MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CADDO PARISH COMMISSION SELECTION OF THE REGISTRAR OF VOTERS HELD ON THE 21st DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2019

The Caddo Parish Commission met in a Special Session, on the above date at 9:00 a.m., in the Government Chambers, with Mrs. Stormy Gage-Watts, President, presiding, and the following members in attendance, constituting a quorum: Commissioners Atkins, Cawthorne, Chavez, Dominick, Gage-Watts, Jackson, Louis Johnson, Lyndon B. Johnson, Linn, Middleton, and Smith (11). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1).

Mrs. Gage-Watts gave the invocation, and Mr. Jackson led the Commission in the Pledge of Allegiance.

NEW BUSINESS

At this time, the Caddo Parish Commission conducted interviews for the Registrar of Voters.

Mr. Charles W. Allum

Allum: I just thank you for the opportunity to come before you. I ask that you all would receive me as I am.

Gage-Watts: What do you understand the duties and responsibilities of the Registrar to be?

Allum: Well, the duties of the Registrar are mostly ministerial. The Registrar is to guide the office; to conduct elections; and he is to be the custodian of all voting records of the Parish of Caddo.

Gage-Watts: What aspects of the Registrar’s Office do you currently observe to be working well?

Allum: As far as the elections are concerned and the way that we conduct our elections. The people that are working in there do a fantastic job. I think we have the best in the State getting people through in a timely manner during the elections. As you can see, in the last presidential election, we had over 8,000 people come through that small office that we have. Everyone got to vote within the time limit that was given.

Gage-Watts: So the aspects that you think are working well are the time constraints?

Allum: Yes. There are some other things that we probably need to tweak. The office has been running well. Mr. Ernie did a great job with that office. There are some things that we could do to make some things better.

Gage-Watts: Would you like to elaborate what needs to be tweaked in the office?

Allum: As far as getting information out to the voters of the Parish. I’ve gone around for about four months to meetings in the libraries—meetings in the public, and there are a lot of people who don’t have access to computers or technology. They don’t know what their rights are. They don’t know the things they should do as far as changing their addresses. They don’t know if they don’t change their address that they can’t go somewhere else and vote. We run into that during elections where they go to the wrong place, and they go at a late hour and they are not able to go to the polls where they should be in order to vote.

Gage-Watts: Do you have a plan of action to address those needs?

Allum: Educating the public. We have got to find another way to get the information out to them. I think it’s more about meeting with people out in the public and talking to them and educating them.

Gage-Watts: What uniquely qualifies you to be the Registrar of Voters?

Allum: What uniquely qualifies me? My experience there in the office. I know every facet of what goes on in the office. I have been there for 19 years. Since 1968, I’ve been to that office, and I have been there off and on for that period of time. I’ve worked in each aspect of that office.

Jackson: Thank you for putting your name on the line to do this. The Secretary of State’s canvass. A lot of people, including myself, has been caught up in the canvass where a person doesn’t even have to come in, but if a mistake happens at the Secretary of State’s level or at the postal service, your Voters of Registration can be completely moved without the 253 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

person ever coming into the office to do it. What do you think the role of the Registrar of Voters is? How do you think in your capacity would you be able to address that? I don’t necessary know that it is fair that if I never come in to move my registration that a computer could just move it for me. If you could, explain the canvass process so folks would know what I am talking about.

Allum: The canvass is not something that is initiated this office. The canvass process is initiated by the State. The State uses the National Postal Database in order to find addresses. What they do is, they send out what they call address verification to certain addresses. If those come back, when the canvass is done, they look at those that were returned. If it was returned to find out that the person did not live there, or if it came back because they didn’t fill it out—they don’t canvass everybody in the Parish. They only canvass those if they receive the information back that people don’t live at certain addresses. Sometimes it’s a large number; sometimes it’s a small number. The State then sends another address of verification to that address. If it is returned, they use the address that the post office provides them as your address. They automatically change it in the system. We don’t change it. I don’t know what we can do. We can talk with the Secretary of State’s office, but it would take all of the Registrars in the State to get together to go to them and try to get something changed for that concern. That’s the law, and that’s the way they do the canvass.

Jackson: Do you have any thoughts on satellite locations?

Allum: Satellite locations? We are one of the largest municipalities in the State—about the third largest. We don’t have the staff to do satellite locations. We should have 7 full-time classified employees; we have 4. We couldn’t do it. It would be almost impossible to go out and have a satellite location. We don’t have the staff for it. It has to be classified employees who would staff those areas.

Jackson: As Registrar, would you look for ways to increase or try to increase your staffing?

Allum: We don’t have control over that. The State won’t let—Ernie tried for 23 years. It is left up to the State. The State did not even give raises for the employees for over five years for the employees that were already working there. As far as trying to get some more employees, that’s been a hard fought battle that we have not won yet.

Atkins: Forgive me for not knowing this, but you said there were 7 full-time employees?

Allum: No. Four.

Atkins: Four. Is that it? Or are there any additional full-time employees beyond those four?

Allum: There are four classified employees. Right now, there is only one unclassified employee, and that’s the acting Registrar right now.

Gage-Watts: What is the largest budget that you have managed?

Allum: $2 million.

Gage-Watts: What were the challenges in managing and budgeting?

Allum: The challenges were to have departments that worked where I was to stay within their budget.

Gage-Watts: What budget successes are you proud of?

Allum: Well, I received an audit, back some years ago, that said I took a bad situation and turned it into a good one. Mr. Larry Tanner, who is a CPA here in the City, he was the one who was doing our audit. He said that I did a great job. I changed some of the systems that we were using in order to follow where the money was going. I stayed on top of the department heads to let them know when they were exceeding what they were doing in their budgets.

Gage-Watts: How do you address your budget if you have an employee who has to be off for about 7 days?

Allum: Excuse me?

Gage-Watts: How would you address your budget according to an employee who would have to be off for about 7 days?

Allum: In the Registrar’s office? You don’t. You don’t have control over that. 254 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

Louis Johnson: The $2M budget that you managed. Where was that?

Allum: It was at the Bossier Community Action program. I was handling the Community Action Program and the ATW.

Chavez: I did want to commend you on the 19 years for working there already. As I was doing my research, a lot of the sheriff’s deputies praised you on how—whenever somebody needed anything, you were very knowledgeable and were always that could help anybody with anything at the Registrar’s office. I think speaks volumes of the people that work, not in this specific office, but nearby enough to earshot that you are the one who helps everybody. Thank you for volunteering for this position. Thank you for your 19 years thus far.

Allum: It is the people in that front office—the people that you meet that make the office what it is. They’re the ones who do the work…that do the hard work.

Cawthorne: In the past 30 years, we’ve only had one Registrar, so we don’t have a varied leadership over the past 30 years. Having said all of that, I know you have worked over an extended period of time with Mr. Roberson, is there anything—in terms of how he managed the office that you would do differently? Or, what type of nuance would you bring to the table having work for him for quite period of time? What would you do differently? If anything.

Allum: I don’t think I would do anything differently, but I would make sure that the employees—who met citizens that came into the office, made sure that they were cordial to everybody who came in, treated everybody the same way, and gave everybody the same respect no matter what their walk of life is. I would ensure that continues. We are public servants, first of all. We’re there for the citizens of the Parish of Caddo. Even though we work for the State and the Parish, we are supposed to be independent. We are supposed to afford every citizen the opportunity to exercise their right as far as voting is concerned.

This concluded Mr. Allum’s interview.

Mr. Dominick would like to ensure that the candidates report to the conference room in the back. Mrs. Bryant stated that it is voluntary, but they did let him know. Mr. Linn pointed out that this is being livestreamed on Facebook and on Comcast.

Mrs. Gage-Watts wanted to know if she has the authority to change the order of the names for the interviews. Attorney Frazier explained that the Commission voted to have the interviews in alphabetical order, so it would need a vote to change the order.

Mr. Thomas Caughan Carmody, Jr.

Gage-Watts: What aspects of the Registrar’s office do you currently observe to be working well?

Carmody: Working well? My experience with the staff is that they are always helpful. Any citizen that walks in and needs assistance, they’re there. They basically provide information to verify, first and foremost, where they’re to cast their ballots—what precinct they would be voting in. Those that came in the door that I had witnessed that wanted to be registered to vote were immediately attended to.

Gage-Watts: If selected as Registrar of Voters, what change or changes would you make based on your current observations and why?

Carmody: I would definitely follow, at least what I have seen by the Registrar of Voters, in that I always Ernie Roberson at many of the neighborhood meetings. He was there not so much in the capacity other than being a representative of the Parish, but also making sure that people understood that his position was one that he would work with the citizens in order to get them registered. Or, if they had a question about where they were to vote that he would be there to answer it. I felt like that is a good outreach that the Registrar of Voters of the Parish should perform in order to make sure the public was aware of who that person was, as well as, that person extending the hand of assistance in order to fulfill the duty.

Gage-Watts: So, you don’t have any plans to change anything based on your observation?

Carmody: I’ve given it a good bit of thought. I can’t tell you that I know everything that the Registrar of Voters has done over the last 30 years. The first time I remember seeing a Registrar of Voters was when I was in high school. I believe, at the time, the Registrar of Voters came 255 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

to speak at our assembly and to explain that this was part of the political process that each of us should be involved in as citizens of this country. Many Americans paid the ultimate sacrifice in order to give us our franchise to vote, but it did require you to go and register to vote—reminding us that we were to register also for the military draft when we turned 18. At the same time, we were to go register to vote so we could have our say in the way that our government works. Basically, to provide for the consent of the governed by coming registering and then participating by going to the polls and voting.

Gage-Watts: How do you feel about the Voters Rights Act?

Carmody: The Voters Rights Act basically provides that everybody has a right to vote. That certainly clarified that things have been done in the past to prohibit certain persons for participating in the process were no longer anything but illegal. The Voters Rights Act made sure that everyone had the opportunity in order to participate.

Gage-Watts: Do you feel that Caddo Parish needs satellite locations?

Carmody: I’ve looked at that. If the Parish had the funding in order to do that. When I checked with the State, the State said that they would certainly look at it in conjunction with the Parish, but unless the Parish had the funds to do satellite locations that the State did not have the necessary resources to provide those.

Jackson: I’m concerned about the canvass, where people get caught up in the canvass. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the canvass. The canvass takes place where there’s a system that moves voters or determines where they vote at if they don’t respond to the card in the mail—for instance, we have a lot of millennials moving back into Shreveport where they may still receive mail at their parents’ house, but they live somewhere else. They don’t have a homestead exemption, so what the State law says is absent of a homestead exemption, you are allowed to declare which one is your domicile. What we have is a system where if you don’t respond to the card that may be sent to your parents’ house, there’s a computer system designed to move you to your postal address, even though that person came in and registered at the address that they wanted to be registered at. They never came in to change their voter address, the computer is changing it. Any thoughts about how you may address that within the State Association?

Carmody: If I understand the question correctly, if you were to come into the Register of Voters Office as a returning Caddo Parish citizen back to the jurisdiction that you would come in and verify where your current address is. If you came back into the City/Parish and you’re not coming into the Registrar of Voters Office, then it would go to my parents’ address. But if I came back into Shreveport wanted to know which precinct I would be voting in, I would certainly want to confirm it by going down to the Registrar of Voters Office by identifying to them that I no longer live at my parent’s address. The ROV would then be able to say, alright the precinct that you vote in now is this. That would certainly help, but I think technology is a big plus when people contact you via smartphone or by telephone. If they were to contact the ROV and say, ‘I’m returning to Shreveport. I think the last address that you have for me is parents. I no longer live at my parents. This is my new domicile.’ Then that would make sure that they would know exactly where they were supposed to go vote. Its communication. It’s a matter of the person who is wishing to cast their ballot to know exactly where they’re going. I think we’ve all seen frustration where you walk into a precinct and there’s someone there that says, ‘my name is not on this list’. Well, in that instance, that is where the ability to contact the ROV to say ‘we have you registered by this address’. Then you say ‘I haven’t lived at that address 30 years’. Well you have got to make sure that you are contacting the ROV to verify where your currently domicile, so they can have you correctly identified on that voter’s roll, so that when you walk into the precinct that you’re there to vote.

Gage-Watts: you have already addressed the duties and responsibilities of the Registrar. What is the largest budget that you have managed?

Carmody: Well let’s see, managed? I guess that would be the billboard company, and that was approximately $1.7 million a year at the time.

Gage-Watts: What were the challenges in managing that said budget?

Carmody: Well, in the private sector, the challenges of managing a budget are multi-faceted. First and foremost, being that whoever you’re working for is trying to maximize profit. And so, managing the personnel in order to accomplish the job. Whatever that business is doing is paramount to make sure that you have enough personnel to accomplish the job, but that you don’t have so much personnel that in essence you’ve got additional employees that you really don’t need. I always felt like it was a matter of trying to encourage those employees that were working to accomplish those jobs to understand that it was a collaborative effort in that everyone is a team. We each got to depend on one another in 256 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

order to accomplish the goals that we’re doing. If someone feels like that they do not want to be a team player, then all you can do is try to work with them to try make sure that they understand that you’re trying to create more professionalism and try to get the job done in a timely fashion, so that at the end of the day you meet the expectations of your employer.

Gage-Watts: So your successes that you’re proud of is that the teamwork and the professionalism of that budget.

Carmody: What uniquely qualifies you to be the ROV?

Gage-Watts: Having been a commissioned Louisiana Notary Public for 30 years. That is a primary function of a notary is to see and identify persons in order to make sure that those instruments that they are executing—that they are putting their signature on are admissible in a court of law, as well as into the public record. That is a commission that I have always taken very seriously to make sure that my work was correct. The ROV does exactly the same thing. It is a ministerial position, for the most part, just like a commission given as a Notary Public. It is ministerial. We perform a function for the public, but there is trust that’s given with that commission to do it correctly. Having sat where all you are sitting, I worked in 2001 to redistrict the City of Shreveport. Those of you who have done redistricting—I believe at the time, we had 24 different plans that were submitted to us. Having worked with a demographer and having to come up with a plan that was most fair and equitable was a challenge, but one I enjoyed doing. Then having been in the legislature in 2011, and redistricting the State. It re-emphasized how important accurate information is, in order to get the job done correctly. All of us know when you redraw those districts, it affects people. It affects the election precincts; it affects basically who is going to represent you. The most important function, at least right now, is that they are trying to get every eligible voter to register. When we go through the census next year, the primary work that is going to be done by the demographer—they are going to be looking at the population for Caddo Parish, but they also take into account the number of registered voters. We are all familiar with the out migration from Caddo Parish. That is going to have an effect on all political districts. All the way from Caddo Parish to Baton Rouge to Washington D.C. Having worked with Dr. Joiner in the City level, as well as the State and other elected officials in order to pass and submit a plan to the Department of Justice that met all of the criteria. That would probably be the thing that I’m most proud of. This was the first time that the State has submitted its redistricting plan and did not have to come back and make revisions because the Department of Justice said that they wanted it changed.

Atkins: You’ve made reference to the budget you managed directly. I think it would be interesting if you would comment on budgets you may been involved with developing indirectly. How large was that budget? And what were the challenges with that budget?

Carmody: A very brief summary. Eight years on the Shreveport City Council having annually done budgets. Again all of you being familiar with the fact that you’ve got department heads that are coming before you. They’re charged with providing the public services that the citizens pay their tax money to have performed. That’s always been a challenge from the standpoint of always trying to make that you balance the available revenues to fulfill the functions of government—the primary functions of government. I always was interested in making sure that infrastructure and public safety were my primary goals of making sure that we fund those things. The reason being is if persons don’t feel that they’re safe in their community and in their home, typically they vote with their feet and they leave. The other thing is traveling across the City or the Parish and you see the conditions of roads—how many of you have heard from constituents that just want to vent their frustrations on the fact that ‘I’ve paid my taxes all this time and I’ve lived in this community and I have asked repeatedly for this to be addressed. Could you please help me?’ Those were always the persons that I felt like that they had reached the end of their rope, and they were at a point where they were looking for their elected officials to try to address what was the major concern to them. I always felt like that was really a priority that all of us make sure we were addressing. It became exponential when I got to Baton Rouge. As you can imagine, in your purview as Commissioners, your concern not only with your Parish Districts, you’re also concerned about the entire Parish. The same way with having been on the City Council. Yeah, I was one of seven councilmembers, but I represented the City of Shreveport. Having been elected to the Legislature and for twelve years worked on budgets. Again, it always seemed like we were trying to rob Peter to pay Paul in Baton Rouge. It is again just the nature of the fact that you’ve got more demand than available resources to meet them. Those were certainly challenges trying to prioritize where the most people would receive the best benefit was always my priority.

Cawthorne: I want to go back to what was asked early by Madame President as it relates to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In the Voting Rights Act of 1965, there’s a Section 5 that’s essentially first sunsetted in 1985 under the Reagan Administration. It provides for a 257 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

preapproval for certain southern states if they make any changes to the voting process in their locale. What’s your feelings, pros and cons, of that section of the Voting Rights Act?

Carmody: I think it still needs to be done. From the standpoint, you need preclearance in order to make sure that whatever worked, the states are going to be proceeding with—that they’re not going down a dead end street. If you have the initial preclearance that Department of Justice reviews the work that’s being done and says, ‘we concur with you that this is the correct method’, then you’re not spending a lot of time working on something that is basically going to be handed back to you—your homework is not right and you have to redo it. I think that is certainly something that still needs to be done. It is kind of amazing to me that you wouldn’t look at all 50 states and having that requirement, but right now that’s not the case. Those that are currently required to do preclearance, I think that’s still needed.

Cawthorne: Well you know that original legislation pointed out that the people who had the worst abuses were the one who were documented in the legislation.

Louis Johnson: A follow-up with the same question as it relates to what Mr. Atkins asked. You initially said that the largest budget that you have managed is $1.7M. The question is, is there any other budget in which you’ve played a part or a managerial role though you might not have directly managed it. If so, what is the largest budget?

Carmody: That I actually managed? I don’t know if you could say that I managed it because I was one of 144 managers on a budget. When I first came into the legislature, the 2008 budget was right at $26B. The current budget that we just passed is $31B. Again, that’s not monies directly from the State. That’s federal money that is drawn down as well.

Louis Johnson: And the City?

Carmody: The City, if I remember right, when I came onto the City Council, the City Council generate $168M.

Gage-Watts: This concludes your interview.

Carmody: May I leave you with this? My heart is in public service. I care about our community, and I care about its people. I’ve always been somebody who wanted to make sure that the public understood that they have an advocate. That is what I’ve done. I’ve been humble to have been entrusted with that trust by the public, and I would certainly feel like I would do a very good job for the citizens of Caddo Parish and the Caddo Parish Commission in this capacity. I appreciate yall’s consideration this morning.

This concluded Mr. Carmody’s interview.

Mr. Billy R. Casey

Gage-Watts: What uniquely qualifies you to be the Voters Registrar of Caddo Parish?

Casey: I would think that my experience in terms of having a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. And of course, my legal career I’ve had over the past thirty-something odd years, in terms of practicing law. In the past also being involved in gathering information from the Registrar of Voters Office in terms of political endeavors I have pursued. Looking at the various precincts and voters in terms of those who have registered and those who have not. I think I would be good in terms of pushing for more people to register to vote and to look at other avenues to get people to vote.

Gage-Watts: Do you have a vision for that plan?

Casey: Yes. I would start in grassroots in terms of people who are in school, particularly high school. I would make sure that we get those kids who are in school graduating or are of the age to register, and those who are in college. Then for those people who going on about their normal everyday lives in terms of setting up areas where we can engage people to register to vote. Places where people normally go like the supermarkets, malls, even churches, and other areas of the Parish where people would go and to vote.

Gage-Watts: What do you understand the duties and responsibilities of the Registrar to be?

Casey: I would understand that the—it is my understanding that the ROV will keep the records of all registered voters under the direction of the Secretary of State because the way our government is situated and established. We would make sure that the rolls are updated and we will monitor those people who are voting and make sure those are accounted for. 258 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

Those who are not voting, we will look at the roll and determine by state law and purging those who are not.

Gage-Watts: Speaking of purging voters, how do you plan to address that with legislation?

Casey: Well, I would think the ROV is restricted by law in terms of what he can do or she can do in terms of voters. The law mandates in terms of how one is to be removed from the voters of registration, not just the Registrar who does that. There is a law that requires that he does it, and you have to follow the law in terms of doing that.

Gage-Watts: Do you have any interests in lobbying about it? Is that something that is of interest to you?

Casey: well, I think when you’re talking about lobbying, there’s restriction in any government entity in terms of what you can and cannot do. If the law allows, then yes, I would do that. If the law is restricting in terms of lobbying, then naturally you are tied with what you can and cannot do based upon state law.

Gage-Watts: How do you feel about satellite locations for Caddo Parish?

Casey: I would very much encourage that because look at where people are. If you’re talking about the Parish, you mean the people outside the City. They don’t have the mobility or the transportation—those who live in rural areas, you have to make accommodations for them as best as you can. I would be very much in favor of the satellite locations.

Gage-Watts: What is the largest budget that you have managed?

Casey: The largest budget that I have managed in terms of—I worked with organizations where I had to manage a budget. I would say $4 or $5 million based upon my career and my experience.

Gage-Watts: What were the challenges in managing that budget?

Casey: Trying to meet the budget in terms of expenses, costs, savings, in terms of personnel. When you look at insurance and things of that nature, you have some costs that you can’t get around. There are several other costs that you will have to try to deviate from that would make your operation efficient, but still stay within the budget as best as you can.

Gage-Watts: What budget successes are you proud of?

Casey: I would say that the budget successes in terms of not laying off people and keeping people at their jobs. Sometimes with budgets, you get restricted where you have to make cuts. In order to make sure that your personnel and your employees are there to work because they have livelihoods and families to take care of. Those things are very important.

Gage-Watts: What aspects of the ROV office do you currently observe to be working well? If you are selected, what changes would you make on your current observations and why?

Casey: my observation has been in terms of elections that have not been—people have not been interested. For example, the presidential election is going to be a big election because everyone wants to go out and vote for the president. But you may some issues whereby you have some amendments and things of this nature and there’s no major electoral candidates coming aboard at that time, you would have to be innovative in terms of looking at where can you get the most turn out of people to come out and vote. You’re working in terms of doing that. It is a cost factor—the commissioners and other people who are working these very precincts. If you have a low turnout of people in some of these areas…you start out with zero and end with zero. You need to change that. We may have to consolidate some precincts or some things of this nature whereby you can utilize the manpower that you do have and the commissioners.

This concluded Mr. Billy Casey’s interview.

Ms. Paula Collins

Gage-Watts: What do you understand the duties and responsibilities of the ROV to be?

Collins: I believe, from the explanation that was listed on the vacancy, it would look back into the laws in the city. It was different from any other position that I’ve ever applied for. As a citizen is that the ROV is the person who handles all of the logistics of getting people out to vote. That’s the bottom line of what I got from this. it was, for me, a very—I’ll put it like this, when I go and vote, there’s a lot of things that are discussed…that we have to vote 259 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

for that are explained with too much information and not just the bottom line. I’ve notice that a lot of citizens and people around me, my neighbors and friends—it’s like they go in and vote, and they just take a wild guess and check a yes or a no or something like that. It’s not very understandable. It’s either too much information or information that was never really explained to people. For me, that’s the way that job description was. I truly believe that it’s about coordinating and getting together all aspects of getting people out to vote and making sure that everyone has that opportunity.

Gage-Watts: What is the largest budget that you have managed? And what challenges were in that budget did you have?

Collins: The largest budget that I’ve managed? It is not really that large. When I applied for this position, I applied as a citizen and as a voter. For me, I didn’t really take in all of the—I can’t say that I’m really qualified to say that I’ve done all of these things that are involved. All I know is that as a voter, I want to be able to help other people trying to vote. I want to be able to satisfy everyone’s information and give them understanding of what they need to be doing and how they can get to go about how to do it. I’m not a politician. I’ve never wanted to be in politics, but we are all involved. I applied for this position so I could be more involved. In every aspect of my life, I have a focus of what I’m doing. In all of the positions I’ve had, sometimes I’ve gone in knowing how to do something—the majority of everything that I’ve done; sometimes I go in looking to learn and expand my horizons and get more involved. This for me is why I applied for this position. I can’t really say that I have done all of the big budgets and things like that or am politically inclined, but I just want to be involved. I’m good at what I do, and I learn very quickly.

Cawthorne: When you mentioned that you applied for this position as a voter and as a citizen, and I was following your conversation. I was thinking that you would give me a vision of what you see could be improvements in the ROV office or what you think isn’t happening now. If I’m correct, because you prefaced with the statement that you applied for this position as a citizen and as a voter. Out of that passion, you want to see something that’s expansive—do you follow my question?

Collins: Yeah. On part of my resume, you see that I started a nonprofit. I do become passionate about the things that I go for. In my understanding of this position, there are things that can be improved upon, and there are things that we do need to expand. There are different ways of doing things, and I’m not saying that I have all the answers, but I am very imaginative in working with nonprofits. I do a lot of fundraising. My fundraising ideas are not just the regular ones that everybody sees all the time. I am very imaginative in the things that I see that can fix something. A lot of people respond to that because it is not the norm. There’s a lot of people asking, ‘well, we just need to do this better’ or ‘we just need to do the better’, but there’s no input as to what we could do to bring about any avenues of change or bring people out. There’s a lot of ways that we could bring people out besides just what’s been going on. The creativity, in my mind, is such that I can just go ahead and—I would have a lot of ideas. I’m not one to just sit back and let things happen. I do have a lot of ideas, and I do believe teamwork and input are what we need done.

This concluded Ms. Collins’ interview.

Mr. Justin Courtney

Gage-Watts: If you would like to open up and give us a word of you are and why you would be unique for this position.

Courtney: Sure, I would be glad to. I’m a lifelong resident here in Caddo with the exception of some time away for education. My wife and I decided that this is going to be the home where we raise our family. Caddo Parish is going to be the place that we live and probably buried. I’ve been working here in town as a lawyer for the last 15 years. A lot of my work has been with the Public Defender’s Office and Legal Aide helping the poor. As I mentioned in my application, I think there’s no stronger equalizer in the community than the power of the vote. Each of the people in the Parish deserve the right to be able to vote. Anyone who is eligible, I would like to register them with the ROV and get them ready to proceed come Election Day.

Gage-Watts: What uniquely qualifies you about that?

Courtney: I have a degree in accounting as well as a law degree. I think this work is going to require a good of the laws—of the voting laws, of the election laws. I think another large part of it is going to be budgeting. We’ve got a finite amount of resources here. In 2017, it was about $650,000 to run the office. Additionally, I think another important part of the work is going to be managing people and interacting with the public.

260 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

Gage-Watts: So, you’ve already mentioned the budgeting. What’s the largest budget that you have managed?

Courtney: As part of Legal Services, we have many millions to spend on the civil needs of the poor. My role there was more of a management role than finance. However, we had some twenty lawyers and thirty support staff over 26 parishes in the north part of the state.

Gage-Watts: What challenges did you have in that said budget?

Courtney: There’s always room for more. Despite the large amount of money, we could not care for all of the needs that were brought each day.

Gage-Watts: What budget successes are you proud of?

Courtney: I’m proud we were able to offer some help to most of the people who came in. even if we couldn’t provide them with full services, we used that limited budget to start a self-help program for those folks who are looking for divorce and custody issues. We educated them and provided them with self-service forms and wished them well.

Gage-Watts: What aspects of the ROV office do you observe to be working well?

Courtney: Working well? I’m sure that everything is proceeding as it has for the last thirty years. I see Mr. Roberson involved in a great deal of committees and becoming an interval part in the GeauxVote app and moving to the online service. I think that’s certainly a good example of how it’s heading in the right direction.

Gage-Watts: Do you see a need for change based on those current observations? If you do, why?

Courtney: I’d like to see the new ROV visit each Commission district. I’d like to see them in the public more often. Although there has been some visibility, I’d like to increase that. I’d like to notify the people that are eligible to be registered that they have a possibility of that. For instance, the changes in March allowing some good people who made bad decisions, who were previously prevented from voting, I’d like to see them notified in a public manner that they may be able to return to the voter booth.

Gage-Watts: Do you see a need for satellite locations in Caddo Parish?

Courtney: The Registrar’s Office, as it pertains to registration, it can be done by mail; it can be done online; or it can be done in person. There’s a great deal of options there. As far as satellites for the registration, I don’t know if that is something I would support. When it comes to early voting, I’m convinced that the ROV current location is not sufficient to many people standing in the elements when there’s likely a better option.

Dominick: What do you think the legal duties and legal responsibilities of the ROV would be?

Courtney: The ROV’s obligations are all listed out in Title 18 in the Election Code. They’re obligated to register anyone who has the ability to be registered. They’re responsible for maintaining the roll and making sure they remain accurate, which is obviously important to keep all of the votes in the correct precincts and to prepare for the 2020 Census that is coming up. The other obligations are going to be to certify petitions for recalls or ex- appropriations for a number of things. So the keeping of the records is going to be paramount.

Cawthorne: You indicated that the current location of the ROV office is not adequate, if I’m using that term correctly. Having said such, what would be your recommendation—where would you like to see it moved in terms of what type of facility, and how would you propose financing such?

Courtney: The budget is obviously limited. That’s always a constraint that each of us will have to battle. It seems to me, though, when the voting public comes out to early vote, they ought to be able to be comfortable waiting their turn to vote. Standing in the elements, whether its heat or rain, does not seem to be the circumstance the public should have to endure to exercise their right to vote. Obviously, the budget is going to be the obvious constraint. If in fact there’s room for it, I would like to explore the opportunity or the possibility of an alternative location that would provide parking, climate control, and centrally located for the voting public of the Parish and the City of Shreveport.

Lyndon B. Johnson: If appointed, what would be your plan for 30 day, 60 day, or 90 day change for plan?

Courtney: 30 days has got to address getting into the office, spending time with Ms. Fizel, finding out the instant needs and taking care of those. In the long run, the plan would shift based 261 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

on what needs were identified in the first 30 days. I am in a position where I can put down my current work in quick order and focus all of my energy on the ROV office.

Lyndon B. Johnson: If a Caddo citizen is detained during the early voting and election time, but not proven guilty of a crime, would you pursue to make sure their vote was counted?

Courtney: You mean they were arrested, but not convicted?

Lyndon B. Johnson: Arrested, but not charged for a crime yet.

Courtney: I think there’s absolutely a presumption of innocence that’s involved with the court systems. Short of being a convicted felony charge, I’m not sure that you can deny the vote to someone simply detained.

Lyndon B. Johnson: But they won’t be able to go from the jail to the precinct—

Courtney: Oh, I understand your question. If they’re currently detained at CCC or City Jail? That’s not something that I had pondered before your question.

Lyndon B. Johnson: I think outside the box sometimes.

Courtney: Off the cuff, I’m thinking perhaps an absentee ballot. ‘I won’t be available to come to the ballot on such and such date…’ Mr. Johnson, I don’t have a good answer. It would take more looking and thinking, but I appreciate the question.

Jackson: There’s actually a process on how that’s supposed to happen. I think they’re supposed to request it from CCC if they are detained. My question has centered around the voter canvass. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the voter canvass where it is sort of a centralized state computer system where they are moving folks—let me give you an example. College student comes home, and typically most college students have family homes where you’re registered to vote at is typically the family home. So you may live here, but you’re registered somewhere else. What will typically happen is that canvass is moving voters out of their precincts to where their postal address is. How would you go about addressing that? Or what are your thoughts on the voter canvass? A voter walks in and thinks they’re registered to vote in Precinct A only to find out your name is not on this list.

Courtney: It occurs to me that the law permits college students to vote either where they’re living at the election or where their home is because they just changed their domicile for a temporary period. It is not a true change in permanent residence. In the absence of making that choice to register in a college town, the rolls should remain in the family home, as you have called it. I would suspect that before anybody has changed from the registration that they are, that they would receive notice at their old address and at their new to give them an opportunity to speak up and say, ‘I am a temporary resident of Natchitoches’ for instance. ‘But I plan to return to my home and vote come Election Day’. If there is not a plan in place to provide notice to each of those people who are potentially changed, I would certainly institute one to provide written notice to each address of my intention to change their voter registration.

Jackson: Well, it’s changed. It’s not anything that you changed as ROV at Caddo. It’s just changed within that computer system. That person never came into the Registrar’s office to change it. They just didn’t respond to a card, or they respond to a mail-out that the State’s system sent. It just kicks them to the last known address that they have. We have access to many means, as you know, now to register. You can register online; you can register if a person has behavior health or Medicaid or receive housing assistance, they’re required to register. There are various means of registering to vote. The address that you declare on that registration of voter form, whether it’s electronically or whether it’s done through an application process, is where their registration would be; however, if you don’t respond to some card—you may not even have gotten the card. The post office is not a perfect system. They may have forgotten to get the card to you or something. Or, it could be a situation where a family member goes to the post office and declares a different postal address. What the system does is, if you do not check every single person in the household off, it moves everybody to the new postal address where they’re registered to vote. It’s a state issue. I didn’t want to ask you a trick question. I just wanted to gauge your thoughts and how you think that could be addressed.

Courtney: The process has got to be fair. It is unfair for someone to show up at the poll expecting to cast a vote to be told no. I’m not in support of moving, unless it has been verified that the 262 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

address and the residence has been changed. I think the notice is probably the minimum requirement, but perhaps there’s more to be done to contact those people prior to the day of the election. This is a job that will require attention—full time, every day of the week, all year long—not simply the last portion of the year. I would agree with you, Mr. Jackson.

Jackson: Organizational management. I see where you worked in different organizations. What’s the largest number of people you managed and budget?

Courtney: While at Legal Services, I served as the Litigation Director. As part of that responsibility, I supervised twenty lawyers and thirty support staff. Those people were located in Shreveport, Monroe, and Natchitoches. That would be the largest organization that I had been a part of. The budget was many millions, in part from the Legal Services, Inc., another part of the Louisiana Bar Foundation, and then some other grants from various smaller organizations.

Cawthorne: I asked this question earlier, and with you being an attorney, as it relates to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I'm quite sure you're familiar with it, and as it relates to section five of that piece of legislation, a sunset rule that every 20 years and this should be reviewed. So last time was like 2005, the first time was in 1985. A question to you is, are you continuously in favor of the pre-approval when a certain group of southern states who have pre-approved before they can make changes in the legislative election process in their particular locale? Are you in favor of this pre approval, disfavored, approved or not in favor of the department?

Courtney: This is the approval that required by the Department of Justice, correct. They're here to safeguard everybody's constitutional rights. If, if it's set to read be reviewed in 2025, I think absolutely, it ought to be done

Gage-Watts: I noticed that you didn't list that you were available to work nights, weekends, or evenings. How do you feel about working nights, weekends, evenings?

Courtney: President, I frequently work all hours of the day and night, I did not check those boxes, I felt as though the form was more useful to an hourly employee rather than someone who knows that they're coming to work all day, all evening and all night as the duties require. So I'm absolutely willing and able to perform the work that's required of the office.

Gage-Watts: How would you address the mass number of absentee voters at a location, for example, at a prison or at a nursing home?

Courtney: I'm not sure the question, ma'am. If there was a great number of people in a single location, would certainly get the applications to them to return by mail, is the standard for absentee voting is do you

Gage-Watts: Do you feel that that location would need a mobile site itself? Would you be willing to set up a mobile site there?

Courtney: No, ma'am. I think there's I think we've got a really large parish. And, and we've got some small budgeting for this office, I don't see it being a possibility to spread to each location that that that might be heavily populated with an absentee. I'm not sure that it would be feasible.

Gage-Watts: Without putting constraints on your budget, you still don't think it will be feasible?

Courtney: If there was an infinite number of resources in people and in machinery, equipment used for those things. I might change my mind. But I'm not sure that it's that it's possible at this point.

This concluded Mr. Courtney’s interview.

Mr. Jeff Everson

Gage-Watts: We're going to begin this process, if you would, we'll allow you this opportunity to address us is your needs your unique qualities of becoming the ROV?

Everson: Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for the opportunity to do that. And it's an honor to be considered along with so many other great applicants today. You know, I think one of the reasons that might be unique about me is I'm political enough to know the importance of impartiality, accuracy, fairness, accessibility, and education and voter communication. Because of my experience, in being an elected official, I know the importance of all of those things. Because of the fact that I represented a very diverse district and work with people across every demographic or political kind of category. I proved already in a public setting, that I have a great ability to be nonpolitical, and be all those things that are 263 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

so important in this position, meaning impartial, accurate, fair, accessible and communicative to a wide ranging, and diverse constituency. Caddo has a lot of different residents who live in different situations who receive information differently. And they need to be able to be communicated to with some consistency, and high quality. So an example of my ability to be impartial and also referencing some experience in demography would be when we passed the redistricting plan for the Shreveport City Council back in 2012, I was a big part of that there was a majority of constituents in my district really wanted to see district be be more representative of the African-American population. And they, you know, had expressed that throughout the campaign, that was something that I was very happy to work on. And so along with Sam Jenkins, who was on the City Council with me at the time, we developed a plan with Gary Joiner that did increase the African American percentage to be reflective of what the City was as a whole, which was sort of the mandate I'd been given. And we were able to pass that successfully. There were a lot of people who, you know, sort of thought I was signing my invitation to not be reelected. But I think when you serve equally, and you serve, with what you said you were going to do, that is respected. And so I did end up being able to earn reelection after that, despite the district, demographically not meaning in my favor. And I ran against a great candidate who quickly was joined yall’s bodies, that was not for lack of good competition. I have enjoyed serving in various roles in the City of Shreveport and Caddo Parish for about 15 years now, I've worked in various types of local government. I am only 40 years old, though. So while I've had a lot of experience, I have a lot left to give, I have a lot of time that I can commit to this. And really have, I hope, proved it a dedication to the city impaired. Some of the things I think I would bring to the job as a potentially renewed emphasis on communications. I think that some of the messaging, while there's good information that gets out from the office, I don't think it's reaching the people that need to be reached and in in different ends of the spectrum. You know, the way people communicate changes quite a bit. And social media is such a dominant force for communication. I think that the registered voter’s office needs a stronger presence and also needs to be developing content that is able to be shared that is accessible. You know, I would, I would propose to do things like working with leaders from area high schools, as well as nonpolitical well known Caddo residents who could talk do short videos that would talk about the importance of voting, talk about, you know, answers to some commonly asked questions and things like that. Another experience that I think I would bring to the table that would be helpful is my experience in advocacy. As you probably know, and doing budgets, there has been some costs from the state that's been transferred to the parish, in terms of maintaining the voting machines and some things that have fallen more on local government than the state. The state has had some difficult years in recent years. And that seems to have resulted in that. But it would be something that I would make a priority to work with the Louisiana Registrar of Voters Association, be an active member of that, and help advocate for a formula that corrects that burden and move some back to the state in terms of maintaining the voting machines. And then I thank you again for your time. And I just want to also, certainly remind anybody who may be watching at home that today is the last day to register to vote for the October election. It is indeed and that election. The early voting for it starts in September. So I mean, we're just a few days away from September 28. And that's when, you know, votes are going to start coming in. And so it's exciting to be here at a time when it's very relevant.

Jackson: Just curious to know your thoughts on satellite locations.

Everson: For early voting?

Jackson: Yes, for early voting.

Everson: Yeah, well, you know, and I don't know if I'm allowed to I know, I asked at some point, but I don't know that I received an answer. And I don't want to share anything, that's inappropriate. But I did make some printouts that kind of address that. And what I did is I broke down the voter registration numbers and applied this to each of your commission districts and looked at factors like turnout and how many voting sites there were to see kind of where you could see that there was an obvious impact on voter access. And it turns out that if you feel concerned that your district may not have great voter access, there's probably some legitimacy to that there are some of you who have disparities, in terms of like, how many registered voters actually vote. The reasons for that would be something that you would know better than I do. But I think that there is some benefit to looking at those numbers to make sure that if you were to go to the expense, because it's just an it's an expense, and you know, and administrative burden, but, one that's well worth doing, as long as you do it correctly advise you have the right numbers, you understand the cost and benefit analysis of it. And so, you know, you'd have to take some factors into consideration. Is that something that I think would be, it's also something to very much consider during the next census. I mean, the census starts next year, being an active participant with the other members of the Election Commission, as

264 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

well as the, you know, other demographers and other people that you work with to help develop precinct lines and make sure that they're—

Jackson: I go back and forth with folks. They say we have a voter registration problem, right. And then we have a voter turnout problem. People, there are various ways that folks can register. Voting is typically the issue. So do I hear you leaning toward satellite?

Everson: Yeah, I do think satellites would be good. I just am not at a point where I think I could commit to where exactly be, although I do have some numbers that will help to show that. There are a few commission districts that have where there was one that has almost twice the average number of voters per election site as some of the other districts, in fact, almost three times. So there was some big variance there. And then, I also another, you know, another aspect of that, obviously, is this budget did do some projections as to what I thought next year's budget would look like, kept it pretty, pretty flat, as the number of registered voters are decreasing at the moment, you know, it's smaller. I think that's both from population loss, and from a good canvassing, you know, I think they're doing a good job updating those records. And so there's two factors there. But that being said, you know, I think the next year's budget would be, it would be slightly lower than this year, it's just a few thousand. But so within that same range, we should be able to cover the four elections next year, as well, as, you know, a number of the other upcoming voter education efforts. And when I say better education efforts, I think that's something I'd really like to open up as a discussion. If I was selected, I would do that very early on, to start getting feedback. For instance, you know, Huntington has like a program that they've added that's like a digital maker’s space kind of thing. That's really neat. And those students work on a project, like developing an app or something, you know, somebody like that, could, a high school kid is way better at telling you why what we're voting on doesn't make sense to them than I am, you know, so it would be great to develop a program or a partnership with people like that, to kind of find out how we can put things in terms that make sense to our voters, so we can encourage better participation.

Atkins: Summarize for us the two or three things that make you uniquely qualified for this job?

Everson: Well, I mean, I think the things that make me uniquely qualified or that I have really had a long time in the public eye. And been consistent, I think, I hope that I've been able to earn a reputation of working with people across different political lines, racial ethnicities, you know, income levels, I think that I've been able to serve those populations equally. And I think I've at least certainly tried, and I'm always open to improvement as well. And I also think that, you know, some of my background, and I mean, I won some pretty tough elections. And I didn't do it, because I'm that cool. I did it because I'm pretty smart at knowing where voters are and who votes and who's likely to vote. You know, I'm a bit of a nerd, and some good those numbers and databases and things like that are an integral part of my political service thus far. And so it would be really a good I think application of that, I think it would be a good way to put that to service for the community that is where I call home.

This concluded Mr. Everson’s interview.

Mr. Linn announced that former Registrar of Voters, Mr. Ernie Roberson was in attendance.

Mr. Fermand Garlington

Gage-Watts: What uniquely qualifies you to be the Registrar of Voters?

Garlington: Well, I think part of it is I've lived here in Shreveport, Caddo all my life. I have a background in history. I have a Master's in history from the University of Houston. I have a Bachelor’s of History from LSU-Shreveport. Born and raised here. Lived here all my life I except for the three years I was in graduate school in Houston. I've followed history and politics, frankly, my whole life. In fact, one of the very first things I can remember is the presidential election of 1976 between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford when I was only three years old.

Gage-Watts: So your unique qualities are that you are political, connected, and that you are a historian. What is the largest budget you have managed?

Garlington: Other than family budgets are personal budgets. I can't say that I've really managed any budgets.

Gage-Watts: What aspect of the registrar's office do you currently observe to be working well? And if selected, what changes would you make based on your current observations? And why?

265 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

Garlington: Mr. Robertson has done a great job and sending applications out to senior citizens. And for instance, my mother is in eighty years of age. And so a few years back, she signed up and she gets her ballots in the mail. So that works well. I like the way I early voting takes place. I think its run very efficiently. I pretty much try to early vote, the first day that it's open and available. And so I think he's done a really good job. I've also had the pleasure of meeting him in my current capacity in Archives and Special Collections. Because he is a kind of a history buff himself. And I know that he's done some research in the past in regard to the Wallace Lake plane crash of 1954, which had a profound impact on Shreveport and Caddo Parish.

Gage-Watts: So you don't see any changes that need to be made?

Garlington: I think that when it comes to early voting, I think it would be good if we could have more satellite locations. I've often thought that maybe some of the libraries across the parish because we have the Shreve Memorial Library System that has a number of libraries in different parts of the City, as well as, throughout the Parish. And that would be a means to have people who say live in Vivian or Mooringsport...they won't have to come all the way down here to downtown Shreveport and are the cast their ballots during the early voting.

Atkins: Forgive me, I'm not I'm not very well acquainted with the actual day to day roles of the professional librarian. How would you see the skill set that you that you use in your day to day practice, apply to the Registrar Voter’s Office?

Garlington: We have to be responsible for managing people. We have Student Assistance, who we oversee. There's also a lot of public work because we're in an archive, we're open to the public as well as the students at LSUS. They come in and they research a number of different issues. For instance, you also records the records of the Caddo Parish Commission, or its predecessor, the Caddo Parish Police Jury, we have those available in the archive. And so if people are going to do research on the city or the parish and its history, that's a valuable resource for them. We have some of the parish records in archive which go all the way back to the 19th century around the the formation of this parish. And the same for the city workers as well. We maintain the Shreveport city records, and we even have the Shreveport city council record book, one of the very original one going all the way back 1839. So and as I understand it, LSUS is also in your district.

Chavez: Mr. Garlington, I wanted to commend you on when I was reading over your application. In your younger years as a teenager, you would write letters into the editor, and that you were very versed in the political process. And obviously, so much so that you're willing to put your career on the line to do this. So thank you for that. And I know one of the hurdles up today is to getting the younger people are mobilized and motivated to vote in the election process. And I know that not only did you do that, that you would be willing to move that even forward and work on that in our community. So thank you for putting your name in the hat. And thank you for coming down.

Cawthorne: Since you’re just a reservoir history and knowledge, I want to clarify one thing, you said you followed the 1976 presidential election when you were three years old? You don't start having recognizable memory until you're four?

Garlington: My memory actually starts when I was three and 1976. That's one of the first things I can remember.

Cawthorne: Second question will be since you are a history major, I posed this question before, what is your take on the Voter Rights Act of 1965? And section five, and its implementation at sunset? You may have some specificity that you may want to offer to us.

Garlington: That was the area that put certain states in the in the south that they had they get pre clearance when there was redistricting, and so forth. From what I can understand, the Supreme Court, in recent decision, overturned that. And so now, the many states in the south that were originally under that preclearance that's no longer required. Nevertheless, I think it's important that we still make sure that each vote is counted because it's very important to vote. I think that's important, regardless of what one's ideology is, or what one's particular preference is. I kind of give you an example. I remember back in, I think it was 2003, there was a gubernatorial election, kind of like this year, and there was a lady who I worked with who didn't have transportation to the polls. I knew she supported the different candidate than I did, but I really felt that it was important for her to vote to exercise her right to vote. I offered to take her to her precinct to vote because she said, Well, I don't really have a ride, I can't get there. I said, well, I will take you and so I took her to her polling precinct then she was able to vote and even though I

266 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

knew she was going to vote for candidate opposite to the candidate that preferred, I felt that it was important for her to exercise her voting right.

Cawthorne: So we know you oppose voter suppressing.

This concluded Mr. Garlington’s interview.

Mr. Ken Krefft

Gage-Watts: Would you explain to us what your unique qualities are at being the Registrar of Voters for Caddo?

Krefft: I have a perfect voting record. I've served as Commissioner in charge for years. A vote is a veto change the vowels. I've studied the Louisiana election law for years since college 50 years ago, not just recently. I know it inside out. We don't have time for me to quote verbatim from sections. But if you want to be bored, I'll do that for you now. Want to increase actual voter turnout? And the parents for every election? Gee, whoever has that answers that genius because we haven't done very well, but I want to try. I want to have the registration cards. This is a small item but because it's a small item mine and my wife she can barely read the precinct and the place you vote. There's room for a bigger font. In Arkansas, you can actually see where you vote. These cards are valuable, but the font is too small. I want to speak about voting how important it is at high schools. BBPC College elsewhere, secondary get students interested. I want to remind you all that, following the Bill of Rights, nine of the following 17 amendments the United States Constitution concerned voting must be important. We can all these amendments 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, and 26. The 15th given the black man the right to vote; the 19th giving the woman the right to vote; and the 26th, the 18 year old and the others peripherally dealing with voting, the Electoral College. I understand the Constitution very well. I keep it with me at all times and memorized it just for fun. I would donate one quarter of my salary towards the end of funding NGOs in each district, with each Commissioner being responsible for working with young people to enhance and increase voting registration. It would just be a flat out donation, if that's legal. I think it is. Once the salary comes to me, I'm allowed to give it to the Salvation Army or Robinson's rescue or voting. Finally, a kind of a point that's financial in a sense. Since I'm retired with state retirement and social security, I wouldn't need any retirement from the Parish, any health care--I have both have more than enough of each. So would be no cost. The last one-- this is this is my geeky side, but I would love, as the Registrar, to go to national, state, and local events and recite voting stories, not just recite 'I Have A Dream' or 'The Declaration'. I've read so many books about voting. There's so many anecdotes about voting. This body has had close elections. Lola May won by five; Monte Walford won by six; Alvin Hicks won by six. I've seen elections in St. Tammany where one vote decided that election. So I think my qualifications are different. And to wrap all this up, I don't have anything but this little sheet, which I just wrote five minutes before I was called in. And I use my flip phone in my brain. And I have thousands of bits of data in my brain about elections, local elections, past elections, dates for elections. When I vote October 12, in three weeks, it will be my 190th. For the record, I do get credit for missing one vote when a mailed-in ballot from Paris, France, to New Orleans failed to get recorded. So I really think this is a wonderful opportunity. I ask you twelve, to please choose someone who you feel and you believe can can do the best job regardless of age, race, sex, politics, sign of the zodiac or anything, and try to get somebody who votes often. Several of the candidates are right behind me with a nearly perfect voting record. One has not voted at all. I don't get that you want to be ROV, and you don't vote. So that's all I have. And I'd be happy to try to answer any questions.

Cawthorne: I know you've got a wealth of knowledge as it relates to history and whatnot and especially in Caddo Parish, what is what is some of your unique skill set Did you bring to the table in terms of managing people managing the budget and things of that nature.

Krefft: I've been a School Board Business Manager in Winn Parish and a Capital Projects Director in Shreveport. I was one of the few public officials who went to Mayor Hanna and said do away with this job transfer me to engineering job wasn't needed. The work was needed in engineering. I've managed people as a customer service manager at a newspaper production until the journal closed, March 31 of 91. I've managed people and done well, and I've enjoyed it. With the State of Louisiana for 25 years, I did not manage people, I tried to help people file for Social Security Disability. In the last year, I started driving cars part time for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, just to get out of the house and get away from the ancestry.com ladies who drove me out of the house. I have a pretty good background and I hope that is interesting enough to be considered for this position.

Gage-Watts: How do you feel about early voting satellite locations?

267 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

Krefft: Well, as one who in 1972 work closely with a delegate--I tried to get early voting concluded in 74 constitution, but we got an early voting satellite locations can be welcomed in a few elections, like presidential, when the lines get really long, even for early voting. I would not think we need many, but I do think we need one up and Doug's area up in Vivian. I think people who want to vote early-- If they vote on Election Day, they voted Vivian middle school or Ida or Rodessa or one of the five. But to have them come 37 miles here and back to vote early. Because you can't depend on voting for presidential on a Tuesday morning, you're going to be late for work; and on the way home, your dinner is going to be cold. So I think we can use a couple of those in Caddo Parish. It has to be done with a lot of thought. Not too terribly expensive. I don't think you need it for School Board tax renewal know when you get a 3.8% parish wide turnout. And that's another thing which is somewhat a Clerk of Court or Secretary of State thing, but the Registrar peripherally is involved. Let's stop paying commissioners to work all day at the polls. And at the end of the day, as in that 3.8% school board renewal-- check the records, five precincts had zero votes. We pay a lot of money to get zero votes. Conversely, my precinct 13 has almost 1800 voters. It's a mess on presidential with the lines, two miles long, cold, rainy and wet. That's not fair to the seniors out there. It was 34 degrees one election for presidential, and we had people two blocks out the door because they're too many voters at that precinct. So some precincts need to be divided into two and others need to be deleted. That's mostly a Clerk/ Secretary of State thing, but the Registrar has a voice. Ernie did a great job telling us, and I would continue his tradition of forecasting voter turnout, I would love to do that. I always enjoy him when he said it'll be 8% to 10%. Or it'll be 40 something percent. Too bad he's retired because I tried to draw it up and what it's going to be in three weeks and he wouldn't buy.

Gage-Watts: You said that you will continue forecast and what would you do to improve that voter turnout?

Krefft: I think speaking at the high schools, donating the quarter of my salary to NGOs, to work with kids. I'd like to see high schools vote. I'd like to see the students vote at their high schools depending on where they live. We used to do that in New Orleans when I was at Jesuit High. We had a mayor's election, and as long as you were a student of Jesuit and you lived in the City of New Orleans--sure you were going to vote how you mom and dad were going to vote, probably whether it was for Jimmy Fitzmaurice or whoever was running. I think we need to engage young people and maybe social media and maybe some other way. In my other method to answer your question would be simple. I'm not real good on social media. Sometimes I think it should be called the anti-social media, but I would start a new Facebook page as a registrar and it would be caddovoter.org. But it would be CADDEAUX voter.org to go along with the GEAUX vote theme. I think kids might hook on to that, but I really don't know the answer. I wish I did. I don't know that any of us have. It's abysmal when we get such low turnout.

Linn: When you say voter districts that don't have any votes coming from them should be deleted, do you mean absorbed within other districts?

Krefft: I mean, a precinct which tallied zero votes should be merged with a neighboring precinct adjacent to it. That was done a couple of times when Buck Fulco was Registrar years ago. He noticed some precincts and they went to the Elections Board, and we were able to dissolve When 13 got really big, they divided it into 13A and 13B. We were so pleased with that. 900 voters per precinct, but for some reason, maybe economy, they were recombined, and now it's all 13 again. That's just too many gubernatorial presidential. But that is what I meant. And thank you for joining me out on because that's important. We cannot deny anyone the right to vote, they just have to find their new their new polling station.

This concluded Mr. Krefft’s interview.

Mr. R.J. Johnson

Gage-Watts: We're going to open up and allow you to introduce yourself with your unique qualities of why you should be chosen as the next ROV.

R.J. Johnson: Absolutely. Thank you, Madam President. And thank you, commissioners, Happy National voter registration Day to you guys. It is a very important day. For us and for our parish. We're electing a ROV. It's extremely important not just with early voting in our elections coming up this cycle, but our elections coming up next cycle, as well as our upcoming census next year. I have worked with voter registration as well as elections for a number of years both in a volunteer capacity across our country I've had the opportunity to serve as the Regional Director in five states for a national political organization that has allowed me to make sure that I not only know the voter rights, and registration information here in Louisiana, but also the other five states that I worked with as regional director within Young Democrats of America for six years. Additionally, 268 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

working with the United Nations, I've had the ability to work around the world, and helping build capacity in different communities, working with young people in other countries, helping them to understand their voting rights, their election processes and helping them build democratic societies. So although this position is a nonpartisan position, I have the ability to work across all different spectrums with all different people. I tend to say it and I've heard before, as a parable, that if you can get paid to do something you love to do, you'll never work a day in your life. And so working as a state officer within the democratic party here locally as the Secretary of the Caddo Paris Democratic Party, I'm fully aware of Title 18, which is the Louisiana election code. I'm versed in that. So you need a Registrar who knows their roles, responsibilities, understands their roles, responsibilities, and working in conjunction with this Commission, as well as working with the Secretary of State in order to increase the number of satellite voting locations we have and in order to increase voter registration numbers within our Parish. Those are two things that will be a major priority for me, you have selected as your next ROV.

Gage-Watts: How do you plan to address those priorities that you just mentioned?

R.J. Johnson: Yes, ma'am. So I've already been in contact with the Secretary of State Office in regards to increasing the number of early voting satellite voting locations that we have. Thatis a possibility. Of course, with everything funding matters. The registrar's budget is about $600,000. We hopefully will be able to increase that so we can increase the number of staff that we have in the registrar's office. As you may know, and I believe Mr. Roberson has told you before, particularly in the budget of presentation or budget narrative that was submitted to you for this fiscal year's budget that Caddo Parish is the most understaffed of all of the jurisdictions in Louisiana, as it relates to the number of voters per capita. My hope is that we will be able to reverse that trend. We will be able to bring in permanent, not just temporary, staff members in order to meet the needs of the voters of this Parish. Working in conjunction with you, our Facilities & Maintenance Department with the Commission, to bring in more satellite voting locations, as well as working with our high school day, voter registration day to increase that those voters that are registering in the parish. Letting folks know and getting with our new businesses when our new businesses coming in when they bring in new employees. Welcome to Caddo Parish, here's your voter registration card. We want to get those folks on the rolls because they're going to invest. They're investing their business here. We want to make sure that they invest in here as it relates to our elections processes.

Gage-Watts: When you say an increasing the staff of the early voting satellite locations. Do you think that you would have to increase your staff if you had a staff member who was off for perhaps about seven days?

R.J. Johnson: Well, I think it's important to make sure we understand why that is necessary. We follow our rules regulations as it relates to civil service, and so we will look at those regulations and follow those regulations to a tee. If there's a need to adjust staffing for that, we will do that as well.

Gage-Watts: My question is, if you had an employee who was off for about seven days, just say there were out sick with the flu…

R.J. Johnson: We have the ability to make temporary adjustments and hire temporary staff. So I do believe that will be necessary, particularly depending on where that was. If we're seven days prior to voter registration ending? Absolutely, we would need to make sure that our offices fully staffed and covered during that time.

Gage-Watts: What is the largest budget that you have managed?

R.J. Johnson: I've managed the budget of $3.5 million and upwards in volunteer roles on boards and commissions as well as professionally.

Gage-Watts: What were the challenges in managing those?

R.J. Johnson: I think one of the challenges one of the major challenges and managing a budget is putting everybody's needs and being able to fund those that 100%. You're not able to do every time. So what you need to do is you need to make sure that you're prioritizing projects, as they have the most benefit to the people with the least amount of money. And so you have to make sure that you're listening to folks understanding where those needs are, and placing those budget dollars in the area that they're going to have the most impact.

Gage-Watts: What budget successes are you proud of?

R.J. Johnson: Being able to manage a budget. That's extremely important. In today's day and age, we have to live within our means. We have to make sure that we're doing the things that in 269 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

government especially have worked in government previously, we have to serve the most people with the least amount of money. This is a ROV's role and voting in and of itself is a role that's extremely important across the nation. So we are going to serve the most people we can with the budget money that we have. We're going to consistently ask you for more, but what we will do is we will make sure that you're part of that process. The Secretary of State manages the merit process, the merit increase process, and evaluation process of our Registrar. I would like our commission to be a part of that, the local community to be a part of that, to make sure that the Registrar is meeting the needs and that office is meeting the needs of our citizens.

Jackson: There's probably a reason why the Commission and the public is not involved in the merit evaluation. How would you envision that? And how does that not become sort of a public spectacle, as we have seen with some other issues in our community lately? Because there are reasons why a lot of people think we intentionally exclude the public or we intentionally exclude elected officials or anything for being at the table. Sometimes there are reasons for that. So how do you envision that happen?

R.J. Johnson: I'm not meaning as part of the formal process, but I mean, informally, making sure that we do surveys in our community, making sure that we do voter outreach and seeing how that works for our citizens, asking them what can our registrar's office do more for you?

Mr. Chavez thanked Mr. R.J. Johnson for all of his hard work on the Confederate Monument as well.

This concluded Mr. R.J. Johnson’s interview.

Mr. Reginald D. Johnson

Gage-Watts: We're going to allow you to open up with your unique qualities of being the registrar voters.

RD Johnson: I like to thank you for the opportunity to submit my credentials for the Caddo Parish ROV. I'm especially interested in the Caddo Parish ROV position because of my education, experience professional training, and has prepared me for a disciplined, a secure work environment, and the challenges associated unexpected events. In my social time, I enjoy playing golf and volunteering in the community mentoring young men. I have submitted my resume application that further substantiate my qualifications, education, and experience. Again, thank you for considering I think that I'm prepared for this position, I have looked over the job duties and restrictions based on past events, that the ROV has concentrated on this maintain service. I think that the focus needs to be focused in a different area because the elected officials, the electoral process, and the voters list is a detriment to every facet of the community. What I mean by that is that it is involved in economic development; it is involved in resource because tied to the census; it is tied to numbers. We need to look and see why it that the voter turnout is low is. We need to drill down to see why they do not participate. What is it that we need to do to bring the community together as a whole come out? A good example, if you look at the past elections, most of elections is like between 35 to 45 percentiles. We need to focus on bringing the number of is possible flip it to like least 85%. Based on our population, look at it from this perspective: if you have if you have 100 people in a population, and only 30 of them vote, is that a true representation of the community? The issue is to drill down see why is it that they're not participating in the process? That is a right that every citizen has. So therefore, that this person, at his capacity, needs to-- I agree with maintaining and making sure the equipment is duly prepared and operable. But I think that the focus needs to drill down to get the people to the polls, maintain that they are engaged in the process.

Gage-Watts: How do you plan to make that change?

RD Johnson: Go into all the various communities continue the legacy of the city, which is the libraries offers training facilities to the community. I think we need to go a little further and work on what areas that do not participate or engage in the process. Good example, like we need to do more with the military services. We need do more with the education process and local schools. Once a person turns 17, we should target or either drill down on trying to bring and engage that person in the electoral process. If you think about like this, this process helps elect officials, and based on that assumption, we have to make sure that the process is an instrument whereas the community voices are heard.

Gage-Watts: What is the largest budget you have managed?

RD Johnson: I mentioned earlier, my background was accounting finance and I just received an Executive MBA from Louisiana Tech. The focus was global economy, global scales, and budget. My largest but going back to my military service. The budget that I have 270 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

participated raised from like $200M to $900M. In that process, I was involved in the administrative whereas we had to do logistics; we had to do imparkation on large tankers and battleships; we had to make sure that the service members were paid; make sure they had the proper weapons, when weapons is outdated. So therefore all of those things are incorporated into the budget. And also for as a budget our past experience being internal/ external auditor, I have engaged and allow the process for is looking at and managing budgets.

Gage-Watts: Of those budgets that you have managed, what successes are you proud of?

RD Johnson: I'm looking at past practices, I will say in the military, because what it does is it allows the America the United States to be free; to have the ability to do the things that they deem that is preferable to them versus not harming anyone else. So the opportunity, and the price to have freedom is not free. We have to look at the service members that goes on online every day to ensure that we have freedom opportunities to do the things that we engage.

Gage-Watts: Early voting satellite locations. Do you think they are necessary for Caddo Parish?

RD Johnson: Yes. Matter of fact, I think they're very necessary, we probably need to increase them. In studying, marketing, location, location, location is everything. Accessibility is everything. A person that's not engaged in a process that he or she will say, well, they think about excuses or reason why they do not have to go. So therefore if you take those perimeters from them and have more accessibility, I think the process would be easier.

Atkins: Thank you for your service in the United States Marine Corps. Thanks for your service Desert Shield at Desert Storm. And I thank you for your continued interest in serving the Parish.

This concluded Mr. RD Johnson’s interview.

Mr. Christopher Langley

Chavez: What do you understand the duties and responsibilities of the ROV to be?

Langley: There are many. They have to maintain voter registration. They have to do pre- registration for voters months before the election takes place. They have to take the results of those elections and count them all up. They have to send them into the Secretary of State in a timely manner. They also have to pack those up in and store them. This year, we've got a huge election. Only thing that could be bigger than this election. Would we have a presidential election as well. We've got the governor, all of y’all, and Secretary of State. I mean, everybody's up this year. So it's there's a lot to do. But it starts months before I'm even going to be able to get a chance to get in for this one.

Chavez: What aspects of the registrar's office do you currently observe to be working well? If selected as ROV, what changes or change would you make based on your current observations? And why?

Langley: Some of the things I've noticed, least that I've heard about that I think are going really well right now is they’ve gone into the high schools, and they've done voter registration with the high school students. I believe the last time they did this, they had over 800 students register for that. Now, I think that was very admirable. I'd love to get back into the high schools and do a little bit more civics classes with them and actually several times during the year and kind of go over that kind of thing with them. I think it's very important. They have implemented voter registration, I believe it Shreve Memorial Libraries that is working out really well, from what I'm understanding. I've lived in two different areas in town, and had two different polling stations that I've attended. The folks that have been at those polling stations have been very courteous, they've known what they were to do, and were polite and courteous. So those things I think are going really well. What needs to be changed? I have to see what it is whenever I get in there and see what squeaky wheels need to be oiled.

Chavez: What is the largest budget you have managed?

Langley: When I was at, at EBTU we didn't really have a budget. I was the manager there at the post office. Basically, all my life I've been doing technology. I haven't really done managerial as far as the budget part of things are concerned, but I did manage the post office while I was at ETBU. I was under one other person I actually did the budget. I had 8 to 12 student workers that was underneath me I manage their time schedules, turned in their time sheets, along with shipping and receiving of the mail and sorting it around campus. One of the other things I did, for those of you that don't know, I have a Master's Degree in Animation & Video Effects. That basically means technology. One of the things 271 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

I'd like to read real quickly is in 2016, we as the great State of Louisiana overwhelmingly voted to create a uniform statewide way to choose ROV position. That amendment that year passed by 72%. It was overwhelmingly voted in. According to the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, one of the reasons for that amendment was as technology continues to evolve, registered voters will need to have the skills and aptitude necessary to utilize innovative tools instruments on the job. Voting and voter registration is becoming increasingly digital in nature. We must ensure that individuals in those positions can maintain voter registration lists, register voters appropriately, and appoint and train staff and volunteers to help them conduct early voting. My degree is technology, I have to maintain that to stay on top of the field that I'm in. Up until about three weeks ago, I probably had one of the most powerful computers in the downtown area, had a Mac Pro six core processor 24 gigs of RAM and my boss Brent had the one up me on that. And he went and bought one that was about five times as powerful. It's got 12 cores now. And 128 gigs around. And so we've around technology constantly, and it's constantly evolving. One of the things that at ETBU whenever I was there, the computer I had then was a far cry from what I had now. i would have loved to have had Margaret grandmother's Apple 2E computer at the time that I was at ETBU because that computer needed a floppy disk. For those of you that know what that is, you put it in the computer and that's what started the computer. That's what we had each of you when I first got there. That was in 98.

Chavez: While you were at a ETBU and you ran that that last budget that you mentioned, what do you think some of the challenges were? And what were something that was successful and you were proud of in that budget?

Langley: It was, it was the technology. I mean, we didn't have technology for that. In 99, I finally got a Windows computer. Not 95 or 97. But windows, the original windows that came out in 90, ten years later. However, one of the things that it did have on it was a program called Access. What Access was was a database program. I was able to use Access and create a database program because the floppy disk drive that my predecessor used it convert over to the new program, I had to create a whole new database program to maintain our mail forwarding system. I was in control of creating the database for thousands and thousands of students that left ETBU and forwarded their mail to them.

Chavez: The last question you've already pre alluded to it asked what uniquely qualifies you to be the ROV and obviously you've given a great recommendation on your technology background. But what's something else that you may want to advise all the Commissioners of with this opportunity?

Langley: For those of you might not have read my cover letter, I ask that you go back and read it because I did use a lot of about my service in it. I've been a youth minister. I've served the community in my church constantly as a church leader, Eagle Scout, way back when. And all those things were service and honesty and integrity. And I think those are the biggest qualities that we need in this position for sure.

Dominick: The question I have, would you be open to satellite offices for early voting, and do you know what that concept would mean?

Langley: Yeah, that would be great. I mean, we have the early voting. It's right down the street from us, but satellite voting for early voting, I think if the law allows that—

Dominick: We’re talking about other locations like Vivian or—

Langley: For sure. Or even some of the low income areas in town where they might not be able to get out and get the voting and other areas.

Dominick: Have you seen any along lines or issues there with heavy parking at the ROV? Are people able to get in and out or anything?

Langley: During Obama’s second term, the lines were out the door for it. it probably it almost stretched down to our office. But I voted in that line. And I mean, maybe took us maybe 20 minutes. I mean, it wasn't bad at all.

This concluded Mr. Langley’s interview.

Mr. Andrew Lee Randall, Jr.

Chavez: What do you understand the duties and responsibilities of the Registrar to be?

Randall: Well, the duties of the Registrar simply to maintain obviously, the voting registration rolls and also to maintain the machines connected to that and to administrate the rules according to voting as promulgated through the Secretary of State's Office. I principally 272 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

see the role of the ROV in three capacities. I see it as an administrator, as an ambassador, and then as an advocate. How I believe that my I, myself am uniquely positive for those particular skill sets, is in my capacity as an attorney, and even as a pastor, and as just a community activist, that have served in those three areas. As an administrator, of course, it's important to oversee a budget, manage people, personalities, and personnel. I've done that and overseen an administrative budget in my capacity with respect to the full gospel Baptist Church fellowship, which I serve on the Executive Cabinet, and oversee an annual budget of $1.4 million. I do that in conjunction with a team. I do that weekly or yearly, here locally, of course, as Pastor of my own local church, and I've done it as a business owner, as well. As an advocate, I mean, obviously, just, I'm an advocate of many things, voting rights, not the least of them, but community advocate, have served on many boards, many organizations who are respected that and have had to have the responsibility of being an advocate for many causes. And it had to do that. And then thirdly, as an ambassador, I think it's important when you're engaging the public that causes have to have a face. I believe that as the ROV, not only are you administrating an office and a personnel and overseeing a budget of some 600,000 and managing a staff, but then you're also the face of what it means to to register to vote or to participate in our electoral process to the community. So with that regard, you are an ambassador, I think as, as the ROV, it's important to take that advocacy and engage the places where people are. For example, we have 2,437 graduating seniors here in Caddo Parish. Those people need to be engaged now, as they are preparing to enter into the place and be, you know, voters. We have persons who are having their eligibility restored by paying their debt to society and now eligible to vote again. They need to be engaged to have the opportunity to participate in our electoral process. We already have a program by which we engage those 65 and older seniors and other similarly situated people who are unable to get to the polls themselves. We do that, obviously through our absentee balloting. One of the things that I believe as an administrator and as an advocate as an ambassador, as Registrar is important that we be the face of voter registration and engage our public in a way that increases information and enhances participation. One thing that's particularly important to me is early voting. If you look at the numbers from the midterms, last year, we had 6,681, early voters. 2200 of that was done by ballot, but what's important about that is all of that is done downtown is done here locally. One of the things that I think would be significant to enhance that is to be able to provide satellite locations, if you will, that would encompass the width and breadth of the Parish. We need to make sure that people from Greenwood, Jimmy Davis Bridge from Vivian and Stonewall have convenient access, you know to voting. That would be one of the things I believe, programmatically, that will be important. If I were afforded the opportunity to be ROV.

Gage-Watts: what is the largest budget that you have manage? And what were the challenges in managing that budget?

Randall: The largest budget would have been the $1.3 million budget that I mentioned with respect to the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship Conference. Challenges always that you have a Bentley vision, but perhaps a Ford Focus in terms of resources. You've got a number of different constituencies and everybody's priority in their mind and advocacy, of course, it should be the priority. So you got to manage expectations, and you got to be fiscally responsible at the same time. I'm certainly proud to say that, because of that, you know, we've been able to be debt free and actually have a surplus because of that. The challenge is, you want to make everybody happy, but the ultimate responsibility of administrator is to properly evaluate the needs, do a cost benefit analysis of what is the priority, set those priorities, and then lead.

Dominick: What other changes do you think needs to be made? Or should be made to do the things you said to get more people involved and things? Like going to hospitals and stuff? I certainly don't just talk about like in the Registrar of Voters Office?

Randall: It's been my experience in engaging with the office, specifically just as a citizen, and just as a voter, because I tend to vote early. That process has been pretty smooth. The personnel that have been in there have always been courteous and kind because I think ultimately, you know, we're in the business, as you all know, public service in the business of customer service here. Clearly, we want to make sure that we just have a culture that's accessible to persons of all backgrounds and continue in that. I'm not sure if specific changes within the Office itself. It would take, you know some time to get in there and learn the personalities and the culture and see how we're doing. I think the commitment, though, is to have an office that is accessible to all, information that's accessible to all. How do we change things? There has to be more visibility, though, quite frankly, for the Registrar. I mean, obviously, election season, so people are paying attention to who's voting and who's eligible to vote and those kinds of things.

Dominick: When you say visibility, do you mean getting out and meeting people or technology or both? 273 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

Randall: Well, it's both. It is a combination. I mean, obviously, when we talk about technology, most people now communicate through means of social media, particularly when we're talking about engaging the newer crop of voters and etc. So it's important to have a space and there, but we're not only advocating we're putting information out there. We do that, not only within the Office itself, but I think we can utilize, you know, partnerships utilize. I mentioned the 2,437 seniors are graduating, obviously, engaging that population of people in an advocacy spot, I think enhances both participation.

Atkins: Let's assume you had some funding available to do that. How would you determine where those locations go?

Randall: I think it'd be important, as we're surveying the Parish geographically to find the most convenient locations. What I think as an initial matter, though, in terms of my thoughts, I think some partnership with our public libraries would find an ease of assimilation where we could do that with a minimal costs because of the partnership between the City and the Parish. Strategically, I would think using public libraries strategically located in the north, southern, eastern, west link point, would provide the greatest access.

Atkins: Would you not consider voter density per distance from the current voting sites or anything, any geographical areas?

Randall: I do think that's important, because I mean, it wouldn't do much good to have an equal geographic location where there's a very low population density. If I put something out in a region that has very little people, then were defeating what we're trying to do. So that would be a part of the equation, I believe. Jackson: Assuming that there was a possibility of satellite locations--could you give me a little bit more context with regard to when you just say if they're not enough people, for instance, the rural areas is a little less dense, but they're further away, as opposed to more people in the urban core, but shorter drive. So would that factor into--?

Randall: I think there's going to be obviously a sliding scale with respect to, you know, population density and location. I don't think it's going to be like a bright line formula. I think just evaluating the placing of locations throughout our parish, I think we would look at both factors.

Jackson: The voter canvas has typically caught voters off guard. When you have a situation where somebody thinks they're registered in one place to find out that they're registered--they did not move their voter registration, a system moved their voter registration. And so how do you see the ROV addressing that in particular? Or is that something that you think the ROV should get involved with?

Randall: That's done, as you know, through the Secretary of State's office, but I do think it's important because ultimately, when it comes all politics is local. When the voter comes in, the Secretary of State is not going to be the face of whether or not I'm registered to vote, it would be the Registrar. I think it would be important to have some input even if you don't have direct control over that. I think that's important, whether it's whether it's a caucus of the State Registrars' of Voters collectively having a discussion about that and making some recommendations to the Secretary of State, or whether it's a direct appeal to the Secretary of State. I think each situation may be different. In Caddo, that may disproportionately affect our voters. I may take a position in that in that stance as an advocate on behalf of our citizens. That may not be the same as in Ouachita. I think that would just take some caucusing. I think evaluating the situation and just understanding. I also think, as an ambassador, because that's the part that I can't control. I can't control the canvassing process. As Registrar, we're putting information out there in a manner where people are getting it not just on the website where they can click and check, but actually being aggressive and assertive in terms of putting that information in the hands of people so that they can check in time, and make sure that things are right for them when they do show up at the polls on election day.

Jackson: What is the largest budget that you have managed?

Randall: $1.3 million. In terms of organizational management, in multiple capacity, in that specific capacity, I am overseeing the Office of Legal Counsel. t I'm overseeing and coordinating with the chief operating officer and the executive treasurer, and those persons that are responsible for the promulgation and execution of the budget. Also, in that sense, also dealing in a in a different demographic sense, because it's an international organization. In my purview in that space, I've been able to do that in a secular space. Ten years ago, I was also part of the Census Count Committee, was co-chair, and in part of that process was engaging our local populace in terms of not only counting our citizenry, but being able to perform an evaluation of the makeup of Caddo parish and engaging them for the

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purposes of the census. Some of that work will come to the table with respect to my role and responsibilities of ROV, if chosen.

Atkins: You're a busy man practicing law, you have your law firm, and you're the founder and senior pastor of a church. If you were to become the registrar voters, how would that role fit in with your other two current professions? Would it be in addition to or would you envision it would be replacing one or the other?

Randall: To answer a question about being busy. It is part of the life of service that I've lived. I've always worn as, as those of you who are in church, Joseph's coat of many colors, wear that coat proudly. And so I don't apologize for the many hats that we're wearing that we've been able to do that successfully. As it relates to the task before me as the registrar voters, I think it's it requires obviously, significant and all-consuming investment of time. As it relates to my private practice, I could transition very quickly and assume those responsibilities. As it relates to me being a senior pastor, I have managed to, in comport with the practice of law and other community engagement successfully do that now for 14 years. I don't see that being a hindrance.

Dominick: Are you saying that you would quit practicing the law to do this full-time?

Randall: I would be able to focus my energy on that.

Gage-Watts: I know, you are well aware of the voter apathy that we have, and a lot of the generation currently that is able to vote, do not participate in the voting process because of their thoughts on their vote being counted? The Help Voters Act proposed modifications to establish high level guideline on the functions performed within the voting systems rather than provide device specific guidance. Do you feel that the current system would critically impact the next generation of voting system standards?

Randall: The security of elections is probably among the top two or three in election issues nationwide. Of course, it's being responsible for the maintenance of those machines. People have to have some trust in the integrity of persons that are responsible for that. There have been some issues. Nationwide, there's actually a variety of approaches to to this electoral process in terms of the use of machines. Some are even advocating obviously for return, or a double use of paper ballots. There are pros and cons to each of those. I've even seen, actually in some other localities where they're seeking to populate votes on a phone and by use of that. All of those things, whether we like them or not are going to be a part of the discussion. As it relates to here in Caddo, though, I think one of the things are our voting machines, you know, frankly, have not faced the same kind of scrutiny that I've seen in other jurisdictions. I think that's due to the manner in which we've selected the proper vendors, not having machines that are wireless and subject to hacking our own Wi Fi, I think is is is a critical point. One of the things that is critical as it relates to the maintenance of machines, an issue that's been faced, we're talking about costs, we're talking about budgets. One of the problems, that sometimes the cost of maintaining the machines is higher than the machines itself. I think it's important to be well informed, and well guide as it relates to not only the selection of the technology that we're using, that it is trustworthy, but it is also cost effective and trustworthy. That's the delicate balance that I think the Register has to make.

Gage-Watts: Earlier, you mentioned about absentee ballots, would you be willing to set up a mobile site for a large number of absentee voters, per se, in a prison or a nursing home facility?

Randall: I think we could weigh it on a case by case basis. I think obviously, there are issues as it relates to funding to do that. I think thinking outside the box, those things are possible. For example, it could kind of take them piece by piece. You mentioned people that are in prison. Obviously, in that context, we're talking about persons who maybe have been arrested, but are not convicted. So they're voting rights are still intact. It is possible, perhaps to engage our Sheriff's Office by providing--it may not be a satellite in the same context, like the early voting is open for two weeks. Prisoner vote day or something of that nature, we're on for certain period of time, individuals who've been identified who have their voting rights, could come and fill out their absentee ballots. In that sense administrated by the ROV office, so that there is maintenance and making sure that no fraud and the integrity of the process is there. As it relates to nursing homes. There's so many and the proliferation of this, the system as we have it now, is very effective in reaching those persons. I think that has a different threshold to me, than persons who were in one location like a prison, so we would have to see, but I wouldn't be opposed to it if it could be cost effective, and practical as it relates to reaching the most amount of voters.

Gage-Watts: You mentioned that vendor’s selection would be a part of the process. So if that vendor would be able to provide you with the necessary equipment, and cost efficient for your budget, that will be something that you would consider? 275 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

Randall: Correct. One of the things that because again, it's about advocacy, and it's about engagement. One of the things Orleans Parish switched to new machines by a new company. One of the things that they did is the setup stations by which persons could come and actually allowing them to see how it works and what it looks like. That's the kind of education and advocacy that I think is necessary from the ROV, so they don't need to wait till October 12 and November 16 to come into one of the 151 polling places and figure it out. They've had had an opportunity to interface beforehand. That's what we're supposed to protect.

This concluded Mr. Randall’s interview.

Mr. Colvin Roberson

Gage-Watts: We're going to open up and allow you to share your unique qualities for the Registrar of Voters.

Roberson: Unique qualities? I've worked in the Caddo Parish Clerk of Court for 20 years, I've worked full time for 11 years. Of those 11 years, I have spent the majority of that time dealing with the public. Dealing with everyone that comes into the office is a stranger pretty much, unless they're an attorney, I've never met them before. Everybody that comes in there has--the department that I work in, we deal with divorces; we deal with protective orders; we deal with succession. None of those things are a positive thing for the person that I'm talking to. Dealing with the public is something that I feel like I have a very, very strong background with. For those 11 years, I’ve worked with the election department at the polls. On Election Day, my Election Day starts just like any Commissioner, it would start at six o'clock. I'm ethically at the polls. I'm a troubleshooter for the Clerk of Court. I work with the Clerk of Court with the ROV office so that they don't have to answer those questions. I handle 16 different precincts on Election Day. My job is to make sure that all of the commissioners that are at those precincts have my number there to call me with any question they have. I then go to that polling place and answer their questions to the best of my ability, using the Geaux Vote app and using my knowledge that I've attained over 11 years. You know, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that my father held this position for 29 years. So, you know, you can't help but hear all the stories. As I've grown up, I listened to the stories more now than I did when I was a teenager because you know, we all listen to your parents when you're a teenager. I've had the years listening to my father, when it comes to the voting process is something that I'm passionate about. I'm very, very passionate about the voting process is something that I feel i is something that we should all strive to get more people registered to vote and just you know, get as much knowledge out there as possible.

Gage-Watts: What aspects of the ROV’s office do you currently observed to be working well, and if selected, what change or changes would you make based on your current observations and why?

Roberson: I believe the office is working well with what they have to work with. You have seven employees, including the Registrar. The last major election, they had 5,000 mail-out ballots that they sent out. That's number one in the state. They obviously know what they're doing. It's a well-oiled machine with the Registrar at the front of that, pushing the machine going. You know it one thing with any business technology is something that you have to know, you have to know technology, you got to be willing to embrace that technology, embrace change. So with the years come more technology. People pushing for all kinds of ways to vote mobile on your phone. I know that's not something we can do now. It sounds like a dangerous thing. Your cell phone has your bank information, your passwords, it has everything; your cell phone is your life. So it's going to happen. You're going to vote on your phone. You have to understand technology; you have to be willing to embrace that technology; and look forward and work with the people to get that technology moving in the right direction. That's one main thing that I think the next Registrar needs to understand.

Gage-Watts: What is the largest budget that you have managed? And what were the challenges in that said budget?

Roberson: Personally, my budgets that I've managed aren't great. As a employee of the Clerk of Court for 11 years working at the counter, we take in $15,000 to $20,000 a day, between the four employees that work at the counter. We're responsible for bringing in that money. If you add that up for the year, that's $4.8 million, that we're responsible to take in at the counter where I work. So you got to figure, I take in $1.2 million of my share $4.8 million I bring that in every year. You know, that's I'm responsible for that. Each case that we file is its own individual account. We're responsible for everything that's brought in to make sure that that account is up to par and not in the negative. That's a daily thing--

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$15,000 to $20,000 a day we bring in. That's probably the largest quote unquote budget that I've had to deal with.

Gage-Watts: This more like a daily sales transaction of balancing your counters against your actual sales pay. That's a great example. So thank you for sharing. I guess I can't actually what budget successes you are proud of because that would just basically be on intake and not actually having any expenditures going out.

Roberson: I mean, the proudest thing, I guess I would have to say in as 11 years, I've never had an issue with any money that's brought in cash or check. I mean, that’s a big deal. When you're handling $15,000 to $20,000 a day, from attorneys from proper person, you know, that's a lot of money that you have to be in charge of. You can't help but be proud not misplacing a check here or there.

Gage-Watts: What do you understand the duty the responsibilities of the Registrar to be?

Roberson: The duties of the Registrar are set by the Secretary of State for every Parish. They're in charge of the office; they're in charge of the employees; they're in charge of early voting; they're in charge of handling the canvas. Moving in the voters in and out is dictated through the Secretary of State. Early voting is probably one of their largest duties because of the amount of people that come into their office. They’re responsible for moving in people as quickly as possible. The fact that they can do that in the time that they are allotted, I feel like that's an impressive job that they've been able to do.

Dominick: What are your thoughts on satellite offices for early voting?

Roberson: Strictly for early voting? It's something that, obviously, that no doors closed. Any idea that's brought is an idea that we have to consider. As far as having a satellite office strictly for early voting, you might then have an issue for if someone goes there to early vote, they may think they can also go there to vote. One thing that I've thought about an early voting site would have to be funded 100% by the Parish. If you opened two extra offices, say one North one south, you still keep the office downtown. That office would then be funded half by the State, half by the Parish—

Dominick: Which office?

Roberson: The two new offices they will be funded, because there will be a new office. So you would have three offices. With those offices, you then receive two more classified employees per office. So you get two employees in North Caddo; two employees in South Caddo. That's then split by the Parish and the State. If you open a satellite office strictly for early voting, that's paid 100% by the Parish. if you just did two separate offices that are open 365 days a year, that's a cost that split. Then those offices allow you for extra employees basically. A satellite offices is an idea. It's not a bad idea. I understand the issues that people have coming downtown. A lot of people don't like to come downtown.

Dominick: Have there been any issues or any issues of space constraints having early voting right there in downtown Shreveport? Parking issues and things of that nature?

Roberson: The parking, I don't believe is a huge issue. If there's early voting going on in and everybody's at work, then parking becomes an issue. On the weekends, it wouldn't be an issue. Space, I think is an issue. I can think back to the last presidential words, especially to the presidential with President Obama involved. You had people lined up down Marshall, and up Texas to early vote. And so what if it rains? What if its 20 degrees, those people are then outside, you don't want that. So that's something that if you were to have a satellite office, you would have taken that into account. There would have to be somewhere for them to go in the event of any sort of storm, or any kind of bad weather. Spacing is an issue, but they've managed to do it. A satellite office, though, is something that is definitely something that needs to be talked about.

Chavez: Looking over your resume, over the last couple of weeks, it seemed like the list got longer and longer of endorsements from multiple state senators, the Clerk of Courts, multiple attorneys, many judges--it sounds like from everybody else, that you're the right man for the job. Thank you for putting your name in the hat for doing this. Obviously, you should the opportunity, you've come up behind your father and learned a lot. I appreciate your knowledge on the technology that it's going to take to move this forward and what we're going to need. One thing that I hear a lot is having the mobile offices. What I worry the most about is the staffing of the classified employees. So I wanted to hear your your thoughts on how can we get good, qualified classified employees to manage those satellite locations? And how would we be able to fund them? And then what would happen after the voters vote? Where would those employees go? What are your thoughts?

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Roberson: Those are all questions that would have to be worked on. As we proceed with it with the idea of opening separate offices, the State has some involvement on that that person, obviously. So we would open who would open the application process that the proper people that apply, and then try and find the best candidate for that job. It helps because people are passionate about voting. So if you put out there that you're trying to do better for the public, I think you would then receive a good reception from the public, to staff those offices. I think you would get strong candidates for those offices because they would appreciate the efforts that are being made. As far as funding goes, that’s something that's paid for by the State and the Parish. The funding part would have to be worked out. Obviously, that's not something that I would be able to answer right now because I'd have to sit down and actually crunch the numbers.

Gage-Watts: With that being said, you were talking about the budget and the cost of it. Are you aware that the SAFE Act was passed that would allocate $775 million in funding up until the year 2026?

Roberson: Correct. Yes ma’am.

Gage-Watts: You are aware. Do you have any plans on how you would utilize those funds?

Roberson: Anytime you get a lot of money, there's lots of options. So you have to look at the new computer systems for the office; you have to look at more ways that we can get people registered to vote. Everything costs money. I really would like to get into the high schools. I have a lot of people behind me. And I think that shows that I'm willing to listen, willing to talk, and willing to get things done. This office is an office that I've loved my entire life. It's an office that I want to continue to be one of the best ROV's office in the State. With more money becomes more opportunity. You're willing to do more things for the Parish. So I would obviously take on that funding and we would do the best we could to continue what's been set currently.

Gage-Watts: I just wanted to add a caveat to the audience who couldn't be listening, as well as the ones that are here when we talk about those budget constraints for not being able to utilize early voting satellite locations, because the funding is not there. It's not 100% or true to that manner, because there is funding they has been allocated to update our current systems, as well as improve the security of it.

This concluded Mr. Roberson’s interview.

Mr. Dale Sibley

Gage-Watts: What do you understand the duties and responsibilities of the Registrar to be?

Sibley: I like to read from what I wrote on the essay that we had to fill out regarding that. I think it encapsulates it best. I believe the registrar voters office provides the entry point for citizens to exercise the fundamental right of active participation in our democracy through voting. It should be a nonpartisan effort to inform citizens and provide accurate certification of those who can legally exercise that right. This requires active communication and efforts to ensure the integrity in the efficiency and effectiveness of the systems to register voters, maintain the rolls, and properly assist the electoral process. Now, I think the office has that responsibility. I think the registrar himself, because particularly in Caddo Parish, this isn't a one man operation. There's staff, there are people who are employees there who operate the systems and mechanisms of that office. So I think as the Register, your job is as a leader. Your job is to provide these guys with the training, with the resources, with the guidance and direction that they need so that they can fulfill that mission. It's a very difficult proposition to say that I can stand here and do all that on my own. That's not the way structure. So I think leadership is a critical component for that individual who is the Registrar, and then empowering those employees and the staff members of that office to do what it is they've been doing. From all i can tell, they've been doing that fairly well, because I haven't heard a lot of negative criticisms or anything like that about it. So I believe that's how this divided up and hopefully I answered your question.

Gage-Watts: What other unique qualities do you have that will qualify you for this position?

Sibley: I think the fact that I did serve as a US Army Infantry Officer demonstrates my allegiance to this country and what it stands for. I think it demonstrates my training as a leader. As a platoon leader, my job was to lead me into their possible deaths. And we got to train very hard to do that. We had to be well equipped to do that. And I think through demonstrating that-- through having that leadership training through having served my country, not only as a military officer, but also in working at the congressional office, working for United States Congressman, covering this Parish and other parishes in the area. I think those things provide the fundamental leadership in terms of managing and leading people. If 278 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

you look at my resume, you see some of the jobs and some of the positions I've held in terms of whether that's initially coming here to run a congressional office, working with Mayor Hazel Beard, and running her department economic development, I had to create that department, staff that department, and then fulfill the missions of that department. I've managed offices; I've made people; I've led people; I've have managed budgets. I've been involved in this community across the board serving on the Metropolitan Planning Commission, serving within that congressional office and serving the entire Parish. So I think my leadership, I think, my experience, I think my ability to motivate people and to educate people-- I'm a very mission oriented person. I believe that everyone in an office should understand the mission of that office. And I think once you help people understand their role within that mission, they're going to be more effective; they're going to be efficient; they're going to do their job very well. So I think my background with the different positions I've held at different levels of government, within the private sector, the community involvement I've had here, and the fact that yes, I've demonstrated my belief in, and it's because of that belief in our systems that I applied for this position. It all starts there. It all starts with citizens exercising their right, being able to exercise their right, having the opportunity to exercise that right, and having a faith and believe that the process has integrity. There are a lot of questions out there today and some people are even attacking the electoral system. People are asking questions about that system. So it's very important that we have a system that's beyond reproach, that those employees down there, the staff down there knows that the guidance, they're going to be given, the direction they're going to be given, it's going to be nonpartisan. I'm a nonparty person. I've worked with both Republicans and Democrats. It’s going to be nonpartisan. There's not going to be an agenda. It’s going to be to serve the people of this Parish. To give them access so that they can exercise their fundamental right, to inform them, to educate them, and to maintain those roles in such a way that no one can question it. There'll be no question of whether or not someone should or should not; whether or not someone had the opportunity or not; that's very important, especially with some of the dialogue going on nationally now.

Gage-Watts: Speaking of your management skills, what is the largest budget that you have managed? And what were the challenges in the budget? Sibley: I guess I would have to say the City of Shreveport. Having served as Chief Administrative Officer, I was responsible for the budget and managing the budget. I worked in conjunction with department heads, but obviously, we have to give them guidance and give them direction on how to pull that budget together. But the City of Shreveport's budget is some quarter billion to half billion dollars, if you count operational and capital budgets. Even when I started out in City Hall as a department head are probably within that department had a budget of some $8 to $10 million that I had to deal with an account for annually. So you know, relatively small budgets up to relatively large budgets, I've had an opportunity t to manage those and put those together. I think one of the biggest challenges to be able to take a budget-- because you know at the local level, we can't do deficit spending, and we can't roll stuff over. Whatever is budgeted there and what the City Council approved, that's what we have to operate. What we have to do that in an environment where you didn't sacrifice certain services to the citizens. That's a challenge. So you spend a lot of time trying to look for places where--everyone talks about scrubbing the budget, oftentimes, that sounds good, but it's a little bit more difficult when you get into practical realities. You have department heads and people pushing and go, Hey, I need this and I need that. I think the fact that we were able to maintain that budget. We were being challenged with sales tax revenues; we were being challenged at that time with trying to maintain an operating reserve or get that operating reserve where it needed to be. At the same time, we had to keep doing those things that were the priority of the city. We had to keep up the property standards; we had to keep up with hiring police officers and given them the equipment they needed; we had that same time deal with a consent decree that was coming down from Department of Justice. So being able to do that and stay within that budget and not end up in a deficit situation at the end of the year. I think that was very notable. We also had some challenges dealing with our Healthcare Trust Fund. The City is self-insured. There's a fund set up to cover those costs for the employees when they go and get treated. While trying to maintain the balance between how much the City contributes versus how much that individual employee contributes, was a very, very delicate act. We found ourselves at a certain point, because I had to chair that board, where we were getting upside down and we were having to cut back on what we could offer our employees. Well, that's a direct hit to them because they contribute to that. We had to revamp; we had to revise that; and we had to find ways to bring that budget into better balance. We were successfully doing that. A similar situation with all without pension board. You guys are aware of the situation going on with pensions in terms of people trying to fund these long term obligations that they have. You know, we were in a situation where we were about to go upside down very quickly. I put a committee together with some private citizens. We developed a plan that we presented to Council to revamp the contribution level. We were able to at least put that pension fund on a path that it will sustain itself longer than it was currently scheduled to sustain itself. So I think in terms of managing budgets and 279 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

operating within budgets have experienced that and doing that. And hopefully that answered your question.

Gage-Watts: Are there any changes that you will make based on your observations of our voter registrar's office? If so, why?

Sibley: I remember when I was working in Jim McCrery's office when Ernie got nominated for position and got the position. I recall our office actually did a letter of support for him. So I've known Ernie and I met Ernie during that time. I've known a long time. As I said earlier, I haven't heard a lot of criticisms in the whole time I've been involved in government about that office. I have to assume they're doing things well. What I would do, first of all, I would want to talk with Ernie, if that's possible, if he was willing to do that, to get his feel on how things have gone and how things are going. Secondly, I want to sit down with all the staff members there, the Deputy Registrar and all employees and talk to them about their experience and what they've heard and what things have gotten back to them. I would want to look at any audits or reports that are there. I understand there's an annual evaluation of some sort, and I'm sure there are reports that have to be submitted to the Secretary of State or whomever. I would want to read those to see what's been said. Fourthly, and perhaps fifthly, I think talking to guys like y'all who are elected officials who are directly dependent upon that system, whether it's you directly or whether it's your campaign officials. If you are the voices of your constituents and you're the voices of the resonance in that area, then if they had some things to say about that office, or how that office operates, I would want to know that. So I can't say I have any specific observations right now, in terms of any criticism or anything that are not being done well. I think that's part of the evaluation process. Every time I've gone into a new situation, my first thought is not to go in with some preconceived notion, especially if I haven't done a lot for that office, is to go in and see what is going on here. There are there are going to be reports that are going to be things there that will be available. One of the strengths that I think I had was my ability to evaluate systems and look at system and see whether or not systems are being effective. One of the very first things you've learned as a young lieutenant is the mission, and making sure everybody understands the mission. Then everything that you do has to be in accordance with that mission. You know, so if I get in there and see that everyone understands the fundamental wall of that office, everyone understands their role within that mission, and then I can educate them and train them and give them the resources that they need so that they can be effective. We can look at our systems to make sure our systems are really effective. From an efficiency and effectiveness point of view, make sure that the citizens are satisfied that yes, I can go; I can register; I know that it's going to have integrity; I know that is going to be right; I know that when an election comes along, they're not going to be questions about who should be on the roll and who should not be on the role, then I think I've done a good job with that.

Jackson: I've asked most candidates about the Canvas. When you have situations where individuals, or they believe they're registered in one place--they've never taken any action to change their registration. What they typically find is some statewide system has done a Canvas, statewide or parish wide canvas and moved their voter registration somewhere where they never ever even signed up at. Thoughts on that if selected to this particular position. Thoughts on that?

Sibley: I think it goes back to my thoughts about evaluating the system that are in place to ensure that the integrity is there, to ensure that the rolls are accurate. There are particular provisions within the law or within the Secretary of State's electoral process that we're supposed to follow to ensure that and certainly would do that. With a lot of the electronic things that are going on, now, we've obviously got to be sure that we're up on the technology and everything is tiny the way it needs to be. If there are mechanisms available within the structure of how the Secretary of State and State of Louisiana lays out the electoral process that will allow us to actively inform the citizens or actively engaged citizens and evaluate whether or not they are currently on the rolls, then we will certainly do that. I think in one of the words I left out when I talked about communication is active communication. I think the office has a responsibility for active communications. You know getting as much information out as possible to the citizens of this Parish so that they know where they stand. If we need to interact with community groups, and that's something I've done in the past and other jobs I've had, if we need to do that, that's not a problem. That's not a problem at all. My sense is because like I said, I haven't been down there on a daily basis, but my sense is in between elections, and in between those very active periods of registration. And of course, now you can register at a whole lot of other places, there's an opportunity for this office to get out and engage the community. There's an opportunity for this office to go out there and provide information and education. Voter participation is an issue. It all starts with folks being registered to vote. So to the extent we can impact that; to the extent we can encourage citizens to do that; to the extent we can provide access; to the extent we could make sure that you know if there's some group more rural areas of the parish, and they say, Hey, we need you guys 280 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

to come on here, you know, dependent upon the budget. But even with the budget, there may be ways to do that on a temporary basis. There may be ways to do that I want a seasonal basis where you don't have to fully staff a complete office, which may be prohibited by the budget. There has to be ways to get out there. I'm a believer, when I turned 18, within my family, the first thing you do is go and register to vote. I remember the first election i voted it, but is very, very important to me. Having worked in government; having worked in the military; knowing how dependent we are on elected officials; knowing how dependent we are on citizens. I grew up in a military town. I know how dependent those guys are the people go out there and lay their lives on the line. I also know that you guys as elected officials and citizens want more participation, because that's the only way you're going to know what your area truly wants and desires. So whatever we can do in terms of educating, advising, providing access, then I certainly will look at that. And like I said, dependent on the budget, we may have to get creative in how we do that. But I think that's one of the things that's one of my strength is Creative Leadership. I don't believe in just following a path because it's been there. I think if you're challenged with a problem, there are lots of creative ways to address that problem. If we put our minds to it, and get enough people in the room who want to be creative, and who wants to try a different approach, because it's all about the outcome. That's the thing we learned the military. It’s all about the mission, and accomplishing the mission. If the mission is to get 100% voter registration and participation, then that has to be our focus, whatever we can do to make that happen. Of course there's a role for Secretary of State and other people to play, but whatever role we play, if I'm in the Registrar's Office, we will do.

Jackson: I see that you've worked throughout several different organizations. And you spoke to your budget experience both large and small, private work in budgeting and private sector managing people at privacy. Have you had that experience?

Sibley: Yes, I have it. You know, if you look at my resume, I guess I'm one of those people that when I was little I didn't really know what I want to be when I grow up. So I've done a lot of different things. You know, I've done the military. A lot of my life has been in public service, whether it's the military, whether it's working for congressman McCrery, whether it's working for Mayor Beaird, whether it was working for Mayor Glover, whether it was I started out my life after law school as an Assistant D.A. down in Vernon Parish, my home Parish, but I've also been on the private sector work with private companies in terms of being the general counsel, and director of administration. I have the administrative experience, both in the public sector and the private sector. I think that's important, because through that, you learn about the challenges of the privacy sector. You learn about the challenges of managing people. It's about people at the end of the day. I won't be the only person sitting over there. They're going to be people over there who are going to depend upon me to give them what they need in order to be successful. They're going to depend on me to give them the guidance and direction that they're going to need, they're going to depend on me to fight for them, whether that's in Baton Rouge, or wherever to ensure that they have what they need, and that they're respected and taken care of in trying to provide this service to the citizens of this Parish. So I think my experience across the board, not to mention some of the volunteer stuff I've done, I think it bodes well for that.

Atkins: Your resume is very unique in that after your service to the country, you were able to work for a number of different offices that that some might call political offices, but yet you were able to cross several different political parties. So my question is, how were you able to navigate between these various different parties? Is it just that you focused on the mission like the military trained you? Or is it some other skill set or trick?

Sibley: I'm a child of the 60s, I guess I was born in the late 50s. I came in through a lot of the Civil Rights Era and the challenges of our society trying to come together and give everybody an equal opportunity. That's why voting was so important with within my family, but also grew up without a sense of allegiance to any particular party or any particular group. When I first went to work with Jim McCurry, and I never forget, I met him at an event. He got elected, he called me and said, Hey, I'd like you to come work in my congressional office. I had no idea what a district manager was or what congressional office did, but the time I was a Democrat. The parish I grew up in, the family I grew up and when you register, you register the Democrat. So the first question I asked him was, what that means in terms of me being a democrat. He said, No, a congressional office is nonpartisan. I'm the partisan guy coming but you supposed to serve the constituents of the parish. So from that point forward, that's the way I approached it. It was interesting, because oftentimes, I had to tell people, no, I'm not working for politics, I'm working to provide constituent services. I think the idea of believing that is not so much-- sometimes we get caught up in party a little bit too much. Having worked with both groups and having seen politics kind of from the side, I've had a chance to really see how that works. At the end of the day, we're all supposed to be about making things better for the citizens. I've always approached it that way. It doesn't matter what label you wear. If you 281 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

have a program that I believe in, I believe it's good for the area down me in the area that was supposed to be serving, then I can support that because I'm not so that's another battle for different day. One thing I've never done was run for elective office. I figured I'm one of those people better served being that administrator being that person that works behind the scenes, because I'm not that partisan within me and within my value belief system. I think they're good ideas all across the board.

Cawthorne: You a few minutes ago, very passionately, convey that you imaginative as it relates to create problems. Can you offer to us a specificity--for an example, some people believe that voter suppression is real in the South, some people believe that is not. Same day, they believe is global warming and there's not global warming. For the matter at hand, if in fact, voter suppression is real and evident in Caddo Parish, what would be imaginative and creative things that you would do as a ROV to eliminate such?

Sibley: As an attorney, and as someone who’s studied the development of this country, in terms of how we get along, and how we come together to try and move this nation forward, voting suppression is something that a lot of people feel very strongly about. Historically, there’s evidence in the record that it has occurred, different places different times. The role that the ROV plays, as I appreciate it, again, goes back to my thought of if we provide information, access education, to people to get them to register, and that is a valid process, and they are certified and eligible to vote, then I think that goes a long way. It's hard to suppress someone who has a right to do it and who has the opportunity to do it. Oftentimes, as I appreciate the vote suppression idea comes along with efforts to send out particular messages to people--that those are political things. I appreciate the ROV is not involved in the political process. You're involved in the electoral process when that person wants to register, and then that person, if it's an early vote, or absentee vote, when that person gets ready to cast their vote. Beyond that, if there's a role that that I can play within, because, you know, you work within the Secretary of State's structure, in terms of how elections are done, if there are things in terms of how we register people, or how elections are done, or how we advise and inform people have early voting or absentee voting-- if there are things that are happening that have the effect of suppressing vote, then we need to tweak those systems. We need to look at those systems, we need to make sure those systems are working in a fair and equitable manner. Beyond that, I think a lot of the voter suppression discussion and activity has to happen at the political level and at the campaign level. And as I appreciate it, that's not the roll that the Registrar plays.

Cawthorne: So, since that’s not the role the Registrar plays, it would be your choice not to get involved in such?

Sibley: well, I think I'm bound because I would have to take an oath that I'm bound to perform the duties of the office and, and I would be limited to those duties of the office. So if there was something within the duties that would allow some impact on it. If it's about absentee voting, which the Registrar handles, or early voting, which the Registrar handles, and there are groups of people feel that they didn't get a proper opportunity to do that, because of the way our system is constructed. Then we need to look at that system and see if we can straighten it out.

Gage-Watts: I heard you mention something about registering to vote on your 18th birthday, why not 16?

Sibley: Well, at the time, it was 18.

Gage-Watts: So we want to make sure that the public understands that you can register to vote when you're 16, but you cannot actually participate in the voting process until the age of 18. I heard you mentioned a lot about the way that you manage things. I'm grateful for your diversity and being able to work across party lines, because this is definitely nonpartisan role. How would you engage students, voters with disabilities, and other community members in the electoral process?

Sibley: At my core, I'm a teacher. Yeah, I started out as an Education Major. Back then teachers didn't get paid a lot, so I kind of made some adjustments. Working with the young people- - who I think becomes critical, something I've done, whether that's coaching, or teaching courses at college. I don't think that's difficult at all. That's all part of the education and information process. If there's an avenue to get into groups, be scouting groups, be classrooms, be youth groups, fraternal groups/sorority groups to get in there and provide these young people with the information that they need and start them on that process. One of the things that I've done quite a bit of is, despite being a little nervous of the other day, is public speaking. I have a comfort level with being in front of groups and talking to groups and helping them understand what it is that we're trying to accomplish. I think that'd be a simple matter of if we have a comfort level that I like to say, my perception is, there's a bit of time between the elections when within that Registrar's office, we'd have 282 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

the opportunity and the time to go out and meet with groups and talk to groups and present information and get that information out there. I would certainly like to take a minute because again, the goal would be 100%, registered 100% participation. That's probably unrealistic, given the realities of it, but that has to be the goal. If we're serious about that, then we're going to go out there, we're going to meet with whomever wants to meet, and we're going-- when I use the term active communication, and active involvement, that's what I mean. I think this office needs to come up with ways to actively engage the citizens of this Parish, to ensure that they understand their rights, that they have access to those rights, and that they exercise them.

Gage-Watts: How do you feel about registering and voting on the same day?

Sibley: I guess I'm going to be a little bit evasive here. Because to me, that's a legislative decision. I don't know the arguments back and forth one way or another. Maybe it's a logistical thing. You know, in my mind, I know there are places that do it that way. I don't really know why we couldn't do it that way. But as I said, until I maybe sit down and hear some arguments one way or another, I don't know that i legislature has looked at that. I'm not sure. I would think if we can work logistically, that'd be an excellent opportunity. I think the thing we have to be careful about is making sure that if we want 100% registration, if we want 100% participation, then we have to make that as easy and simple as possible for our citizens. That’s the challenge of the legislature though to figure it out.

This concluded Mr. Sibley’s interview.

Mr. Arthur C. Smalls

Gage-Watts: What do you understand the responsibilities of the Registrar to be?

Smalls: Primarily the Registrar's responsibility is maintaining the voting machine. The ROV making sure that the machines are in compliance, and there are no security breaches and registering the voters.

Gage-Watts: What uniquely qualifies you to be the ROV?

Smalls: The skill set that I possess would be my data analytical skills, using such software as ACL and Excel to form and test certain hypotheses, such as the voters tendencies relative to participation, broken down by defined demographics in addition to determining relationships divide from data articulation. You have certain data that you can articulate and determine relationship. Also as an auditor, that skill set would avail yourself to performing a test function internally and not only identify operational and procedural compliance weaknesses and internal control, but also to make recommendations or rather the resolutions relative to stronger internal controls format. Internal controls is essentially one weakness within any organization. Once you can grasp and understand internal controls and able to audit internal controls, you pretty much can solve most problems with that. And this is not a skill set, but equally important. My integrity, as a professional and character as a man would permit for an unbiased and objective approach to the image of the office into the decision making process. I have studied in areas of political science and public administration on the masters of that within my undergraduate achievement with along with my Louisiana State certificate would add value to efficiency and effectively served as a ROV for Caddo Parish.

Gage-Watts: What is the largest budget you have manage? What were the challenges in managing that budget?

Smalls: The largest budget was $78 million at the South Carolina State. The challenge has always been risk reduction in force. When it was time to retrench, I was the one who had to come up with the form and about where retrenchment would take place. So essentially, what I did I designed pro rata, which retrenchment. Essentially what that was, I was told what items not to impact, and then of those items that I could affect, I develop a ratio. If the budget is let's say, $532,000 to be reduced, I develop a ratio where I have to reduce everything across the board so that there would be no preference to any particular program. So it says that the greatest challenge was to reduce the budget and be fair and unbiased. Generally when you are told to reduce the budget, individuals make assessment, well, I'm going to get this program or that problem. And I always wanted to be fair, so that was made a challenge.

Gage-Watts: What budget successes are you proud of?

Smalls: Well, making a deadline for preparing the budget. Also coming up with this pro rata reduction in force and being able to balance that bad boy at the end of the fiscal year. In addition to having the individuals working on the budget and everyone working together. That has been pretty much my story throughout working with budgets. 283 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

Gage-Watts: What aspects of the Registrar's office, do you currently observed to be working well, And if selected as ROV, what change or changes would you make based on your current observations?

Smalls: There is a fluid process by which the voters would cast their ballots, which, through the years, I've been in Shreveport for 30 years, and through the years, that process has been fluid. However, occasionally, there has been some question as to where one will go to vote. Everyone would not get that communique. I think that if everyone get that communique, that would be that would be a help. In addition, you have voter apathy in Shreveport, and I think the Registrar working with other organizations would come to grips as to why certain individuals don't vote and try to instill upon them the requirements of voting.

Chavez: Mr. Smalls, I did see that you had a successful CPA firm. My question would be, what would you plan on doing if made the Registrar of Voters with your firm? Would you shut that firm down? Or what are you waiting? What do you anticipate?

Smalls: I plan to, if I am selected, I plan to devote 100% of my time, today. And your question was, what would I do with my practice?

Chavez: I appreciate you offering up your service for the Parish. However, I do see that you have this business, and you're currently involved in it greatly now. You're the one that's maintaining the preparation for the taxes. Would you be able to keep that business open and still serve the parish residents effectively?

Smalls: Well, I believe I can serve the parish effectively, but I would downgrade that business for the Parish. Primarily because my opinion is that any endeavor I take, I give it 100%. And I'd say 100%, working over time looking at certain deficiencies and organization and coming up with a methodology whereby it can be resolved. So to answer your question, I would downgrade it significantly to serve as Registrar.

Chavez: You did mention one of the great successes of your balance budgets. I'm sure you have a lot of happy clients out there that you prepared their taxes for. So thank you for helping them.

Smalls: It's a double edged sword because quite a few clients, they're okay when they get a refund. When they don't get a refund, they say, well, what did you do wrong? And they refuse to pay. They actually refused to pay. So I said, well, if that's the way you feel about it. I have a client really this past tax year. She was in Georgia. She said, well, you didn't give me what I wanted based upon my prior tax return. So I'm not going to give you what you want in terms of your bill. So I wrote a letter and told her that there's a law against filing false tax return because some of the stuff that she was trying to claim she couldn't claim.

Chavez: You’re definitely adequately equipped to handle a budget.

Smalls: As a CPA, people have tax planning initiatives, in the year of the taxes are due. They want you to cut corners, which you can't do--well you can do but primarily, you work hard for your license. You don't want to lose your license based upon somebody getting an extra $2,000. I tell many folks that my integrity speaks for itself.

This concluded Mr. Smalls’ interview.

Mr. Charles C. Taylor, II

Gage-Watts: What uniquely qualifies you to be ROV?

Taylor: One of the things that I would say is that, number one, I'm from Shreveport, Louisiana. This is my home. I was born here, went to Southwood High School, and graduated from LSUS with two degrees. After that I was able to go off to work for the Boy Scouts of America over in Washington, DC and then later off in Galveston, Texas. I learned a lot of great things. I learned how to do a lot of different type stuff as far as dealing with people and building relationships. I wanted to bring down skill set back to Shreveport and back to Caddo Parish. I think my ability to relate to people and to communicate effectively, is a strong skill set that I would be able to bring to this office. I would be able to communicate all kinds of people. That's something that I'm very good at.

Gage-Watts: What do you understand the duties and the responsibilities of the Registrar to be?

Taylor: The ROV's responsibilities is first, to maintain the machines to make sure they're adequate. To get out and register to vote is a huge part of the job that this Registrar does 284 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

and make sure that people out there want to vote and getting the opportunity to. Also there are certain rules and regulations that are part of ensuring that for registering to vote is adhered to and enforcing those laws and regulations, along with a myriad of other things.

Gage-Watts: What is the largest budget you have managed? And what were the challenges in managing that budget?

Taylor: The largest budget that I have managed? I managed over $1 million budget down in Galveston, Texas at the Boy Scout Council down there. I was basically the CEO of that council down there. As far as the challenges that we had, they brought me down there just after Hurricane Ike hit. We had to ensure that we met our budget and raised our money that need to be done. But also made sure that the programs for the youth and the community were taken care of. We were able to do that through a lot of different ways as far as raising money. Although you have to realize at that time, all the money was being sucked out to other needy organizations. We were as well needy, and we made sure that we made those budgets made that happen. Anywhere from making sure that like scouting for food was taking place, the eagle projects were taking place. You'd be amazed at what goes on with those councils.

Gage-Watts: What aspects of the Registrar's Office do you currently observe to be working well? If selected, what changes would you make based on your career observations? And why?

Taylor: I would say that Ernie has done a fantastic job. That is a pillar in the community that it's going to be--its big shoes to fill, I'll put it that way. He's done a great job, and that office has done a great job as far as getting out the vote, getting information to people, letting people know what's going on. I would say some of the things that I might help institute or bring to it would bring more of a social media aspect to it, trying to find other alternative ways to get people understanding that to need come to vote, they need to get registered to vote and get information out there to them.

Gage-Watts: Do you feel that the current system will critically impact the next generation of voting system standards?

Taylor: I don't know that the current system would impact any new generation standard what might have. I just know that we need to get out there and get them informed, more to understanding that they need to be registered to vote.

Gage-Watts: I know that you've heard a lot of talk about the early voting satellite location. Do you have an opinion about those locations?

Taylor: I'm not opposed to having early satellite locations to make sure that we get out and give people make chances and opportunity to vote, as long as it there's a budget for and that we are able to command those stations. If the government entity decides that's the way we want to go with it. I'm all about it, trying to find a mechanism a way to make that happen. I believe in voting.

Jackson: I've asked most folks the canvas aspect of it, where voters think they're ready to one place where walk into the polling place or receive notification elsewhere, indicating that they're not. What are your thoughts on that? How do you think that can be addressed?

Taylor: It's the responsibility of the voter to know if he's registered to vote, but it's our responsibility to let them know, to get the information out there too. I think that that would be a key aspect of the position that I would take is to informing our electorate about their registration and get them engaged. I think right now, we have a population of 250,000 people within the Caddo Parish, and there's only 150, roughly that are registered to vote. So I think that's something that we need to push for and, and adhere to, but you know, getting that information out there, by any means necessary.

Atkins: What is it American Humantics?

Taylor: They actually changed the title of it at LSUS. It's actually a Master’s of Science and Nonprofit Management, which is essentially an MBA in nonprofits. So if you want to equate an MBA to it this way it is and you know, you got to learn a lot of different things as far as budgeting managing some and I've done it been successful, but that's a unique person who does that.

The interviews were concluded. Mrs. Gage-Watts suggested that the Commission convene into Executive Session. Attorney Frazier advised that if the Commission convenes into Executive Session, they would need to give everyone a 24-hour notice because they may want the Commission to discuss them in the public setting. At this time, the Commission recessed for five minutes before moving onto the next New Business item. 285 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

At this time, the Commission was to vote to confirm the Registrar of Voters. Mrs. Gage- Watts asked that the Clerk of the Commission read aloud the process for confirming the Registrar of Voters:

The winning candidate will have to receive a majority vote for selection as Registrar. If on the first vote no one receives the majority votes, the top 3 candidates will move to Round 2. The one who prevails with the majority vote shall be deemed the new Registrar of Voters.

At this time, the confirmation process started as shown by the following roll call votes:

1. Charles W. Allum: AYES: None (0). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

2. Thomas Caughn Carmody, Jr.: AYES: None (0). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

3. Billy R. Casey: AYES: None (0). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

4. Paula Collins: AYES: None (0). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

5. Justin Courtney: AYES: Commissioners Dominick and Smith (2). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

6. Jeff Everson: AYES: None (0). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

7. Fermand M. Garlington: AYES: None (0). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

8. Kenneth Joseph Krefft: AYES: None (0). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

9. R.J. Johnson: AYES: None (0). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

10. Reginald Johnson: AYES: None (0). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

11. Christopher Langley: AYES: None (0). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

12. Andrew Lee Randall, Jr.: AYES: Commissioners Cawthorne, Gage-Watts, and Lyndon B. Johnson (3). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

13. Colvin Roberson: AYES: None (0). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

14. Dale Sibley: AYES: Commissioners Atkins, Chavez, Jackson, Louis Johnson, Linn, and Middleton (6). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

15. Arthur C. Smalls, Jr.: AYES: None (0). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

16. Charles C. Taylor: AYES: None (0). NAYS: None (0). ABSENT: Commissioner Bowman (1). ABSTAIN: None (0).

At this time, Mr. Dale Sibley was confirmed as the Registrar of Voters.

Mr. Sibley thanked the Commission for their support in confirming him as the Registrar of Voters. You won’t be disappointed, he said. The Commissioners then congratulated Mr. Sibley for his new appointment.

There being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 2:19 p.m.

286 Special Session Minutes—Registrar of Voters Interview September 21, 2019

Stormy Gage-Watts President ______Todd Hopkins Commission Clerk

287