Registrar had many question about county's election oversight commission
DA Price get news about her expensive ‘private office,’ and offers an endorsement in SD7; Alameda group has RCV aspirations; the county’s eviction tsunami update
COUNTY NEWS
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
—ELECTION COMMISSION—There was no recount of ranked choice voting elections in Oakland and San Leandro. Little accountability was meted out to Alameda County Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis for the screw up last fall that led to an incorrect winner in an Oakland school board race. But there will be an Alameda County Election Commission.
—The Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved the creation of the 13-member commission, of which nine members will be selected by county supervisors (four at-large picks will come from undetermined “impacted communities.”).
—The other four seats will be set aside for the ACLU of Northern California, League of Women Voters, and representatives for disability rights and voting rights organizations.
—The commission will provide oversight of the registrar’s office, create general policies, administration of elections, periodically report to Board of Supervisors, and “approve written plans prior to each election,” along with a post-election assessment, said Supervisor Keith Carson, the author of the plan. Funding for commission will come from the Registrar of Voters office, he added.
—In addition, the Board of Supervisors will have final say on any recommendation made by the commission, Carson said.
—Dupuis, though, appeared in the dark about exactly what type of oversight the commission will hold over his office. “How much authority do you see the commission having over the office,” Dupuis pensively asked Carson.
—“I see them having a fair amount of authority over the office actually,” Carson answered. “A greater amount of authority over your office than currently exists and there are statutory, constitutional, and I guess, legal actions, that you have direct responsibility for and they would be a part of conferring with you around the execution of those.”
—Some supervisors wondered whether the registrar’s office had enough funding to support the commission. “There’s money in his budget to be able to carry it out,” Carson said. “Not just this year, but future years.” Later, Dupuis acknowledged his office could absorb the unknown costs of the commission.
—The Election Commission will be formally created at the Board of Supervisors’ June 6 meeting. Steps for beginning to appoint members to the commission will need to happen quick. The March 2024 primary is just around corner.
MORE INSIDE:
COUNTY NEWS: About that eviction tsunami
DA Price’s office remodel hits a snag
LABOR NEWS: Day 5 of the Oakland teachers strike
Oakland NAACP’s contrarian take on strike
Labor peace at Hayward’s St. Rose Hospital
ELECTION 2024: RCV in Alameda?
DA Price makes SD7 endorsement
