San Diego, CA, RCV Ballot Measures

San Diego, CA, Residents may get a chance this November to Vote on a Ballot Measures that would shift City Elections to Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV), provide Public Funding for Local Candidates, and Change Contracting Laws in favor of Union Labor.

The City Council’s Rules Committee voted 3-2 Wednesday to allow Further Evaluation of those Measures so the Full Council can decide this summer whether they should appear on the November Ballot. A Fourth Proposed Measure, which would provide the City Auditor the ability to Hire Independent Legal Counsel in Controversial Situations, got a Green Light from the Rules Committee. During a five-hour Public Hearing, the Rules Committee Rejected 11 other Proposed Ballot Measures for November. In addition, Two other Proposed Measures were Withdrawn by their Proponents.

The Four Ballot Measures Approved Wednesday will return to the Committee for a Second Debate June 10th. If the Committee Approves them a Second time, the Full Council would have until Aug. 7th to place them on the November Ballot.

RCV, sometimes called “instant runoff” Elections, would allow City Voters to Rank Candidates instead of just casting a Single Vote. Voters would still only choose One Candidate in the Primary, but the Top Four Vote-Getters would Advance to November instead of just the Top Two. In November, Voters would Rank All Four Candidates from 1 to 4, with 1 being their Top Choice.

The Candidate who receives the Fewest No. 1 Votes would be Eliminated from the Race, and any Voters who had Picked that Candidate for their No. 1 Slot would instead have their No. 2 Candidate Counted as their Top Choice. Once the Field is Reduced to Three Candidates, the Next Person with the Fewest No. 1 Votes is Eliminated. The Process Continues with Two Candidates Left and the Candidate with the Most No. 1 Votes is the Winner.

Supporters say RCV would Reduce Political Polarization and Negative Campaigning. Opponents say it would create Confusion. With so many States and Cities using RCV, the Confusion Complaint has been Disproved.

The Ballot Measure that would provide Public Funding for City Elections aims to Reduce the Impact of Campaign Contributions on Local Elections. Supporters say such a System would Encourage more Qualified Candidates to Run for City Office and Reduce the Influence of Corporate Interests and Labor Unions.

The Ballot Measure that would Change City Contracting Policy in Favor of Labor Unions focuses on “project labor agreements,” which are Pro-Union Deals that a previously Approved City Ballot Measure sought to Limit. Supporters of the New Ballot Measure say it would Preserve Millions of Dollars in State Funding for Local Public Works Projects by Loosening Restrictions on when the City can use Project Labor Agreements.

Opponents, including the Local Chapter of the Associated General Contractors, say the City’s Existing System is working well because it allows Union Contractors and Non-Union Contractors to Conduct work for the City. A Dispute over Project Labor Agreements has Stalled Construction of San Diego’s Proposed Water Recycling System. Water is pumped through Microfiltration Membrane Filtration Modules (Tubes) at the Advanced Water Purification Facility in University City at the City of San Diego’s North City Water Reclamation Plant, the First Step to making the Water comparable as Pure Distilled Water in Quality.

The Ballot Measure that would Allow the City Auditor to Hire Outside Legal Counsel aims to Eliminate a Conflict of Interest for City Attorney Mara Elliott, who provides Legal Advice to the Auditor and the City Employees that the Auditor Investigates.

The Committee also Rejected a Measure Proposed by the City’s Chief Financial Officer to Loosen Regulations that he characterized as Redundant.

The other Rejected Measures were proposed by City Residents. Among them was a Proposal by Matt Valenti that aims to Prevent Child Abuse in City-Funded Organizations, and Proposals by Katheryn Rhodes related to Hotel Taxes and Travel Agents.

Six separate Ballot Measures proposed by John Stump got Rejected, covering a Range of Issues including City Budgets, Election Rules, and the San Diego Zoo.

The Two Withdrawn Ballot Measures focused on Swimming Lessons in Mission Bay Park and how the City Schedules Shifts for its Workers.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

Merced County, CA Bailouts from Section 5

The Justice Department announced that it has reached an agreement with Merced County, Calif., that will allow for the county and some 84 political subdivisions in the county that conduct elections to bail out from their status as “covered jurisdictions” under the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act, and thereby exempt these jurisdictions from the preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The agreement is in the form of a consent decree filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and must be approved by the court.

Merced County filed its bailout action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on March 6, 2012. Counsel for the county contacted the attorney general prior to filing the action, indicating that the county was interested in seeking a bailout. The county provided the Justice Department with substantial information, and the department conducted an investigation to determine the county’s eligibility. Based on that investigation, the department is satisfied that the county meets the Voting Rights Act’s requirements for bailout.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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CA's Top-Two Open Primary Still Not Approved

Thanks to Ballot Access news for this Post.

Although it has been more than ten months since California voters passed Proposition 14, the “top-two open primary”, with 53.73% of the vote, the U.S. Justice Department still hasn’t approved the measure. On April 15, the Department of Justice requested more information from California.

Many years ago, the Mississippi legislature passed a bill to establish a top-two system, but the Justice Department never pre-cleared it, so it never went into practice in Mississippi. However, the Justice Department did approve Louisiana’s system in 1975.

California laws must be pre-cleared under Section Five of the Voting Rights Act, because four particular California counties had very lower voter participation many decades ago, when the benchmarks were set for determining which areas are covered by Section Five. The four counties are Monterey, Kings, Yuba and Merced. None of the special elections held under California’s top-two laws have included any part of those counties, but the 2012 election will include them.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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California Voters Pass "Open Primary"

On June 8, California voters enacted Proposition 14, a measure for a "top two open primary".

"All candidates, including independents, are listed on a single ballot. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the runoff."


Joyce Dattner, Chair of IndependentVoice.Org, speaks at the victory press conference for Proposition 14 with Governor Arnold Schwazenegger and Lt. Governor Abel Maldonado. IndependentVoice.Org represents the state's 3.4 million decline to state voters (California's version of independent) and is part of the national independent movement fighting to reform the political process.

CA has used a similar system for its county and municipal elections for nearly 100 years, and Prop. 14 will affect state and congressional elections. The only other states with such a system are Washington and Louisiana. Washington first used it for its state and congressional elections in 2008, and Louisiana has used its "open primary" for state and local elections since 1975.

A comparable ballot measure, Proposition 62, lost in California in 2004, despite Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's support. Spearheading Prop. 14, the governor raised more than $4.5 million for it, enabling backers to outspend opponents 20 to 1. All six of California's registered political parties opposed Prop. 14.

There will definitely be federal litigation against Prop. 14, which could be unconstitutional for congressional elections. A line of rulings from the U. S. Supreme Court has established that any candidate who has met a prior vote test of five percent is entitled to be on the November ballot for Congress. Prop. 14, however, sets a threshold of 25 percent for a candidate to be on the November ballot.

There is a trial that Washington state's "top two" is facing in U. S. District court in November and will also be subjected to litigation in the 9th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Independents supported this from all over the country with donations and phone banks.

Use the above link for more information about the Open Primary win.

Michael H. Drucker
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CA Rep Party Wants to Exclude Independent Voters from Primaries

The California Republican Party holds a statewide meeting in Riverside County, September 25-27. The meeting will consider a change that has been rejected by the party repeatedly during the last decade. The proposed rule change would say that independent voters could no longer vote in the party's non-presidential primaries for public office.

If the party votes for this exclusionary change, it might be required to seek the approval of the U.S. Justice Department. California is partially covered under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, because Monterey, Kings, Merced and Yuba Counties are covered.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in (Lopez v Monterey County, 525 US 266 - 1999) that a state that is partially covered by section 5 is, in effect, wholly covered.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in (Morse v Republican Party of Virginia, 517 US 186 - 1994) that section 5 of the Voting Rights Act covers political party rules changes, when that rules change affects who can vote in a party nomination procedure.

Update
On September 11, Jon Fleischman, a vice-chair of the California Republican Party, announced that he has withdrawn his agenda item from the upcoming state party meeting, that would have barred independent voters from voting in Republican Party primaries (for all public office except President). Fleishman had been trying to pass his idea for the last several years, without success. Thanks to Ballot Access News and Steve Rankin for this update.

Michael H. Drucker
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