El Cerrito Ballot Measures

Disclaimer: The information provided below is an overview of requirements. Individuals participating in related election activities are responsible for ensuring they meet the requirements of California Government Code, California Elections Code, and any other applicable statutory requirement. The City Clerk cannot render legal, accounting or other professional election advice or services.

Measures qualify for the ballot in a variety of ways pursuant to California Elections Code Division 9, Chapter 3. Qualified measures are published in the Voter Information Guide and mailed to registered voters in the city who are eligible to vote. Information provided in the guide includes the following components, listed in the order in which they appear:

Measure Wording – appears on the official ballot and in the Voter Information Guide and is limited to 75 words.
Impartial Analysis – prepared by the city attorney, shows the effect the measure will have on existing law and the operation of the measure, includes a statement indicating whether the measure was placed on the ballot by a petition signed by the requisite number of voters or by the governing body of the City. Limited to 500 words.
Fiscal Analysis or Tax Rate Statement (if applicable) – supplied for each bond measure which constitutes a lien on a property within the jurisdiction. There is no word limit.
Argument In Favor and Argument Against – may be authored by the legislative body (i.e. City Council), any individual voter who is eligible to vote on the measure, a bona fide association of citizens, or any combination of these voters and associations. Limited to 300 words.
Rebuttal to Argument In Favor and Rebuttal to Argument Against – a rebuttal is a statement which refutes an Argument in Favor or Against a measure. The author, or a majority of the authors of the selected primary arguments may prepare and submit a Rebuttal Argument or may authorize in writing another person or persons to prepare, submit, or sign the Rebuttal Argument. Limited to 250 words.
Full Text (optional) – The full text of the measure being voted upon, may be published at the discretion of the legislative body, to provide voters more information than the 75 word ballot measure question which appears on the Official Ballot. There is no word limit.

If a Measure is Withdrawn

A legislative body may amend or withdraw its measure by filing a resolution stating the specifics concerning the amendment or withdrawal not later than 83 days before an election (E-83). An initiative or referendum measure may be withdrawn by filing a “Notice of Withdrawal” signed by all proponents. If a measure is withdrawn after the letters have been assigned (E-82), the letter which was assigned to that measure will not be used by other measures in that election.

Who Can Submit Measure Arguments?

The legislative body (i.e. City Council), any individual voter who is eligible to vote on the measure, a bona fide association of citizens, or any combination of these voters and associations may file a written Argument In Favor or Against any measure placed on the ballot by the governing body or by initiative.

What is a Bona Fide Association of Citizens?

The Contra Costa County Elections Office defines a bona fide association of citizens as a recognized group of citizens bound together by a common interest or cause such as a group or organization primarily formed as a ballot measure committee to support or oppose a measure, or an organization that meets on a regular basis. The individuals signing an argument on behalf of a bona fide association do not have to be registered voters in the jurisdiction.

In order to enable the City Clerk to determine whether a bona fide association of citizens meets this definition, when submitting an Argument, the bona fide association of citizens, pursuant to Elections Code § 9287, shall submit with the argument a copy of one of the following:

Its articles of incorporation, articles of association, partnership documents, bylaws, or similar documents.
Letterhead containing the name of the organization and its principal officers.
If the organization or association is a primarily formed committee established to support or oppose the measure, its statement of organization filed pursuant to Section 84101 of the Government Code.

If More Than One Argument in Favor or Against is Filed

Only one Argument In Favor and one Argument Against any measure will be printed in the Voter Information Guide. If more than one Argument In Favor or more than one Argument Against any measure is filed, a single argument will be selected by the City Clerk.

In selecting a single argument, the City Clerk gives preference and priority to arguments pursuant to Elections Code § 9287 in the following order:

The City Council, or member or members of the Council, authorized by the City Council.
The individual voter, or bona fide association of citizens, or combination of voters and associations, who are the bona fide sponsors or proponents of the measure.
Bona fide associations of citizens.
Individual voters who are eligible to vote on the measure.

Rebuttal Arguments

The author, or a majority of the authors of an argument may prepare and submit a Rebuttal Argument or may authorize in writing another person or persons to prepare, submit, or sign the Rebuttal Argument. The Statement of Argument Authors Form shall be submitted with Rebuttal Arguments bearing signature(s) different than those on the Primary Argument.

Argument Submission Information

All arguments shall be submitted using the form provided by the City Clerk’s Office. The Argument Submission Form must be completed and submitted electronically to cityclerk@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us in editable format (i.e. not a scanned copy). This allows the ability to copy/past the argument text in transmitting the information to the County for printing in the Voter Information Guide.

In addition to electronic submission, A hard copy of the argument form, containing original wet signatures, must be filed in person with the City Clerk by the filing deadline. This provides an opportunity for review of the word count, format and to address any issues related to signers and any additional required paperwork.

Confidentiality: Arguments, Rebuttals and analyses shall remain confidential until the close of business on the date they are due. At that time, the contents become public information.

Withdrawal/Changes: Arguments, Rebuttal Arguments and analyses may be changed or withdrawn until the final submission deadline.

Public Review: Following the final deadline for filing documents, arguments and rebuttals will be made available at the City Clerk’s Office for a ten-day public review period.

Argument Content and Format

The text of arguments will be printed as submitted. Spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors will not be corrected by the City Clerk. No profanity or other objectionable language may be used.

An Argument or Rebuttal Argument must be written to address a single measure on the ballot. A document combining statements pertaining to more than one (1) measure will not be accepted.

No more than five signatures will appear with any argument. If more than five are submitted, the first five will be printed.

Word Count: Primary arguments are limited to 300 words; rebuttals are limited to 250 words. Word counts will be conducted pursuant to Elections Code § 9.