Committee forwards Elections surveillance-technology policy to full Board after presentation

The Rules Committee advanced an ordinance on Oct. 2 that would approve a surveillance-technology policy allowing the Department of Elections to acquire a social-media monitoring dashboard.

Director John Arntz told the committee the department seeks a dashboard to display posts from platforms such as X (Twitter), Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram on a single screen, link social activity to the department’s outreach calendar and improve scheduling and staffing efficiency. Arntz said the department is not selecting a vendor at this hearing; staff tested a trial of Sprout (and listed Hootsuite as an example) but emphasized the stated intent is to track aggregate engagement metrics (hits, responses, number of questions) rather than to collect identifying information about individual users.

Committee members asked about procurement history and product choice; Arntz said the procurement process began in 2022. Telephone public comment from David Pilpel expressed support, calling the request a reasonable use of technology rather than mass surveillance. The committee voted unanimously to send the ordinance to the full Board with a positive recommendation.

The ordinance has proceeded through the city’s surveillance-technology review process and will next appear on the Board calendar for further consideration.