Gaston County's
IN RE GASTON ONE-STOP PLAN 1 of 22
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA WAKE COUNTY BEFORE THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS
IN THE MATTER OF: ABSENTEE ONE-STOP VOTING PLAN IN GASTON COUNTY
) ) ) )
RECORD ON APPEAL ASSEMBLED BY STATE BOARD STAFF
Petition and Sworn Affidavit in Support of One-Stop Implementation Plan Which Includes Four Hours of Sunday Voting...........................................................................................................2 Exhibits.................................................................................................................................................7 Plan A.................................................................................................................................................19 Plan B.................................................................................................................................................21
IN RE GASTON ONE-STOP PLAN 2 of 22
27 February 2018 Ms. Kim Strach, Executive Director Mr. Josh Lawson, Agency Legal Counsel North Carolina State Board of Elections & Ethics PO Box27255 Raleigh, NC 27611-7255 Re: Petition and Sworn Affidavit in Support of a One-Stop Implementation Plan which includes four hours of Sunday Voting in advance of Gaston County's May 8, 2018 Primaries ("Sunday Voting Plan") Dear Executive Director Strach and Mr. Lawson, The Petitioner, James W. Ragan, is the Democratic designee member of the Gaston County Board of Elections and serves with two Republican designees, Lee Ann MacMillan and Sheena Amos. All three members of our Board were appointed under prior law. As you know, the new Governor Roy Cooper has legally challenged the laws passed after his election which did away with the old State Board of Elections, merging it with an Ethics Board and changing its size, composition, and certain practices such as appointment processes. Current Legal and County Board Status Technically, our county board terms expired in July of 2017 and all local county boards would be constituted differently under either the former procedure and laws or the latest versions passed by the General Assembly in 2017 and 2018. However, the courts have stayed implementation of the statutory changes and the State Board of Elections and Ethics remains an empty vessel. In the meantime, county board members have been asked to remain as holdovers until the legal issues surrounding the new State Board are resolved (for this reason I am uncomfortable with the terms "majority" and "minority"). Based on the recent actions of the Courts and General Assembly I am hopeful that members for a new State Elections Board will be appointed soon and empowered to oversee the actions of the local county boards (with new appointments to these boards as an immediate priority). If such an action occurs while a decision on this Petition is pending, I would ask the new State Board to review and decide this matter itself. Also attached to this Petition are Petitioner's Exhibits marked II A" through 11 F". Procedural History Giving Rise to This Petition On Tuesday, February 20, 2018, the Gaston County Board of Elections met and considered a One-Stop Implementation Plan in advance of the 2018 Primaries currently scheduled for May 8, 2018. During the public comment portion of the meeting, an African American gentlemen a_sked the Board to include Sunday voting hours in the Plan. A proposed 'Original' plan was then introduced by County Elections Director Adam Ragan which includes several early voting polling locations and voting hours from Thursday April 19 through Saturday May 5, 2018 but does not include any hours for Sunday early voting (Exhibit A). Petitioner introduced an altemative Plan which slightly modified the 'Original' Proposal by adding four hours of Sunday early voting from I pm to 5 pm at the polling site near the Board of Elections office. The Petitioner also offered to reduce other scheduled voting hours by four hours in any combination or location desired by other Board members to keep his Sunday voting proposal cost neutral. In the absence of any suggestions on this issue, the Director indicated that the cost of the additional hours would be minimal and he would simply add the four hours to the Original proposal to create the alternative plan. Thus, Petitioners 'Sunday Voting' Plan alters the Original Plan in only one respect by adding four voting hours on Sunday, April 29, 2018 at one polling station (the Board of Elections site) (Exhibit B). Since his appointment to the Board in July, 2015, the Petitioner has requested inclusion of early voting hours on Sundays for all elections allowing early voting and has made a variety of arguments for why Sunday voting is appropriate and needed for each election. Rather than repeating all these points again during the February 20 meeting, Petitioner asked if there were any questions or comments about his proposal. In response, a discussion occurred between the other board members about a comment made by a member of the public months earlier. The summary of the discussion was that when the public audience attending that meeting were individually asked about whether they
IN RE GASTON ONE-STOP PLAN 3 of 22
favored Sunday voting, this attendee stated that the only time she could vote was on a Sunday. The members seemed concerned that she made such a statement during a Board of Elections meeting which was taking place around noon on a Tuesday next to a polling station for Gaston County. Since the attendee was not questioned at the time and was not present on Tuesday, the significance of the discussion remains unclear to Petitioner. In further response to Petitioner's Sunday voting plan, the other members also maintained that the one prior experience with Sunday voting in 2016 did not produce any "new" voters. It is their belief that those who voted on Sunday would have chosen another day if Sunday had not been available. Finally, the members expressed their belief that there were ample early voting hours and locations in addition to the availability of absentee ballots so that anyone wishing to vote could do so without the need for Sunday voting. The members have also argued at other times that the Board's voter , plans should not cater to mere voter preferences or convenience for a few voters. A vote was then taken in which the other members voted for the Original Plan and the Petitioner voted for the Sunday Voting Plan. These votes lead to the current non-unanimous Plans and tltis Petition asking for adoption of the Sunday voting plan. I have attached the July 25, 2016 minutes I believe reflect the Board audience polling on Sunday voting conducted during the meeting my colleagues were discussing (Exhibit C). Although the audience polling was informal and not scientific, the minutes reflect a clear division of opinion about the merits of Sunday Voting. Although not reflected in the minutes, at that time Petitioner also observed that almost all African-Americans present supported Sunday voting while most whites in the audience did not favor it. As of February I, 2018, there were 141,517 registered voters in Gaston County (Exhibit D). A significant minority of tl1ose voters (23,496) are African Americans. Based on the evidence and findings made by the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in North Carolina Conference of the NAACP v McCrory, 831 F.3d 204 (4th Cir. 2016) cert. denied sub nom. North Carolina v North Carolina Conference of the NAACP, 137 S. Ct 1389 (2017), there is strong reason to believe that an overwhelming number of those voters would also support and benefit from access to Sunday voting. The McCrory court also viewed such early voting practices as much more important than mere preferences or unnecessary conveniences. What NAACP v McCrory can teach us about Sunday voting After the Supreme Court eliminated a predetennination process under the Voting Rights Act that required certain states (including North Carolina) have their voting laws and practices reviewed by the Justice Department, Republicans in the NC General Assembly and Governor McCrory wasted no time in passing a new elections state law, SL 2013-381. Portions of this statute restricted voting and registration in 5 different ways, including the elimination of the first seven days of early voting which also eliminated a Sunday for early voting. The McCrory Court found evidence that all these changes negatively and disproportional affected African Americans (Id., p. 215). In Fact, this result was not surprising given there was clear evidence showing that the legislature requested and received racial data as to voting practices. Those practices used by minorities that were then targeted and diminished (Id., p. 216). The defendants argued that African American voting patterns were based on simple personal preferences they were free to ignore. The McCrory Court rejected these arguments and cited evidence that African American voting patterns were driven by a host of socio-economic factors which still plague many of its members, including the disproportional need to move more often, being poor, less educated, having less access to transportation, and experiencing poor health (Id., at p. 233). In McCrory. the evidence also showed that African-Americans used early voting at disproportional high rates, especially the first seven days of early voting (le:!., p.216). "As a result, SL 2013-381 also eliminated one of two "souls-to-polls" Sundays in which African American churches provided transportation to voters" (le:!., at p. 216). The State argued that the statute was designed to reduce voting "inconsistencies" and "political gamesmanship" demonstrated by the fact that only some counties offered Sunday voting. The State tried to further justify removing some Sunday voting by explaining that "counties with Sunday voting in 2014 were disproportional black" and "disproportionately Democratic" (le:!., at p. 236). The Circuit Court wrote that the State's own justification for the law was a virtual "smoking gun° of bias since it focused explicitly on African Americans overusing their vote for Democrats (Id., at p. 236). Ultimately, the Fourth Circuit found the voting restrictions contained in SL 2013-381 to violate of the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection clause of the Constitution and portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The US Supreme has declined to hear the case on appeal. As previously mentioned, more than one voter in seven is African American in Gaston County. The evidence in McCrory shows that many African Americans would like to cast their vote on Sunday, not as a whim, but for a variety
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IN RE GASTON ONE-STOP PLAN 4 of 22
of reasons not all of which are within their control. By striking down SL 2013-381, the McCrory court addressed de jure discrimination in the written law. However, what is to be done about the law allowing Sunday voting but local boards not supporting it in practice? I believe the board members I serve with are honest, decent, hard working, and intelligent people who do not express any racial bias in their interactions with all people who come before our Board. But what about the results of the Board's votes? Are we doing everything possible to avoid inadvertent de facto bias? There was an opportunity for our Board to engage the member of the public who showed up on that Tuesday to express her need for Sunday voting and clarify her position. Within reasonable boundaries such as cost and voter security, I believe we should do everything possible to making voting as easy as possible including putting ourselves in the shoes of others. The Gaston County Board of Elections should be concerned with developing more legal, secure, cost effective, and productive ways to increase voter turnout in the county. I believe that the Sunday Voting Plan meets all those criteria.
Prior Sunday Voting Experience We have some limited but positive experience with Sunday voting in Gaston County. Early in 2016, Director Ragan suggested we try adding a limited schedule of Sunday, one-stop voting of 4 hours (lpm-5pm) and offered only at our BOE one-stop polling place on March 6, 2018. It should be noted that this was during the time when SL2013-38 l was in effect and early voting days had been reduced by 7 days. This proposal was approved on a bipartisan basis when one Republican member also voted in favor. There appears to be some misunderstanding about the results of that Sunday voting plan. In anticipation of how "success" would be defined regarding the Sunday vote, I asked the Board's Director to prepare some guidelines to help the Board make sense of the Sunday result prior to the vote itself. In February, the Director shared his thoughts in writing (Exhibit E). Obviously, predicting election outcomes is a very difficult because of the number of factors influencing turnout (e.g., weather, campaign effectiveness, candidates, etc.). As the Director's analysis shows, he examined the question guided by statistics and used the last primaries in 2012 as the benchmark, after adjusting for factors like an increase in registered voters and variations in hours and days open. Based on these calculations, he estimated that 2016 early voting primary turnout results would need to exceed 10,132 voters or Voters Per Hour (VPH) of31.08 to demonstrate the efficacy of the plan. The actual March 2016 one stop early voting including the Sunday vote for the 10 day period was 12,027. This turnout significantly exceeded the Director's adjusted expected result based on 2012 results (10,132). Overall VPH for 2016 of 36.89 also exceeded the Director's adjusted 2012 benchmark VPH of 31.08. (Exhibit F). On Sunday March 6, when the poll site opened, there was a long line waiting to vote. The one-stop site had already been used several days so all equipment and supplies were ready and with the experienced poll workers, the line was addressed. In 4 hours 380 citizens had voted for a Voter Per Hour (VPH) of 95.00. The four hours of Sunday voting clearly contributed to the successful outcome achieved by the plan. The Sunday VPH was the highest rate of any day for the early voting period. Stated another way, an investment of 1.22% in early voting hours (4/326) produced a 3.16% return in early voter turnout (380/12027). These results represent hard numbers and good results, not speculation. As an added bonus, the early voting program and results were also favorably reported by the local newspaper. The opponents of Sunday voting maintain that it failed to produce additional voter turnout. They argue that the large number of Sunday voters was comprised of persons who would have voted on other days if Sunday had not been available In support of this argument they have noted the relatively low turnout the first three days of one stop voting, especially the Saturday before the voting Sunday. Voters Per Hour (VPH) for those days averaged 24.33/hour. However, as the numbers for the remaining early voting days show, Sunday was just the first day signaling a significant wave of voting for the remainder of the early voting period. If the argument is that Sunday voting pulled votes from the days around it, we would expect to see depressed numbers in the days which followed Sunday as well. This did not happen. Instead, the remaining 6 one stop days (not including Sunday) were significantly busier (average VPH 46.03) than the first three days had been (VPH 24.33). However, only the last early voting Saturday (VPH 88.45) came anywhere close to the 95.00 VPH generated on that Sunday. There is no data as to the composition of those who voted on Sunday as to their new versus existing voter status, much less what their voting pattern had been or was intended to be. Arguments based on such notions are pure speculation
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IN RE GASTON ONE-STOP PLAN 5 of 22
and should not be used to deny the benefits of Sunday voting, especially to Gaston County's African American community. What the numbers do show is that Sunday voting access was popular and used by voters.
Addressing Other Concerns about the Sunday voting Plan Staffing costs for 4 Sunday hours: The Director estimates this cost at less than $1000. Although I had no takers, I would still be willing to accept 4 hours of voting reductions at other polls and days anywhere the Director and Board members may wish. Availability of staff to work: There is already interest by experienced staff to work the Sunday hours even though we do not have an approved plan at this point and the Director does not see this as a problem. Costs of location, equipment, set up: the alternative plan is highly efficient in this regard as we would use the most centralized and productive early voting site in the county for no additional charge. Since the site is set to open on April 19, set up and all prior testing would have already been completed well before Sunday April 29, and the physical site would be ready to go when the door is unlocked and the lights turned on. In fact, it is allowing the polling site to remain idle on Sunday which is not efficient Voting security and integrity: all the same process protections and safeguards will be in effect for Sunday hours. All computer systems would available. Interference with Sunday worship: the proposed hours do not begin until I :00 pm which is a time when most church services have concluded so there would be time for persons to worship and also vote or chose not to vote if they think that would be the appropriate action to take; we will have supplied them with alternative choices. Is it needed? Does it fill a gap in creating a unique opportunity for voting? Yes. The increased number of early voting polling sites and more early voting days will be a good thing though it may involve some additional cost. However, while the other 6 days of the week will receive multiple coverage under the Original plan, not a single moment is allocated to Sunday voting. Adding Sunday time increases voting hours without extending the overall voting period or increasing costs and eliminates the inefficiency of idling the most productive early voting site in the county. It also addresses a recognized means to increase African American access to the polls under McCrory. In practical terms, we have heard from some voters that it would help them vote individually but also some who have infomed family or friends that they would like to take to vote but have no time to do so except on Sunday. Finally a concern has been raised that "we can't please everyone" and "there will always be someone who will be unhappy with the plan" or "supporting Sunday voting will just encourage voters to become more extreme in their demands by asking for open polls '24/7' or allowing them to vote at home." While it is certainly true that some people may have unrealistic ideas about how far voting accommodation should go, Sunday voting is a practice well recognized in this country as well as a majority of nations in the world. Adopting some hours for Sunday voting does not obligate anyone to commit to any impractical or unreasonable idea for voting in the future. Indeed, we know from NC State Conference of NAACP v McCrory Sunday voting was targeted for restriction specifically because it was very popular among certain classes of voters who support a different political party. Besides Sunday voting, I am unaware of any voter proposal to further expand voting practices in any other way. Anything in reason that makes it easier to securely vote is something we need to always consider. Voting is a right not a privilege. We need to send signals to everyone who is eligible to vote that we are listening to them when deciding what is reasonable and willing to give them the access they may need to overcome systemic headwinds to voting. Thank you for considering this statement and Petition.
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IN RE GASTON ONE-STOP PLAN 6 of 22
. Ragan e er Gaston County Board of Elections
GASTON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
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Sworn to (or affirmed) and subscribed before me this).. day of February, 2018 by:
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Signature of Notary Public Printed or Typed Name
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Location BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia
Date Thursday, April 19, 2018 Friday, April 20, 2018 Saturday, April 21, 2018 Sunday, April 22, 2018 Monday, April 23, 2018 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 Wednesday, April 26, 2018 Thursday, April 26, 2018 Friday,April 27, 2018 Saturday; April 28, 2018 Sunday, April 29, 2018 Monday, April 30, 2018 Tuesday, May 01, 2018 Wednesday, May 02, 2018 Thursday, May 03, 2018 Friday, May 04, 2018 Saturday, May 06, 2018
Open 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM CLOSED 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM CLOSED 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM
Close 7:00PM 7:00PM 1:00PM CLOSED 7:00PM 7:00PM 7:00PM 7:00PM 7:00PM 1:00PM CLOSED 7:00PM 7:00 PM 7:00PM 7:00PM 7:00PM 1:00PM
Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center- Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas
Thursday, April 19, 2018 Friday, April 20, 2018 Saturday, April 21, 2018 Sunday, April 22, 2018 Monday, April 23, 2018 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 Wednesday, April 25, 2018 Thursday, April 26, 2018 Friday, April 27, 2018 Saturday, April 28, 2018 Sunday, April 29, 2018 Monday, April 30, 2018 Tuesday, May 01, 2018 Wednesday, May 02, 2018 Thursday, May 03, 2018 Friday, May 04, 2018 Saturday, May 06, 2018
10:00AM 10:00AM 8:00AM CLOSED 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 8:00AM CLOSED 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 8:00AM
6:00PM 6:00PM 1:00PM CLOSED 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 1:00PM CLOSED 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 1:00PM
Daily Hours Open 11 11 6 0 11 11 11 11 11 6 0 11 11 11 11 11 6
IN RE GASTON ONE-STOP PLAN 7 of 22
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Location Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly
TOTALS
Date Thursday, April 19, 2018 Friday, April 20, 2018 , Saturday, April 21, 2018 ' Sunday, April 22, 2018 Monday, April 23, 2018 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 Wednesday, April 25, 2018 Thursday, April 26, 2018 Friday, April 27,.2018 Saturday, April 28, 2018 Sunday, April 29, 2018 Monday, April 30, 2018 Tuesday, May 01, 2018 Wednesday, May 02, 2018 Thursday, May 03, 2018 Friday, May 04, 2018 Saturday, May 05, 2018
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Close 6:00 PM 6:00PM 1:00PM CLOSED 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 1:00PM CLOSED 6:00 PM 6:00 PM 6:00 PM 6:00 PM 6:00PM 1:00PM
Hours Open INDaily RE GASTON ONE-STOP PLAN 8 of 22
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STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA WAKE COUNTY BEFORE THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS
IN THE MATTER OF: ABSENTEE ONE-STOP VOTING PLAN IN GASTON COUNTY
) ) ) )
RECORD ON APPEAL ASSEMBLED BY STATE BOARD STAFF
Petition and Sworn Affidavit in Support of One-Stop Implementation Plan Which Includes Four Hours of Sunday Voting...........................................................................................................2 Exhibits.................................................................................................................................................7 Plan A.................................................................................................................................................19 Plan B.................................................................................................................................................21
IN RE GASTON ONE-STOP PLAN 2 of 22
27 February 2018 Ms. Kim Strach, Executive Director Mr. Josh Lawson, Agency Legal Counsel North Carolina State Board of Elections & Ethics PO Box27255 Raleigh, NC 27611-7255 Re: Petition and Sworn Affidavit in Support of a One-Stop Implementation Plan which includes four hours of Sunday Voting in advance of Gaston County's May 8, 2018 Primaries ("Sunday Voting Plan") Dear Executive Director Strach and Mr. Lawson, The Petitioner, James W. Ragan, is the Democratic designee member of the Gaston County Board of Elections and serves with two Republican designees, Lee Ann MacMillan and Sheena Amos. All three members of our Board were appointed under prior law. As you know, the new Governor Roy Cooper has legally challenged the laws passed after his election which did away with the old State Board of Elections, merging it with an Ethics Board and changing its size, composition, and certain practices such as appointment processes. Current Legal and County Board Status Technically, our county board terms expired in July of 2017 and all local county boards would be constituted differently under either the former procedure and laws or the latest versions passed by the General Assembly in 2017 and 2018. However, the courts have stayed implementation of the statutory changes and the State Board of Elections and Ethics remains an empty vessel. In the meantime, county board members have been asked to remain as holdovers until the legal issues surrounding the new State Board are resolved (for this reason I am uncomfortable with the terms "majority" and "minority"). Based on the recent actions of the Courts and General Assembly I am hopeful that members for a new State Elections Board will be appointed soon and empowered to oversee the actions of the local county boards (with new appointments to these boards as an immediate priority). If such an action occurs while a decision on this Petition is pending, I would ask the new State Board to review and decide this matter itself. Also attached to this Petition are Petitioner's Exhibits marked II A" through 11 F". Procedural History Giving Rise to This Petition On Tuesday, February 20, 2018, the Gaston County Board of Elections met and considered a One-Stop Implementation Plan in advance of the 2018 Primaries currently scheduled for May 8, 2018. During the public comment portion of the meeting, an African American gentlemen a_sked the Board to include Sunday voting hours in the Plan. A proposed 'Original' plan was then introduced by County Elections Director Adam Ragan which includes several early voting polling locations and voting hours from Thursday April 19 through Saturday May 5, 2018 but does not include any hours for Sunday early voting (Exhibit A). Petitioner introduced an altemative Plan which slightly modified the 'Original' Proposal by adding four hours of Sunday early voting from I pm to 5 pm at the polling site near the Board of Elections office. The Petitioner also offered to reduce other scheduled voting hours by four hours in any combination or location desired by other Board members to keep his Sunday voting proposal cost neutral. In the absence of any suggestions on this issue, the Director indicated that the cost of the additional hours would be minimal and he would simply add the four hours to the Original proposal to create the alternative plan. Thus, Petitioners 'Sunday Voting' Plan alters the Original Plan in only one respect by adding four voting hours on Sunday, April 29, 2018 at one polling station (the Board of Elections site) (Exhibit B). Since his appointment to the Board in July, 2015, the Petitioner has requested inclusion of early voting hours on Sundays for all elections allowing early voting and has made a variety of arguments for why Sunday voting is appropriate and needed for each election. Rather than repeating all these points again during the February 20 meeting, Petitioner asked if there were any questions or comments about his proposal. In response, a discussion occurred between the other board members about a comment made by a member of the public months earlier. The summary of the discussion was that when the public audience attending that meeting were individually asked about whether they
IN RE GASTON ONE-STOP PLAN 3 of 22
favored Sunday voting, this attendee stated that the only time she could vote was on a Sunday. The members seemed concerned that she made such a statement during a Board of Elections meeting which was taking place around noon on a Tuesday next to a polling station for Gaston County. Since the attendee was not questioned at the time and was not present on Tuesday, the significance of the discussion remains unclear to Petitioner. In further response to Petitioner's Sunday voting plan, the other members also maintained that the one prior experience with Sunday voting in 2016 did not produce any "new" voters. It is their belief that those who voted on Sunday would have chosen another day if Sunday had not been available. Finally, the members expressed their belief that there were ample early voting hours and locations in addition to the availability of absentee ballots so that anyone wishing to vote could do so without the need for Sunday voting. The members have also argued at other times that the Board's voter , plans should not cater to mere voter preferences or convenience for a few voters. A vote was then taken in which the other members voted for the Original Plan and the Petitioner voted for the Sunday Voting Plan. These votes lead to the current non-unanimous Plans and tltis Petition asking for adoption of the Sunday voting plan. I have attached the July 25, 2016 minutes I believe reflect the Board audience polling on Sunday voting conducted during the meeting my colleagues were discussing (Exhibit C). Although the audience polling was informal and not scientific, the minutes reflect a clear division of opinion about the merits of Sunday Voting. Although not reflected in the minutes, at that time Petitioner also observed that almost all African-Americans present supported Sunday voting while most whites in the audience did not favor it. As of February I, 2018, there were 141,517 registered voters in Gaston County (Exhibit D). A significant minority of tl1ose voters (23,496) are African Americans. Based on the evidence and findings made by the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in North Carolina Conference of the NAACP v McCrory, 831 F.3d 204 (4th Cir. 2016) cert. denied sub nom. North Carolina v North Carolina Conference of the NAACP, 137 S. Ct 1389 (2017), there is strong reason to believe that an overwhelming number of those voters would also support and benefit from access to Sunday voting. The McCrory court also viewed such early voting practices as much more important than mere preferences or unnecessary conveniences. What NAACP v McCrory can teach us about Sunday voting After the Supreme Court eliminated a predetennination process under the Voting Rights Act that required certain states (including North Carolina) have their voting laws and practices reviewed by the Justice Department, Republicans in the NC General Assembly and Governor McCrory wasted no time in passing a new elections state law, SL 2013-381. Portions of this statute restricted voting and registration in 5 different ways, including the elimination of the first seven days of early voting which also eliminated a Sunday for early voting. The McCrory Court found evidence that all these changes negatively and disproportional affected African Americans (Id., p. 215). In Fact, this result was not surprising given there was clear evidence showing that the legislature requested and received racial data as to voting practices. Those practices used by minorities that were then targeted and diminished (Id., p. 216). The defendants argued that African American voting patterns were based on simple personal preferences they were free to ignore. The McCrory Court rejected these arguments and cited evidence that African American voting patterns were driven by a host of socio-economic factors which still plague many of its members, including the disproportional need to move more often, being poor, less educated, having less access to transportation, and experiencing poor health (Id., at p. 233). In McCrory. the evidence also showed that African-Americans used early voting at disproportional high rates, especially the first seven days of early voting (le:!., p.216). "As a result, SL 2013-381 also eliminated one of two "souls-to-polls" Sundays in which African American churches provided transportation to voters" (le:!., at p. 216). The State argued that the statute was designed to reduce voting "inconsistencies" and "political gamesmanship" demonstrated by the fact that only some counties offered Sunday voting. The State tried to further justify removing some Sunday voting by explaining that "counties with Sunday voting in 2014 were disproportional black" and "disproportionately Democratic" (le:!., at p. 236). The Circuit Court wrote that the State's own justification for the law was a virtual "smoking gun° of bias since it focused explicitly on African Americans overusing their vote for Democrats (Id., at p. 236). Ultimately, the Fourth Circuit found the voting restrictions contained in SL 2013-381 to violate of the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection clause of the Constitution and portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The US Supreme has declined to hear the case on appeal. As previously mentioned, more than one voter in seven is African American in Gaston County. The evidence in McCrory shows that many African Americans would like to cast their vote on Sunday, not as a whim, but for a variety
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IN RE GASTON ONE-STOP PLAN 4 of 22
of reasons not all of which are within their control. By striking down SL 2013-381, the McCrory court addressed de jure discrimination in the written law. However, what is to be done about the law allowing Sunday voting but local boards not supporting it in practice? I believe the board members I serve with are honest, decent, hard working, and intelligent people who do not express any racial bias in their interactions with all people who come before our Board. But what about the results of the Board's votes? Are we doing everything possible to avoid inadvertent de facto bias? There was an opportunity for our Board to engage the member of the public who showed up on that Tuesday to express her need for Sunday voting and clarify her position. Within reasonable boundaries such as cost and voter security, I believe we should do everything possible to making voting as easy as possible including putting ourselves in the shoes of others. The Gaston County Board of Elections should be concerned with developing more legal, secure, cost effective, and productive ways to increase voter turnout in the county. I believe that the Sunday Voting Plan meets all those criteria.
Prior Sunday Voting Experience We have some limited but positive experience with Sunday voting in Gaston County. Early in 2016, Director Ragan suggested we try adding a limited schedule of Sunday, one-stop voting of 4 hours (lpm-5pm) and offered only at our BOE one-stop polling place on March 6, 2018. It should be noted that this was during the time when SL2013-38 l was in effect and early voting days had been reduced by 7 days. This proposal was approved on a bipartisan basis when one Republican member also voted in favor. There appears to be some misunderstanding about the results of that Sunday voting plan. In anticipation of how "success" would be defined regarding the Sunday vote, I asked the Board's Director to prepare some guidelines to help the Board make sense of the Sunday result prior to the vote itself. In February, the Director shared his thoughts in writing (Exhibit E). Obviously, predicting election outcomes is a very difficult because of the number of factors influencing turnout (e.g., weather, campaign effectiveness, candidates, etc.). As the Director's analysis shows, he examined the question guided by statistics and used the last primaries in 2012 as the benchmark, after adjusting for factors like an increase in registered voters and variations in hours and days open. Based on these calculations, he estimated that 2016 early voting primary turnout results would need to exceed 10,132 voters or Voters Per Hour (VPH) of31.08 to demonstrate the efficacy of the plan. The actual March 2016 one stop early voting including the Sunday vote for the 10 day period was 12,027. This turnout significantly exceeded the Director's adjusted expected result based on 2012 results (10,132). Overall VPH for 2016 of 36.89 also exceeded the Director's adjusted 2012 benchmark VPH of 31.08. (Exhibit F). On Sunday March 6, when the poll site opened, there was a long line waiting to vote. The one-stop site had already been used several days so all equipment and supplies were ready and with the experienced poll workers, the line was addressed. In 4 hours 380 citizens had voted for a Voter Per Hour (VPH) of 95.00. The four hours of Sunday voting clearly contributed to the successful outcome achieved by the plan. The Sunday VPH was the highest rate of any day for the early voting period. Stated another way, an investment of 1.22% in early voting hours (4/326) produced a 3.16% return in early voter turnout (380/12027). These results represent hard numbers and good results, not speculation. As an added bonus, the early voting program and results were also favorably reported by the local newspaper. The opponents of Sunday voting maintain that it failed to produce additional voter turnout. They argue that the large number of Sunday voters was comprised of persons who would have voted on other days if Sunday had not been available In support of this argument they have noted the relatively low turnout the first three days of one stop voting, especially the Saturday before the voting Sunday. Voters Per Hour (VPH) for those days averaged 24.33/hour. However, as the numbers for the remaining early voting days show, Sunday was just the first day signaling a significant wave of voting for the remainder of the early voting period. If the argument is that Sunday voting pulled votes from the days around it, we would expect to see depressed numbers in the days which followed Sunday as well. This did not happen. Instead, the remaining 6 one stop days (not including Sunday) were significantly busier (average VPH 46.03) than the first three days had been (VPH 24.33). However, only the last early voting Saturday (VPH 88.45) came anywhere close to the 95.00 VPH generated on that Sunday. There is no data as to the composition of those who voted on Sunday as to their new versus existing voter status, much less what their voting pattern had been or was intended to be. Arguments based on such notions are pure speculation
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IN RE GASTON ONE-STOP PLAN 5 of 22
and should not be used to deny the benefits of Sunday voting, especially to Gaston County's African American community. What the numbers do show is that Sunday voting access was popular and used by voters.
Addressing Other Concerns about the Sunday voting Plan Staffing costs for 4 Sunday hours: The Director estimates this cost at less than $1000. Although I had no takers, I would still be willing to accept 4 hours of voting reductions at other polls and days anywhere the Director and Board members may wish. Availability of staff to work: There is already interest by experienced staff to work the Sunday hours even though we do not have an approved plan at this point and the Director does not see this as a problem. Costs of location, equipment, set up: the alternative plan is highly efficient in this regard as we would use the most centralized and productive early voting site in the county for no additional charge. Since the site is set to open on April 19, set up and all prior testing would have already been completed well before Sunday April 29, and the physical site would be ready to go when the door is unlocked and the lights turned on. In fact, it is allowing the polling site to remain idle on Sunday which is not efficient Voting security and integrity: all the same process protections and safeguards will be in effect for Sunday hours. All computer systems would available. Interference with Sunday worship: the proposed hours do not begin until I :00 pm which is a time when most church services have concluded so there would be time for persons to worship and also vote or chose not to vote if they think that would be the appropriate action to take; we will have supplied them with alternative choices. Is it needed? Does it fill a gap in creating a unique opportunity for voting? Yes. The increased number of early voting polling sites and more early voting days will be a good thing though it may involve some additional cost. However, while the other 6 days of the week will receive multiple coverage under the Original plan, not a single moment is allocated to Sunday voting. Adding Sunday time increases voting hours without extending the overall voting period or increasing costs and eliminates the inefficiency of idling the most productive early voting site in the county. It also addresses a recognized means to increase African American access to the polls under McCrory. In practical terms, we have heard from some voters that it would help them vote individually but also some who have infomed family or friends that they would like to take to vote but have no time to do so except on Sunday. Finally a concern has been raised that "we can't please everyone" and "there will always be someone who will be unhappy with the plan" or "supporting Sunday voting will just encourage voters to become more extreme in their demands by asking for open polls '24/7' or allowing them to vote at home." While it is certainly true that some people may have unrealistic ideas about how far voting accommodation should go, Sunday voting is a practice well recognized in this country as well as a majority of nations in the world. Adopting some hours for Sunday voting does not obligate anyone to commit to any impractical or unreasonable idea for voting in the future. Indeed, we know from NC State Conference of NAACP v McCrory Sunday voting was targeted for restriction specifically because it was very popular among certain classes of voters who support a different political party. Besides Sunday voting, I am unaware of any voter proposal to further expand voting practices in any other way. Anything in reason that makes it easier to securely vote is something we need to always consider. Voting is a right not a privilege. We need to send signals to everyone who is eligible to vote that we are listening to them when deciding what is reasonable and willing to give them the access they may need to overcome systemic headwinds to voting. Thank you for considering this statement and Petition.
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IN RE GASTON ONE-STOP PLAN 6 of 22
. Ragan e er Gaston County Board of Elections
GASTON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
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Sworn to (or affirmed) and subscribed before me this).. day of February, 2018 by:
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Signature of Notary Public Printed or Typed Name
My commission expires:
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Location BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia BOE Office - Gastonia
Date Thursday, April 19, 2018 Friday, April 20, 2018 Saturday, April 21, 2018 Sunday, April 22, 2018 Monday, April 23, 2018 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 Wednesday, April 26, 2018 Thursday, April 26, 2018 Friday,April 27, 2018 Saturday; April 28, 2018 Sunday, April 29, 2018 Monday, April 30, 2018 Tuesday, May 01, 2018 Wednesday, May 02, 2018 Thursday, May 03, 2018 Friday, May 04, 2018 Saturday, May 06, 2018
Open 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM CLOSED 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM CLOSED 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM 8:00AM
Close 7:00PM 7:00PM 1:00PM CLOSED 7:00PM 7:00PM 7:00PM 7:00PM 7:00PM 1:00PM CLOSED 7:00PM 7:00 PM 7:00PM 7:00PM 7:00PM 1:00PM
Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center- Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas Citizens Resource Center - Dallas
Thursday, April 19, 2018 Friday, April 20, 2018 Saturday, April 21, 2018 Sunday, April 22, 2018 Monday, April 23, 2018 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 Wednesday, April 25, 2018 Thursday, April 26, 2018 Friday, April 27, 2018 Saturday, April 28, 2018 Sunday, April 29, 2018 Monday, April 30, 2018 Tuesday, May 01, 2018 Wednesday, May 02, 2018 Thursday, May 03, 2018 Friday, May 04, 2018 Saturday, May 06, 2018
10:00AM 10:00AM 8:00AM CLOSED 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 8:00AM CLOSED 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 8:00AM
6:00PM 6:00PM 1:00PM CLOSED 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 1:00PM CLOSED 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 1:00PM
Daily Hours Open 11 11 6 0 11 11 11 11 11 6 0 11 11 11 11 11 6
IN RE GASTON ONE-STOP PLAN 7 of 22
8 8 6 0 8 8 8 8 8 6 0 8 8 8 8 8 6
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Location Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly Mount Holly City Hall - Mount Holly
TOTALS
Date Thursday, April 19, 2018 Friday, April 20, 2018 , Saturday, April 21, 2018 ' Sunday, April 22, 2018 Monday, April 23, 2018 Tuesday, April 24, 2018 Wednesday, April 25, 2018 Thursday, April 26, 2018 Friday, April 27,.2018 Saturday, April 28, 2018 Sunday, April 29, 2018 Monday, April 30, 2018 Tuesday, May 01, 2018 Wednesday, May 02, 2018 Thursday, May 03, 2018 Friday, May 04, 2018 Saturday, May 05, 2018
OPEN 15DAYS
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Open 10:00AM 10:00,AM 8:00AM CLOSED 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 8:00AM CLOSED 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 10:00AM 8:00AM
Close 6:00 PM 6:00PM 1:00PM CLOSED 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 6:00PM 1:00PM CLOSED 6:00 PM 6:00 PM 6:00 PM 6:00 PM 6:00PM 1:00PM
Hours Open INDaily RE GASTON ONE-STOP PLAN 8 of 22
8 8 5 0 8 8 8 8 8 5 0 8 8 8 8 8 5
369 HOURS
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