City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: June 14, 2022
Agenda Item: 8.A
1 of 4
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Denise Anderson Warren, City Clerk, Records and Election Services Department
Subject: Adoption of Resolutions related to the General Municipal Election to be held on November 8, 2022
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that City Council adopt two resolutions to:
1. Call for a General Municipal Election to be held on November 8, 2022; and
2. Request that the Municipal Election be consolidated with the Los Angeles (LA) County Statewide General Election and request services from the LA County Registrar-Recorder for the General Municipal Election.
Executive Summary
Santa Monica’s next General Municipal Election will be held November 8, 2022. In preparation for this election, staff asks Council to adopt two resolutions. The first resolution calls for the election to be held, and the second authorizes and requests that the election be consolidated with the LA County Statewide General Election and requests County election services.
Discussion
Section 1400 of the City Charter provides that General Municipal Elections for the filling of elective office shall be held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of November of each even numbered year. The City of Santa Monica has been consolidating municipal elections and obtaining services from the LA County RegistrarRecorder/County Clerk since the mid 1980’s. As a result, it is necessary to adopt 2 of 4
resolutions calling the election and requesting consolidation with the Statewide General election and election services from the LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
Resolutions Calling Election and Requesting Consolidation and Election Services The first resolution (Attachment A) calls for the General Election and gives notice that three City Council seats, three Rent Control Board seats, four Santa Monica-Malibu School District Board of Education seats, and four Santa Monica Community College District Board of Trustees seats are to be filled at the November 8, 2022, General Municipal Election. For this election, there is no local emergency order suspending Santa Monica Municipal Code (SMMC) 11.04.010 so the requirement to qualify for the ballot reverts to gathering signatures from no less than 100 registered voters in the office’s jurisdiction. If City staff have potential revenue measures or charter amendments to present for the ballot, they will return with them at a later meeting.
At the time this report was written, no initiatives have qualified to be placed on the ballot. However, staff is aware of an initiative being circulated to establish added funding for homelessness prevention, affordable housing, and schools by amending the Santa Monica Municipal Code (SMMC) Chapter 6.96 to provide a third-tier transfer tax rate for property transfers of $8,000,000 or more with an 11-member resident oversight committee. Should the initiative qualify, staff will return with a staff report and resolution at the next available regular meeting. All initiatives and City-sponsored ballot measures must be submitted to the County by August 12, 2022.
The second resolution (Attachment B) requests that the LA County Board of Supervisors approve the consolidation of the City’s General Municipal Election with the statewide General Election to be held on the same date, and that the statewide General Election and General Municipal Election be held in all respects as if there were one election. The resolution also requests that the LA County Board of Supervisors direct the LA County Registrar-Record/County Clerk to provide all necessary election services, to the extent determined necessary by the Santa Monica City Clerk/Elections Official, to prepare, print, translate and mail sample ballots and polling place information to the registered voters of the City.
3 of 4
Elections and COVID-19
City Clerk staff will return with an in-person Candidate Workshop on the first day of the Nomination Period on July 18, 2022 and make a recording available to potential candidates who are unable to attend in-person. Staff will schedule appointments with candidates to issue nomination papers during business hours and accept Nomination Forms and Petitions by appointment before the 5:00 p.m. August 7, 2020, deadline.
The office will host a Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) workshop for Candidates/Treasurers in August (date to the determined) and will work with the FPPC to offer this as a webinar if a local workshop is not possible.
The notice of the election will be published in the local newspapers and mailed to neighborhood groups and interested entities. All election information will be available on www.santamonica.gov, and the election will be promoted in the Seascape newsletter, the City’s social media sites and the local newspapers. Staff will resume with in-person voter registration efforts, including on September 20, 2022, National Voter Registration Day, and prior to the October 24, 2022, voter registration deadline.
Because COVID-19 is still a concern, all LA County Vote Centers will follow current public health and safety guidelines and strongly encourage voters to wear a face mask.
Additionally, the City’s four Vote-By-Mail Drop Boxes by the Main Library, Montana Library, Virginia Avenue Park and Marine Park will also be available for the election.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Funding for the election costs are included in the FY 2022-23 Proposed Budget, pending Council budget adoption. Also included in the proposed budget is the reimbursement revenue for election costs related to non-City agencies. 4 of 4
Prepared By: Maria Dacanay, Administrative Analyst
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Proposed Resolution Calling the Election
B. Proposed Resolution for Election Services