HomeMy Public PortalAbout2016-03-23 SFR MinutesMEETING MINUTES
COMMITTEE ON STATE, FEDERAL 8z REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
Meeting: March 23, 2016
Report: April 12, 2016
Attending were: State, Federal & Regional Government committee members: Angeline
Kounelis, Chair, Susan Falkoff, Vice Chair, and Kenneth Woodland, Secretary; and Election
Commissioner Christopher Dunn. The meeting was called to order at 7 PM.
The purpose of the meeting was to interview Mr. Dunn for re -appointment to the Board of
Election Commissioners. His current term will expire on April 1, 2016 and the new term would
expire on April 1, 2020.
Mr. Dunn said that if approved, this will be his second term on the Board. He was put forward by
the Republican Town Committee and if he weren't on the Board, he'd be out holding signs for
candidates. His goal is to assure "honest, open elections with accessible stations for all residents."
He likes the "I voted" stickers and notes the pride that people take in voting.
Mr. Dunn said "It's a long day," with a 6 am start at the polling places but he thinks that an even
earlier walk-through would be helpful since some machines had trouble with spitting out ballots
this year. He's anticipating that new procedures will be put in place for early voting and expects
larger turnouts due to Watertown's increasing population.
Some helpful improvements would be: signage indicating if school is in session or not; more
clarity around the Independent Party issue; being sure the school staff is aware of the planning at
the schools. He finds it interesting that in Australia, voting is required and citizens are fined for
failing to complete a ballot.
The committee voted 3-0 to recommend Mr. Dunn for re -appointment. The meeting adjourned at
7:28 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Falkoff, with the assistance of Ken Woodland.