1. CALL TO ORDER/ AGENDA CHANGES

Vice President Shokooh Miry called the meeting to order at 5:07 pm.

Vice President Miry announced a Mayoral Proclamation commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and urged all who are eligible to register and vote to honor those who came before us. Vice President Miry also noted the vacant seat on the Commission.

No changes to the agenda.

No Public Comment.

Action: To approve agenda.                                                        (Roll Call Vote)               m/s/c (Soo/Shorter/Unanimous)

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

No changes to the minutes from the Commission meeting on July 22, 2020.

No Public Comment.

Action: To approve minutes from the Commission meeting on July 22, 2020.

(Roll Call Vote)           m/s/c (Soo/ Schwab-Pomerantz/Unanimous)

3. DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Acting Director Carol Sacco celebrated Women’s Equality Day and the ongoing fight to equal voting access. Acting Director Sacco provided some highlights from the Director’s report, starting with the Department partnership with Assessor Carmen Chu’s office and the League of Women Voters San Francisco in the W Challenge, which encourages more women to use their voices by voting. She informed the Commission that the W Challenge launched its social media campaign with an event earlier in the day that was introduced by President Zwart and featured a conversation between Mayor London Breed and Assessor Chu. Acting Director Sacco updated the Commission on the Department’s racial equity plan and how it has been implemented into the fellowship hiring process. She announced that the Department is seeking a Policy and Grants Associate to coordinate the US Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women grant and the Blue Shield of California Foundation grant. Acting Director Sacco mentioned that Senior Manager of Human Trafficking Outreach Prevention and Education Roxanne Alejandre conducted numerous workshops this past month. Acting Director Sacco reported that Policy and Grants Manager Elise Hansell and she, held a meeting with District Attorney Chesa Boudin and members of the Justice & Courage Committee. Ms. Sacco updated the Commission that on August 12, 2020, she presented the Department’s Budget to the Board of Supervisors Budget and Appropriations Committee and emphasized the importance of the Department’s work on gender equity and safety for women.

No Public Comment.

4. NEW BUSINESS

1. Civic Engagement

1. Department of Elections

Voter Outreach Manager Michael Choi from the Department of Elections talked to the Commission about the upcoming election and discussed opportunities to engage with the Department of Elections. Mr. Choi informed the Commission that all registered San Francisco voters will receive a mail in ballot, and that they are being mailed out on October 5. He reminded everyone to verify that they are registered to vote at registertovote.ca.gov or said to contact the Department of Elections for paper registration applications. He said that the voter registration deadline is October 19. Mr. Choi also mentioned the importance of keeping your registration status current, with the correct address and name to ensure that there are no complication in getting ballot mailed to correct address, he said you can check your status at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov to confirm that the information in your voter record is correct and ensure your ballot will be sent to your current address. Mr. Choi informed the Commission that the City is implementing the Secretary of State ballot tracking system to track all ballots. He explained that voters will not only be able to vote by mail but can also do so in-person. He further reported that polling places will be open on election day and in-person voting will be available at City Hall which will be open starting 29 days before the election. He assured the Commission that each polling place with have face coverings, hand sanitizer, gloves, and enforce social distancing guidelines. He also said that curb side voting will be available at all voting places and all polling places will be ADA compliant.

Mr. Choi invited the Commission to participate with Department of Elections efforts to inform voters, and said that if anyone wants an event appearance, materials, or to help support the voter registration drive, to send an email to sfoutreach@sfgov.org

Commissioners discussed the project and the outcomes.

No Public Comment.

2. San Francisco Complete Count Committee for Census 2020

Adrienne Pon, Executive Director of the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs highlighted the importance of the 2020 Census to the Commission. She informed the Commission that the census is a snapshot of America’s people, that unlike other forms of civic engagement this is accessible to all people residing in the United States, regardless of background.

Executive Director Pon framed the discussion about participation in the Census through the perspective of the current twin crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and racial injustice and how these two events have exposed inequities in our society. She explained that individuals who are most likely to not participate in the census include: renters, female headed of households, households with young children, households with income less than $35,000 per year, individuals with less than a high school education, non-white individuals, and multi-family households. She reported that the current national response rate is 64.5%, California’s is 66.5%, and in San Francisco the response rate is only 63.6%. She told that Commission that San Francisco’s areas of lowest response rates are located in areas with high rates of poverty, and communities that are experiencing the highest COVID-19 cases.

Executive Director Pon explained that some of the restrictions to completing the census during COVID-19, are not having access to computer or bandwidth, restricted language access, fear, distrust of government, privacy concerns, and displacement. She said that over 150,000 households in San Francisco have yet to participate in the census and there are only 35 days left. She reported that every person counted brings in $20,000 in federal funding over the next decade. She told the Commission if California is undercounted, we will lose important federal funding, and potentially two congressional seats. Executive Director Pon underscored that participation in the census is a right for everyone in the United States and that participation is a true act of activism and resistance. She told Commissioners that they can find more information at My2020census.gov, sfcounts.org, or call 844-330-2020.

Commissioners discussed the election and the census amongst themselves and with Mr. Choi and Executive Director Pon.

No Public Comment.

2. Officer Elections for FY 2020 – 2021

Action: To nominate Shokooh Miry for Vice President for FY 2020 – 2021.

m/s/c (Schwab-Pomerantz/Shorter/Unanimous)

Action: To nominate Breanna Zwart for President for FY 2020 – 2021.

m/s/c (Schwab-Pomerantz/Andary/Unanimous)

Action: To elect Shokooh Miry as Vice-President and Breanna Zwart as President for FY 2020 – 2021.

m/s/c (Shorter/Andary/Unanimous)

No Public Comment.

6. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT

No Public Comment.

7. ADJOURNMENT

Action: To adjourn                                                            (Roll Call Vote)                          m/s/c (Soo/Shorter/Unanimous)

The meeting was adjourned in the memory of James Fang. Commissioner Julie Soo spoke about the life of Mr. Fang and also spoke on the historical figure Tye Leung Schulze in honor of the centennial of the passing of the 19th Amendment, she was the first Chinese American woman in California to cast a vote in 1912.

Meeting adjourned at 6:43 pm.