MORE FALLOUT FROM the Florida elections debacle: The new instant-runoff voting system won't be in place in time for the supervisorial elections this fall. Passed by voters as Proposition A in March 2001, San Francisco's IRV program will be the largest of its type in the nation, once it's up and running. But that could take another year, and it's not just because elections officials are busy dealing with the highly politicized employment scuffle between deposed elections director Tammy Haygood and the Elections Commission – though insiders say that's played at least a small role.

The city's consultant on the project is Elections Systems and Software, one of the few major companies in the nation that develop electronic voting programs. And following the Florida election scandals, ES&S – along with most other consultants in the field – is busy bidding to bring Sunshine State elections up to code. That puts less-lucrative projects like the local IRV effort on the back burner, according to Steven Hill of the Center for Voting and Democracy. Hill ran the Prop. A campaign and is working closely with the Department of Elections to apply the initiative. ES&S could not be reached for comment by press time.

When it's finally ready, which by law it must be by November 2003, IRV will overhaul the city's winner-take-all voting system. Voters will select candidates in order of preference; if there is no clear winner, candidates will be automatically eliminated based on those preferences until a winner emerges – so there's no need to come out for a second election day. IRV systems are already in place in London, Cambridge, Mass., and Ireland.

Adding to the delay: any new voting system has to be certified by the California secretary of state. That can take up to a year, according to acting elections director John Arnz. "Basically it's a new concept in voting in America," he said. "IRV presented a challenge that our equipment cannot handle, so we have to think about how to change the software or the hardware to implement it." Options on the table include switching over to touch-screen voting, which works like an ATM cash machine. (Rachel Brahinsky)

City Hall cannabis club: San Francisco voters will have a chance to snub federal drug policy this November. Bolstered by last week's state Supreme Court ruling in favor of medical marijuana use, Sup. Mark Leno placed a measure on the ballot July 23 that, if passed, would tell the supervisors to consider launching a city program to grow and distribute medical cannabis. Sups. Tom Ammiano, Matt Gonzalez, and Sophie Maxwell cosigned the measure, giving Leno the three additional signatures needed to file it with the Department of Elections.

The voter-approved Compassionate Use Act, known as Proposition 215, legalized use of the drug in California in 1996 for people with a demonstrated medical need. But that has not stopped the federal government from going after sellers. A city-sponsored program would directly challenge the feds' enforcement policy and could set San Francisco up for a standoff.

The supes have already approached City Attorney Dennis Herrera about the legal implications of the proposal. Herrera's office declined to comment, but Allen St. Pierre, director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Foundation, said he does not envision a DEA raid on City Hall. "The federal government realizes that it doesn't enjoy public support, especially in California, for its drug policy," he said.