Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment of Justice Records - ADA - Preclearance - N/A - 8/24/1999 Sent via Federal Express August 24, 1999 Chief, Voting Section Civil Rights Division Department of Justice 320 First Street, N.W., Room 818A Washington, D.C. 20001 Re: Submission under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act City of Glendale, Arizona, 1999 Special Bond Election Dear Sir or Madam: This letter, plus attachments, will constitute our submission for your review under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. 1998 PRIMARY AND GENERAL ELECTIONS The City of Glendale received a pre-clearance letter dated February 12, 1998 from the Department of Justice for the March 10, 1998 Primary Election and the May 19, 1998 General Election. Please see Exhibit A. Annexation and Deannexation The City of Glendale has approved three annexations and one deannexation since the 1998 Primary and General Elections. The three annexations or the one deannexation did not affect the population of the City of Glendale. In addition, Annexation No. 131, (Ordinance No. 2086) was approved by the City Council on July 13, 1999 and became effective on August 13, 1999. Since we have not received the recorded copy of Ordinance No. 2086, the Justice Department submittal has not as yet occurred. Please see Exhibit B. 1999 Special Bond Election The City of Glendale's Special Bond Election is scheduled for November 2, 1999. The purpose of the election is to submit to the qualified electors of the City of Glendale questions as to whether bonds of the City should be authorized to be issued. Department of Justice Submission under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act City of Glendale, Arizona, 1999 Special Bond Election Page 2 Resolution No. 3314 New Series (English and Spanish), which was approved by the City Council on July 27, 1999, officially called for the Special Bond Election. The exhibits attached to Resolution No. 3314 include the Official Ballot and Notice of Special Bond Election to be held in the City of Glendale, Arizona, on November 2, 1999. Please see Exhibits C, D, E , and F. BALLOT TABULATION The City of Glendale has recently purchased two "Optech" optical scan ballot tabulation units. This tabulation unit has been tested and approved by the State of Arizona Secretary of State Department. The computer program for ballot tabulation will be filed with the Secretary of State prior to October 26, 1999. The Optech unit is utilized by Maricopa County, which tabulated the City's 1998 Primary and General Election ballots, and by the City of Phoenix. Ballot boxes will be used at the polling places and returned to City Hall for tabulation on election night. Training on the tabulation equipment is scheduled for August 31, 1999. Please see Exhibit G. OVERVIEW OF ELECTION RESPONSIBILTIES The City of Glendale contracted its voting registration with the Maricopa County Elections Department in Phoenix, Arizona. Maricopa County is responsible for all county precinct boundaries within the County/City and provides voter registration lists to the City. The City Clerk also contracts with the Maricopa County Elections Department for the hiring and training of election board officials for the polling places. The City Clerk and her staff are responsible for all other election processes. Please see Exhibit H. EARLY VOTING The City Clerk and her staff are responsible for selecting and training early ballot workers. Workers generally fall within the following categories: temporary workers who have served as election judges in the past; and other people with computer, telephone, and/or clerical skills, who are available to work on a temporary basis. The City Clerk and her staff scheduled training classes in August of 1999 to instruct these workers in early voting procedures. The City of Glendale has emphasized early voting as a means of increasing voter participation in past elections and will continue to do so in the future. The City will provide the following early voting incentive services for the 1999 Bond Election: Department of Justice Submission under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act City of Glendale, Arizona, 1999 Special Bond Election Page 3 • Voter registration and early ballot request forms will be available at certain facilities within the City, i.e. libraries, City Hall, schools, colleges, etc.; • A Special Election Board will be formed to early vote the disabled and elderly at their residences; • Early ballot request forms will be published in the Connection (a City newsletter which is included with the water/trash bill); • Advertising and early ballot request forms will be placed in local newspapers; • Information and early ballot request forms will be posted on the City's Internet home page; • Verbal requests for early ballots will be taken by operators who can be reached via the election hotline; • Recorded election information will be provided on the election hotline; • Early ballot requests can be faxed to City Clerk's Office; and • Early voting will be provided at the City Clerk's Office, Monday through Friday, except for holidays, during normal business hours. POLLING PLACES The majority of the polling places will remain the same as those used in the 1998 Primary and General Elections. Two polling places will be changed as follows: Cactus District - Glendale Cascade Mobile Home Park, 5747 West Missouri Avenue. The mobile home park manager declined to give the City permission to use the facility. An excellent replacement location has been found at Desert Sky Health & Rehabilitation, 5125 North 58th Avenue. Yucca District — Bicentennial North School, 7237 West Missouri Avenue. The parking is limited and the lot is full during school hours. A better location has been found, with plenty of parking, at Riverside Baptist Church, 8024 West Camelback Road. One additional polling place will be added to the Cholla District. This polling place will be located at the Foothills Library, 19055 North 57th Avenue. This additional polling place will relieve two congested polling places and will serve incoming voters, who will Department of Justice Submission under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act City of Glendale, Arizona, 1999 Special Bond Election Page 4 reside in homes presently under construction. Voters in Maricopa County's Beardsley Precinct who voted at the Cholla 1 polling place, Fire Station #156 located at 6801 West Deer Valley Road, in the 1998 Primary and General Elections will be relocated to the new Foothills Library polling place. Voters in Maricopa County's John Cabot Precinct, who voted at the Cholla 4 polling place, Faith Bible Church located at 17334 North 63rd Avenue, will also be relocated to the new Foothills Library polling place. Both the Cholla 1 and Cholla 4 polling places will benefit from this reduction in the number of registered voters they serve. Please see Exhibits I, J, and K. The City Clerk's Department staff inspected each of these polling places in the spring of this year. Upon the request of the City Clerk, the Glendale Commission on Persons with Disabilities will be inspecting the polling places during September of 1999. The Commission will make recommendations on any improvements, beyond standard ADA requirements, that might need to be made to a polling place to make it more serviceable to the elderly and handicapped. If you have any questions, you may contact Ms. Pam Baldwin, Chairperson of the Commission on Persons with Disabilities, at (623) 789-9129 extension 215. In addition, members of the Glendale Hispanic Forum are in the process of reviewing the polling places. If you have any questions, you may contact Ms. Norma Alvarez at (623) 930-2854; Ms. Lucy Thompson at (623) 939-5457; and/or Ms. Pauline Valenzuela at (623) 931-0627. LIST OF EXHIBITS Exhibit A Pre-clearance letter from the Justice Department dated February 12, 1998 for the March 10, 1998 Primary and May 19, 1998 General Elections. Exhibit B Letters from the Justice Department approving annexations and deannexations to the City of Glendale since the 1998 Primary and General Elections: Annexation #129 (Ordinance No. 2003) and Deannexation #129; and Annexation #130 (Ordinance No. 2068). Copy of Ordinance No. 2086 pertaining to Annexation No. 131, which became effective on July 13, 1999 (no Justice Department submittal has as yet occurred). Exhibit C Resolution No. 3314 (English) Exhibit D Resolution No. 3314 (Spanish) Exhibit E Proof of publication of Resolution No. 3314, in both English and Spanish, in the Glendale Star, which is the City's official newspaper. Department of Justice Submission under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act City of Glendale, Arizona, 1999 Special Bond Election Page 5 Exhibit F Excerpt of the minutes of the May 18, 1999 City Council Workshop, at which the municipal election was reviewed. Excerpt of the minutes of the July 27, 1999 City Council meeting, at which Resolution No. 3314 was approved. Exhibit G Authorization letters dated August 4, 1998 and November 20, 1991 from the Secretary of State to Election Systems & Software (ES&S) relative to the tabulation unit. Exhibit H Special Bond Election Calendar Exhibit I 1999 Bond Election Polling Place List. Exhibit J !999 Bond Election Polling Place Inspection Sheet Exhibit K 1999 Polling Place Map CONCLUSION As always, our goal throughout the election process is to provide service to the voter and stimulate voter turnout. If you have any questions concerning this submission, or if further information is required, please contact me at (623) 930-2253. Respectfully submitted, Pamela Oliveira, CMC, CEO City Clerk Enclosures f:\derk\election\1999\bond\justicedept.doc.