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County Supervisors to vote on E’ville’s proposed election shift to even years

1 min read

In what is being billed as a Cost-cutting measure AND an attempt to spur voter turnout, The Alameda County Board of Supervisors is slated to vote Tuesday on whether to shift elections to even years. Critiques of the move will point out that it would lengthen the term of all the current elected City Council members from four to five years (UPDATE: The Eye had originally inadvertently reported that this would only apply to Council-Members West and Brinkman). Council Member Jennifer West explains her support for the measure on her personal blog citing that it is her goal “of increasing people’s involvement with decisions that impact them”. West, who originally proposed the shift, pointed out last December that Livermore and Newark were currently the only other cities in the county that still held their council elections in odd years. Since then, both cities have passed measures in favor of moving their elections to even years leaving E’ville as the last city in the county to do so. The change could have been instituted without lengthening these terms, but it would have meant instead reducing some terms to three years and paying for an additional election. There seems to be little opposition to the change and it is expected to pass.

Emeryville wants to change election date to even years

By Angela Woodall Oakland Tribune
The city wants to change the timing of its elections to coincide with the November 2014 general election. Currently the city of 10,214 residents holds elections in odd-numbered years. But if the Alameda County Board of Supervisors approves the change during the regular meeting on Tuesday, Emeryville voters will go to the polls on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years. Newark voted for a similar move recently.
California election laws allow cities to consolidate general municipal elections with statewide general elections if the voting system of the county has the capacity to handle the additional contests. But county board of supervisors must approve the change and assess the financial impact of the change. The move is expected to save the city about $5 per voter because the cost of running an election is distributed across multiple cities, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters Director Tim Dupuis. Each registered voter cost $1.05 during the November 2012 general municipal election, according to Dupuis. The cost per voter in Emeryville’s 2011 municipal general election was $6.02. The board of supervisors meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday on the fifth floor of the Alameda County Administration Building, 1221 Oak St. | Read more on CCTimes.com →


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Rob Arias

is a third generation Californian and East Bay native who lived in Emeryville from 2003 to 2021. Rob founded The E'ville Eye in 2011 after being robbed at gunpoint and lamenting the lack of local news coverage. Rob's "day job" is as a creative professional.

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