Registrar must have received a positive performance evaluation

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Alameda County Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis said he’s proud to have implemented youth voting in last fall’s Berkeley and Oakland school board elections.

☕️MORNING BUZZ

—Embattled Alameda County Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis voiced pride in his office’s handling of an unusually busy electoral year at an Alameda County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

Although Dupuis stymied voter-approved youth voting in Berkeley and Oakland school board elections for years, he praised his office’s efforts for implementing its “historic” first-use during last fall’s election.

An effort to better explain ranked choice voting to Oakland special election voters was successful, Dupuis also told the board. The percentage of overvotes, instances when the voters made some type of ballot error, dropped from 2.5 percent in the November election to 0.40 percent in the Oakland special election.

In addition, the installation of floor-to-ceiling windows allowed greater transparency to those observing the vote-counting process, Dupuis said, which meets or exceeds state law, he added.

It should be noted the Board of Supervisors delivered Dupuis’ performance evaluation on Tuesday, according to the board’s closed session agenda.

—Critics of Dupuis’ tenure, however, are still not impressed.

Specific concerns about Dupuis’ handling of the most recent April 15 Oakland special election were highlighted on Tuesday and questioned by some supervisors.

In particular, statements that vote-by-mail ballots received after Election Day were accepted without a postmark.

Alameda County resident Tuan Ngo said he observed on April 17 a stack of ballots from the U.S. Postal Service that arrived at the registrar’s office without postmarks. He does not know if the ballots were officially counted.

In response to a question from Supervisor David Haubert, Dupuis said “We are to err in favor of the voter if the date on the ballot is correct and signed. We’re not making that up. That is the law.”

It’s unknown how many ballots fit this criteria, Dupuis said, adding determining so is not part of his office’s election procedures.

—As for Oakland’s special election, Dupuis told the Board of Supervisors he will certify the results this Friday, May 2. The date is the earliest possible under state law, Dupuis told the board.

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