12/8/22 Item#3
City Council
Meeting
22-1426 - Action on a Draft
Response to the October 7, 2022
1852 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury
THE MISSION CIT Report, "If You Only Read the Ballot,
You're Being Duped"
December 8, 2022
1 City of
Santa Clara
the Contero hats Possible
Civil Grand Jury Report Summary
• Grand Jury is concerned that voters primarily rely on the language of the ballot measure question itself when
making voting decisions
• Proposes an additional oversight person or body, to be "empowered to review and reject ballot questions wording that is false, misleading, or partial to one side."
2 POST MEETING MATERIAL 1
City of
Santa Clara
The Center of What's Possible
Civil Grand Jury Finding and Recommendations Tor
City of Santa Clara and other local agencies within the County
• 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 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 • 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.
3 City of
Santa Clara
The Center of What's Possible
Summary of City's Proposed Response
• Finding 1: The City disagrees with the finding that the drafting of ballot measures at the local level is unregulated. California Election Code sets forth the procedures for drafting and approving a measure to be placed on the ballot that includes public noticing requirements and a public hearing, which allows for public participation. Furthermore, Elections Code § 9190 allows a voter of the jurisdiction to challenge, any measure for "false, misleading or inconsistent information."
Recommendations 1b, 1c, 1e: City will not be implementing the Recommendations as they are not warranted or reasonable. The County of Santa Clara, including the County Counsel, has no legal jurisdiction over a local agency's ballot measure language. Each local agency is responsible for drafting local ballot measures in compliance with state law. In addition, as a Charter City, the City maintains local control over its conduct of municipal elections. Implementing this third-party review process would constrain the City's independent authority to conduct its municipal elections. 4 2
City of
Santa Clara
the centero whats Possib
Staff Recommendation:
Approve the draft response to the 2022 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury Report "If You Only Read the Ballot, You're Being Duped."
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