http://www.fairvote.org/op_eds/fulfillthewill.htm<
/A>
View an analysis by the Center
for Voting and Democracy of what a citywide election (i.e. a
citywide December runoff) actually costs San Francisco taxpayers at
http://www.fairvote.org/sf/handcount.htm
Latest Action By
Opponents of Ranked Choice Voting
A lavishly-funded lobbying
group backed by large corporations and big real estate interests has
begun publicly working to block the implementation of RCV. In its
newsletter last week, the lobby group SF-SOS issued a call to
���shelve the plan��� because some are saying that implementing the will
of the voters might be more difficult than initially expected. At
the same time, SF-SOS is blasting city officials for failing to
implement an anti-homelessness measure approved by the voters last
year.
Also leading the opposition efforts is the law firm Remcho,
Johansen and Purcell, long-time associates of Mayor Willie Brown.
Remcho, Johansen and Purcell have created a "front group" called
California Voting Rights Foundation to stand as a plaintiff in case
of a potential lawsuit. Another Brown-associated law firm, Pillsbury
Winthrop, is also assisting the opposition. Pillsbury Winthrop is
one of the largest corporate law firms in the United States, with
800 lawyers and offices all over the world.
Inside the Elections
Commission and Department of Elections
The Dept. of Elections has
begun its recruitment of Poll Workers for the November election. In
a letter dated June 12th to past Poll Workers, the Dept. put out the
call for help this fall and outlined a special one-hour training
course about Ranked Choice Voting which all Poll Workers will be
required to take in addition to the usual training class.
The
Elections Commission held a Public Hearing on June 18th to solicit
input about the Dept. of Elections��� proposed RCV Voter Education
Plan. More than 70 people and representatives of the SF Chapters of
NOW, the Sierra Club, and the League of Women Voters, the Southeast
Asian Community Center, the Richmond Democratic Club, Pride at Work,
District 3 Democratic Club, Democratic Party County Central
Committee, Bernal Heights Democratic Club, Senior Action Network,
Latino Democratic Club, Congress of California Seniors, SF Tenants
Union, SEIU Locals 790 and 250, the SF Labor Council, A. Philip
Randolph Institute, Green Party, CALPIRG, the Northern California
Citizens Project, and the Harvey Milk L/G/B/T Democratic Club spoke
in support of implementing RCV this fall and provided a number of
suggestions to the Commission. Among them were calls to: 1)
prioritize education in communities of color and lower-turnout
precincts 2) spend less than the budgeted $40,000 on a web site and
put more towards community education and 3) keep the voter education
focused on what most voters will want to know: how and why to rank
your choices.
Mark Your
Calendar
IMPORTANT MEETING. On Wednesday,
July 2nd the S.F. Elections Commission will meet to make key
decisions about the implementation of the RCV Public Education Plan.
7:00 pm in Room 400 in S.F. City Hall. All those interested are
encouraged to attend.
SF Election Watch is a
project of the Center for Voting and Democracy For more information
contact Jon Golinger at (415) 531-8585 or or visit www.fairvote.org/sf
