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Supreme Court Rules
Section/Rule:
7.075
Subject:
Rule 7 - Rules Governing the Missouri Bar and the Judiciary - Establishing and Providing for the Government of the Missouri Bar
Publication / Adopted Date:
December 1, 2015
Topic:
Election of District Members of the Board of Governors by Electronic Voting
Revised / Effective Date:
January 1, 2018
7
.075 ELECTION OF DISTRICT MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS BY ELECTRONIC VOTING
In lieu of the provisions of
Rule 7.07
relating to the form of the ballot and the method of voting, the clerk may use electronic voting and distribution of ballots, in whole or in part, under procedures developed in conjunction with The Missouri Bar and approved by this Court.
(Adopted Dec. 1, 2015, eff. July 1, 2016. Amended Dec. 19, 2017, eff. Jan. 1, 2018.)
PROCEDURES FOR ELECTION OF DISTRICT MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS BY ELECTRONIC VOTING
(a) Electronic Voting Preparations.
The clerk of this Court (the clerk) shall work with the Office of the State Courts Administrator (OSCA) and The Missouri Bar to prepare for the electronic election. The clerk shall notify OSCA that there is an election to take place. The Missouri Bar shall initiate the creation of the election database and shall provide the election database to OSCA upon certification pursuant to subsection (b).
(b) Certification of Electronic Voter File.
Not less than 60 days before the election, upon request of the clerk, The Missouri Bar shall certify to the clerk the electronic file of lawyers eligible to vote in the election. The electronic voter file shall contain the name, Missouri Bar ID and PIN used for access to The Missouri Bar’s secure members-only website, address, district where enrolled to vote under
Rule 6.01(i)
, and e-mail address for all lawyers eligible to vote. This certified file shall control eligibility to vote electronically. No additions to the electronic file of eligible voters shall be made after the date the voter file is certified to the clerk unless good cause is shown.
OSCA shall load the voter file into the electronic election software application and cooperate with the clerk to ensure that the appropriate number of e-mails are sent under subsection (d) and to ensure that an appropriate number of notices will be available as required by subsection (e). OSCA shall send the clerk and The Missouri Bar a confirmation that the number of voter records loaded into the election software matches the number of voters provided in the certified electronic voter file.
(c) Ballots
.
The clerk shall prepare electronic ballots containing the names and the office addresses of all qualified candidates as specified in
Rule 7.07(c)
. There will be no paper ballots printed or used in the election except for those individuals receiving an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(d) Notification of Election.
No later than July 20, the clerk shall send to all lawyers with e-mail addresses in the voter file an e-mail announcing the election. This e-mail announcement shall inform the voter of the election, the dates open for voting, the names and office addresses of all qualified candidates, and the web link that will be used for electronic voting. At the same time, the clerk shall arrange for the mailing of notices as provided in subsection to voters without e-mail addresses. During the voting period, the clerk and The Missouri Bar may send additional reminders of the availability of voting via e-mail or other means of delivery.
(e) Notices to Voters Without E-mail Addresses.
The clerk shall arrange to send notices to lawyers in the voter file without an e-mail address. The notice shall be sent to the lawyer’s mailing address on file with The Missouri Bar and shall occur no later than the e-mail announcement sent to voters in subsection (d).
The notice shall inform the voter of the election, the dates open for voting, the names and office addresses of all qualified candidates, and the web link that will be used for electronic voting. For elections held in a single district, the notice
must also include the location of a computer in the courthouse from which a vote may be cast. For elections held in more than one district, the notice shall identify one or more locations where such a computer is located for voting. The notice shall also contain information on how to receive an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(f) Voting.
Voting will take place on a secure website. Voters will be sent links to their ballots via e-mail or other means of electronic delivery. Each member of The Missouri Bar entitled to vote in the district from which members of the board of governors are to be elected, may cast as many votes as there are members of the board of governors to be elected from such district. No more than one vote may be cast for any one candidate.
(g) Security of Electronic Ballots.
The Missouri Bar ID and PIN used for access to The Missouri Bar’s secure members-only website shall be used to confirm eligibility to vote electronically. The electronic election software shall not allow anyone to access the ballot who does not enter The Missouri Bar ID and PIN that were certified in the electronic voter file.
After the lawyer has cast his or her ballot electronically, the software shall prevent any further access to the ballot by that ID and PIN. Appropriate error messages shall be displayed to anyone attempting to vote who does not appear in the voter file or who has already voted.
(h) Confidentiality of Electronic Voting.
The electronic election software shall prevent the clerk or any other election official from viewing or printing the votes cast for candidates until after the close of the electronic voting period. Only the final vote tabulation will be viewable or printable by the clerk of this Court. The software shall not provide a list of voters with their corresponding votes. Except for the voter, no other person shall reveal if a person has or has not voted. Whether a person has or has not voted shall be confidential.
(i) Retention of Electronic Ballots.
Electronic ballots and related documents in the election software shall be retained for a period of six months after the completion of the election canvass. At the end of the six months, unless directed otherwise by this Court, the clerk shall direct OSCA to delete the election database containing the ballots for the election. The clerk shall destroy all documents except the total vote at the same time that OSCA deletes the electronic database for the election.
