"his or her" is now "their" throughout - great, now my pronoun "xir" is included!
Some things to note that were added:
"Public health guidance should be considered by the board of canvassers when setting up the recount location and observation areas."
"Unlike observation areas in the polling place, recount observations areas are not required to be placed at any specific distance"
"Social distancing should be clearly communicated to individuals attending the recount in person to ensure the safety of everyone involved in recount"
"Unless a court orders otherwise, the board of canvassers may decide to either hand count or use voting equipment to tabulate the ballots."
Removed from original - "The board of canvassers shall presume that a ballot initialed only by the municipal clerk, executive director of the board of election commissioners, deputy clerk or secretary is an absentee ballot."
Shortened summary from the commissioners
In preparation for a statewide recount Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) staff has worked with a public health
professional from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to develop suggested procedures for counties to apply
to recount planning and setup efforts. These procedures follow the same concepts we have stressed throughout the
2020 elections that have been conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health considerations such as hand
hygiene, face coverings, social distancing and COVID-19 symptom screenings should be incorporated into any
recount setup. New considerations must be made to account for how recounts differ from administering voting at
polling places or during the in-person absentee period.
Conducting a recount requires a significant number of people to be present in the same room or facility, including
Board of Canvass members, tabulators, candidate representatives, public observers and other staff to assist with
administrative and security-related tasks. The recount timeline also requires participants to be present in enclosed
areas for long periods of time until the recount is complete. State law requires any recount to be completed within 13
days of the issuance of the recount order and several counties have expressed they will need the majority of that time
to complete all required procedures before the deadline. In addition, a recount requires tabulators and Board of
Canvass members to work within close proximity of one another and allows candidate representatives to be close
enough to review each ballot before it is tabulated. All of these factors were presented to the public health official
who assisted with the development of this guidance and have been considered in the procedures outlined below.
**Space Considerations **
In order to keep all participants and observers spaced out appropriately during the recount, counties have had to
consider securing a larger space during their planning process. Additional space provides the ability to space out
tables where tabulators are working while still allowing for multiple reporting units or municipalities to be recounted
at the same time. WEC staff has discussed this option on several calls with county clerks in preparation for the
recount and many indicated they identified and reserved larger spaces to conduct the recount.
Setup Considerations
The recount space should be set up so that there is adequate space between all participants and observers but allows
for transparency and efficiency throughout the process. Signs, tape marks, or other visual cues such as decals or
colored tape should be used on the floor, placed six feet apart, to keep the recount area organized and to ensure space
between all parties when physical barriers are not possible.
Additional observers, beyond the party representatives who need to be allowed access to see voting materials, may be
asked to remain in an area designated by the county officials that accounts for social distancing. Current public health
guidance is that a six-foot distance should be maintained meaning that non-party representative observers should
expect that they will be asked to stay at least six feet from recount workers and other observers.
I think things start to get interesting with the new social distancing rules.
The board of
canvassers will need to appropriately balance public health guidance and the
candidate’s/representative’s right to view ballots and materials and lodge any objections to the
counting of a ballot.
Any challenges to the procedure established by the board of canvassers regarding
observation should be decided by the board and documented in the minutes. The optional use of a
live video feed to provide greater transparency and minimize the number of individuals observing
in person should also be considered.
This procedure allows individuals assisting the board of canvassers to
quickly identify candidate representatives who are provided the ability to view and identify ballots
and election materials for purposes of raising an objection to the counting of a ballot with the
board of canvassers.
Unlike observation areas in the polling place, recount observations areas are not required to be placed at any specific
distance as long as the candidates and their representatives can view and identify the election materials and the observers
are not disruptive to the recount process.
Definitely, especially the "Unlike observation areas in the polling place, recount observations areas are not required to be placed at any specific distance"
"his or her" is now "their" throughout - great, now my pronoun "xir" is included!
Some things to note that were added:
Removed from original - "The board of canvassers shall presume that a ballot initialed only by the municipal clerk, executive director of the board of election commissioners, deputy clerk or secretary is an absentee ballot."
Shortened summary from the commissioners
In preparation for a statewide recount Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) staff has worked with a public health professional from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to develop suggested procedures for counties to apply to recount planning and setup efforts. These procedures follow the same concepts we have stressed throughout the 2020 elections that have been conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health considerations such as hand hygiene, face coverings, social distancing and COVID-19 symptom screenings should be incorporated into any recount setup. New considerations must be made to account for how recounts differ from administering voting at polling places or during the in-person absentee period.
Conducting a recount requires a significant number of people to be present in the same room or facility, including Board of Canvass members, tabulators, candidate representatives, public observers and other staff to assist with administrative and security-related tasks. The recount timeline also requires participants to be present in enclosed areas for long periods of time until the recount is complete. State law requires any recount to be completed within 13 days of the issuance of the recount order and several counties have expressed they will need the majority of that time to complete all required procedures before the deadline. In addition, a recount requires tabulators and Board of Canvass members to work within close proximity of one another and allows candidate representatives to be close enough to review each ballot before it is tabulated. All of these factors were presented to the public health official who assisted with the development of this guidance and have been considered in the procedures outlined below.
**Space Considerations **
In order to keep all participants and observers spaced out appropriately during the recount, counties have had to consider securing a larger space during their planning process. Additional space provides the ability to space out tables where tabulators are working while still allowing for multiple reporting units or municipalities to be recounted at the same time. WEC staff has discussed this option on several calls with county clerks in preparation for the recount and many indicated they identified and reserved larger spaces to conduct the recount.
Setup Considerations
The recount space should be set up so that there is adequate space between all participants and observers but allows for transparency and efficiency throughout the process. Signs, tape marks, or other visual cues such as decals or colored tape should be used on the floor, placed six feet apart, to keep the recount area organized and to ensure space between all parties when physical barriers are not possible.
Additional observers, beyond the party representatives who need to be allowed access to see voting materials, may be asked to remain in an area designated by the county officials that accounts for social distancing. Current public health guidance is that a six-foot distance should be maintained meaning that non-party representative observers should expect that they will be asked to stay at least six feet from recount workers and other observers.
I think things start to get interesting with the new social distancing rules.
Definitely, especially the "Unlike observation areas in the polling place, recount observations areas are not required to be placed at any specific distance"