MMC Election Administration & Procedures 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), what must a jurisdiction provide to a voter whose eligibility is challenged at the polls?
- A provisional ballot (Correct answer)
- A mail-in ballot application
- A second form of ID request
- A postponement slip for a later date
Correct answer: A provisional ballot
HAVA requires that any voter whose eligibility is questioned at the polls must be offered a provisional ballot, which is set aside and counted after eligibility is confirmed.
Question 2: Which federal agency is the primary regulator overseeing the administration of federal election laws, including campaign finance?
- Federal Election Commission (FEC) (Correct answer)
- Election Assistance Commission (EAC)
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Correct answer: Federal Election Commission (FEC)
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is the independent agency that enforces federal campaign finance laws and oversees federal elections.
Question 3: What is the purpose of a 'canvass' in the post-election process?
- The official review and certification of all ballots cast to produce final vote totals (Correct answer)
- A door-to-door voter registration drive conducted before Election Day
- A public debate format used in municipal candidate forums
- The process of removing inactive voters from the rolls
Correct answer: The official review and certification of all ballots cast to produce final vote totals
The canvass is the official post-election process of reviewing, tallying, and certifying all ballots—including absentee, provisional, and in-person votes—to produce an official result.
Question 4: A municipal clerk discovers that a precinct's ballot count exceeds the number of voters who signed in on Election Day. This is called a:
- Ballot overage or over-count (Correct answer)
- Undervote anomaly
- Residual vote event
- Chain-of-custody failure
Correct answer: Ballot overage or over-count
A ballot overage (more ballots than voters checked in) is a serious discrepancy that must be investigated and documented before results can be certified.
Question 5: Which statement best describes a 'ranked-choice voting' (RCV) tabulation process?
- Votes are counted in multiple rounds; the candidate with fewest votes is eliminated each round until a majority winner emerges (Correct answer)
- Each voter ranks all candidates and the one with the most first-choice votes wins outright
- Votes are weighted by the voter's district population before totaling
- Candidates are eliminated alphabetically until two finalists remain
Correct answer: Votes are counted in multiple rounds; the candidate with fewest votes is eliminated each round until a majority winner emerges
In RCV, ballots are tallied in successive rounds where the last-place candidate is eliminated and those ballots are redistributed to voters' next choices until one candidate holds a majority.
Question 6: What does the term 'chain of custody' refer to in election administration?
- The documented sequence of individuals who handled election materials from preparation through certification (Correct answer)
- The legal process of transferring election jurisdiction from state to county authorities
- The sequence of offices a candidate must hold before qualifying for a higher office
- The order in which candidates appear on the ballot per state statute
Correct answer: The documented sequence of individuals who handled election materials from preparation through certification
Chain of custody is the documented record of every person who accessed, transported, or handled ballots and election equipment, ensuring accountability and security.
Question 7: Under most state statutes, when must absentee ballots be received to be counted in a municipal election?
- By the close of polls on Election Day, unless the state allows a postmark deadline (Correct answer)
- Within seven calendar days after Election Day regardless of postmark
- At least three business days before Election Day
- Any time before the official canvass is certified
Correct answer: By the close of polls on Election Day, unless the state allows a postmark deadline
Most states require absentee ballots to be received by the close of polls on Election Day, though some states count ballots postmarked by Election Day if received within a set window afterward.
MMC Election Administration & Procedures 2
Under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), what must a jurisdiction provide to a voter whose eligibility is challenged at the polls?