HomeMy WebLinkAbout02. Receive overview of Ranked Choice and Approval Voting Election Methods Page 1 of 2
Item 2.
CENTRALSAN
jdf A- hom
CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT
September 14, 2021
TO: HONORABLE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
FROM: EMILYBARNETT, COMMUNICATIONS AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: PHILIP R. LEIBER, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
ROGER S. BAILEY, GENERAL MANAGER
SUBJECT: RECEIVE OVERVIEW OF RANKED CHOICE AND APPROVAL VOTING
ELECTION METHODS
At the June 17, 2021 Board of Directors (Board) meeting, Member Lauritzen requested public education
presentations to review ranked choice voting and approval voting election methods. The Board agreed to
first send these topics to the Administration Committee for discussion. In the interim, staff located subject-
matter experts to provide an informative overview for discussion. Two speakers with expertise in ranked
choice voting and two additional speakers with expertise in approval voting will present the information at
this Special Board meeting for the benefit of the entire Board. A brief biography of the speakers is
included below.
Ranked Choice Votina
Steve Chessin, PhD -Speaker One
Steve Chessin is Co-President of Californians for Electoral Reform (CfER), an organization that has been
educating and advocating on behalf of alternative electoral systems, including ranked choice voting (RCV)
and various forms of proportional representation.
Mr. Chessinjoined CfER when it was founded in 1993. He was elected to the Board in 1995 and has
served as President or Co-President since 1999. He was the prime mover behind Santa Clara County's
successful 1998 charter amendment that allows the county to use RCV (then called instant runoff voting or
I RV) in county elections, once voting equipment was acquired that can handle ranked ballots. He is also
active with the League of Women Voters, and was partially responsible for the California League's
adoption of a position in favor of I RV.
Mr. Chessin has been interested in electoral systems ever since he went to college in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, where they use the proportional form of RCV and the billboards read "Vote Jane Smith#1
for City Council".
September 14, 2021 Special Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 3 of 4
Page 2 of 2
He and his wife reside in Mountain View along with their daughter. In his day job he is a software engineer.
He has a Bachelor's degree in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master's
and Doctoral degree in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley. His hobby is politics.
Corey Cook, PhD - Speaker Two
Corey Cook serves as the Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Planning at Saint Mary's College of
California (SMC). Priorto joining SMC in 2019, he was the founding Dean of the School of Public Service
at Boise State University and served as the Director of the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and
the Common Good at the University of San Francisco (USF). In addition, he has served on the faculty at
the USF and San Francisco State University.
Mr. Cook has published academic articles in the California Journal of Politics and Policy,American Politics
Research, DuBois Journal of Social Science Research on Race, and Presidential Studies Quarterly in
addition to several book chapters. His research focuses on electoral reform, particularly alternative voting
systems, political geography, and multiracial electoral coalitions. Mr. Cook holds Bachelor's degrees in
Political Science and Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of California, Berkeley and Master's
and Doctoral degrees in Political Science and Public Policy from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Approval Voting
Chris Raleigh -Speaker One
Chris is currently serving as the Director of Campaigns and Advocacy for The Center for Election Science.
Chris is a political professional based in Washington, D.C. specializing in campaign management. He manages
approval voting campaigns, supports the efforts of grassroots approval voting organizers, and is building a
nationwide movement for voting method reform. Prior to his role with CES, Chris managed two races for U.S.
Congress in Southwest Florida and the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. He holds a Master of Science in
Applied American Politics and Policy from Florida State University, and a Bachelor's in International Studies
from the University of Florida.
Deb Otis - Speaker Two
Deb Otis is a Senior Research Analyst at FairVote. She is a founding member of Voter Choice
Massachusetts, the campaign to win RCV statewide in Massachusetts, and she joined FairVote to
continue her work advancing electoral reform at the national level. Deb's research focuses on ranked
choice voting, proportional representation, political polarization, representation for women and people of
color, and runoff elections. Deb is a graduate of Boston University with degrees in Economics and
Physics.
September 14, 2021 Special Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 4 of 4