Budget could hurt electionsBy Rachel Gordon
Published November 4th 2005 in San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco elections chief John Arntz predicted a smooth day at the
polls Tuesday, even as the system of ranked-choice-voting will be
tested citywide for the first time. But ask him about the election next
June and he's less sanguine.
The reason? Arntz isn't so sure that the Department of Elections has enough money to adequately staff next year's primary election. His department, with an $11 million annual budget, has $2 million more than last year. But that still may not cover the cost of hiring all the temporary workers that will be needed in June.
He now needs to convince the mayor and the supervisors that more funds are warranted.
The last thing Arntz wants is to have his name added to the long list of San Francisco elections directors who had headline-grabbing snafus under their watch, whether they involved delayed vote counts or pieces of ballot boxes found in the bay.
Arntz has managed to avoid major problems since he was appointed three years ago.
Still, he must be keeping his fingers crossed that Tuesday's election goes off without a hitch. The ranked-choice-voting system will be used to select the city assessor and the city treasurer; it won't pertain this time around to the city attorney's race, since incumbent Dennis Herrera is running unopposed.
Under the system, voters rank their top three candidates in each race in order of preference. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote on the initial count, the bottom candidate is dropped from the tabulation and his or her votes are redistributed to second-choice picks. The process continues until one candidate gains a majority to win.
The process was tested -- successfully -- when seven of the Board of Supervisors' 11 slots were on the ballot. This is the first time it will be used for citywide contests.
Once this election is over, Arntz can begin worrying about the next one.
Dogged determination: Despite the possibility that California's new law allowing restrictions on specific breeds of dogs could be overturned, Supervisor Bevan Dufty is moving forward with a hearing Monday on his plan to require that pit bulls in the city be spayed or neutered. His proposal also calls for a prohibition on so-called backyard breeding of pit bulls.
The state law, which allows cities and counties to enact such breed-specific rules, is set to take effect Jan. 1. But opponents have mounted a referendum drive, hoping to overturn it at the ballot. They have until Jan. 5 to collect the signatures of 373,816 registered California voters.
Dufty doesn't seem overly concerned about the referendum campaign and wants to make sure San Francisco has something on the books, ready to go, once the state law kicks in.
Whether his proposal, backed by animal control director Carl Friedman, wins approval by the Board of Supervisors remains to be seen. Dog politics in this town are notoriously vicious.
The reason? Arntz isn't so sure that the Department of Elections has enough money to adequately staff next year's primary election. His department, with an $11 million annual budget, has $2 million more than last year. But that still may not cover the cost of hiring all the temporary workers that will be needed in June.
He now needs to convince the mayor and the supervisors that more funds are warranted.
The last thing Arntz wants is to have his name added to the long list of San Francisco elections directors who had headline-grabbing snafus under their watch, whether they involved delayed vote counts or pieces of ballot boxes found in the bay.
Arntz has managed to avoid major problems since he was appointed three years ago.
Still, he must be keeping his fingers crossed that Tuesday's election goes off without a hitch. The ranked-choice-voting system will be used to select the city assessor and the city treasurer; it won't pertain this time around to the city attorney's race, since incumbent Dennis Herrera is running unopposed.
Under the system, voters rank their top three candidates in each race in order of preference. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote on the initial count, the bottom candidate is dropped from the tabulation and his or her votes are redistributed to second-choice picks. The process continues until one candidate gains a majority to win.
The process was tested -- successfully -- when seven of the Board of Supervisors' 11 slots were on the ballot. This is the first time it will be used for citywide contests.
Once this election is over, Arntz can begin worrying about the next one.
Dogged determination: Despite the possibility that California's new law allowing restrictions on specific breeds of dogs could be overturned, Supervisor Bevan Dufty is moving forward with a hearing Monday on his plan to require that pit bulls in the city be spayed or neutered. His proposal also calls for a prohibition on so-called backyard breeding of pit bulls.
The state law, which allows cities and counties to enact such breed-specific rules, is set to take effect Jan. 1. But opponents have mounted a referendum drive, hoping to overturn it at the ballot. They have until Jan. 5 to collect the signatures of 373,816 registered California voters.
Dufty doesn't seem overly concerned about the referendum campaign and wants to make sure San Francisco has something on the books, ready to go, once the state law kicks in.
Whether his proposal, backed by animal control director Carl Friedman, wins approval by the Board of Supervisors remains to be seen. Dog politics in this town are notoriously vicious.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.