CITY COUNCIL Staff Report
Meeting: December 20, 2022
Subject
Consider approval of response to 2022 Civil Grand Jury of Santa Clara County Report Entitled, “If You Only Read the Ballot, You’re Being Duped” Recommended Action
Approve the response to the 2022 Civil Grand Jury of Santa Clara County Report Entitled, “If You Only Read the Ballot, You’re Being Duped” Background
On October 7, 2022, the 2021-2022 Civil Grand Jury of Santa Clara County released a report on the clarity of ballot measure questions. The Grand Jury Report proposes that an oversight person or body be empowered to review and reject the wording of ballot questions if deemed to be false, misleading, or partial to one side. Pursuant to Penal Code sections 933 and 933.05, the Grand Jury requested a response from the City of Cupertino and other jurisdictions that may place measures on the ballot. Specifically, the City of Cupertino and 22 other governing bodies were asked to respond to finding #1 of the report and report recommendations 1b, 1c, and 1e. Penal Code section 933(c) requires the City Council to provide a response within 90 days, by no later than January 5, 2023.
The Grand Jury final report is included as Exhibit A.
Discussion
The Grand Jury investigated how ballot measures are summarized to voters and includes one finding and six recommendations:
Finding #1:
The Civil Grand Jury finds that in the current environment, which is unregulated at the local level, it is easy for the author of a ballot measure question to write the question in a way that is confusing or misleading to voters.
Recommendation 1a:
The Board of Supervisors should ask the County Counsel to review all ballot questions submitted to it pursuant to Recommendation 1b.
Recommendation 1b:
Governing entities within Santa Clara County should voluntarily submit their ballot questions to the County Counsel for review prior to submission to the Registrar of Voters, unless and until Recommendation 1d is implemented.
Recommendation 1c:
Governing entities within Santa Clara County should, by March 31, 2023, adopt their own resolution or ordinance to require submission of their ballot questions to the County Counsel for review prior to submission to the Registrar of Voters, unless and until Recommendations 1d and 1e are implemented.
Recommendation 1d:
The County should create an independent, citizen-led oversight commission like the recommended Good Governance in Ballots Commission as described in the “Solutions” section of this report. The Commission should be implemented by August 1, 2024.
Recommendation 1e:
Governing entities within Santa Clara County should submit their ballot questions for review by the Good Governance in Ballots Commission pursuant to Recommendation 1d.
Recommendation 1f:
The County should, by March 31, 2023, take appropriate action to request that the state legislature consider amending current law to require the County Counsel to review and approve local ballot measure questions before they are voted on.
The Grand Jury Report requests that the City of Cupertino respond to Recommendations 1b, 1c, and 1e only. A draft response letter for the City Council to consider is included as Attachment B. The proposed response disagrees with Recommendations 1b and 1c because the recommendations appear to misunderstand the relationship between the City and the County Counsel’s Office. In addition, as indicated in the proposed response, Recommendation 1e is not applicable because it would require changes in state law that are outside the jurisdiction of the City of Cupertino.
If approved by the City Council, the response letter will be submitted to the Presiding Judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court before the response deadline.
Sustainability Impact
No sustainability impact.
Fiscal Impact
No fiscal impact.
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Prepared by: Kirsten Squarcia, City Clerk
Approved for Submission by: Pamela Wu, City Manager
Attachments:
A - Civil Grand Jury of Santa Clara County Report
B – Draft Response Letter to Civil Grand Jury of Santa Clara County 2 2