The COVID-19 pandemic has created a national emergency and exceptional circumstances. The State of California and hundreds of local governments across the state have declared states of emergency, imposed or recommended social distancing, and taken other significant steps to reduce the transmission rates of COVID-19.  
  
State law requires the Presidential General Election to be held on November 3, 2020 and to be conducted using in-person voting at polling locations throughout the county. Twenty-five percent of county voters, approximately 175,000 voters, vote in person, which involves the congregation of people at a single location and the use of shared polling place equipment. Polling locations are staffed by volunteers, the vast majority of whom are seniors, the population most vulnerable to COVID-19. Further, many of the polling locations and volunteers have notified the Elections Office that they will not be available to serve in the 2020 Presidential General Election because of health and safety concerns resulting from the virus.  
  
In-person voting risks undermining social distancing measures imposed by the State Public Health Officer and local public health officials, as well as other aspects of the response to COVID-19 designed to protect public health, safety, and welfare. Many of the available in-person polling sites are not large enough to accommodate mandated social distancing requirements given the number of anticipated in-person voters. It also is generally anticipated that a vaccination for COVID-19 will not be widely available on or before November 3, 2020.  
  
The County has the infrastructure and experience to conduct large vote-by-mail elections under California’s existing vote-by-mail procedures. These resources and procedures can be used to conduct the Presidential General Election in a manner that is accessible, secure, safe, and which will minimize the risks and hazards of in-person voting during the current pandemic. While most voters would vote by mail, this system would preserve a limited amount of in-person voting for those voters who require accommodations that cannot be offered remotely.  
  
Because conducting the election by mail would only increase the volume of vote by mail ballots currently anticipated for the Presidential General Election by 25%, the increase falls within the operational capacity and available resources of the Elections Department. Increased costs will be offset by the savings resulting from the reduced need to recruit, train and pay volunteers, as well as cost savings associated with reduced need to secure and pay for polling locations.  
  
Due to the need for safety precautions and the County’s focus on quelling the COVID-19 pandemic, the statutory deadlines associated with ballot counting, tabulation, and other responsibilities related to the official canvass including certification of the canvass, audits and/or manual tallies of election results, and reporting of the official canvass results, may be difficult to meet. For this reason, an additional seven days to complete the audit and official canvass would provide a reasonable extension to allow these crucial responsibilities to be carefully and fully carried out.  
  
The necessity for this resolution is due to the current lack of state-level consensus on a plan of action for the Presidential General Election on November 3, 2020 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the County requires a prompt and timely decision on the conduct of the election because preparations for the Presidential General Election for November 3, 2020 are currently underway. The County, which funds and administers elections for State and federal offices, is in the best position to assess those measures that will positively affect the success of Presidential General Election in the county. It is, therefore, appropriate for the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors to recommend to the Governor those actions it deems advisable to preserve and protect the right to vote of all Californians, especially the voters of Contra Costa County.

If the November 2020 Presidential Election were to be conducted in the traditional manner, Contra Costa County voters might risk exposure to COVID-19 and other voters might not vote out of fear of contracting the virus.

The following people provided written commentary (attached):

Anonymous; Eric Sanchez; Bakari Kafele; April Lewis; Leslie May; Shannon Jean; Andres Soto; Renee Jean; Juliette Cote.