Berkeley

1414 University Avenue, Suite D, Berkeley, CA 94702
(510) 843-8824 Fax (510) 843-8828 Email us

Alameda County Board of Supervisors
1221 Oak Street, 5th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612

Dear Members of the Board of Supervisors:

In order to fully prepare the County for the 2006 elections, the County Council of the seven Leagues of Women Voters in Alameda County recommends that the Board of Supervisors:

• Direct staff to prepare a report of the costs, timeline and legal and practical requirements needed to implement Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) for the City of Berkeley and other jurisdictions.
• If found to be economically feasible, direct the Registrar of Voters to enter into plans with the vendor of election equipment, Diebold, to make the necessary modifications to programs and equipment needed for IRV, and to secure certification for same in time for their use in the 2006 elections.
• As the Alameda County Leagues are closely following this issue, we would like to be included in upcoming meetings on the subject between the City Clerks and the County Registrar. Sherry Smith or Nancy Bickel may be contacted to be advised of the time and date of these meetings as indicated in the final paragraph below.

Background/Discussion:

The 2002 RFP response from Global Election Systems (now Diebold), which was the basis for the granting of the current contract, contained a statement that “The AccuVote-TS can easily be programmed for preferential voting. . .” League members from your districts and experts on IRV met with each of you or your staff last spring to discuss IRV and understood that all the members of the Board were willing to assist the City of Berkeley in its efforts to implement IRV.

Seventy-two percent of the voters of the City of Berkeley voted for IRV on March 2, 2004. San Leandro and Oakland have adopted measures that would permit use of IRV for some elections.

The League of Women Voters of California, and the seven local Leagues in Alameda County support IRV as a method of ensuring that a majority, rather than a plurality, of voters, elects public officials. IRV has the potential to improve the democratic process and save cities and the County the cost and time to run separate runoff elections.

Summary:

It is critical that work begin now to secure IRV can take place in 2006. To this end, the Alameda County Council of the Leagues of Women Voters asks your Board to implement the recommendations, above.

If you have questions or need for clarification of our recommendation, please contact: Sherry Smith, President, League of Women Voters of Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville at js1589@berkeley.edu or 510-843-8824 and Nancy Bickel at nkbickel@locrian.com.

Sincerely,

/s/ Lena Tam, Chair
Alameda County Council of the Leagues of Women Voters

Nancy Bickel
1033 Colusa Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94707 510-526-4055