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The City of Oakland holds a Nominating Election in June of even-numbered years. The <br />two candidates with the most votes in each race in the Primary Election participate in a <br />runoff election that November. Since Oakland's election cycle is the same as San <br />Leandro's, the considerations they will need to make with regard to IRV will in many <br />ways be similar. The Oakland City Council has requested to be kept apprised of the <br />status of IRV certification, and is working with its staff to determine its options. <br />The City of Berkeley holds its General Election in November of even-numbered years, <br />and can therefore delay its consideration of whether or not to use IRV for another several <br />months. However, pursuant to its Charter, Berkeley's use of IRV cannot result in higher <br />election costs. This requirement may not be met if Berkeley is the only city poised to use <br />IRV in November 2008. <br />The possibility of counting the IRV election ballots by hand, rather by machine, has been <br />suggested as a possible alternative, since hand counting could be accomplished without <br />the certification of system software and firmware. Staff will provide a future report on <br />the viability of this option. <br />CONCLUSION <br />Staff will continue to update the Committee on the status of IRV certification. At the <br />January 2008 Rules Committee meeting, the Committee can recommend to the City <br />Council to either change the date of the City's General Municipal Election from June to <br />November 2008, or to call the election in June 2008. <br />