In This Issue
New Florida Voter Registration Application
An Update from Data Processing
Out and About in Clay County
A Spotlight on Marti Chase
Adopt-A-Precinct Program
Recipe of the Quarter

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Clay County Voter Registration Statistics

  

Republicans:   73,525

Democrats:     32,061

Others:            29,558   

__________________

Total             135,144


The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.

  ~

Thomas Edison


Upcoming Events

10/19 - 10/20 - Orange Park
Fall Festival

11/11 - Office closed for Veteran's Day

11/28 - 11/29 -
Office closed for Thanksgiving

12/24 - 12/25 - Office closed for Christmas

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Project Integrity Tour in Jacksonville.  This presentation was led by both Secretary of State Ken Detzner and Florida Division of Elections Director Maria Mathews.  The purpose of the presentation was to lay out the secretary's plan on verifying the integrity of the voter rolls with respect to individuals that have been identified by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database as a non-U.S. citizen who would have been issued an Alien Verification Number.

 

This process differs greatly from the last attempt to identify non-U.S. citizens on the rolls for two main reasons. First, in 2012 the state utilized lists and a verification process that was not as richly developed as the SAVE database appears to be. Second, each identified non-U.S. citizen will be assigned a case file which will verify identity and legal status via SAVE and cross-check with available secondary sources. Upon completion, the case file will be forwarded to the appropriate county's Supervisor of Elections (SOE).

 

Once the SOE receives the file, they will review the file and attempt to independently verify it through the SAVE database.  Upon verification, the SOE will attempt to contact the voter by certified mail informing him or her of potential ineligibility. If this notice is returned undeliverable, a notice will be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county.  The voter will have the opportunity to supply information to negate the alleged ineligibility within 30 days.  The voter will also have the option to request an administrative hearing to deny the ineligibility status. With any new information, the SOE will again attempt to independently verify through the SAVE database and with no change in status, make a final determination of eligibility or ineligibility. Should the SOE determine that the voter is ineligible, the SOE will remove the voter from the voter rolls and send a final notice to inform the voter of the removal.

 

In the end, the process is very rich, manual and extremely hands on, as it should be.  The process, as presented in the meeting, is detailed and affords due process with the right to be heard, the right to be noticed, the right to appeal in circuit court, and at any step in the process, the right to be fully restored to the rolls. All 67 Supervisors of Elections do not take this process lightly and recognize that the integrity of the voter rolls is of utmost importance. As a primary advocate for the voter, we ensure that the voter roll is available to all citizens who are legally eligible to vote.

  

Kindest regards, 

Chris 

New Florida Voter Registration Application
Recent legislation, effective October 1, 2013, requires the statewide voter registration application to elicit an applicant's email address and whether the applicant wishes to receive sample ballots by email. Any e-mail address supplied by the voter in this way will become public record.

A newly designed voter registration form is scheduled to begin circulation in October; however, the existing voter registration applications are still acceptable. E-mail addresses provided when requesting a vote-by-mail ballot are still exempt from public record, and are stored separately from voter registration information that is available to the public.

An Update from Data Processing  

 

  Our Data Processing department is working hard to ensure Clay County maintains clean and accurate voter rolls! They are mailing approximately 13,500 Address Confirmation Request cards to voters that haven't had activity on their record since 1/1/2010. We hope these voters will respond and update their address, whether in or out of the state.


Out and About in Clay County
The Clay County Supervisor of Elections had the wonderful opportunity to assist with several youth elections in the month of September! We conducted elections for the Clay County 4-H Club, Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) and Middleburg High School. What a great way to introduce Clay County's youth to the democratic process and instill the importance of voting at a young age!
Chris with the new NE Florida Youth Advocacy Board members of Students Working Against Tobacco

A Spotlight on Marti Chase
     
Marti joined our office as a permanent part-time employee in 2012. We are very excited to announce that she will begin working  full time as our Elections Warehouse Clerk in January 2014! 

The Elections Warehouse Clerk supports the Elections Manager in the day-to-day operations of the Elections Service Bureau. Duties include properly preparing precinct election materials and supplies. Marti also maintains our Records Retention program and election asset tracking. She is quickly becoming a very valuable part of our team!

Marti has been married married for 27 years and has two boys, ages 19 and 17. She enjoys baking, camping, exercising and spending time with friends.

"I enjoy the great people I work with, and I'm so grateful for this opportunity. I look forward to becoming well-versed in the election process," Marti said.
Adopt-A-Precinct Program 
 
Do you belong to an organization or company looking to serve the community and raise money?

If you, consider the Adopt-A-Precinct program, a public/private partnership. Use this as a fundraiser to benefit your group or designated charity. It's also a great team building experience!

Each participating organization "adopts" a precinct or portion of the precinct for an election cycle by providing staff for their precinct on Election Day. After the election, the Elections Office writes a  check to the organization, rather than paying each individual worker. The money can be used for your group or donated to the charity of your choice.

Are you or your group interested in adopting a precinct in 2014? Contact Lisa at (904) 269-6350 or lhogan@clayelections.com today for more information!

 
The Easiest Stuffed Mushrooms
Submitted by Kara Bozeman

  • 2 packages white mushrooms 
  • 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
  • 1 package real bacon bits
  • 1/2 cup diced green onion 

 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

 

2. Clean the mushrooms and remove the stems.

 

3. Mix cream cheese, bacon bits and green onions.

 

4. Stuff each mushroom with the filling.  

 

5. Bake for 12-18 minutes or until golden brown.  

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