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Monroe County election board adopts conduct guidelines for commissioners
Summary
The board approved a three-point election conduct policy limiting information sharing with commissioner-candidates, requiring prompt reporting of election irregularities, and appointing an alternate solicitor for irregularities involving commissioner-candidates to avoid conflicts of interest.
At the Feb. 4 meeting, Commissioner Mister Parker introduced and the Monroe County Board of Elections adopted a three-point set of election conduct guidelines aimed at keeping commissioners’ campaign activity separate from their election-board duties.
Mister Parker said the guidelines are intended to prevent blurred boundaries and complacency that can lead to wrongdoing. “I am proposing guidelines for current and future commissioners to help prevent situations where boundaries become blurred and complacency can lead to wrongdoing,” he said. The board discussed solicitor-recommended edits and retained three provisions: a restriction on sharing election information with a commissioner who is a candidate unless the same information is provided equally to all candidates for that office; a requirement to report election irregularities to all election-board members as soon as practical upon discovery; and appointing an alternate solicitor to investigate and report when an irregularity involves a commissioner who is a candidate.
Board members debated implementation details, including whether the policy should restrict a commissioner-candidate’s physical access to staff-only areas and how staff reporting lines should operate. The chair read the adopted language into the record, including the information-sharing restriction and the alternate-solicitor provision. Sarah, an election staff member, clarified that staff may bring candidates into offices in some situations and that the policy governs commissioners’ conduct, not staff actions.
A motion to adopt the three provisions passed by voice vote; the board recorded the motion and the chair announced that the motion carried. The board did not attach new enforcement penalties in the adopted text; commissioners said the guidelines are intended as reminders and safeguards, and that they will review them annually.
The board asked staff and counsel to keep the language clear about who the policy governs and to ensure the alternate-solicitor process is practicable should an investigation be necessary.
