Request for Record Series # 0010-000, official Instructions and Procedures Manual
Stephen Kennedy made this OPRA request to Bergen County Board of Elections This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.
Dear Bergen County Board of Elections,
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
Document: Record Series # 0010-000, official Instructions and Procedures Manual
Electronic PDF copy
If the entire document is not in PDF format but is in hard copy, microfilm or other physical format, then please send me a PDF or image file (in jpg or bmp format) of the table of contents and index.
Yours faithfully,
Stephen Kennedy
VIUS Inc.
Dear Bergen County Board of Elections,
I have not received a response from your office. If you sent one and I missed it, my apologies.
My email address is VIUSinc [ at ] yahoo [ dot ] com .
I will clarify the request further:
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
I am looking for comprehensive operational manual(s), which cover the daily operating procedures the county uses to carry out state election law. This would include, but not be limited to, operational procedures related to the conduct of elections; maintenance of voter rolls; acquisition, installation, maintenance and retirement of electronic election infrastructure; and procedures for training, overseeing and managing election personnel . Such activities may be, for example: (not a complete list)
* Logic and Accuracy Test procedures (or if by another name, the partial audit of equipment before an election)
* Post-election audit procedures
* Signature verification training materials and procedures
* Procedure to verify voter address, name, signature, and other PII upon registration.
* Procedure for deactivation of voter, reactivation of voter, removal of voter record
* Procedure to identify and resolve duplications and/or discrepancies between counties in the case of voters who have moved to another county in-state
* Backup procedures for electronic equipment used in elections
* Chain of custody procedures for mail in ballots, in-person early voting ballots, provisional ballots, in-person day of election ballots, UOCAVA ballots
* Procedure to send, receive, verify, transcribe, scan and tabulate UOCAVA (federal only) ballots
* Procedures for acquisition, installation, maintenance and retirement of electronic election infrastructure
* Other related operational procedures related to the operation and conduct of elections, election infrastructure, and election personnel
I realize this is a comprehensive request, and the information may exist in more than one document. I am requesting this information in electronic format, preferably PDF, Excel (.csv, .xlsx, .xls), and Word (.doc, .docx). If there will be a charge to convert physical media (print, microfilm, etc.) please advise. I appreciate your help.
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Kennedy
VIUS Inc.
Please be advised that the County will need additional time to respond to your request and should be able to respond to same on or before December 19, 2022.
Dear Christina A. D'Aloia,
You have requested until December 19, 2022, to respond to my request for documents. This is an excessive amount of time. The requested documents are ordinary procedures that the county uses for the key operational tasks that the county performs. These documents should be already available for training employees and seasonal workers. If possible, a faster response would be very much appreciated.
If you prefer, you can email documents to me at VIUSInc [ at ] Yahoo [ dot ] com .
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Kennedy
Mr. Kennedy:
After consulting with various County Departments, the County offers the following response to your request:
* Logic and Accuracy Test procedures (or if by another name, the partial audit of equipment before an election) –The County is not in possession of any documents responsive to your request. The Voting Machine technicians perform physical simulation of voting on the ballot, they physically verify the ballot.
* Post-election audit procedures: These procedures are available on the State's website.
* Signature verification training materials and procedures: This portion of your request is exempt from disclosure pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 as " proprietary information obtained from any source including data processing software obtained by a public agency under a licensing agreement which prohibits its disclosure" and " Security information which, if disclosed, would create a risk to the safety electronic data or software."
* Procedure to verify voter address, name, signature, and other PII upon registration. : This portion of your request is exempt from disclosure pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 as " proprietary information obtained from any source including data processing software obtained by a public agency under a licensing agreement which prohibits its disclosure" and " Security information which, if disclosed, would create a risk to the safety electronic data or software."
* Procedure for deactivation of voter, reactivation of voter, removal of voter record: This portion of your request is exempt from disclosure pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 as " proprietary information obtained from any source including data processing software obtained by a public agency under a licensing agreement which prohibits its disclosure" and " Security information which, if disclosed, would create a risk to the safety electronic data or software."
* Procedure to identify and resolve duplications and/or discrepancies between counties in the case of voters who have moved to another county in-state : This portion of your request is exempt from disclosure pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 as " proprietary information obtained from any source including data processing software obtained by a public agency under a licensing agreement which prohibits its disclosure" and " Security information which, if disclosed, would create a risk to the safety electronic data or software."
* Backup procedures for electronic equipment used in elections. This request cannot be responded to as it is overly broad and fails to identify a specific record as is required by OPRA. MAG Entm’t, LLC v. Div. of Alcohol Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534 (App. Div. 2005)
* Chain of custody procedures for mail in ballots, in-person early voting ballots, provisional ballots, in-person day of election ballots, UOCAVA ballots. These procedures are available on the State's website.
* Procedure to send, receive, verify, transcribe, scan and tabulate UOCAVA (federal only) ballots This portion of your request is exempt from disclosure pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 as " proprietary information obtained from any source including data processing software obtained by a public agency under a licensing agreement which prohibits its disclosure" and " Security information which, if disclosed, would create a risk to the safety electronic data or software."
* Procedures for acquisition, installation, maintenance and retirement of electronic election infrastructure. . This request cannot be responded to as it is overly broad and fails to identify a specific record as is required by OPRA. MAG Entm’t, LLC v. Div. of Alcohol Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534 (App. Div. 2005)
* Other related operational procedures related to the operation and conduct of elections, election infrastructure, and election personnel. This request cannot be responded to as it is overly broad and fails to identify a specific record as is required by OPRA. MAG Entm’t, LLC v. Div. of Alcohol Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534 (App. Div. 2005)