Almanac. Why my California ballot is soooo large. Part 4 - (part of) The ANSWER

There's no way I'm going to get all I want to say about the ballot size and content issues in this post. Therefore, I hereby declare this a 5-post series!

The the first three blog posts in this series provide significant background for this post. If you did not read them, or if you did and want to review, here are links to each.

https://crdowning-author.blogspot.com/2019/01/almanac-why-my-california-ballot-is.html

https://crdowning-author.blogspot.com/2019/01/almanac-why-my-california-ballot-is_27.html

https://crdowning-author.blogspot.com/2019/02/almanac-why-my-california-ballot-is.html

In the spirit of full disclosure, what you are about to read is tempered in tone and altered in content from what I'd planned before I did the research presented in the first three parts to this series. I did not remove the poison sacks from the snake, but I did milk them before composing this read.

These are the two information pieces produced by the State of California (larger document in the background) and San Diego County. They are snail-mailed to all registered voters. The 76-page booklet on top contains a sample ballot, candidate statements, the full text of all 12 city and county propositions, and arguments for/against each along with analysis by the City Attorney in some cases. The larger document has information only on the 11 state propositions and statements from state-wide candidates who submitted them. It is 96-pages long. FYI, Gavin Newsome was elected Governor. He did not submit a statement.

Let the kinder, gentler rant begin!

California voters were given the charge to determine whether California should implement 11 items AS LAWS. San Diego County voters had the JOB of determining the fate of 12 additional LAWS. 

Below are photos of seven of the 23 measures. I apologize for the quality of the images. They look much better at full-size. Click on an image. It should open in a separate window. You can zoom in from there. That's probably not an option on your smartphone.

How do all these propositions get on the ballot? I have friends in other states who are shocked by the length of my ballot and the responsibility voting on those issues passes from those elected to determine such issues to the populace.

Written Request, Fee, Statement, and Certificate 

Once the proposed initiative measure has been written, the proponent(s) must submit a draft of the proposed initiative measure to the Attorney General with a written request that a circulating title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed initiative measure be prepared. (Elections Code § 9001(a),(d).) At the time of submitting the draft to the Attorney General, the proponent(s) must pay a fee of $2,000. The $2,000 fee is placed in a trust fund in the Office of the State Treasurer and is refunded if the initiative measure qualifies for the ballot within two years after the summary has been issued to the proponent(s). If the proposed initiative measure fails to qualify within that period, the fee is put into the General Fund of the State. (Elections Code § 9001(c).)

Circulation Period 

Proponents are allowed a maximum of 180 days, from the official summary date, to circulate petitions, collect signatures, and file petitions with county election officials. (Elections Code § 9014.) However, the initiative measure must be certified for the ballot at least 131 days before the next general election at which it is to be submitted to the voters. (Elections Code § 9016; Cal. Const., art. II, § 8(c).) As a result, proponent(s) may want to shorten the 180-day circulation period in order to ensure that the proposed initiative measure is certified for the ballot at least 131 days before the next general election. 

Required Number of Signatures 

In order to qualify for the ballot, the initiative petition must be signed by a specified number of registered voters depending on the type of proposed initiative measure submitted. Initiative Statute: Petitions proposing initiative statutes must be signed by registered voters. The number of signatures must be equal to at least 5% of the total votes cast for the office of Governor at the last gubernatorial election. (Cal. Const., art. II, § 8(b); Elections Code § 9035.) The total number of signatures required for initiative statutes is 623,212.

The three paragraphs immediately above this are from the official California website dealing with ballot measure protocol. The full text is much longer. If you are a masochist at some level, here's the link.

In the months leading up to general elections, outside supermarkets and department stores around the state, professional signature gatherers abound. I know there are some who vie for my signature who are proponents of the measure. A healthy percentage, however, are collected by signature gatherers who are paid by the signature.

Here's an informative site about ballot measures and signatures. It's got LOADS of clearly displayed information. 

Ballot measure signature costs, 2018

Twenty-four states have the initiative process (list). Of the 24 states, 18 allow initiatives to propose constitutional amendments and 21 states allow initiatives to propose statutes. http://www.iandrinstitute.org/quick-facts.cfm

This screenshot is from National Conference of State Legislatures. It gives an overview of what is allowed as an initiative and how it ultimately qualifies for the ballot.

So, where are we?

I'm going to do more research. I'm starting here.

Initiatives: True Democracy or Bad Lawmaking?

Here's a hint about my current position. See the first post in this series if you're unsure about that term.

We live in a representative democracy.

The next post in the Almanac series is the final post in the ballot series.

Really.

I promise.

Cross my heart.

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