Draft Voter Guide for February Presidential Primary is Available for Comment

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Preview of Coming Attractions: Especially Pro and Con Arguments and Other Info on Ballot Props

From the Office of Debra Bowen
California Secretary of State

The complete draft text of the Official Voter Information Guide for the February 5, 2008, Presidential Primary Election was placed on public display today in the Secretary of State’s offices and on the Secretary of State’s website.

The voter guide, also known as the ballot pamphlet, includes detailed information about the three state initiatives that have qualified for the February 5, 2008, ballot, as well as translations of ballot labels and titles and summaries in six additional languages: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. The English-language information on public display includes ballot labels and titles and summaries prepared by the Attorney General, impartial analyses from the Legislative Analyst’s Office, pro and con arguments, rebuttals to those arguments, and the full texts of Propositions 91, 92, and 93 as prepared by the Legislative Counsel.

A 20-day public display period is required by state law to give people the opportunity to examine official voter information materials before they are finalized, printed and mailed. People can legally challenge the materials by petitioning the Sacramento Superior Court for modifications under Elections Code Section 9092. A judge may require modifications to the ballot pamphlet’s contents “upon clear and convincing proof that the copy in question is false, misleading, or inconsistent” with state law and that ordering the changes “will not substantially interfere with the printing and distribution of the ballot pamphlet as required by law.”

The ballot pamphlet is on public display through November 13 on the Secretary of State’s website and at the Secretary of State offices in Sacramento, San Francisco, Fresno, San Diego, and Los Angeles. Mailing of the more than 13 million ballot pamphlets will begin December 27.

For the first time this year, the publicly displayed materials include ballot labels and titles and summaries that have been translated into six major languages other than English that are widely spoken in California.