HOW TO PLACE A MEASURE
A GUIDE FOR THE COUNTY, CITIES,
SPECIAL DISTRICTS
A GUIDE PREPARED BY:
THE SANTA CRUZ COUNTY ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT
831-454-2060
831-454-2445 (FAX)
February 2003
WHAT THE ELECTIONS OFFICIAL
NEEDS FROM YOU:
THE RESOLUTION TO CALL THE ELECTION AND
CONSOLIDATE
DISTRICTS & CITIES: Submit a
"Resolution Requesting Consolidation of Election and Ordering of Such
Election" along with the "Notice to
COUNTY: Submit a
"Resolution Requesting Consolidation of Election and Ordering of Such
Election."
SCHOOLS: Submit the "Resolution
Ordering Election, Specifications of the Election Order, and Requesting
Consolidation" along with the "Notice to
See “Attachment A” for a calendar of dates when these items are due.
THE MEASURE
TEXT
When submitting materials to place a measure on the ballot, indicate clearly in
writing, which portion of the resolution or ordinance is to be printed in the
Voter’s Information Pamphlet.
If you do not want any measure text printed
in the Voter’s Information Pamphlet, please provide this direction in writing
within the resolution as shown in the example.
In this case, instead of measure text, before the analysis of the
measure, voters will be directed to contact the
THE 75-WORD
BALLOT QUESTION
The words to appear on the ballot
for school bond measures are: "Bonds--Yes," "Bonds-- No."
(Ed. Code §15122)
The words to appear on a ballot for a school
reorganization measure, according to Ed. Code §35762 are: "Reorganization
of School Districts -- Yes" and "Reorganization of School Districts
-- No." Similar words may be used.
Letters designating measures
will be assigned by the elections official pursuant to
For districts that overlap into other counties, the
counties will mutually agree to use a letter designation for the measure that
will not conflict or confuse the voter.
Measures will appear on the
ballot in the following order pursuant to
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR (OPTIONAL)
If more than one argument is submitted,
Obtain the manual "A Guide to Writing Arguments" from the
OTHER BALLOT
MATERIALS
If arguments in favor and against are submitted, authors will have the
opportunity to submit rebuttals.
An impartial analysis will be submitted by county counsel or the city attorney,
whichever is applicable.
Bond measures require a tax rate statement to be filed by the 88th
day before the election.
A fiscal impact statement may also be ordered.
(Pursuant to
This section
shall not apply to counting words for ballot designations.
Each word is counted as one word except:
PUNCTUATION: Punctuation
is not counted.
TITLES: Words
used in the title of the document, such as "Argument in Favor of Measure
A” are not counted.
CITIES/COUNTIES: All geographical
names shall be counted as one word.
Areas that have boundaries and can be mapped are considered geographic
areas. For example, “
ABBREVIATIONS: Each
abbreviation for a word, phrase, or expression shall be counted as one word.
HYPHENATIONS: Hyphenated
words that appear in any generally available dictionary shall be considered as
one word. Each part of all other
hyphenated words shall be counted as a separate word.
DATES: Dates
consisting of a combination of words and digits shall be counted as two
words. Dates consisting of only a
combination of digits shall be counted as one word.
NUMBERS: Any
number consisting of a digit or digits shall be considered as one word. Any number that is spelled,
shall be considered as a separate word.
“100" shall be counted as one word, whereas “one hundred” shall be
counted as two words.
PHONE &
INTERNET: Website
addresses and telephone numbers are one word.
PERCENT, ETC.: It is
department policy to count numbers consisting of a digit or digits used with a
dollar sign ($), cent sign (˘), percentage sign (%), or number sign (#) as one
word.
HOW TO RAISE OR SPEND MONEY:
|
FIRST |
Obtain from
the |
|
SECOND |
File a Form
410 - Statement of Organization - with the |
|
THIRD |
Be prepared to file a Form 460 (long form) for ballot measure committees that plan on raising or spending more than $1,000. A Form 450 (short form) may be filed for committees that do not plan on raising or spending more than $1,000. Pre-Election Statements and Semi-Annual statements must be filed at certain times prior to the election and then semi-annually until the committee terminates. These reports detail your committee's contributions and expenditures. Know the deadlines and the type of forms you must file. For technical advice on completing the forms, contact the Fair Political Practices Commission916-322-5660 / FAX: 916-322-0886 Website: www.fppc.ca.gov/fppc/ |
|
FOURTH |
File a Form 460 to terminate the committee upon completion of your efforts. |
Example of
Measure As It Will Appear on the Ballot
|
MEASURES SUBMITTED TO THE VOTERS |
|
|
CITY |
|
|
|
CITY OF |
|
|
|
Z KEY
WORD SUMMARY OF MEASURE. Followed by the ballot question. The number of
words may not exceed 75. (§13247) |
Yes |
|
|
No |
|
|
Example with the first few words summarizing the measure in all caps
and in bold.
|
MEASURES SUBMITTED TO THE VOTERS |
|
|
CITY |
|
|
|
CITY OF |
|
|
|
Z 75-word ballot question without a summary. (§13247) |
Yes |
|
|
No |
|
|
Example of a ballot question without a few key words
summarizing the measure.
Other attributes such as bullets, italics,
underlining, and bolding beyond the title,
are not permitted in the ballot question.