2.18 21-0816 Subject: Request The Alameda County Registrar Of Voters Take All Steps Necessary To Implement Measure QQ
From: Vice Mayor Kaplan, President Pro Tem Thao And President Fortunato Bas
Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution Supporting The City Administrator's Request That The Alameda County Registrar Of Voters Take All Steps Necessary To Update The DIMS Election Management System To Allow 16 And 17-Year Olds To Register To Vote And Participate By Ranked Choice Voting In The Elections Of Oakland School Board Directors And That The California Secretary Of State Provide Any Necessary Authorization For The Update In Order To Implement Measure QQ, Which Authorized The Oakland City Council To Adopt An Ordinance Allowing 16 And 17 Year-Olds To Vote For The Office Of School Board Director
I strongly support the swift implementation of measure QQ. Oakland voters approved the measure a year ago in great numbers. These voters are expecting to see 16- and 17-year-old students voting for school board members a year from now, in next November’s election. Let’s show them that their voices do count, and that this ballot initiative will be implemented in a timely manner. Please take all steps necessary to implement Measure QQ in time for our youth to vote next November.
The League of Women Voters of Oakland, along with an overwhelming majority of Oakland voters, supported Measure QQ. We are eager to see it implemented so that Oakland youth can vote for OUSD board members in the November 2022 election. We are disappointed that the City has yet to develop the required ordinance to move implementation forward. We ask that it take aggressive steps to overcome whatever threshold issues may exist, including but not limited to urging the Alameda County Registrar of Voters to update its DIMS, and the CA Secretary of State to allow Oakland’s 16 and 17 year old’s to register through the VoteCal system. We therefore endorse this Resolution as a first step for the City Council to take to allow Oakland to implement Measure QQ according to the wishes of the voters and thereby enfranchise thousands of youth across Oakland. We look forward to expeditious development of a timeline and budget for the implementation of this initiative, which may serve as a model for other jurisdictions.
I strongly support the swift implementation of measure QQ. Oakland voters approved the measure a year ago in great numbers. These voters are expecting to see 16- and 17-year-old students voting for school board members a year from now, in next November’s election. Let’s show them that their voices do count, and that this ballot initiative will be implemented in a timely manner. Please take all steps necessary to implement Measure QQ in time for our youth to vote next November.
The League of Women Voters of Oakland, along with an overwhelming majority of Oakland voters, supported Measure QQ. We are eager to see it implemented so that Oakland youth can vote for OUSD board members in the November 2022 election. We are disappointed that the City has yet to develop the required ordinance to move implementation forward. We ask that it take aggressive steps to overcome whatever threshold issues may exist, including but not limited to urging the Alameda County Registrar of Voters to update its DIMS, and the CA Secretary of State to allow Oakland’s 16 and 17 year old’s to register through the VoteCal system. We therefore endorse this Resolution as a first step for the City Council to take to allow Oakland to implement Measure QQ according to the wishes of the voters and thereby enfranchise thousands of youth across Oakland. We look forward to expeditious development of a timeline and budget for the implementation of this initiative, which may serve as a model for other jurisdictions.