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Public commenter urges board to restore agenda-item public comment and revisit HAVA complaint dismissal
Summary
A member of the public asked the State Board of Elections to restore the ability for public comment on agenda items and asked the board to revisit a dismissed HAVA Section 303 complaint that she said was downgraded by the Department of Elections.
During public comment at the State Board of Elections’ April meeting, Anne Gregorian urged the board to allow public comment after presentations on agenda items and asked the board to reconsider a Help America Vote Act complaint she filed that the Department of Elections dismissed.
Gregorian told the board, "I'm requesting that the board restore public comment on agenda items." She said restricting comment to the start of the meeting "is not conducive to engagement of the public," because information presented during agenda items can prompt additional questions.
On a separate matter, Gregorian described a HAVA complaint she submitted to the Department of Elections alleging a Section 303 violation. She said the department "downgraded" her complaint and dismissed it without a survey or investigation and that, as downgraded, the decision could not be appealed. "I think this is erroneous, and I wish that the board would revisit that decision," she said.
The board acknowledged her remarks; no board action on Gregorian’s requests was recorded on the meeting record.
What was said in the meeting is limited to Gregorian's description of the department’s handling of her complaint and her request that the board revisit the department's decision. The Department of Elections’ written procedures for handling HAVA complaints and any subsequent actions were not provided in the meeting transcript.
