New Voting System for Several Cities
OAKLAND, Calif. (KCBS) _ Voters in San Leandro, Berkeley and Oakland will now be able to rank their first, second and third choices when they head to the polls.
The ranked choice voting system goes into effect in November, meaning there won't be a primary for local offices.
"Even though we just had a June primary, it didn't include any candidates for those three cities," said Dave Macdonald with the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. "They've eliminated their primary and now they've combined essentially their primary and runoff election into one election."
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Macdonald said that Oakland, Berkeley and San Leandro are joining San Francisco as the only cities in the state to use ranked choice voting, but there could be more.
"There's other cities and counties that have talked about it and I think they're on the sidelines watching how things go in Alameda County to see if they want to pursue it down the road," said Macdonald.
The system will not be used in voting for state or federal offices.
