Create, Modify, and View Office Notes

An office note is an internal communication associated with a voter record, typically of an informal nature. You would want to create an office note if you change data in a voter's record, and the change was not in response to a voter communication. In the note, you would want to indicate why you made the change. All changes to voter records are audited (that is, recorded in the database along with the name of the user who made the change and when), so creating an office note will help you explain why a change was made, should a question should arise later on.

An office note can also be used when you need to make notes about voter activity—a vote-by-mail request, for example—when space for comments isn't available in the standard form. The office note can be done before or after the other activity, or it can simply be a "standalone" note that isn't associated with any particular activity. You can add office notes only to voter records; they cannot be added to voter applications.

It is important to understand that an office note does not update the last-activity date in the voter's record, so you should not use an office note to record a communication from a voter. Such communications are recorded on the Voter Response dialog, and they will cause the last-activity date to be updated.

To create an office note:

Go to VOTER REGISTRATION > Voter Maintenance and access the voter's record.
On the icon bar, click Office Note to bring up the Office Note dialog.
In the Communication Type field, select the type most closely related to the communication.
Enter your notes in the Comments field. Click OK to save the office note with the voter record.

The office note will recorded as a communication record and listed on the Comms tab in the voter's record.

To view or modify an existing office note:

Access the voter's record and click the Comms tab.
In the list of communication records, click the office note you want to view or modify. The Voter Communication dialog appears.
If you want to make changes, click Edit, enter your changes, and click Store. You can also delete the office note entirely by clicking Delete.

Note Your ability to edit or delete communication records is dependent on the user permissions for your user type. User permissions are maintained in VOTER FOCUS ADMIN > User Permissions. The permissions for these abilities are Communications:Maintain and Communications:Delete, respectively.

Office Notes in the Mail Feature

Office notes can also be created and edited when you are recording mail returned by voter or undeliverable mail.

To create an office note:

With the Undeliverable Mail or Correspondence from Voter dialog displayed, click the Voters icon:
On the icon bar of the voter record, click Office Note to bring up the Office Note dialog.
In the Communication Type field, select the type most closely related to the communication.
Enter your note in the Comments field. Click OK to save the office note.
Click the Close icon:
On the Undeliverable Mail or Mail Returned by Voter dialog, click View Voter Audit. You will see the new note at the top of the audit list.

To edit an existing office note:

On the Undeliverable Mail or Mail Returned by Voter dialog, click View Voter Audit.
On the Voter Audit Display dialog, double-click in the row for the office note.
On the Voter Communication dialog, click Edit. This makes the entry fields editable.
Make your changes and click Store to save them.