Committee approves extension of Dominion contract citing ranked-choice capability and certification timelines

The Department of Elections recommended a three-year extension of its agreement with Dominion Voting Systems so San Francisco can continue to run ranked-choice elections while the city assesses future systems and certification timelines, the Director of Elections told the Budget and Finance Committee on Nov. 13.

"There is no other system in California that can conduct the ranked choice elections," the Director said, explaining that certification and vendor availability currently limit immediate alternatives. The Director described the extension as a flat three-year term with no cost increases and noted the city could go out to bid in 2017 to implement a replacement if other systems are certified by the Secretary of State.

Supervisors pressed on whether Dominion’s position creates a near-monopoly for ranked-choice capability and whether a shorter extension would be feasible; the Director said certification processes and the time to develop and test ranked-choice functionality likely make a one- or two-year replacement timeline impractical.

Budget analyst Mr. Rose reported the proposed costs: $497,400 per election for election services and $386,300 per year for maintenance and license agreements, totaling about $3,645,900 over the three-year extension, and recommended approving the proposed ordinance. With no public comment, the committee moved the ordinance forward to the full Board without opposition.

Next steps: the ordinance will go to the full Board for final consideration.