Agenda - 09-02-2021; 12-8 - Information Item - Memorandum - Transmittal of the Final Report from the BOCC Elections Advisory Group (BEAG) on the Process for Electing County Commissioners in Orange County

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29 3 Group Member Nathan Boucher noted that he had used consensus for much of his past work and that he liked it. He shared that matters of weight for this Group should require a supermajority and that routine actions should be a simple majority. Group Member Sykes shared that a supermajority threshold needed to be considered with District 1 having 9 representatives and District 2 having 6 representatives on the Group. Group Member Jaazaniah Catterall requested an additional breakdown on the types of decisions that would be made, and he proposed an approval standard of three-fifths plus one of all members present at a meeting. Group Member Jennifer Bremer referenced an alternative with a simple majority that included an additional required support threshold such as two votes in support from Group members from the northern portion of the County. She noted a desire to avoid a framework that was awkward, Judge Bryan inquired with Group members regarding the kind of decisions that would require the higher super-majority standard for approval. Group Member Jonathan Weiler noted that a super-majority should apply for matters of weight and should reference only members actually present at a meeting, not the full membership. Group Member Krishna Mondal questioned whether it was possible for voting to occur by Districts that Group members represented. Group Member Weiler noted that it sounded like there was a definite interest in a two- thirds majority for major decisions. Group Member Hazirjian referenced Group Member Catterall's earlier suggestion and questioned what type of decisions the Group was going to be considering. Group Member Rex Williams noted agreement with Group Member Weiler's comments. A question arose regarding voting in public. County Attorney John Roberts followed up that due to the virtual nature of the meeting, Group members needed to vote in ways that identified the voter publicly by actively expressing votes during meetings through roll call voting or the Chair publicly confirming each member's vote by name. Mr. Wilder read written comments provided by Group Member Kathy Arab who was experiencing internet connections issues as the meeting progressed and had emailed comments to Mr. Wilder as an alternative. Group Member Arab indicated support for a qualified supermajority (2/3 vote of the entire group, not just those in attendance) on decisions other than closing discussion and closing a meeting itself, and a desire to accommodate unfortunate circumstances, like she was experiencing with internet issues, that affected Group members participation and voting.