AP16:094
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2016
CONTACT: Sam Mahood
(916) 653-6575
Deadline Tomorrow to Submit Arguments for Statewide Measures on November General Election Ballot
SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla invited interested Californians to submit arguments for or against statewide ballot measures that will be voted on in the November 8, 2016, General Election. The deadline to submit ballot arguments is July 12 by 5:00 p.m.
Submitted arguments will be considered for inclusion in the Official Voter Information Guide. The guide is mailed to every voting household in California and posted on the Secretary of State’s website. The full text, provided by the Office of Legislative Counsel, and nonpartisan analysis, provided by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, of the propositions will also appear in the Official Voter Information Guide.
Arguments selected for the Official Voter Information Guide will be on public display between July 26 and August 15. If multiple arguments are submitted for a proposition, state law gives first priority to arguments written by legislators in the case of legislative measures and to proponents of an initiative or referendum; subsequent priority goes to bona fide citizen associations and then to individuals. No more than three signers are allowed to appear on an argument or rebuttal to an argument.
Ballot arguments cannot exceed 500 words and rebuttals to ballot arguments cannot exceed 250 words. All submissions should be typed and double-spaced. Arguments may be hand-delivered to the Secretary of State’s Elections Division at 1500 11th Street, 5th Floor, Sacramento, California 95814; faxed to (916) 653-3214; or emailed to VIGarguments@sos.ca.gov. If faxed or emailed, the original documents must be received within 72 hours. The deadline to submit ballot arguments is July 12 by 5:00 p.m. The deadline to submit rebuttals to the ballot arguments is July 21 by 5:00 p.m.
Secretary Padilla also invited United States Senate candidate statements for inclusion in the Official Voter Information Guide. United States Senate candidates may buy space for a 250-word candidate statement in the voter guide. Candidates for state legislative office or the United States House of Representatives may purchase space for a candidate statement in a county sample ballot. State legislative candidates must accept voluntary campaign expenditure limits in order to purchase space for a candidate statement in a county sample ballot.
The deadline to submit candidate statements to the Secretary of State’s office is July 20 by 5:00 p.m. Candidates for the United States House of Representatives, California State Senate, and California State Assembly have until August 12 to submit candidate statements to their county elections official for the local sample ballot in the county or counties in which the district lies.
For more information on ballot measures, candidate filing requirements, and election deadlines, please visit: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/general-election-november-8-2016.
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