2020 GPP�Voting Center Guide

Democrats Abroad �Updated January 20, 2020

Voting Center�Important Dates

Jan 20 Voting Center info goes live

Feb 18 Ballots on DA site for download

Feb 18 Ballots and Tally Sheet ready for printing

March 1 Membership List Sent to Country

March 3 to 10 DA Primary week

March 10 Remote voting closes

March 11 Voter Challenge info due to Global Chair

March 16 Ballots due to Global Chair

March 23 Primary results announced

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Voting Center Manager Responsibilities

• Opens and closes voting at the center
• Makes sure Voting Center Rules are followed
• Responsible for the safety of ballots during voting & until posted to Global Chair
• Keeps tally of ballots each day; makes note of challenges and provisional ballots
• Sends ballots to Global Chair w/ tabulation + other details
• Reports results to Global Chair or designee* by phone & email right after tabulation
• Organizes and manages volunteers to help with the Voting Center

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* Because of time differences and numbers of voting center events we will have regional designees.

Required

Other Volunteer Roles at the Voting Center

• Greeter (traffic controller)
• Democrats Abroad Joining assistant ( new walk-in members)
• Voter verification assistants (2-3, checks membership & whether voted remotely)
• Ballot distributor and logger
• Ballot box watcher
• VFA assistant for registering to vote in the U.S.
• General voter help (including remote voting and interest in being a delegate)
• Media coordinator
• Tellers (at least 2 required, in addition to manager) for vote tallying after close of voting
• Ballot scanner/photographer filers (minimum 2 required)

Depending on voter numbers, one volunteer may fulfill multiple roles. �Numbers of volunteers needed for tellers, etc increase with number of expected voters.�All roles are suggestions only, with the exception of the teller positions, which are required roles

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DATA CONFIDENTIALITY �Any volunteer who handles voter data (paper join forms, ballots, membership lists, etc) must sign the DA confidentiality agreement. Once signed, upload here.

Voting Center Rules, Brief Overview

• In-person registration to join Democrats Abroad and vote on same day welcomed
• Democratic Party rules prohibit secret ballots
• Voters may request assistance in filling in their ballots
• Voters in line at center closing time must be allowed to vote
• Tallying - must take place at close of voting on center premises
• Voting centers must have at least 2 Tellers plus the Voting Center Manager
• Voting Results - entered on tally sheet by Voting Center Manager w 1+ witnesses
• Presidential Candidate Campaign management
• Presidential campaigns are allowed an authorized observer to watch setup, voter registration, and tabulation. They may not observe voting. They should be clearly identified as an observer. They may challenge voter eligibility, organization of voting center and tabulation.
• Campaigning may not take place inside Voting Centers

Full rules linked here

Who Can Vote at Your Voting Center

US Citizens who are…

• Residing abroad, in your country committee
• Members of Democrats Abroad
• Same day registration welcomed
• 18 years old as of November 3, 2020
• Only voting in the Dems Abroad presidential primary �(they may vote in their state primary for US House, Senate, governor and other down ballot races)

Voting Center Prep Work : Security

• Notify the nearest US embassy or consulate about your voting center times �and locations
• Notify (where appropriate) the local police force.
• Speak with your venue about any security arrangements.
• For larger voting centers, consider engaging local security guards (at the sole expense of your country committee).

Voting Center Prep Work : Location & Layout

• Determine the 10 meter perimeter at the Voting Center site which excludes active campaigning.
• Know where the nearest copier or print shop is in case you run out of ballots or other forms �(or provide a printer on-site).
• Check for internet connectivity and necessary electrical outlets.
• Decide the layout of the Voting Center room(s) in advance to determine furniture and volunteer requirements.
• Layout will vary by space and expected number of voters; there is no one ideal layout.
• Consider: Will the entrance be well-marked, easy to find from public spaces, and accessible? Will you need a volunteer outside to make it clear that Americans are in the right place, or directional signage in the building?
• Plan a logical flow (linear? circular? multiple identical stations for large VCs?)
• Plan recommended activity areas separate from the flow of voters in the GPP

A Bird’s Eye View of a Sample Voting Center

Ballot Table

Ballot box

Voting Area

Join Table

VFA sign up

Swag table

greeter

greeter

greeter

Voting Center Room

VFA & Other Activities Room

Copy and customize this map for your own event! We’d love to see your map.*

Kids Corner

Volunteer sign up

Refreshments

*Google Slides work well for a fast sketch, OR try draw.io for more detailed mapping.

Voting Center Prep Work : Organize Materials

At least two weeks before the primary begins, prep your materials

• Office supplies - purchase
• Printed documents - print*
• Electronic equipment - organize who will bring
• Decorations - purchase, borrow, dig out of storage
• Link to full materials list

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​

* print all docs on white paper, except provisional ballots�print provisional ballots on light yellow paper

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FILES TO PRINT�

• Official Ballots
• Provisional Ballots
• Tally Sheet
• Join Forms/Join Receipts
• New Join Log
• Update Info Forms
• Challenge Forms
• Confidentiality Forms
• Membership List (March 1)
• Delegate Selection Plan
• Voting Center Rules

Voting Center Prep Work : Primary DAY!!

Room Setup (at least one hour ahead)

• Arrange tables and chairs in your planned layout
• Hang up signs so that they are easily visible to voters
• Set up materials for each area of the voting process
• Provide name tags to all volunteers and position your volunteers for the opening of the event
• Walk through the site as a “test” voter (of each type)
• Check that volunteers understand their roles
• Take a few photos of the site and of the volunteers to post online
• Make sure your ballots are numbered!

Opening and Closing the Location

• The doors should open based on the opening time published in the final list of Voting Centers.
• Voters may not cast a ballot before the published opening time. (You can get started answering questions early!)
• At closing time, you must allow everyone already in line at closing time to be processed and to cast their ballots.

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Greeting the Voter

Great! Are you a member of Democrats Abroad (Your Country)?

Have you already voted this Presidential Primary?

Yes

No

No, I’d like to join

I need to change membership to (Your Country)

Super, head to the �Join Table!

Yes!

Ballots, this way!

People may join and check their local membership.

JOIN TABLE

Ciao for now!

I live elsewhere

Use VFA Today

Voters may pick up their ballots

BALLOT TABLE

Ahoj!!

Vote Remote!

(You HAVE requested your ballot this year, right?)

Join if not a member!

Not sure, but I do get your emails!

If not

At the Join Table

Yes!

Join anyway! (But don’t vote again.)

Go to www.democratsabroad.org/join�to join and get a membership #!

Would you like to join online today?

Things to Remember

Would you like to join online today?

No. I like killing trees.

Here’s a paper join form

Do I need id to register?

No, but you do have to attest that your information is correct.

I’ve already voted...

No problem, you may vote w a PROVISIONAL ballot, and here’s an UPDATE INFO form

I’d like to vote & move my membership here

Offer online first - you have to enter paper joins in 48 hours! Plus trees.

I’ve joined, & here’s my number, what’s next?

Time to vote! Here’s your OFFICIAL ballot.

Give new paper joins OFFICIAL ballots, with NEW added in place of membership #

Give new online joins OFFICIAL ballots, with their membership # added!

Record ALL new joins in your “New Join Log”

At the Ballot Table

Super to see you! Here’s your ballot.

Find the member on the membership list, and give them �an official blank ballot with:�

Their membership number added

�The ballot should already have a ballot number written in the top right �(add ahead of time :-)

​

The voting area is over THERE & the ballot box over HERE.

3/3

Add the voter’s ballot number beside their name on the membership list (under Ballot#), and the date

1

2

Point the voter to a voting area, and ballot box

3

250

Printed Membership List � Already Voted

Name Member ID Email Voted? Ballot# Date Chapter

Emily Mac 152386 emac@gmail.com No Moravia

Notes on Voting a Regular Ballot

• Once a voter receives a ballot, no one should touch it except the voter �(unless the voter requests help)
• Ballots are not secret, but no observers should directly watch (or influence!) voters while they vote
• The ballot is designed so that the voter may fold it to show volunteer staff in the voting area or at the ballot box that their personal data and signature are added before they put the ballot in the ballot box

The Vote!

�ONCE a ballot is voted, it cannot be retrieved from the ballot box. If a voter realizes they’ve spoiled their ballot, they can vote a provisional ballot which will replace the original. �

Yay Hurray!!

BEFORE a ballot is cast, ask... �Did you

• Select only one candidate?
• Fill in all contact info?
• Sign your ballot?

Ballot box selfies are great (but no electioneering)!

Remind voters to register with VFA!

Spoiled Ballots

Spoiled PRE Ballot Box

Ballot Handling

Write SPOILED in green on the ballot, and put this ballot in a Spoiled Ballot folder.

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Voter Handling

Give Voter a new OFFICIAL ballot �(or provisional if they were voting provisionally from the start)

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Membership list

Mark the old ballot as spoiled in the membership list, and write down the new ballot’s number

Spoiled IN Ballot Box

Ballot Handling

Leave the ballot IN the Ballot Box for tabulators to handle

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Voter Handling

Give Voter a new PROVISIONAL ballot. Add the provisional ballot number and write Spoiled in ballot box + P# on the provisional ballot.

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Membership list

Mark the old ballot as spoiled in the membership list, and write down the new ballot’s number

Voting a Provisional Ballot

• Print provisional ballots in pastel colors (yellow is best)
• Number them in GREEN ink as P1, P2, etc, and log them thus in the membership list
• Describe why the voter is voting provisionally on the face of the ballot, leaving all voter information untouched
• Provisional ballots must be properly completed, signed, and unspoiled to be accepted
• The voter’s qualification must be received by the Global Chair by March 12, 12:00 am EST to count the ballot

P2

24212345

Reasons for provisional ballots

Moved country�Challenged voter�Spoiled in ballot box�Possible remote vote

Handling Voter Qualification Challenges

• Challenges must happen BEFORE the voter is given a ballot.*
• Anyone may place a challenge
• Challenges may only be made on the basis of eligibility �(citizen, member, residing in country, age, prior presidential vote)
• Challenge by informing a volunteer and filling out a challenge form
• Challenged voter may refute the challenge with objective documentary proof �If the proof is sufficient, the Voting Center Manager (VCM) should issue an OFFICIAL ballot
• Challenger must have unrefuted objective documentary proof for the VCM to disqualify a voter
• The disqualified voter may still vote with a PROVISIONAL ballot marked “CHALLENGED”, with details noted on the face of the ballot and on the Challenge Form
• The disqualified voter must send their proof of qualification to the Global Chair by March 11th�* Any irregularities after the ballot is in the voter’s hand should be recorded and reported to the Global Chair on a case-by-case basis.

After the Voting Center Closes

First steps…..

• All Voters voted All voters in line at the closing time of the voting center must be allowed to vote.
• Who may stay? Official campaign observers have the RIGHT to observe tabulation. Others, including DA volunteers and media, MAY remain in the Voting Center at the Voting Center Manager’s discretion, but may not interfere with tabulation. No one but the tabulation team may touch or photograph ballots.
• Prep your space Once the last voters have cast their ballots and the Center is cleared, the Voting Center Manager and a Teller remove the ballots from the ballot box, with all other Tellers present, and place the ballots on a clean, uncluttered and flat surface.

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After the Voting Center Closes

Open the Ballot Box and begin THE SORTING...

• Separate out all ballots marked SPOILED and PROVISIONAL
• Match all PROVISIONAL: Spoiled in Box ballots with their corresponding Spoiled ballots. Staple the matched pair together.
• Match all Challenge forms to their Provisional ballot. Staple together.
• Put all other Spoiled ballots in one pile, put all Provisional in another.
• Review all remaining ballots to find any further spoiled ballots
• Add all unmatched spoiled ballots to the SPOILED pile. Save for later.
• Sort all OFFICIAL ballots by Presidential candidate preference
• Sort all PROVISIONAL ballots by Presidential candidate preference too.

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VOTED BALLOTS SPOIL IF THEY ARE

• Unsigned
• Unvoted
• Voted twice (if more than one candidate or preference group has been voted for)
• Missing required voter information

TJones

TJones

Match Provisional Ballots �to their Spoiled Partners OR�Challenge Form Partners

+

=

E Roosevelt

M Obama

J Carter

After the Voting Center Closes

Handling Spoiled Ballots After Sorting

• Separate unmatched spoiled ballots from Valid and Provisional ballots
• Log spoiled ballots in your membership list, writing spoiled across the ballot #
• Total all unmatched spoiled ballots(all candidates together)
• Package all unmatched spoiled ballots together and mark with their Voting Center Event Location and Date
• Do not mail the unmatched spoiled ballots to Prague; hold in case of recount

Printed Membership List � Already Voted

Name Member ID Email Voted? Ballot# Date Chapter

Rado Van 223123 Rvan@gmail.com No Franconia

Spoiled

110

223123

3/3

110

All Spoiled Ballots

March 3�Globe Books, Prague CZ

spoiled

Voting Center Manager holds

After the Voting Center Closes

Tally the Vote

• The Count Count ballots in groups of 5, stacking�the groups of 5 at alternating angles for easy sorting �(think zig zag pattern). Once you’ve reached 50 begin a new stack.
• Double Check Once you’ve tallied all of your ballots (official and provisional), recount and confirm the tally with your tellers.
• Tally Sheet Once the count is agreed, the Tabulation Team should then fill in the tally sheet.

After the Voting Center Closes

Packaging the Ballots After Each Event

• Each candidate’s valid ballots are sealed in their VALID envelope.

Label: VALID CANDIDATE NAME and add the date and voting center location.

• Each candidate’s provisional ballots are sealed in their PROVISIONAL envelope.

Label: PROVISIONAL CANDIDATENAME and add the date and voting center location.

• Both envelopes should then be packaged together into one larger CANDIDATE envelope.

Label: ALL MATERIAL CANDIDATENAME and add the date and voting center location.

• Package all the Event’s ballot materials (including the Tally sheet) together, clearly labeling the Voting Center and Date of the materials.�You must clearly separate these materials from voting materials generated at other voting center events.

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• Blank ballots may be either destroyed or preserved for use at later Voting Center events.

VALID �E Roosevelt

March 3�Globe Books, Prague CZ

PROVISIONAL �E Roosevelt

March 3�Globe Books, Prague CZ

ALL MATERIAL�E Roosevelt

March 3�Globe Books, Prague CZ

After the Voting Center Closes

Report Results Locally

• Voting Center tabulations are PROVISIONAL until certified by the Global Chair. Voting Center Managers MAY, however, announce the PROVISIONAL paper-ballot results of their Voting Centers, both of the number of voters and the PROVISIONAL actual votes per candidate.
• Any announcement must be purely factual, impartial among the candidates (show neither pleasure or displeasure in the results), and make clear that this is a provisional result for one Voting Center only.
• Announcements should promote ongoing GPP voting through March 10 via remote ballots and future Voting Center events.
• Leverage the interest in your provisional results by speaking of the fair democratic process, Democrats Abroad activities, and VoteFromAbroad.org for absentee ballots for November 2020.

After the Voting Center Closes

Report Results Globally

Voting Center Managers must report the day’s results to the Global Chair or their designees. (Contact info will be provided)

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1. TELEPHONE* your designated contact to report the results. Do not leave a voicemail; continue to call until you receive confirmation from a live person. Here is the link to your number: https://bit.ly/2020CallContacts
2. PHOTOGRAPH* and email the tally sheet and your signed statement (the Tally Sheet) to the Global Chair at chair@democratsabroad.org and GPP@democratsabroad.org
3. LOG TALLIES* here: http://bit.ly/2020TallyVC
4. UPLOAD PICS info IF you are waiting to send your ballots and combining events (pdf or jpg files work): https://wiki.democratsabroad.org/display/GPP2020/Upload+your+Voting+Center+ballots

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*required steps

Updated slide: see added links at 1,3,4 + clarified info in point 3 & 4

The Next Day

Sending Ballots to Global

• A Voting Center Manager who supervises multiple sites or one site for multiple days may retain all the ballots until the last closing and tabulation, in order to ship the ballots in one consolidated mailing. Only the Voting Center Manager may retain the ballots and they must take extraordinary care to preserve the ballots and keep each day’s voting material and tabulation absolutely separate from each other.
• All ballots shall be sent to the Global Chair at the following address: ��Julia Bryan�Vero Partners�Karlovo nam. 28�120 00 Praha 2�Czech Republic

+420603447070�

• All ballots from a Voting Center should be sent within two business days of the close of that Voting Center, except where consolidation is explicitly permitted. All ballots must be sent by a registered method that is guaranteed to arrive at the address above by March 16th, 11:59pm CET. Each Country Committee is responsible for the costs incurred by the postal or courier service.

The Next Day

Updating Your Voter List to Tag Voters

• Open the Excel membership list supplied by �Shari Temple on March 1
• Referring to your printed membership list, update �the Excel Membership List with the date each voter successfully* voted (Under “Voted Date”)
• Save and send to VCvoted@democratsabroad.org within 24 hours of closing each voting center event
• Your voters will then be tagged in the database as having voted!
• Save printed list for 30 days, then shred

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* If a ballot was spoiled, do not mark the voter as having voted

Excel Membership List � Already Voted

Name Member ID Email Voted? Ballot# Date Chapter

Emily Mac 152386 emac@gmail.com No March 3 Moravia

3/3

250

Printed Membership List � Already Voted

Name Member ID Email Voted? Ballot# Date Chapter

Emily Mac 152386 emac@gmail.com No Moravia

The Next Day

Tagging Newly Joined Voters

• Open the Excel membership list supplied by �Shari Temple on March 1
• Open the tab “New Joins”
• Referring to your New Join Log, add voter Name, Member ID, Email and Voted Date
• Save and send to VCvoted@democratsabroad.org within 24 hours of closing each voting center event
• Save paper list for 30 days, then shred

If the new member joined online, record their member id.

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If the new member joined via paper, record NEW instead.

Don’t forget that you must add your new members who used PAPER join forms into the database manually at democratsabroad.org/join within 24 hours of an event

New Join Log� Voted

Name Member ID Email Ballot# Date

Nora Nova 152386 emac@gmail.com

Juan Nuevo NEW jnuevo@gmail.com

128

3/3

New Join (tab on Excel membership list)� Voted

Name Member ID Email Ballot# Date

Nora Nova 152386 emac@gmail.com March 3

Juan Paper NEW jpaper@gmail.com March 3

132

3/3

Update: This file was sent separately, rather than as a tab on your membership list and is called “electronic joins”

By March 16th

Approve New Members

• Our final tally begins on March 17th
• All new members must be approved in Nationbuilder no later than March 16th so that their vote may count in the official results�

All Voting Center & Remote Ballots in Prague

�All Challenge Materials in Prague

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Questions? Head to Frequently Asked Questions

The GPP FAQ Google Doc is ready for your questions! �Add your questions in the comments and we’ll be back with answers!!