Elections Commission
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City and County of San Francisco
Elections Commission
Approved: November 15, 2005
Minutes of the Meeting at City Hall Room 408
October 19, 2005
1. CALL TO ORDER. President Matthews called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm.
2. INTRODUCTION OF NEW COMMISSION MEMBER. President Matthews welcomed the Board of Education’s third appointee to the Elections Commission, Commissioner Jennifer Meek.
3. ROLL CALL. PRESENT: Commissioners, Gerard Gleason, Michael Mendelson, Sheila Chung, Richard P. Matthews, Arnold Townsend, Eric Safire and Jennifer Meek.
Public Comment. Steven Hill, said he was with New America Foundation, and reminded the Commission and Director that the certification process took two years in the past and recommended that there be a back-up plan in case there are problems.
4. DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Ballot Distribution – The division has received all ballots which are being housed at 240 Van Ness. The mailing of Absentee Ballots began last Tuesday, and by Friday,119,000 had been mailed. Voters Guides (VIPs) have been delivered to the post office. .
Budget / Personnel – The division continues processing invoices and employment requisitions for the election.
Campaign Services – The division is doing “double-duty”, because of budget constraints, the Department wasn’t able to open the early voting counters. The numbers of early voters has continued to increase daily at the Departments front counter.
Outreach – The division has been attending community events, and making media contacts. There have been live interviews on Spanish and Chinese radio and television.
Poll Locating/ADA – This division has been successful in finding all the poll locations necessary to service the City’s voters. These locations are printed on the rear page of the VIPs. If there are changes before election day, notices will be sent to all the voters in the affected precincts and noticeable signs will be posted at the old voting site with tear-off information guiding voters to the new location. The division is preparing for the delivery of the voting equipment due one week before the election.
Publications – All the VIPs are being delivered by the post office. These guides were sent out before the absentee ballots. VIPs in Spanish and Chinese are currently available on the Department’s website, and printed copies will be mailed out soon.
Technology Division – The division is setting up its data bases for the election.
Voter Services Division – The division’s staff has been handling the early voting requests, along with Campaign Services at the Department’s small front counter. Staff have been processing the voter registration cards and applications for absentee ballots. The last day to register to vote is next Monday.
Commissioner Matthews asked why the early voting counter wasn’t opened as it has been in previous elections. Director Arntz replied that it is a greater convenience for voters to be able to go to the early voting counter, which has been set up in the past, to verify their registration information immediately. This is also convenient for the Department’s staff. However, now two divisions’ work (Voter Services and Campaign Services) have been combined into one small area. Mr. Arntz explained that the Department is watching its temporary staffing budget very closely, because the budget was under-funded. He said that everything possible is being done to meet the Mayor’s Office’s request to stay within budget, and reduce services with the least impact on the voters and the Department.
Survey by the Public Research Institute (PRI) regarding Absentee Voting and The VIP. – Director Arntz said that there would be five questions asked of voters during an exit poll and in a mailing to absentee voters re: what is the voter’s thinking regarding all-postal elections, how useful is the VIP to the voter, and opinions in favor or against paid ballot arguments.
Update of the process for selection of a new voting system – Last Friday, the Selection Panel completed its scoring of the proposed companies, and a letter of intent to negotiate a contract was sent to Sequoia Voting Systems because that company received the most points. This means that the county will continue to have optical scanning and paper ballots, but to meet the accessibility requirements of HAVA (Help Americans Vote Act), one touch screen voting machine will be in each polling place beginning June 2006. The Director agreed with the public speaker and said that he wants a back up plan using a central processing approach.
Commissioner Gleason asked what was the time line for the RFP contract to be signed. Director Arntz replied that the schedule in the RFP states that the contract is to be executed by December 23, 2005. The Commissioner asked if it would be possible for the vendor to come to a Commission meeting and demonstrate the equipment. Director Arntz replied affirmatively to the suggestion. Commissioner Gleason complimented the Department for having an explanation in the VIP explaining ex-offenders’ rights to vote and new citizen registration information, as well as the section on “What to expect” when you go to your polling place on election day.
Commissioner Townsend said he was concerned with the equity of mailbox placements in the City if an all-mail-ballot were to be implemented.
Commissioner Mendelson said that when he worked as a lawyer in a Chicano neighborhood in Texas, one of the on-going problems was mail delivery.
Public Comment. Jim Soper said that he was concerned about the City purchasing Sequoia’s voting equipment because, he said, it is only certified to 1999 standards.
Roger Donaldson commented on the thermal paper recording device as the medium for recounting votes. Jennifer Hammond said that she agreed with the previous speakers and wanted the Commission to know that they were not alone in their views, and are disappointed with the selection of the Sequoia system.
5. Commissioners’ Reports. Commissioner Safire suggested that, in addition to a written report to the Board of Supervisors about the need for the Department of Elections to have a consolidated space, a video of the actual activities performed and the conditions and limitations under which the DoE must work be included in the report. Commissioner Safire suggested that a local college film class or individual might want to make this a project. President Matthews asked the Commissioner if he would be willing to work with Director Arntz on this suggestion, and the Commissioner and Director agreed they would explore this possibility.
6. Presentation by the Director of Elections: Interaction with the Secretary of State.
Director Arntz explained that immediately prior and after an election, the primary interaction with the Secretary of State’s Office (SoS) are reports: i.e. registrations and elections results. There are 60, 29, and 15-day reports which are sent to the SoS. The report of the absentee and precinct votes is sent immediately after the polls close on Election Day. During processing, the DoE makes daily reports to the SoS. The SoS will seek information from the Department for surveys that are taken throughout the state on such topics as: number of absentees mailed, absentees processed, changes in registration, provisional ballot processes, canvassing procedures, etc. For example, recently the SoS requested information, statewide, on security procedures. San Francisco’s procedure became the model for the state because of its ballot tracking and custody forms, and its handling of absentee ballots. The SoS used San Francisco’s outreach program and our surveys of polling places to meet accessibility requirements as models for other counties.
7. New Business
(a) Discussion and possible action to approve the minutes for the Commission meeting of September 21, 2005. Commissioner Townsend asked that the record reflect that he did not attend the September 21st meeting and would not be voting to approve those minutes. Commissioner Chung MOVED to approve the minutes, Comissioner Gleason SECONDED the MOTION. Commissioner Gleason made a correction on page three, second paragraph, to change “RFP” to “certification”. The Commission Secretary agreed to the correction. Commissioners Chung, Gleason, Matthews, Mendelson, Safire and Meek voted “yes”, and Commissioner Townsend abstained. MOTION CARRIED.
(b) Discussion and possible action concerning oversight of Election Day operations. Under the City Charter, the Elections Commission is responsible for overseeing all public federal, state, district and municipal elections in the City and County. The Commission duties include approving a written election plan prior to each election, and assessing the effectiveness of the plan after the election. (Charter section 13.103.5.) In connection with these duties, the Commissioners will discuss possible oversight activities concerning Election Day operations.
Commissioners announced their chosen assignments for the November 8, 2005 election as follows:
Commissioner Gerard Gleason will serve as an Election Inspector for Precinct 2213.
Commissioner Eric Safire will be an Inspector at his local precinct and will spend the evening at City Hall observing the election activities at Election Central.
Commissioner Sheila Chung will serve as a Field Election Deputy (FED) on Election Day.
Commissioner Richard P. Matthews will be an Election Inspector at the Precinct near his new neighborhood.
Commissioner Arnold Townsend will be traveling and observing activities with the Sheriff’s Department.
Commissioner Michael Mendelson will be observing the election activities at City Hall, and at 9:30 pm he will go to Pier 29 for an hour or two to video the activities at the Processing Center.
Commissioner Jennifer Meek, who is new to the Commission, has made travel plans to out of the country.
(c) Discussion and possible action concerning what the Commission can do to ensure that the Department’s budget is adequate. Commissioner Townsend said that the Commission needs a very lengthy discussion regarding what it can do to get a fixed budget for the Department of Elections. He said that because of the budget, the DoE hasn’t been able to open the Early Voting counter in the lobby in front of the Department, and that he had no idea how the staff was going to handle the hundreds of early voters who will now be standing at the small intake counter at the Department during the final weeks before the election, because money was pulled out of the Department. He said the Supervisors and the Mayor are not recognizing the importance that every election should be the easiest process in the City for its citizens to do.
Commissioner Gleason asked if the Department would be receiving any monies from the state in the form of re-imbursement for the upcoming election. Director Arntz said that the legislature has not authorized re-imbursement funding for the Special Election.
President Matthews asked Director Arntz for ideas of things the Commission could do the assist the Department with the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor’s Office regarding future budgets. Director Arntz suggested that Commissioners meet with him and go over the Department’s budget and he will explain his experiences with the budget process during the past year. He said that the Elections Department’s status in the City’s budget process must be elevated, and that the Mayor’s office as well as the Board of Supervisors need to understand why it is important to fund elections.
Commissioner Townsend suggested that the Commission make a presentation to the Mayor’s Office and the appropriate Board of Supervisors’ Committee to explain what happens in the Department and what happens to voters and how they are inconvenienced by cut backs.
Director Arntz said that the Commission’s standards of service should be incorporated in the budget process and any presentation.
Commissioner Mendelson said that civil service protection for the Department’s temporary employees should also be a part of the standards. He reported that the City of New York protects its election budget.
Commissioner Chung suggested that the presentations to the Mayor’s Office and the Board of Education should be done early in the budget process. She said that members of the public should be aware that they, too, can support the Department through this process.
Director Arntz explained that every department head must sign off on her or his budget, thereby stating that the amount funded is sufficient. He said that he has not done so for our Department’s budget because the amount is not sufficient. Basically, the budget is not enough to hire temporary staffing for the June Primary Election, especially with the new voting system being implemented.
Public Comment – Steven Hill said that he was supportive of the discussions to get more funding for the Department, and that he felt the public should be more involved. He suggested that each Commissioner concentrate on establishing a relationship with a different member of the Board. Jim Soper said that the Department and Commission were doing good work and if members of the public were needed to speak to a Supervisor or speak before a committee, to let him know. David Pilpel suggested that the Director send a letter saying that the budget is “not” sufficient to the Mayor, the Controller and the Board. He said such a letter might generate some press interest, and the need for a supplemental in the spring, would not then be a surprise because the Mayor, Controller and Board would have been put on notice about the budget deficiency. Bob Damron said that, nationally, commissions have not been given enough money to run the projects they were assigned to do.
Commissioner Matthews Asked for a MOTION to refer to the Budget and Policy Committee the question of establishing a budget policy for the full Commission to enact in concert with the Director of Elections. Commissioner Townsend MOVED and Commissioner Gleason SECONDED. A roll call vote was UNANIMOUS.
8. Public Comment – Christopher Jerdonek said that his group has invited election officials from other states to come to San Francisco to observe Ranked Choice Voting, and has been supported by the Department in organizing the officials’ observation of the election. He invited the Commissioners to participate in the panel discussions his organization will be holding on the Sunday and Monday before the election. Jim Soper said he attended, the day before, a meeting of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and that they are considering increasing the percentage of precincts that would be audited from one percent to ten percent. Robert Damron said that manufacturers of voting machines and printers of mail-in ballots should not be trusted. David Pilpel asked if the Elections Plan, that was adopted by the Commission earlier in the year, was going to be amended.
9. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Director Arntz announced that he had been invited to Oakland to attend a State Senate hearing on Ranked Choice Voting for California next Tuesday.
ADJOURNMENT at 8:20 pm.