COUNTY INITIATIVE?
A Guide to Placing a County Initiative on the Ballot
PREPARED BY THE SANTA CRUZ COUNTY ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT
701 OCEAN ST., ROOM 210
SANTA CRUZ, CA 95060
831-454-2060
831-454-2445 (FAX)
www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us
September 1999
The following provides an example of the amount of time and deadlines associated with proposing a county initiative. E = Election Day, followed by the number of days prior to or following the election day when the various steps should be taken. Law mandates some deadlines; others are suggested time frames in order to provide the maximum amount of time to circulate petitions. All codes refer to the Elections Code unless otherwise stated.
E-342 |
County Clerk receives Notice of Intent (includes name/s of proponent/s, written text of the initiative and a request that a ballot title and summary be prepared). (§9103, 9104) |
E- 342 |
County Clerk delivers Notice of Intent to County Counsel. (§9105a) |
E-327 |
Within 15 days, County Counsel delivers Title and Summary to County Clerk who then delivers the Title and Summary to Proponents (§9105a) Proponents shall, prior to circulation of the petition, publish the Notice of Intent with Title and Summary and file proof of publication with the clerk. (§9105b) |
E-148 |
Proponents submit petition with signatures within 180 days after proponents receive Title and Summary from County Clerk. (§9110) |
E-105 |
County Clerk certifies results to Board of Supervisors within 30 days of receipt of petition - excluding Saturdays, Sundays & holidays. (§9114, 9115) |
E-98 |
Last day Board can consolidate a measure with a regular election. While §10403 says E-88, we need more time in order to meet our printing schedule. |
E-96 |
Clerk to publish once the deadline for submitting arguments. (§9163 & Gov. Code §6061) |
E-88 |
Last day to submit direct arguments. (§9163) Last day for Board of Supervisors to direct County Auditor to write an analysis of a county measure. (§9160) |
E-78 |
Last day to submit rebuttal arguments. (§9167) Last day for County Counsel (and County Auditor, if previously directed) to submit impartial analysis. (§9160) |
E-77 to E-68 |
10-day public inspection of arguments/analyses. (§9190) |
E-67 |
Finalize materials for printer. |
E-40 to E-21 |
Mailing of sample ballots. (§13303, 13304) |
E-36 |
Receive materials from printer (suggested date) |
E-29 |
Close of Registration / Absentee period begins. (§2102, 2107, 3001, 3003). |
E-7 |
Last day to request an absentee ballot by mail. (§3001) |
E |
ELECTION DAY |
E+1 to E+28 |
Official Canvass |
Notice of Intention |
File Notice of Intention with County Clerk with names and business or residence addresses of at least one but not more than five proponents. Includes written text of initiative and a request that a ballot title and summary be prepared. Proponents must pay a fee not to exceed $200 to be refunded if, within one year of the date of filing the Notice of Intention, the clerk certifies the sufficiency of the petition. (§9103) The Notice of Intention may contain a statement not exceeding 500 words, stating the reasons for the petition. (§9104) |
Title & Summary |
The county clerk immediately transmits a copy of any proposed measure to county counsel. County counsel prepares a ballot tittle and summary not exceeding 500 words. §9105 (a) The county clerk furnishes a copy of the ballot title and summary to the proponents. §9105 (b) |
Appeal |
The proponent may seek a writ of mandate requiring the ballot title or summary to be amended. §9106 |
Publication |
Publish Notice of Intention and the ballot title and summary in a newspaper of general circulation. §9105 (b) |
File Proof |
File proof of publication with the county clerk. §9105 (b) |
Circulation |
Proponents may begin to circulate the petitions for voter signatures after publication of the title and summary. Each section of the petition shall include a copy of the Notice of Intention, ballot title and summary. §9108 Proponents have 180 days from the receipt of the Title and Summary to circulate the petitions (§9110) |
Reports Ordered |
During the circulation of the petition, the Board of Supervisors may refer the proposed initiative to any county agency for a report. The report shall be presented to the Board no later than 30 days after the county clerk certifies the sufficiency of the petition. §9111 |
Signature Requirement |
If proponents collect: § 10% of the entire vote cast in the county for Governor in the last election -- then the Board of Supervisors shall either 1) pass the ordinance without alteration; or 2) place the measure on the ballot at the next statewide election (March and November of even-numbered years) occurring not less than 88 days after the date of the order. §9118§ 20% of the entire vote cast in the county for Governor in the last election -- then the Board shall either 1) pass the ordinance without alteration; 2) call a special election within 88 and 103 days (if a regular election will be held within 180 days, the measure may be consolidated with that regular election: April, March and November of even-numbered years or March, June and November of odd-numbered years. §9117); or 3) order a report pursuant to §9111 and once the report is presented, the Board shall either adopt the ordinance within 10 days or order an election. §9116 |
| Verification of Signatures | Within 30 days from the date of filing of the petition, excluding weekends and holidays, shall verify signatures. If the petition is found insufficient, no action shall be taken. If the petition is found to be sufficient, the county clerk shall certify the results to the Board of Supervisors at the next regular meeting. §9115 |
| Enactment of Ordinance | Ordinances are passed with a majority vote of the voters and shall be considered adopted upon the date the vote is declared by the Board of Supervisors. The ordinance shall go into effect 10 days after that date. §9122 |
FIRST |
Obtain a copy of
Information Manual D - Campaign Provisions of the Political Reform Act - from the County
Clerk.
|
SECOND |
File a 410 - Statement
of Organization - with the County Clerk Any person who receives contributions totaling $1,000 or more within a calendar year, qualifies as a recipient committee and - within 10 days of qualifying - must file a Form 410 with the Secretary of State and the county. A Form 410 may be filed prior to qualifying. Upon receipt of the 410, the Secretary of State will issue an identification number, which must be included on all campaign disclosure forms.
|
THIRD |
Be prepared to file 460 (long form) or 450 (short form) Pre-Election Statements and Semi-Annual statements. These reports detailing your committee's contributions and expenditures are filed at specified times prior to and following the election. There are also various special reports that must be filed to amend forms or to provide supplemental information. Know the deadlines and the type of forms you must file. Elections Department staff will provide you with a calendar. For technical advice on completing the forms, call the Fair Political Practices Commission at 916-322-5660 / FAX: 916-322-0886 or visit their website at www.fppc.ca.gov/fppc/ |
FOURTH |
File a Form 410 to terminate the committee upon completion of your initiative efforts. |
IF THE INITIATIVE GOES TO ELECTION
CALENDAR
The Elections Department will develop a calendar for the election, including dates when arguments, rebuttals, and campaign statements need to be filed.
ARGUMENTS, ETC.
Obtain a copy of the "Guide to Writing Arguments, Rebuttals, and Analyses for County Measures," prepared by the Santa Cruz County Elections Department. This guide provides deadlines and outlines procedures for filing arguments, rebuttals, and analyses for county measures.
Article 3 (commencing with §9160) shall govern the procedures for submitting arguments for county initiatives. §9120
CONFLICTING MEASURES
If the provisions of two or more ordinances adopted at the same election conflict, the ordinance receiving the highest number of affirmative votes shall control. §9123
ENACTING CLAUSE
The enacting clause of an ordinance submitted to the voters of a county shall be substantially in the following form:
"The people of the County of Santa Cruz ordain as follows." §9124
ASSIGNING A LETTER
Letters designating measures will be assigned by the elections official pursuant to Elections Code §13116. Measures will be assigned in alphabetical order beginning with the letter following the last letter assigned in the previous election and continuing through Z, or as close to the end of the alphabet as possible to accommodate all measures filed for the current election. For example, if the previous election ended with measure V, and five measures are on the next ballot, the measures will be assigned A, B, C, D, E rather than W, X, Y, Z, A.
For districts that overlap into other counties, the counties will mutually agree to use a letter designation for the measure that will not conflict or confuse the voter.
Measures will appear on the ballot in the following order: Schools, County, Cities, Districts. §13109
BOARD ACTION
The Board of Supervisors will adopt a resolution calling the election and consolidating it with other elections being conducted in the same jurisdiction on the same day. §10400, 10401
The resolution will include the 75-word ballot question that is printed on the ballot.
BALLOT QUESTION
The statement of all measures submitted to the voters shall be abbreviated on the ballot. The statement shall contain not more than 75 words of each measure to be voted on, followed by the words,"Yes" and "No" §13247
FORM OF BALLOT QUESTION
The ballots used when voting upon a proposed county, city or district ordinance as an initiative measure shall have printed on them the words "Shall the ordinance (stating the nature thereof) be adopted?" Opposite the statement of the ordinance to be voted on, and to its right, the words "Yes" and "No" shall be printed on separate lines, with voting squares. A yes vote is in favor of the adoption of the ordinance; a no vote shall be counted against its adoption. §13119
ANALYSES
The county counsel shall prepare a 500-word or less impartial analysis of the measure showing the effect of the measure on the existing law and the operation of the measure.
The county auditor may prepare a fiscal analysis of the affect on county revenues or expenditures. §9160
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