Elections Commission
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
City and County of San Francisco
Elections Commission
Approved: August 17, 2005
Minutes of the Meeting held
July 20, 2005
1. CALL TO ORDER. Vice President Chung called the meeting to order at 7:08 pm.
2. ROLL CALL. PRESENT: Commissioners, Gerard Gleason, Eric Safire, Arnold Townsend, Sheila Chung, and Michael Mendelson.
EXCUSED: Richard Matthews.
Commissioner Mendelson asked if item 9 on the agenda could be continued until the next meeting when the President, who was interested in hearing this report, would be able to attend. Vice President Chung reported that she had spoken to the President moments before the meeting and he had not voiced any desire to postpone this item.
Commissioner Chung said that item 9, the second report on DoE operations, could be combined with the report for the August meeting. Commissioner Mendelson voiced his approval of this suggestion.
Public Comment – David Pilpel said that he was looking forward to hearing the Director’s operational report and wanted the item to be reported at today’s meeting, with any follow up reported at the August meeting.
Commissioner Chung suggested that the Director include in his item 3 report some of the material he had intended for the item 9 operations report.
Director Arntz said he could present some information on the preparations before an election by the divisions with his regular director’s report.
Commissioner Chung asked the Director to hold his special second report for the August meeting and include what he thought was relevant, in the next item on today’s agenda, item 3, the regular director’s report.
3. DIRECTOR'S REPORT -
Voter Services Division – The Director announced that copies of the registration statistics for San Francisco were available on the information table for this meeting. He reported that the numbers have been reduced from 494,000 for the general election of 2004 to 435,000 currently because that election had a high turn out followed by a database cleanup. Post cards were sent to citizens to determine their voting status. Last November’s percentage of registered voters voting was 72%.
Eight state petitions have qualified for the November ballot. Two local petitions are currently being processed by Voter Services: one regarding neighborhood fire houses, and one regarding military recruiters in public schools. Signatures in lieu paperwork from two candidates are being evaluated, and purge maintenance, which began in January continues.
The Department has been in contact with Prison Legal Services regarding getting information to people whose voting rights need to be restored after conviction of a felony. A decision needs to be made about when the information should be given. The Director said he expects to have a final answer very soon.
For July, Voter Services is updating Absentee Voter applications, overseas and military voter applications, and reviewing nomination papers for candidates
Campaign Services – The division has issued paperwork to three candidates, and more are expected, although not as many as last November. High School interns, who are working 20 hours a week, have been primarily assigned to update the FPPC (Fair Political Practices Commission) filings. July 31 is the FPPC deadline which will bring more files into the department. A candidate workshop, attended by eight people, was conducted last Thursday. The Observer Guide for the November Election is being compiled.
Poll Locating/ADA – This division’s staff attended three training classes last week regarding accessibility for the disabled, and is creating training materials regarding disability etiquette. Tomorrow, at 9:30 am, the entire Department will have this training. Staff has attended a meeting with SFUSD (San Francisco Unified School District) and the Mayor’s Office on Disability regarding compliance of City-owned facilities to the Americans with Disabilities Act. This month the division is updating its flyers and contacting public facilities and private locations regarding availability as polling sites.
Yesterday, Scott Luebking, a usability expert of systems and computers, came to the Department to train the entire staff on how to consider making the voting system and the ballot more user friendly. Many of his ideas were simple ones that can be easily implemented.
Budget / Personnel – The division has created tracking sheets for supplies, equipment and personnel. Requisitions for temporary personnel for the November election are being entered into the system and the division is busy with all the other processes necessary for hiring more employees. So far we have added five new staff throughout the Department.
Poll Worker Division - The division has expanded its website since last year, and is beginning its schedule of 150 training classes. Curricula are being revised for these classes. The Secretary of State’s Office (SOS) has recognized the solid programs we have in San Francisco and has requested information about the DoE’s outreach and training of poll workers. Information is being collected to comply with the SOS’s request.
Technology Division – The division has been examining the business investment district elections. This is where certain areas and lots of the City will choose whether to assess themselves extra taxes to increase their City services. Staff has been preparing to scan the ballots for this election. This division will be supporting all the divisions over the next few months in preparation for the November election by creating databases, checking servers and computers, and helping to get reports for the SOS.
Outreach – The division held its second community outreach and advisory forum today. Ten organizations and Commissioner Chung attended. Currently, potential Outreach Coordinators are being interviewed. One Chinese and one Russian coordinator have been hired. The division is creating a glossary of common terms that will be translated into several languages to be used in polling places, training, and by poll workers for November. The Board of Supervisors allocated $200,000 for outreach for this year’s election. There are carryover funds of approximately $65,000 from last year for outreach. Some of the DoE’s supervisors have been discussing the need for more money for this year. The Director said that he would be able to determine is there is a budget increase tomorrow and will notify the Commission.
Nine street fairs between now and November have been scheduled. Additionally, the division will be very active in the August 1st to August 12th helping with the pilot program for the potential new voting systems.
Request for Proposals (RFPs) – The initial review of the systems has been completed. The two vendors who will be going forward with the pilot programs and mock election are ES&S and Sequoia.
Commissioner Mendelson asked when the award for the RFP will be made. Director Arntz answered that September 30, 2005, is when the selection panel is to make a recommendation.
Commissioner Townsend asked if the decline in registered voters might be reversed the closer we get to November. The Director said that the numbers will increase by November, but the rise will not be as great as it was for last November because last year’s was a presidential election.
Commissioner Townsend thanked the Director and the Department for following through with the issue of felons’ right to vote and making sure they are given information regarding their voting rights.
Commissioner Chung asked the Director to give a short overview of the recent budget process as it related to outreach. Mr. Arntz reported that the DoE’s draft outreach plan has a budget of approximately $835,000 of which $150,000 was budgeted for community groups to provide outreach. He reminded the Commission that the community groups are not just involved in RCV education, but also promote the election process. The Mayor’s Office and the Board received their draft. The Mayor’s Office decided not to fund outreach and said it was a policy matter for the Board. The Board had two budget hearings. At the first one, the Board recognized the importance of funding for outreach. The Budget and Finance Committee decided to put $200,000 into the DoE budget for the next fiscal year and to include $67,000 (as was stated in the Budget Analyst’s Report as a carryover amount) as outreach funding. Commissioners met with Supervisor Ma and community groups wrote letters to the Mayor and members of the Board.
Commissioner Gleason asked about RCV and what would happen if there are only two candidates. Director Arntz explained that if there were only two candidates, RCV would still take place because there would be a write-in space on the ballot.
Director Arntz reported that the Ballot Simplification Committee would begin August 1, 2005. There will be four members of this Committee.
Public Comment. David Pilpel said that he hoped the November ballot would have no more than six sides, and therefore, no more than three cards. He asked that as much information as possible be placed on the DoE website.
4. PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Vice President Chung reported that Commissioner Matthews, Commissioner Townsend and she attended the Budget and Finance Committee. She said that members of the Board said that it was “refreshing to finally see a commission actually be supportive of a department that they are overseeing”.
The Vice President said that she attended the Community Education Forum earlier in the day and that it was good to see the DoE reaching out to community groups and getting advice and feedback.
The Vice President said that she attended a second meeting with Supervisor Ma and that she felt the meetings helped to “drum up support “ from the [supervisor’s] office in reinstating outreach funding.
5. COMMISSIONERS’ REPORTS
Commissioner Safire reported that he had spoken with Director Arntz and had met with the Public Defender regarding notifying felons of their voting rights while they are in custody and upon their release. He said the Public Defender told him that there are means in place for those felons who want to take part in the education regarding voting rights, but there is no direct contact with people as they are released and there is no requirement that they go and find out what their rights are. The percentage of people who do take advantage of the voting rights information is very low.
Commissioner Safire stated that Commissioner Matthews had informed him that there is a bill pending before the legislature regarding this issue, of which Commissioner Safire informed the Public Defender. Mr. Adachi told Commissioner Safire that he was very supportive of the issues presented in the legislation and will take part in seeing it succeed as much as he is able. Commissioner Safire reported that the Public Defender’s office has no ability to participate in the exiting of prisoners from the jails, but would be willing to participate in a meeting or in any way he can to help his clients by educating them about their voting rights. The outcome of the Commissioner’s research was that the Public Defender is willing to support voter education in a very active way but would appreciate ideas from the Department or the Commission.
Commissioner Safire suggested that the Budget and Policy Committee come up with a plan which could be presented to Public Defender Adachi.
Commissioner Townsend agreed with the idea of having the Budget and Policy Committee get involved but added that any real movement to get something accomplished would have to happen with the parole and probation departments. He said that he hopes the Commission and Department could “encourage” these departments to give materials that explain when and how their voting rights are reinstated.
Commissioner Safire reminded the Commission that the majority of people in County Jail are not sentenced, their position of sentencing is suspended, and therefore they never lose their voting rights.
Commissioner Gleason reported that he attended the Accessibility for Voting Systems Workshop held at City Hall yesterday. He said the program covered more than accessibility, it was about understanding how others may perceive voting equipment. He said it was exceptional. He commended the Department for this workshop, because the department was open to new ideas. The Commissioner also commended Mr. Luebking for his participation in the workshop because of his insight and he also commended Ken Stein from the Mayor’s Office on Disabilities for his participation.
The Commissioner said it was good to see the Department working with other City agencies on these issues.
Director John Arntz thanked the Commissioners who participated in the budget process and said they made an excellent contribution by making their presentations before the Board. He said that DoE staff noticed and appreciated their contribution. The Director said that now is the time to prepare for next year’s budget season and that he wants the Commission to be involved. The budget process topics will present a bigger challenge because there will be a June Primary (right in the middle of the budget process), and there will be the RFP, and the new voting system to consider. Mr. Arntz said he wants to sit down and plan the approach with members of the Commission as soon as possible.
Public Comment. David Pilpel suggested that the Commission speak with Adult Probation and the Sheriff regarding voting rights for prisoners.
8. NEW BUSINESS
Discussion and possible action to approve the minutes of the meeting held June 20, 2005. Commissioner Mendelson MOVED and Commissioner Safire SECONDED approval of the minutes. MOTION CARRIED unanimously.
9. The Director of Elections’ second report on DoE operations. This report will be about the six months prior to Election Day. This item was CARRIED OVER to the next meeting.
10. Discussion of the updated Commission Calendar. The Elections Commission bylaws require that the Commission Secretary maintain a calendar that includes critical dates and deadlines for Commission action. These dates and deadlines correspond to the duties imposed on the Commission by the Charter, such as the pre-election approval of an "Election Plan" and (if applicable) an "Alternative Transportation and Security Plan," the pre-election request for a waiver from the general rule that City employees may not assist with elections, and the post-election assessment of the "Election Plan."
The Commission Secretary explained that she had maintained the two meetings a month language in the Plan to hold the dates in case the Commission decides to hold special meetings on those dates. Commissioner Townsend suggested that the Secretary add parentheses and the wording “as needed” for those first Wednesday meetings.
Commissioner Gleason noted that the Plan shows Thursday, August 20 as the deadline for the Election Plan to be approved by the Commission and asked if there actually was a deadline for this approval stated in the Charter. City Attorney Moll answered that there is no deadline in the Charter. John Arntz said that the deadline had been set by Commissioner Gleason. The Commissioner replied that his intention had been to have a deadline for an “initial” Election Plan submission and then an amended plan prior to the actual election. Commissioner Gleason said that he had wanted the final piece completed in enough time before the election, and thought that the date for the central ballot count notice, which is seven days before the election, would be a good time for the Plan. Director Arntz said that he has a draft election plan which will be completed in the next few days.
Commissioner Mendelson reminded the Commission that per the bylaws, the Election Calendar is not a binding document. Vice President Chung stated that the question is when the Commission wants to have the Elections Plan. Commissioner Mendelson said that the decision regarding when the Elections Plan should be available was not noticed in the agenda for this meeting. Vice President Chung replied that it is being brought up now because it is a portion of the calendar and we are making sure that the dates are accurate. Commissioner Gleason said that he would hope that the Wednesday, September 7, 2005 meeting of the Commission would be the date for the approval of the Plan. Vice President Chung said that in her discussions with the President about today’s meeting, he had asked her to place the Election Plan as an item to approve at the August meeting.
Public Comments – David Pilpel said that the Calendar was very helpful.
11. Discussion regarding items for future agendas
Vice President Chung requested that approval of the Elections Plan be on the next agenda.
12. Public Comment – Steven Hill said that he was glad to see members of the Commission participating at the Board of Supervisors Budget Hearings, that their presence was positive, and that the Supervisors were impressed by their presence. He suggested that the Commission ask for $100,000 more for a specific target group for outreach.
13. ANNOUNCEMENTS – Commissioner Gleason reminded the Commission that the mock election with the proposed vendor systems would be taking place next week and asked that everyone invite people to come to the Department and try out the sample voting equipment. Commissioner Townsend announced that on August 19, 2005. at 762 Fulton Street, The African American Culture Complex will have a display of the works completed by the Raising the Standard summer youth program.
ADJOURNMENT at 8:23 pm