Municipal Information Booklet Chapter 5
November 3, 2026
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The following guidelines are used by the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's Office for counting words on candidate statements, ballot measure text, arguments, rebuttals and other ballot enclosures. The guidelines do not apply to ballot designations for candidates. If the text exceeds the specified 200 or 400 word limit, the author will be asked to delete words or change text until the statement conforms with requirements.
1. PUNCTUATION MARKS are not counted. Symbols such as “&” (and), and “#” (number/pound) are not considered punctuation and each symbol is counted as one (1) word.
2. THE WORDS "I", "a", "the", "and", "an" are counted as individual words.
3. PROPER NOUNS, such as geographical names, and names of persons or things, as one (1) word.
EXAMPLE: “Gus Enwright” = 1 word
“City of Los Angeles” = 1 word
“Dalai Lama” = 1 word
4. ABBREVIATIONS such as acronyms or abbreviations for a word, phrase, or expression are counted as one (1) word.
EXAMPLE: UCLA, PTA, USMC, LAPD, U.S.M.C.
5. HYPHENATED WORDS that appear in any generally available standard reference dictionary published in the U.S. at any time within the last 10 calendar years immediately preceding the election are counted as one (1) word.
EXAMPLE: Attorney-at-law
6. DATES… are counted as one (1) word.
EXAMPLE: July 21, 1983 18 June, 1987 3/18 7/21/89
7. NUMERIC COMBINATIONS are counted as one (1) word.
EXAMPLE: 1973 13 1/2 1971-73 5% 8/3/73 #14
8. MONETARY AMOUNTS consisting of a combination of digits are counted as one (1) word.
EXAMPLE: $1,000.00
MONETARY AMOUNTS consisting of a combination of words and digits are counted as two (2) words.
EXAMPLE: $4 million
9. TELEPHONE/FAX NUMBERS are counted as one (1) word.
EXAMPLE: 1-800-815-2666 1-562-462-2317
10. INTERNET WEB SITES/E-MAIL ADDRESSES are counted as one (1) word.
EXAMPLE: http://www.co.la.ca.us www.lavote.gov http://www.lacounty.Info
WORD COUNTING GUIDELINES
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(Elections Code Chapter 1. General Provisions, § 9)