Elections Commission
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City and County of San Francisco
Elections Commission
Approved: January 3, 2007
Minutes of the Meeting at City Hall Room 421
October 4, 2006
1. CALL TO ORDER. President Matthews called the meeting to order at 7:04 pm.
- PRESENT: Commissioners Gerard Gleason, Richard P. Matthews, Jennifer Meek, Michael Mendelson and Deputy City Attorney Ann O’Leary, Director of Elections John Arntz. Commissioner Victor Hwang arrived at 7:05 pm. Commissioner Arnold Townsend arrived at 8:07 pm.
3. Public Comment. Jade Lai said that she hoped the Commission and the Department would be careful in their selection of voting equipment because she was concerned with system failures and security.
Director Arntz reported that he had been in touch with the Secretary of State’s office (SoS) and was advised that the report on RCV (ranked choice voting) in San Francisco was not completed. However, the SoS did indicate that there were no significant issues related to certifying the system at the current time.
The Director gave the following report regarding preparations for the November 7, 2006 election: Voter Information Pamphlets are expected to be in the mail starting October 10 (October 9th is a legal holiday and no mail will go out on that date); precinct ballot deliver will be complete by the week of October 9; absentee ballots will be mailed starting October 10th with 60,000 mailed on that day, 60,000 on October 11th, and the remainder on October 12th; the recruitment of pollworkers is nearly completed; the phone bank began operation last week; and voters in even-numbered districts will begin to receive an RCV mailer developed by the DoE’s Outreach Division.
5. Discussion and possible action on status of current voting system used by the Department of Elections.
Director Arntz gave an update on the status of certification of the entire voting system for Ranked Choice Voting during his report earlier in this meeting
Mr. Steve Dennison, an ES&S (Elections Systems and Software) representative made a presentation regarding the current status of their voting equipment for the November 7, 2006 election.
- (Chairperson Gerard Gleason). The Budget & Oversight of Public Elections Committee met on September 26, 2006. The Committee discussed several agenda items, most of which are forwarded to the meeting tonight, therefore the Committee will report in turn as each of those items comes up.
- Discussion of possible future voting systems in San Francisco after the November 2006 election.
Commissioner Mendelson asked that this item be taken out of order on the agenda and put at the end. President Matthews declined. Commissioner Mendelson appealed the ruling of the chair. A Roll Call Vote was taken. Commissioners: Townsend - No; Mendelson - Yes; Hwang - No; Gleason - No; Meek - No; Matthews - No. The appeal FAILED 5 to 1.
The Budget & Oversight of Public Elections Committee Chairperson, Gerard Gleason reported that the Committee asked that the Deputy City Attorney give an overview of the duties, involvement and restrictions on the Commission in the selection process of a new voting system. The Committee requested that the Department of Elections give a brief overview of the systems under consideration, the funds available for such a system, any relevant deadlines on purchasing a new system or access to funds for sources outside of the City & County of San Francisco.
Deputy City Attorney Ann O’Leary explained that the DoE has $5.4 M in HAVA (Help American Vote Act) Funds, and orally presented her written report that is attached to these minutes.
Public Comment – The Commission allowed for a period of public comment after Deputy City Attorney O'Leary's report. Roger Donaldson questioned the interpretation of Section 301 of HAVA. Mr. Donaldson suggested that Section 301 could be interpreted to mean that only HAVA funds provided after January 1, 2007 need to be used to purchase accessible voting equipment. He suggested that under this interpretation the $5.4 million received by San Francisco could be used after January 1, 2007 so long as there is one accessible voting machine in each polling location. Mr. Donaldson reported that he had discussed this interpretation with staff at the Federal Election Assistance Commission and at the Secretary of State's office.
Commissioner Gerard Gleason, Chairperson of the Budget and Oversight of Public Elections Committee reported the committee’s recommendation regarding holding hearings to receive input and recommendations regarding voting equipment for future elections and the possible use of funds provided under the Help America Vote Act.
Commissioner Mendelson asked to close debate and move the subject of holding hearings to receive input and recommendations regarding voting equipment for future elections to the Budget and Oversight of Public Elections Committee (BOPEC). Commissioner Mendelson wanted a vote regarding whether the hearings should be held by the BOPEC Committee or the full Commission. The President ruled it out of order. Commissioner Mendelson appealed the ruling. A Roll Call Vote was taken. Commissioners: Townsend - Yes; Mendelson - Yes; Hwang - No; Gleason - Yes; Meek - No; Matthews - No. The appeal FAILED 3 to 3.
The Commission decided to await more information regarding the state’s understanding of the HAVA funding and its limitations and deadlines before scheduling any hearings. Deputy City Attorney O’Leary will be making inquires regarding these questions and will inform the Commission and Director of her findings.
Steven Bennett, a Systems Sales Representative for Sequoia Voting Systems, gave a demonstration of both the AVC Edge DRE (direct recording electronic) touch screen voting machine and the Optech Insight precinct paper ballot counter. Mr. Bennett demonstrated how the AVC Edge is HAVA compliant and how the Insight has more functionality than the City’s current precinct ballot counter. In his presentation he said that these systems are certified by the Federal government and the State of California. He also said that both the the Insight and the AVC Edge meet the 2002 Voting Systems Standards. Mr. Bennett explained that this Sequoia system is being developed for Ranked Choice Voting Certification for use in the November 2007 election.
Two representatives of Election Systems & Software, Lou Dedier and Steve Dennison, demonstrated their voting equipment and explained their plans for 2007.
- NEW BUSINESS
(a) Discussion and possible action to approve the Elections Commission minutes for September 6, 2006 and the minutes for the Special Meeting held September 20, 2006. Commissioner Meek MOVED and Commissioner Townsend SECONDED approval of the minutes from these two meetings. A Roll Call Vote was UNANIMOUS to accept the minutes.
(b) Report from the Budget and Oversight of Public Elections Committee and its recommendation regarding the Election Plan for the November 7, 2006 Consolidated Election. (Commissioner Gleason) The Budget & Oversight of Public Elections Committee met on September 26, 2006, reviewed the Election Plan as submitted, recommended some additions that are noted in the minutes from that meeting. The Director of Elections agreed to the additions, and the Director added further comments and improved wording. The Committee recommends the Election Plan to the full Commission for approval, and if Commissioners have no further additions, recommend approval. Commissioner Gleason noted that the Election Plan details the efforts the Department will undertake during pollworker training session to have pollworkers better understand issues of cultural diversity, language differences and needs of people with disabilities. Commissioner Meek SECONDED approval of the plan. A Roll Call Vote was UNANIMOUS.
(c) Report from the Budget and Oversight of Public Elections Committee and its recommendation regarding approval of a Waiver Allowing City Employees to Assist the Department of Elections with the November 7, 2006 Consolidated General Election. (Commissioner Gleason) Chairperson Gerard Gleason reported that the Committee recommends that the waiver be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors by the Commission. He added that the addition of the technical support positions needed and their numbers, for this election the number will be 16, was an informative addition. Commissioner Gleason MOVED and Commissioner Townsend SECONDED approval that the Commission send a request for a Waiver Allowing City Employees to Assist the Department of Elections with the November 7, 2006 Consolidated General Election to the Board of Supervisors. A Roll Call Vote was UNANIMOUS.
(d) Discussion and possible action regarding the U.S. Department of Justice memorandum dated September 12, 2006, pertaining to San Francisco’s compliance with the Voting Rights Act. (Commissioner Matthews) President Matthews asked that this item be carried over to the next meeting. It was agreed to hold this item over.
(e) Discussion and possible action on legislation related to amendments to the Municipal Election Code. Supervisors Fiona Ma and Sean Elsbernd have proposed legislation. Deputy City Attorney Ann O’Leary gave a brief synopsis of the proposed amendments and presented a draft of the changes, as they would affect the current Elections Code. Copies of which are attached to these minutes.
(f) Discussion and possible action on Attendance Policy for the Commission. President Matthews requested that this item be carried over to the next Commission meeting. It was agreed to hold this item over.
- Discussion regarding items for future agendas. Commissioner Townsend suggested a discussion of how to handle a special meeting in which a principal Commissioner is not present, and in which that Commissioner’s concerns should be made available to be shared with attendees. Commissioner Mendelson asked that a date certain be announced for the Annual Report.
- Public Comment. David Pilpel said there needs to be a report of the “scope of work”, or the steps that establish the criteria for the RFP (request for proposal) for voting equipment. Roger Donaldson, Steven Hill and Brett Turner cautioned against rushing to judgment in choosing future voting equipment.
ADJOURNMENT was at 9:40 pm