Election Canvassing Board - Regular Meeting

Yes. Uh, good evening. Today is January 13, 2026. It is 6:30 p.m. This is the canvasing board meeting. Call to order. And um the canvasing board members present are member Taylor, member Satderfield, myself, member, and alternate member Hoie. We'll go on to the next item, approval of independent or manual audit. This is the first time this town has had the opportunity to choose anything besides a manual audit. In years past, the manual audit has been the only type of audit the supervisor of elections had. However, in June of 2023, the Florida Division of Elections approved the use of the clear ballot audit system, which allows counties to implement an independent audit to verify election results. Currently, 13 states have adopted the clear B ball ballot technology and at least six states are explicitly using the system. As you saw in the packet, the spreadsheet outlining the differences between the manual and independent audit. This one here in front of you. So, the manual audit is where the counting board sorts and counts the ballots by votes until they reach the correct numbers. And the process can be slow and costly. Um, sometimes when you have a lot of ballots, they get in the wrong the votes get in the wrong place. So then you have to start all over again. Um, it is not transparent. This the new independent audit creates high resolution backup for all ballot images, is transparent, and can visually resolve contested elections. The supervisor of elections office is recommending the town approve and using the independent audit.

Are there any questions? No. Um, no. So, it's kind of like AI. I personally have not seen it yet. I I think it's a software, a new technology, and they put the ballots through maybe a the tabulator with the software. I it's going to be new to me as well. So if you So if you have a contestant one that you're doing, they'll they run it back through this particular software. Is that what you're saying? Well, the audit happens the Friday after the election. Okay. And they're going to take all the ballots through this new system.

What if the election's already called? What is it matter at that point? Right.

Um it is state law. It's state law that an audit is done. So, normally with a manual audit, the night of the election, we have the canvasing board roll a dieice and it picks the seat that you're going to audit on Friday. So, one seat or we will have ballot questions, it will be one question. If if you decide on the mail ball, if you decide on the manual audit, it will be one seat or one charter question that will be audited on Friday. and we have to handle the ballots and we sort them out physically and that's what the manual is. Now, clear ballot is something new to me as well. It sounds like it it's a it's a software. It's going to go through this software. It takes high resolution pictures of each ballot, so it's transparent and

it's just quicker. Very quicker. Oh, and yeah, it's it the it reduces the audit time by over 90%. Mhm. So, you need us to approve approve which one um we decide on. Okay. And for the record, this is new this year for us, too. This hasn't been the way we had to do any of it in the past either. So, it's new for everybody. Um So it's either man options are manual audits or independent automated, right? Is that correct?

And we Okay. So we can sit there and go, "No, we might be doing it." Okay. All right. Recount. Okay. Yeah, I'm I'm good using I'm I'm ready to try it. You got to try it to see if it works. Somewhere. Yeah. Okay. Do you want me to make the motion? Oh, sure. Yeah. Okay. I make a motion to approve the use of the independent of the independent audit um for the March 10th, 2026 audit at the supervisor of elections office. Do we have a second? Second. All approved?

Yes. I opposed. Okay. Motion passes. On to the next item, vote by mail ballots. This is a routine procedure for the supervisor of elections and I will be at their offices by 9:00 a.m. on election day to oversee the processing of the vote by vote by mail ballots. This process is open to the public and all are welcome to attend. Are there any questions? So that means that one of us is present where all day down there at voting pre one of us is um required to be in attendance by 9:00 and that I will be there on election day on that morning.

So one of us at 9:00 in the morning has to be down at the Orange County uh elections office and sit there all day. No. No. just when they open and start and process the vote by mail ballots as as the day of the election. The day of the election they do that. So you have to be there. The mails in they have it sitting there and then they start running it through the Yes. And I oversee it and the public is welcome to attend and you all are welcome to attend. Everybody anybody that wants to be there to watch them put it through the the tabulator. You only have to be there just for the towns only. Yes. You're not staying there. I'm there to represent the town, right? For the canvasing. If the town's done in five minutes, I'm not That's right.

Okay. But we are meeting again the same day at We have to be there by 3:00. The canvasing board. So 9:00 and 3:00. Yes. Cuz you got to be there for when the ball is. Yeah. So, the canvasing board will convene at 3:00 in the afternoon on election day and we start our meeting and if there's any provisionals, any provisional ballots or any discrepancies for like our next item here talks about duplication processes and we look at ballots and we um have to approve them or not approve them and

Yeah. And then we will take a break and then we have to rec reconvene at 7 o'clock at night after the polls close if there's any provisionals that come in. So we have to wait around or you can leave and come back. So Okay. But you got to re be back at so 9 and 7. Yes. Yes. Okay. But only just one at 9 has to everybody has to at 3 and everyone has to come back for the 7 o' 7. That's correct. Yes. Okay. And you're going to do the 9:00 or you want the one of us to do it? I'll be the one at 9:00. Bad girl.

All right. So, I need a motion for this item 3A. Do you want me to make the motion? Go ahead. I'll make a motion to approve the vote by mail ballot process on election day. I'll second. All approved. Yeah.

Any opposed? Okay. Passes. Okay. We were going on to 3B. Approval for the supervisor of elections to do duplication processing. This is also a routine procedure for the supervisor of elections. If they receive a votebymail ballot that is damaged and cannot be processed by the tabulator, they will duplicate the ballot and then run the duplicate through the tabulator. However, it will not count until the canvasing board verifies the duplication and approves it. Are there any questions? It's kind of the same as the provisionals that come in.

And we vote on every ballot that there's an issue on and there could be issues on signatures with the vote by mail. And we have to vote on every single one. And this duplication just helps us in the end. So the supervisor of elections can go ahead and duplicate that ballot and run it through the tabulator. It just saves the canvasing board time. Yeah. Okay. Good for me. Sounds good. Get a motion. Motion to approve 3B vote by mail ballot approval process. I'll second. All approved. All approved. Any opposed?

I'll see. Okay. This meeting is adjourned at 6:40 p.m. Thank you. Thank you. It's very