changes.
• Providing lists of resources would be useful.
• Promote the Elections Department as a trusted source of information.
• Consider expanding the diversity of membership on the committee and seeking more participation from various groups.
• Invite students in the Elections Department Student Elections Ambassador Program to come and talk with the committee.

In response to a question, Ms. Adona briefly reviewed the difference between Nevada and Marin Counties:  Nevada County has about 75,000 registered voters compared to Marin’s 174,000; Nevada County was one of the first counties to adopt the Voter’s Choice Act and Ms. Adona led the first county specific security table-top exercise.  Ms. Adona has also experienced issues with wildfires and extreme snowfall.

Regarding election administration resources, Ms. Adona suggested members check the U.S. Assistance Commission list of Clearing House (Clearie) award winners.  Particular topics of interest to the committee can be scheduled for upcoming meetings.

Miscellaneous

• The Elections Department outreach team is planning to host a booth at the Marin County Fair in partnership with the League of Women Voters of Marin County and Canal Alliance.
• The Department may be getting citizen initiatives from the Town of Fairfax and SMART with requests to verify signatures.  Several local jurisdictions have indicated they may call a special election in November 2025.
• The Marin County Employee Retirement Association (MCERA) is holding a governing board election that will be managed by the Elections Department.

The meeting adjourned at 11:30 AM.   

The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, July 18, 2025. 

News Release — Nevada County Official is Marin’s Next Registrar of Voters

Bay Area native Natalie Adona is to assume the post following Lynda Roberts’ retirement.

Marin County, CA – Natalie Adona, whose career includes 17 years of intensive elections experience in several Northern California counties, is the County of Marin’s choice as its next Registrar of Voters. She will replace Lynda Roberts, who is retiring at the end of June.

On June 9, Adona takes over the Marin County Elections Department after serving as the County Clerk/Recorder/Registrar of Voters in Nevada County, which is based in Nevada City. She served as the department’s assistant for three years before being elected to lead the department in June 2022. 

Marin County Executive Derek Johnson said Adona’s background with elections and passion for voting rights made her the top candidate among 64 who applied.

“Natalie stood out because of her deep experience and reputation statewide and even nationally in the field,” Johnson said. “She is a hands-on leader who will continue Marin's widespread recognition for ensuring fair, transparent, and accessible elections with integrity and a commitment to voter outreach.” 

A native of Vallejo, Adona previously worked for the City and County of San Francisco and the County of Alameda where she trained poll workers. She has also worked in the nonprofit sector with election administrators and political scientists to improve elections and voting policies. During her time with Nevada County, she was elected secretary of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials in July 2024 and co-chaired the Ballot Design Advisory Committee established by the Secretary of State. She has been an adviser and featured speaker for several national organizations as well.

Adona has deep experience with California election laws, managing budgets and grants, cross-departmental collaboration, and community feedback. Adona described elections work as “a calling” and commended Marin for consistently ranking among the counties with the highest voter turnout statewide. 

“That is an achievement that speaks to both the community’s deep civic engagement and the elections team’s expertise in meeting voters where they are,” Adona said. “I’m honored to build upon the strong foundation established by Lynda Roberts and the entire Marin County team. I look forward to carrying the baton forward and continuing to deliver exceptional service to voters and candidates. Being close to family in Vallejo and serving in elections in beautiful Marin County is truly a dream come true.” 

Adona has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California at Berkeley plus a law degree and a master's in public administration from The American University in Washington, D.C. While at American, she served as a student attorney in the Women and the Law Clinic for 10 months, representing low-income clients in the local superior court, and for elections-related nonprofits. She then spent more than five years with the Democracy Fund as a senior researcher and learning associate overseeing elections-related projects and grantmaking. 

The Marin County Elections Department has a staff of 11.6 full-time equivalent positions year-round but often grows to a total team of 200 during busy election seasons. The department had an annual budget of $4.48 million for the 2024-25 fiscal year. Nevada County had 74,991 registered voters and an estimated population of 102,037 as of October 2023; Marin had approximately 170,000 registered voters and a population of 254,407.

Adona’s starting annual salary will be $218,192 with benefits comparable with other County department heads. She will be appointed by the Board of Supervisors May 20 and her first day will be June 9. 

Roberts, who has led Marin’s Elections Department since July 2014, announced her scheduled retirement in January. 

Registrar of Voters
Election Advisory Committee Meeting
Friday, April 18, 2025, 9:30 AM
Civic Center Room 125

Attendees

Becky Bingea, Greg Brockbank, Cathleen Dorinson, Andrew Kingsdale, Sean Peisert, Bob Richard, Steve Silberstein

Elections Department: Lynda Roberts, Registrar; Tony Aquilino, Tech Manager

Welcome

Lynda Roberts opened the meeting and thanked everyone for attending.

Topics

Student Elections Ambassador Program (SEAP)

Committee Member Andrew Kingsdale talked about the presentation in his son’s 4^th grade class given by one of the SEAP students (Caroline Foster). He was impressed that Ms. Foster coordinated the entire event by working directly with the school. The event included three 4^th grade classes (75 students), and the presentation effectively covered the basics of voting and the importance of voting. Ms. Foster held a mock election that included two initiatives of interest to the students—type of drinking straws and more break time. She presented the pros and cons and then the students voted. A member of the League of Women Voters of Marin (Pam Cook) also participated by giving an inspirational testimonial about personal voting experiences. There was a Q&A period at the end.

Mr. Kingsdale had high praise for Ms. Foster and said the presentation was good exposure to voting.

Ballot Sorter Update

Tony Aquilino reviewed a pilot program being tested in the current (May) special election. The test will reduce the number of times ballots pass through the sorter from three to two, which will eliminate sorting ballots to precinct level. Instead, ballots and envelopes will be stored in their batches rather than by precinct. Sorter batch information is maintained in the Election Management Information System, so a specific envelope can be located by batch if necessary. The third pass was the most time consuming so with the new process, ballots will get to the ballot removal team a day sooner.

In response to a question, Mr. Aquilino said the pilot program is based on Sonoma County’s procedures.

Congressional Bill, H.R. (number not yet assigned)

Lynda Roberts reviewed the following information. Six California Representatives introduced the bill: Kiley (3^rd district), Obernolte (23^rd district), Calvert (41^st district), Fong (20^th district), Valadao (22^nd district), Issa (48^th district). The bill is known as the Election Results Accountability Act and pertains to federal elections. If passed, the bill will set deadlines for ballot counting and certification. Highlights:

• No later than 72 hours after closing polls, not less than 90 percent of ballots shall be counted.
• Counting of all ballots shall be completed no later than 2 weeks after the election and the results shall be certified.
• There are exceptions for bona fide emergencies such as public health, cyberattack / data breach, technical difficulties, errors in tabulation, implementation of new procedures, recounts.
• Election Administration Funds will be withheld from states that fail to comply.

Asian Law Caucus November 2024 Election Observer Report

Lynda Roberts reviewed the following information. The key focus of the observer program is monitoring compliance with federal and state language accessibility laws.

• Observers visited 16 of 21 Marin County vote centers in November 2024.
• Overall, they found strong compliance with language and disability access requirements and observers expressed extremely positive feedback about the voting experience.
• Observers recommended every voting site for use in future elections.
• Some locations did not effectively advertise the presence of bilingual poll workers or the language assistance hotline.
• Suggestions: Better signage regarding bi-lingual election workers and availability of language assistance hotline. In addition, observers recommended adding more external and internal directional signage near entrances and parking lots.

Logic and Accuracy Test (L&A) for May Election

Committee members participated in the L&A test by observing the process and asking questions. Members of the Marin Civil Grand Jury and League of Women Voters of Marin County had been appointed in advance to serve on the testing board.

The meeting adjourned at 11:30 AM.

The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, June 20, 2025.

Registrar of Voters
Election Advisory Committee Meeting
Friday, March 21, 2025, 9:30 AM
Civic Center Room 125

Attendees

Becky Bingea, Greg Brockbank, Robin Diederich, Cathleen Dorinson, Sean Peisert, Bob Richard

Elections Department: Lynda Roberts, Registrar; Elizabeth Iwamiya, Outreach / SEAP

Welcome

Lynda Roberts opened the meeting and thanked everyone for attending.

Informational Presentation

EAC Member Cathleen Dorinson talked about actions and laws that are intended to make it difficult for people to register to vote and vote. Suppression can occur in a variety of ways:

• Gerrymandering
• Limiting the amount of time available for people to register to vote
• Requiring proof of citizenship, which can be difficult for a variety of reasons and cause people to give up and not vote—for example, some people do not have a birth certificate or are unable to obtain a copy of their birth certificate
• Criminalizing the ballot box by making it against the law to assist people waiting in long lines by giving them water or food; a poll worker can challenge a voter for doing this and may call the law if the voter speaks out
• Denying voting rights to felons after they have served their prison terms
• Purging voter rolls based on a person’s last name
• Requiring ID—38 states have passed laws requiring ID to vote, which impacts a high percentage of minorities (400 laws have been passed in the last two years)
• Changing laws regarding what is considered acceptable ID
• Limiting the number of polling sites or changing locations every election; hiring fewer workers, which slows the process; limiting the number of voting machines; limiting the inventory of ballots; locating polling sites in inconvenient places
• Convincing minorities they are eligible to vote, but they find out they aren’t registered when they show up and they missed the registration period

States may look to each other to pass their own restrictive laws. Sections of the National Voting Rights Act (NVRA) were repealed a few years ago eliminating pre-clearance before a state can change its election laws.

State Legislation 2025

Following-up last month’s meeting, the group reviewed updates to state legislation pertaining to elections (below). The California State League of Women Voters tracks legislation.

Outreach Update

Elizabeth Iwamiya reviewed a graph showing voter turnout by age range. Voter turnout is lowest in the 18-34 year age range. Reasons for low turnout may include voters feeling confused or intimidated, or believing their vote doesn’t matter. The Marin County Student Elections Ambassador Program (SEAP) works to enfranchise high school students through peer-to-peer pre-registration events. The program was established in 2018 and continues to grow each year to include more schools and more students. The steering committee now includes a teacher as well as a member of the Marin County Office of Education; the League of Women Voters of Marin County is also a partner. Ms. Iwamiya provided a copy of a chart showing the number of pre-registrations by city in Marin County thus far in 2025.

Recently the Elections Department partnered with the Marin County Free Library to promote Civic Learning Week. The library produced a fun activity booklet for young people to learn about civic engagement and distributed it to all the branches.

This year’s SEAP Youth Town Hall is scheduled for Sunday, April 27. This is the third year the event will be held. The SEAP program is also getting attention from neighboring counties that want to create a similar program.

Ms. Iwamiya is considering an outreach campaign to raise youth awareness about the importance of their signature—especially when it comes to voting on a mail-in ballot.

One committee member suggested providing messaging about voting options when a student goes to college.

Miscellaneous

Agenda topics for the April meeting will include 1) a presentation by EAC member Jenny Sowry regarding her experiences observing international elections, and 2) observing the logic and accuracy test of voting equipment for the special election scheduled for May 6.

The meeting adjourned at 11:30 AM.

The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, April 18, 2025, 9:30.

2025 Legislative Bills of Interest

Note: June 6 is the last day for each house to pass bills introduced in that house.

AB 5: Elections – Official Canvass

Require elections officials, on or before E+10, to finish counting all ballots, with certain exceptions, including provisional ballots and ballots for which the voter must either verify or provide a signature, and release a vote count for those ballots; authorizes the Secretary of State to grant an extension upon request.

AB 25: CA Voter ID and Election Integrity Act of 2025

1. Requires a person to provide appropriate documentation of citizenship with the affidavit of registration; prohibits elections official from registering to vote a person who does not provide appropriate documentation or a person whose citizenship cannot be verified; requires elections official to verify the citizenship of voters registered as of 1/1/26, and authorizes elections official to require a person to provide documentation of citizenship; requires the State Auditor to periodically review a random sample of county’s roster and identify persons not qualified electors;
2. Requires a person to present a valid government-issued form of ID to a precinct board member before the person may vote; requires a VBM voter to include on the ballot ID envelope the last 4 digits of their valid government-issued ID and requires elections officials to confirm that the last 4 digits on the voter’s ID envelope match the voter’s affidavit of registration before processing and counting the VBM;
3. Requires the State Auditor to audit random samples of county's signature comparisons to determine compliance with the applicable requirements; requires the State Auditor to report findings no later than E+ 90; requires elections officials to submit a remediation plan to Secretary of State if the State Auditor determines the signature comparison error rate of 5% or greater;
4. Requires elections official to count all ballots, except provisional ballots and VBMs for which a voter has the opportunity either to verify or provide a signature, no later than 72 hours after the election;
5. If the State Auditor determines that fewer than 98% of the persons listed on a county’s roster of voters are qualified electors in that county or if an elections official fails to count all ballots per (4) above, the elections official is prohibited from mailing a VBM to every registered voter in the next statewide election; authorizes a voter to apply for a VBM for the affected election.

AB 1116: Voter registration

Authorizes a qualified person to submit an affidavit of voter registration on the Secretary of State (SOS) website even if the person has not been issued a CA driver’s license or state ID card, as long as the person provides the last four digits of their social security number; requires the SOS to develop a process to electronically upload the applicant’s signature through the electronic voter registration interface; authorizes a county to compare the signature on the VBM ID envelope with this digitized image; authorizes the SOS to verify the identity of these applicants using last 4 digits of the applicant’s social security number, full name, and DOB; authorizes the SOS to adopt regulations to implement provisions; becomes operative on the earlier of (1) January 1, 2027, or (2) five days after the date on which the SOS certifies that IT infrastructure is functional.

AB 1214: Official canvass

Requires elections officials to count all ballots and prepare the certified statement of the results by E+21, and send the Secretary of State a complete copy of results by E+22; requires elections officials to count >25% of ballots by E+7, and >67% of ballots by E+14; requires elections officials to post updated election results on their website at least 2x/week, and to provide, by no later than the close of polls E-day, the schedule of updates to be posted.

SB 3: Election results

Requires elections official to post updated election results on their website per following schedule: beginning no later than the Thursday following an election, at least 2X by the following Thursday, and at least 2X/week thereafter until results are certified or until the only ballots left to count are VBM awaiting signature cure; revises categories for reporting unprocessed ballots that are processed; requires elections official to post on their website the estimated date and time when next results will be posted; specifies posting a hyperlink to a separate file does not satisfy these requirements.

SB 406: Ballot Submission Deadline

Requires a VBM ballot be returned to the applicable elections official no later than the close of the polls on election day; exception -- requires a VBM ballot cast by a military or overseas voter to be counted if it is postmarked on or before election day and received no later than E+7.

SB 407: Official Canvass

Reduces deadlines to 10 days for counting all ballots and preparing the certified statement of the results of the election, and 11 days for sending a complete copy of results to the Secretary of State; requires the SOS to prepare, certify, and file a Statement of Votes no later than 2 days after receiving election results from all county elections officials.

Registrar of Voters
Election Advisory Committee Meeting
Friday, February 21, 2025, 9:30 AM
Civic Center Room 125

Attendees

Becky Bingea, Greg Brockbank, Cathleen Dorinson, Bob Richard, Jenny Sowry

Elections Department: Lynda Roberts, Registrar

Welcome

Lynda Roberts opened the meeting and thanked everyone for attending.

Scheduled Special Elections in 2025

March 4—All Vote by Mail: 

1) Measure A -- Community Facilities District No. 2024-2, City of Larkspur. Those living within the district will vote on a special tax and bond to fund the Larkspur Lagoon Bulkhead Replacement Project. 2) Measure B -- Alta Vista Road Permanent Road Division. Those living within the district will vote on a special tax to fund improvements and ongoing maintenance of the road.

May 6—All Vote by Mail: 

Measure E – Ross Valley School District. Those living within the district will vote on a parcel tax for educational purposes.

The City of Sausalito is considering a special election in June, but nothing is definite at this time.

Special elections are typically handled in-house by the regular staff. Depending on the number of registered voters, some extra hire staff may be asked to help.

Legislation Introduced in 2025

The group discussed state legislative bills relating to elections—list of bills reviewed is at the end of these minutes. February 21 is the last day for bills to be introduced.

Voter’s Choice Act (VCA) Cost Comparison

The Voter’s Choice Act was implemented in 2022 per direction from the Marin County Board of Supervisors. The Act requires a cost comparison between the Polling Place model vs. Vote Center model to be posted online. The group reviewed the spreadsheet.

VCA-specific costs that have added to the overall increase in the cost of elections include vote center coordinators, vote center rentals, and VCA-mandated outreach. Up to 50 vote center coordinators are recruited and hired as temporary county employees paid by the hour rather than paid a one-day stipend as they were under the polling place model. The cost of vote center rentals is nearly double that of one-day polling places since vote centers are required to be open multiple days. VCA-mandated outreach is a new expense. The state provided some funding reimbursement in 2022 but provided no funding support in 2024.

International Voting

California elections law allows registered voters in the military and/or registered voters living abroad to retain their local address and vote. Ballots are mailed / emailed 45-60 days prior to an election.

Committee member Jenny Sowry reviewed her experience as an international voter. Since she specified an email on her voter registration, she received instructions and a code by email from the Marin County Elections Department that allowed her to access her ballot online. After marking her ballot, the process required that she either mail it back or fax it back. The process also requires a voter to sign an Oath of Voter acknowledging that the ballot will not be anonymous because of this special voting process. The most difficult part of the process was finding a fax machine since this is antiquated technology. She ended up using an e-fax solution that required her to download and pay for the access.

Miscellaneous

March meeting topics will include a presentation by Jenny Sowry describing her experiences as an international election observer and a presentation by Cathleen Dorinson reviewing her research about voter suppression.

The meeting adjourned at 11:30 AM.

The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, March 21, 2025.

2025 Legislative Bills of Interest 

AB 5

Expresses intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that assists counties in the prompt tallying and release of election results. (“Spot Bill” – may only be a placeholder)

AB 16

Requires elections officials to begin processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes and vote by mail ballots on the date on which the ballots are mailed.

AB 21

Declares the intent of the Legislature to enact a constitutional amendment to limit the ability of state and local governments to raise taxes; restores a 2/3 vote requirement on local special tax increases; imposes voter approval requirement on specific categories of new taxes; regulates the titles on state and local ballot measures relating to tax increases.

AB 25

Expresses intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to improve the integrity of state and local elections; requires a government-issued ID to vote, verifying the citizenship of voters, maintaining accurate voter lists, incentivizing timely counting of ballots, and enhancing the signature review process. (“Spot Bill” – may only be a placeholder)

SB 3

Expresses intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to revise the process of reporting election results by county elections officials, and to make modifications to the canvass of the vote.

SB 316

(1) Specifies that the administrator of a public or private high school may appoint one or more pupils who are enrolled at that high school to be voter outreach coordinators, as provided. (2) Commencing with the 2026–27 school year, requires the governing board of a school district, county board of education, state special school, and governing body of a charter school to ensure that each of its pupils receives, at least once by grade 11, info on how to properly preregister to vote; requires that requested voter registration information regarding where to acquire a voter registration card is provided to that pupil, e.g. including referral to the SOS website; authorizes contracts with experienced, youth civic engagement nonprofit organizations to implement the requirements of this provision. Note of Interest: The Elections Department’s Student Elections Ambassador Program (SEAP) is ahead of this.

SB 398

Makes it a crime, punishable by imprisonment for up to 5 years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both, for a person to knowingly or willfully pay or offer to pay money or other valuable consideration for another person to register to vote.

SB 405

Repeals the prohibition on local governments from enacting or enforcing any charter provision, ordinance, or regulation requiring a person to present ID for the purpose of voting or submitting a ballot at any location where ballots are cast.

SB 406

Requires a VBM ballot be returned to the applicable elections official no later than the close of the polls on election day; exception: requires a VBM ballot cast by a military or overseas voter be counted if it is postmarked on or before election day and received no later than E+7.

SB 407

Reduce deadlines to 10 days for counting all ballots and preparing the certified statement of the results of the election, and 11 days for sending a complete copy of results to the SOS; requires the SOS prepare, certify, and file an SOV no later than 2 days after receiving election results from all county elections officials.

SB 408

Requires elections officials to mail a residency postcard to each registered voter of the county and contract with USPS or its licensees to obtain use of postal service change-of-address data; requires county elections officials include the return address of the county elections official’s office on the outside portion of the county voter information guide or voter information guide envelope mailed to voters for an election conducted within the last 6 months preceding the start of the confirmation process; requires county elections officials mail an alternative residency postcard to each registered voter if they have not voted in an election within the previous 4 years, and if their residence address, name, or party preference has not been updated during that time.

Registrar of Voters
Election Advisory Committee Meeting
Friday, January 17, 2025, 9:30 AM
Civic Center Room 125

Attendees

Becky Bingea, Greg Brockbank, Andrew Kingsdale, Tom Montgomery, Steve Silberstein, Jenny Sowry

Elections Department: Lynda Roberts, Registrar; Elizabeth Iwamiya and Danny Straub, Outreach Coordinators; Tony Aquilino and Michael Tellechea, Technology Specialists

Welcome

Lynda Roberts opened the meeting and thanked everyone for attending.

Processing Vote by Mail Ballots (VBM)

The group continued discussing the topic from December about processing mail ballots faster. Summary from December:

California is “voter friendly”. For example: 1) Ballots postmarked on or before Election Day can be processed if received in the mail within seven days after the election; 2) Voters are notified if their signature is missing from the envelope or doesn’t compare with their signature on file and given the opportunity to correct the problem; 3) For the 2024 General Election, the state legislature passed Assembly Bill 3184 that gave voters until December 1 to “cure” signature issues and specified that all counties would certify their elections on December 3, except for those counties that had no outstanding signature-challenged ballots.

In Marin County, many voters wait until Election Day, or just before, to return their VBM ballot. In the November 2024 election:

• ~83,727 VBM received by November 3 and ~71,513 (85%) processed and counted by election night
• ~50,000 VBM arrived on November 4 and 5 (over 20,000 were from drop boxes that closed at 8 PM on election night); 100% processed and counted by November 15
• Processing VBM ballots requires passing through the sorter three times, multiple signature verifying, and removing ballots from envelopes

Discussion

Statistics from the November 2024 general election confirm that the 18-24 year age group in Marin County had the highest number of mismatched signatures (53%). As outlined above, new laws have resulted in delays of processing ballots.

How quickly do committee members think ballots should be processed? One member suggested 90% should be counted within 24 hours after Election Day.

Staff members explained that the process takes at least three days, which includes first pass through the ballot sorter, first round of verifying signatures, second pass through the sorter to cull the challenged ballots, third pass through the sorter to open the envelope, taking ballots out of envelopes and flattening them, running ballots through the tally machine, and adjudicating questionable marks on the ballot to determine voter intent. Results can then be updated. Staff pointed out that they regularly look for ways to make the process faster and more efficient; accuracy, however, is important. Also, workflow (when ballots arrive) drives the process.

Suggestions to speed up the process included: Using a ballot extraction machine; purchasing a new sorter with updated signature verifying capability; increasing voter education about importance of signature on the envelope; hiring more staff; working 24-hours per day.

Members said the public feels frustrated by long delays and suggested possible solutions: Posting a video online to explain the process; listing the percentage of ballots counted on the department’s website; listing the number of ballots that came in close to the election; using the Vote Center Coordinators to help explain the process. Some legislators are currently looking into the possibility of getting earlier results.

The outreach team is discussing messaging that could incentivize voters to return their ballots earlier, such as promoting election night results that include ballots returned about five days prior to Election Day. Voters need to feel value in returning their ballots early. Committee members suggested that the outreach team could find ways to engage voters at libraries or through surveys, and the Registrar could promote the idea in op eds submitted to the IJ.

Miscellaneous

In response to a question, the outreach team gave an update about the November election banner project in Marin City and its success. One member suggested this could be a model for other communities.

Suggested topics for next month’s meeting include elections that may be scheduled in 2025, legislation that has been introduced that will impact elections, and possible outreach opportunities to reach younger children.

The meeting adjourned at 11:30 AM.

The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, February 21, 2025