October 6, 2010

VOTING SYSTEMS TASK FORCE (VSTF)
MINUTES

Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at 4 p.m.
City Hall, Room 370
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, California


1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order by Task Force Chair Jody Sanford at 4:15 p.m.

Present:
Roger Donaldson
Jody Sanford
James Soper
Ka-Ping Yee
Beth Mazur
Gregory Miller
Tim Mayer


2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

By motion of Ms. Mazur, seconded by Mr. Soper, the minutes of the September 15, 2010 meeting were approved.

3. PUBLIC COMMENT

Members of the public present during the meeting were:

• Eva Waskell – Ms. Waskell expressed support for the mission of the VSTF and her desire to attend and offer comments whenever possible throughout the remainder of the process.

4. DISCUSSION OF DRAFT VSTF RECOMMENDATIONS DOCUMENT

VSTF members began by reviewing the Table of Contents and the Introduction and Background sections. Mr. Soper suggested the addition of the mission statement and scope. Members expressed a need for clarification from the Department of Elections (DOE) about several points pertaining to the City’s existing contract with Sequoia Voting Systems, especially the overall value of the contract (how much will the City pay to Sequoia during the term of the contract) and renewal/extension terms. Ms. Sanford agreed to seek clarification from the DOE.

Conversation moved to the Policy Recommendations section, with discussion focused on Core Principle item #7, adherence to federal, state, and local law (should the VSTF consider adherence to existing law as a core principal or advocate for changes to the legal framework). After extensive discussion, members agreed to leave the existing language unchanged.

The balance of the meeting focused on discussion of the business models and licensing issues.


5. DISCUSSION OF VSTF NEXT STEPS AND TIMELINE/ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING AGENDA
Members agreed to discuss the following items at the next meeting:
• List of Short-Term Recommendations through 2013
• List of Next Generation Recommendations as they relate to election records and audit procedures, balloting systems and services, and licensing and business models.


6. NEW BUSINESS

There was no new business.

7. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 8:06 p.m.