Monthly Archives: October 2020

2020 elections, Choose Democracy, Count Every Vote, Coup, Fair elections, Peaceful transition, Protect the Results, US Postal Service, White supremacists

Benicia group calls for vigilance over possible U.S. coup

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2020

CHOOSE DEMOCRACY—NO MATTER WHO YOU VOTE FOR

These are tense times. COVID-19 affects us all, with concerns for health, jobs, and schools. We are anxious as wildfire season expands, threatening lives and homes, making air unbreathable. Long-standing injustices call for redress. And as we approach election day there is more going on than the expectable wrangling among opposing candidates. There is a growing apprehension that not all votes will be counted or that the results of the November 3rd national elections might not be honored.

In this time of uncertainty and discord it is essential that the fundamental basis of our democracy be supported. All Americans—Democrats, Republicans, and Independents—must be prepared to protect and defend the valid results of the Presidential election whether their preferred candidate wins or loses.

Karen Schlumpp, Benicia

Benicia resident Karen Schlumpp took part in a “Choose Democracy” webinar that looked at the signs of a potential coup—an illegal seizure of power—right here in the United States

“Democracy is fragile,” she notes, “and we have reason to worry. We’ve heard the election process discredited; we’ve seen the US Postal Service systematically undermined at a time when more and more voters rely on mail-in ballots; white supremacists militias have been encouraged to ‘watch the polls;’ and the President has repeatedly dodged the question of whether he would accept the results of an election if he loses.”

A Choose Democracy group has formed in Benicia to draw together people committed to the principles that in the national election

    • Every vote must be counted even if it takes days or weeks to get an accurate count from critical states, and
    • The losing candidate must concede, and Congress, the Electoral College, and state officials must honor the accurate, final vote count.

For more information, and to sign the “Choose Democracy” pledge, go to ChooseDemocracyBenicia.org.

2020 elections, California Secretary of State, Fair elections, Solano County Registrar of Voters

What you can and can’t wear to the polls in California, Solano County

Deputy Registrar of Voters John Gardner specifies the rules

Make Racism Wrong Again Political Design" Mask by javierstabile | Redbubble
MAGA masks and Black Lives Matter masks are allowed, but masks with candidate’s names are not allowed.
Vallejo Times Herald, By Katy St. Clair, October 29, 2020 

California’s laws regarding electioneering within 100 feet of a polling place are pretty explicit: No signs or clothing with the name of a candidate, nor his or her likeness or logo.

So why is MAGA “Make America Great Again” attire acceptable?

Deputy Registrar of Voters John Gardner says MAGA is OK because it denotes a political idea, but “Ridin’ With Biden” is forbidden because it specifically denotes a candidate.

“It can’t have a candidate’s name on it,” he said. “But slogans are OK.”

In other words, “Build Back Better” will fly but not “Ridin’ With Biden.”

California’s Secretary of State came to the decision that slogans such as MAGA or Build Back Better are OK, but not all states agree, such as New York, which forbids MAGA merchandise near the polls.

Gardner pointed out that when Barack Obama was running for president, people were allowed to wear “Yes We Can” or “Change we can believe in” apparel.

And in 2016, “I’m With Her” for the Hillary Clinton campaign was fair game, too. Other political speech such as “Black Lives Matter” is also permitted.

However, you can forget “I Like Ike” because election officials don’t want to plant names in the heads of people who might walk into the polls not knowing who they are going to vote for, he said.

California bans what is known as “electioneering” within 100 feet of a voting booth. According to state law that means voters and others can’t make any “visible display or audible dissemination of information that advocates for or against any candidate or measure on the ballot.”

Banned stuff includes, but isn’t limited to, the following:

  • A display of a candidate’s name, likeness, or logo.
  • A display of a ballot measure’s number, title, subject or logo.
  • Buttons, hats, pencils, pens, shirts, signs or stickers containing electioneering information.

Consider some other things you can’t do within 100 feet of a California voting booth:

  • Solicit a vote or talk to a voter about how to mark his or her ballot.
  • Place a sign describing a voters’ qualifications or speak to a voter on the subject of his or her qualifications.
  • Take photos or video of voters entering or exiting a polling place.
  • Circulate an initiative, referendum, recall or nomination petition or any other petition.

More information on what is and is not permitted at polling places can be found by going to the Solano County Registrar of Voters website.

— Ryan Carter of Los Angeles News Group contributed to this story.
2020 elections, Benicia CA, Benicia Police, Fair elections, Vallejo CA, Vallejo Police

Vallejo, Benicia police ready in case of post-election mayhem

Police chief: ‘We hope for peace and civility’

Vallejo Times Herald, By Richard Freedman, October 29, 2020
Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams (Courtesy photo)

The City of Vallejo, in collaboration with the Vallejo police and fire departments, will open their Emergency Operations Center (EOC) as a precautionary measure starting Monday.

This action is being taken in preparation for potential civil unrest directly associated with the Nov. 3 election, according to a news release issued Wednesday.

“While there is no immediate threat of unrest, nor do we have reason to believe there will be a threat in the City of Vallejo or surrounding areas, the City must be prepared to respond to any emergency appropriately. The type of emergency will determine the appropriate response to any crisis,” said communications and public information  Christina Lee in the statement.

The Vallejo Fire Department will increase its staff by an extra battalion chief and an additional fire engine to assist with increased call volume if necessary during the EOC activation. The police department will continue to have its mobile field force (MFF) on standby, prepared to mobilize in the event of social or civil unrest to help calm and disperse crowds, Lee said.

Though “the City recognizes and respects our citizens’ First Amendment Rights to free speech … we ask that anyone who intends to exercise these rights remain mindful that COVID-19 remains a threat, especially as we are entering the cold and flu season, which could place those with a compromised immune system at an increased risk for infection,” Lee said, urging citizens to “continue to wear a mask, especially when gathering where social distancing can be difficult.”

Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams issued a statement Thursday afternoon, stating that “while we hope for peace and civility after the elections; hope is not a strategy, and failure to prepare is preparing to fail. We are planning to have a more visible uniformed presence throughout the elections and the following days.  With our Emergency Operations Center activated, we will work collaboratively with all of our city departments, council members, and county partners to protect and serve our Vallejo community.”

Vallejo Mayor Bob Sampayan said it would be irresponsible to not be ready.

“We want to be prepared just in case there’s going to be civil unrest,” he said late Wednesday. “The extreme right and the extreme left have been saying on social media that they are going to protest the election. We, as a city, need to be prepared for that. We have been the victims of looting and civil unrest in the past and we need to be ready just in case something like that should occur.”

Sampayan said he “absolutely” expects Vallejo agencies to be ready if they are called as mutual aid to surrounding communities.

“I’m confident our police and fire are well prepared for whatever occurs after the election,” Sampayan said.

In Benicia, “Like everyone else, we are watching this election and the days following it closely,” said Irma Widjojo, public information officer for the Benicia Police Dept.

“While we don’t anticipate any issues in our community, we are prepared to have extra staffing available if needed. We are also working cooperatively with other area agencies for any mutual call needs,” Widjojo said.

There is “no special preparations at this time” by the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, spokesman Henry Wofford said. “Everything is normal.”

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

Spike in COVID cases in Solano County on Thursday Oct. 29

[Source: Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard.  For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE.]

With apologies – I was off on Wednesday, and did not capture the fleeting images and data from Solano County’s dashboard on Wednesday, October 28.  I found much of the data elsewhere as you will see below, but my daily reporting on age group hospitalizations cannot be recovered for the 28th.

Thursday, October 29: 106 (!) new cases overnight, no new deaths, no new hospitalizations.  Since the outbreak began: 7,586 cases, 529 hospitalized, 76 deaths.Compare previous report, Wednesday, Oct. 28:Summary

  • Solano County reported 106 new cases overnight, by far the largest single-day increase since last spring.  Total of 7,586 cases since the outbreak started.
  • Deaths – no new deaths reported today.  Total of 76 Solano deaths since the pandemic began.
  • Active cases – Solano reported 101 (!) additional ACTIVE cases today, total of 395.  Note that only 23 of these 395 people are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  Who knows?  To my knowledge, Solano County has offered no reports on contact tracing.
  • Hospitalizations – Solano County reported the number of currently hospitalized persons increased by 3 overnight, total of 24.  Total Hospitalized INCREASED DRAMATICALLY on Tuesday, adding 106 previously unreported hospitalizations!  The numbers remained unchanged today, total of 529 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  For manual calculation of total, see age group stats below.
  • ICU Beds – The County reported a sharp drop in ICU beds available today, down from 41% to 27%.  (Still no information about availability of ventilators.)

Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today that our 7-day average test rate rose today from 5.3% to 6.5%.  Average percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.  The much more stable California 7-day test rate has been on the rise lately, rising today, from 3.2% to 3.3%.  (Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity line graph which also shows daily results.  However, the chart does not display an accurate number of cases for the most recent days, as there is a lag time in receiving test results.  The 7-day curve also lags behind current unknown results.) 

By Age Group

  • Youth 17 and under – 16 new cases since Tuesday, total of 862 cases, representing 11.4% of the 7,586 total cases.  Thankfully, no deaths have ever been reported in Solano County in this age group.  But cases among Solano youth rose steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 11% on August 31 and has plateaued just over 11% since September 30.  Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11.x% may seem low.  The significance is this: 1) youth numbers increased steadily and at a faster rate than the other age groups, and 2) youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact 14 youth have now been hospitalized.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 60 new cases since Tuesday, total of 4,471 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents just under 60% of the total of 7,586 cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups. No new deaths in this young group today, total of 6 deaths.  Some in this group are surely ignoring public health orders, and many are providing essential services among us.  I expect this group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 35 new cases since Tuesday, total of 1,468 cases.  This age group represents over 19% of the 7,586 total cases.  No new deaths in this age group today, a total of 15 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 30 new cases since Tuesday, total of 783, representing 10% of Solano’s 7,586 total cases.  No new deaths in this age group today, total of 55 of our elders who died of COVID.  This group accounts for 55 of the 76 total deaths, or 72%.

City Data

  • Benicia remained steady today, total of 191 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon added 8 new cases today, total of 493 cases.
  • Fairfield added 17 new cases today, total of 2,426 cases.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 59 cases.
  • Suisun City added 4 new cases today, total of 550 cases.
  • Vacaville added 47 new cases today, total of 1,386 cases.
  • Vallejo added 29 new cases today, total of 2,457 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas added 1 new case today, total of 24 cases.

Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate significantly worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  Note that all of this data surely undercounts Latinx Americans, as there is a large group of “Multirace / Others” which likely is composed mostly of Latinx members of our communities.

  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 10% of cases, 11% of hospitalizations, and 20% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 18% of hospitalizations, and 25% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 27% of cases, 28% of hospitalizations, and 17% of deaths.
  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 22% of cases, 25% of hospitalizations and 29% of deaths.

More…

The County’s new and improved Coronavirus Dashboard is full of much more information, too extensive to cover here on a daily basis.  The Benicia Independent will continue to summarize daily and highlight a report or two.  Check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.