Committee forwards Secretary of State voting-system grant to full board; budget shortfall for universal mail ballots not yet funded

The Budget and Finance Committee on May 13 forwarded a resolution that would retroactively authorize the Department of Elections to accept and expend up to about $1.95 million in funds allocated by the California Secretary of State for voting-system replacement and election-management system work.

John Arntz, director of the Department of Elections, told the committee the funds include roughly $1.5 million for voting equipment and about $400,000 for election management systems and that the grant provides 75% reimbursement for eligible purchases made through June 30, 2022. "The grant funds can only be used for the purposes specified in the grant and cannot be used to extend mail in ballots," Arntz said on the record.

The Budget and Legislative Analyst reported a similar figure in the legislative file (the BLA listed up to $1,949,859.50) and summarized the city's existing lease with Dominion Voting Systems, noting the city entered a Dominion contract that runs through March 2023 and that reimbursement for a new system requires Secretary of State certification by July 1, 2023.

Chair Sandra Lee Feuer asked whether the city currently had sufficient general-fund resources to provide mail-in ballots to all registered voters as required by local ordinance 24,100; Arntz said the current budget does not include that cost and the expense would need to be included in the next fiscal year’s budget.

The committee voted 3–0 (Walton, Mandelmann, Feuer) to forward the resolution to the full Board of Supervisors for final action on May 19.