December 7, 2009

By Blair Bobier, New America Foundation

California’s Secretary of State gave the green light today for Alameda County to conduct Instant Runoff Voting elections for the November 2010 General Election. This means that two Alameda County cities, Oakland and Berkeley, and possibly a third (San Leandro) will be using IRV next year.

The Secretary of State has the responsibility to investigate and certify the voting equipment used to conduct elections. In a letter dated December 4, 2009, Secretary Bowen’s Deputy for Voting Systems Technology and Policy, Lowell Finley, authorized the use of the Sequoia Voting Systems equipment which will be used to tabulate the IRV ballots.

Activists in the East Bay have been closely monitoring the authorization process and, after questioning the delay in approval, are no doubt pleased and relieved to see the letter from Mr. Finley posted on the Secretary of State’s website. The story is far from over, though, as there is still plenty of work to do. We'll continue to provide periodic updates: stay tuned.