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CITY OF SAN LEANDRO <br />MEMORANDUM <br />Date: February 5, 2009 <br />To: City Council Rules and Communications Committee <br />From: Marian Handa, City Clerk~N~ <br />Subject: UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF RANKED CHOICE VOTING <br />SUMMARY <br />This report provides the Committee with an update on the status of Ranked Choice Voting <br />(RCV), also known as Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). Staff has resumed discussions with the <br />cities of Oakland and Berkeley and the Alameda County Registrar of Voters regarding the <br />possibility of using RCV for the General Municipal Election in 2010. During discussions, it was <br />agreed that the term "ranked choice" better described the voting system than did "instant runoff," <br />and did not lead voters to believe that a winner could be determined instantly. <br />BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS <br />Ranked Choice Voting is a voting method which allows the voter to rank candidates in order of <br />preference, eliminating the need for a separate runoff election. The RCV system, developed by <br />Sequoia Voting Systems (Sequoia) for Alameda County, was submitted in late August 2007 for <br />federal testing and, as of this writing, still has not achieved federal certification. In addition to <br />passing federal testing, any voting system used in California must also undergo testing and <br />achieve certification by the Secretary of State. <br />RCV System Certification for San Leandro's Election <br />In 2008, the City and County of San Francisco received aone-time conditional certification by <br />the Secretary of State of its Sequoia RCV system for its November 2008 election. The Alameda <br />County Registrar of Voters, Dave Macdonald, has offered to seek similar one-time conditional <br />certification of the Sequoia RCV system for Berkeley, Oakland and San Leandro for the 2010 <br />elections, with the presumption that the system will achieve federal and state certification by <br />2012. <br />Cost <br />The contractual cost to develop the RCV system is $350,000, which will likely be assessed to the <br />three cities based on the number of registered voters in each city. If such a formula is used, San <br />Leandro's share of cost would be approximately $45,000. The City should determine whether it <br />prefers to make a single payment, or spread the cost over two-five years, or over two elections, <br />and then enter into an agreement with the County. Additionally, the RCV system requires the <br />