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Findings and Recommendations
1 findings
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. Board Response to
Related Recommendations (3)
will not be implemented because it is not warranted and is not reasonable. The District will not be implementing Recommendation 1b because the law and voters have entrusted the creation of ballot questions to the elected Board of Education. Proposed ballot measures are already vetted by various parties who are knowledgeable about the District's needs and the various legal requirements specific to election and education law. Furthermore, this additional step may create timing challenges for the District, as ballot measures already must be submitted at least 88 and sometimes as many as 90 days prior to the date of the election. Factoring in the time required for an already busy County Counsel to approve the ballot measure may require the District to determine the language before all of the necessary data for drafting the measure is even available. Additionally, the law already provides interested parties with an opportunity to challenge ballot materials in court as a protection against false or misleading labels. Report 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 until Recommendations 1d and 1e are implemented. Board Response to Recommendation 1c:
will not be implemented because it is not warranted and is not reasonable. As discussed in our response to Recommendation 1b above, submitting ballot questions to County Counsel for review is not warranted and is not reasonable. Therefore, the District will not adopt a resolution to require submission to County Counsel prior to submission to the Registrar of Voters. Report 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. Board Response to Recommendation 1e:
will not be implemented because it is not warranted and is not reasonable.
No Responses Found
1
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.