HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-20-2013 b1 calling & giving notice of special election june 18 2013counci lj acenda aepoa t
C I T Y O F S A N L U I S O B I S P O
FROM :
Maeve Kennedy Grimes, City Cler k
J. Christine Dietrick, City Attorne y
SUBJECT: CALLING AND GIVING NOTICE OF JUNE 18, 2013, ALL MAIL BALLO T
SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTIO N
RECOMMENDATIO N
1.Adopt a Resolution calling and giving notice of the holding of a All Mail Ballot Specia l
Municipal Election to be held Tuesday, June 18, 2013, for the election of a City Counci l
Member to fill a vacancy and adopting regulations for Candidates' Statements as required b y
the provisions of the City Charter and laws of the State of California .
2.Authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Martin & Chapman Co . to conduc t
the June 18, 2013, All Mail Ballot Special Municipal Election and to engage additiona l
staffmg as necessary to support the election .
3.Review and approve appropriation of funds up to $100,000 necessary to conduct the election .
•DISCUSSIO N
Backgroun d
On February 5, 2013, Council expressed a desire to authorize an All Mail Ballot Specia l
Municipal Election to fill the vacancy of Council Member Andrew Carter . After review of th e
California Elections Code, and San Luis Obispo City Ordinance 1559 (2011 Series) enables th e
Council, by resolution, to call an All Mail Ballot Special Municipal Election for any purpose ,
which includes an election to fill a Council vacancy .
Elections Contracto r
The City of San Luis Obispo has made it a practice to contract with the County Registrar o f
Voters for assistance in the conduct of its municipal elections ; however the County Clerk-
Recorder is unable to assist with this election . Martin & Chapman Co . has agreed to be th e
City's consultant/supplier for its upcoming special election . The City Clerk's office is not staffe d
to conduct an election without assistance of an outside resource, such as Martin & Chapman Co .
Tasks involved in conducting an election include, in part :
1) Locating vendors qualified and prepared to print approximately 30,000 voters' pamphlets,
various types of envelopes (outgoing, return, secrecy), voter instructions, and the ballot s
themselves (requiring a vendor certified by the Secretary of State's office).
•2) Locating vendors that provide supplies and equipment .
3) Locating elections officers .
Meet,~2o720/1 3
Item NumberBl
B1-1
Special All Mail Ballot Election –June 18,2013 Page2
4)Preparing and printing guidelines and rosters for elections officers, and providing th e
required election officers training .
5)Locating polling places (previously located at City Hall )
6)Obtaining and affixing approximately 30,000 address labels .
7)Checking and verifying signatures on ballot envelopes for the all mail election .
8)Providing the equipment necessary to tabulate the votes cast pursuant to the election .
To ensure the proper functioning of a special election conducted without the assistance of th e
San Luis Obispo Registrar of Voters, it will be imperative for the City to contract with a n
elections firm that has both a high level of expertise and a high level of integrity . The firm o f
Martin & Chapman is the primary elections contractor in the State of California . This fir m
provides elections services, supplies and guidance to more than 400 cities, counties, districts ,
organizations and associations within the State, and has done so for more than thirty years .
All Mail Ballot Special Electio n
This option is growing in use, either as a direct methodology, or indirectly as a result of th e
increasing use of absentee ballot voting . Because this method is less well understood, it i s
described in greater detail in this report than a traditional polling place election .
Authority to Conduct an All Mail Ballot Electio n
The City Attorney advises that an All Mail Ballot election is permissible under the City Charte r
and Municipal Code .
Charter cities, like the City of San Luis Obispo, have autonomous authority to define their ow n
processes on matters of local concern, like local elections, to the full extent authorized by th e
City Charter. Article III (Municipal Elections), Section 301 of the Charter provides :"Unles s
otherwise provided by ordinance hereinafter enacted, all elections shall be held in accordanc e
with the provisions of the Elections Code of the State of California, as the same now exists o r
may hereafter be amended ."Section 301 grants the Council authority, by ordinance, to adop t
election procedures that vary from the requirements of the Elections Code . Pursuant to it s
Charter authority, Council adopted an ordinance Number 1559 (2011 Series) authorizing an d
defining the procedures for all mailed ballot elections for any purpose on any date specified b y
the Council by Resolution.
Ordinance 1559 (2011 Series) was codified in the City's Municipal Code in Title 2
(Administration and Personnel), Section 2 .42 .010 of which provides :"Any special municipa l
election may be conducted as an all-mail ballot election in accordance with the provisions of thi s
chapter. (Ord. 1559, 2011)"
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B1-2
Special All Mail Ballot Election —June 18, 2013 Page 3
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Integrity of Election Proces s
Choosing to conduct this election in an all mail ballot may raise concerns for some with regard t o
the integrity of the election process . However, there is a more rigorous voter verification proces s
for all Mail ballot elections than for polling place elections . This is because, with fe w
exceptions, State law prohibits polling place workers from checking voter identification at th e
polling place . While voters are required to sign a log prior to being issued a ballot at the polling
place, their signatures are not checked against original registration affidavits .
In a mail ballot election, signatures are required on all returned ballots . Voter signatures are the n
verified by matching them against voter registration cards . In addition, each returned ballot i s
accounted for by address and name to eliminate any possibility of duplicate votes . While it i s
important not to dismiss the possibility of fraud by third parties, such fears were not realized i n
the cities and agencies conducting mail ballot elections in California . Moreover, according to th e
County Registrar of Voters, while there have been isolated complaints regarding vote r
registration and/or signatures on petitions, there is no evidence of voter fraud in the County ,
either for the traditional polling place elections or the all mail ballot elections . In an effort t o
deter voter fraud in the State of California, laws are in place that make it a felony to attempt t o
commit, commit, or aid or abet an act of voter fraud .
Election Costs
Because the conduct of a special election was not anticipated as part of the current financial plan ,
no funds are available in the elections budget to support an election and Council will need to
appropriate funds from the General Fund unreserved fund balance to cover the costs of a specia l
election. Estimated costs for an all mail special election using the services of an election s
contractor, are as follows :
All Mail Ballot Election Conducted by Martin and Chapman :$65,156**
County provision of services :$
250**
Additional staffing and costs *$21,000**
$86,376
*These costs include publications of legal notices, voter outreach, extra temporary staff ,
overtime for the City Clerk's staff, miscellaneous expenses and contingencies . Preliminar y
estimates indicate those costs could be as high as $21,000 .
** These cost estimates are preliminary and may be subject to change as additional informatio n
is received from consultants .
FISCAL IMPAC T
Funding for a special election is not available within existing resources . Therefore, in order to
support the conduct of a special election, Council will need to appropriate funds from th e
unreserved General Fund Balance up to $100,000 .
B1-3
Special All Mail Ballot Election —June 18,2013 Page4
ALTERNATIVE S
The Council has the option of attempting to fill the vacancy through an appointment process a s
contemplated by the City Charter and as discussed during the February 5, 2013 meeting.
ATTACHMENT S
1.Draft Resolution Calling the Election conducted by Martin & Chapman, Election Contractor s
2.Calendar for June 18, 2013 All Mail Ballot Special Municipal Election
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B1-4
ATTACHMENT 1
•RESOLUTION NO .(2013 SERIES )
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO ,
CALIFORNIA CALLING AND GIVING NOTICE OF THE HOLDING OF AN ALL MAI L
BALLOT SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION TO BE HELD TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2013 ,
FOR THE ELECTION OF A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER TO FILL A VACANCY AND
ADOPTING REGULATIONS FOR CANDIDATES' STATEMENTS AS REQUIRED B Y
THE PROVISIONS OF THE CITY CHARTER AND LAWS OF THE STATE O F
CALIFORNI A
WHEREAS,a Council vacancy currently exists by virtue of the resignation o f
Councilmember Andrew Carter from an unexpired term ending December 1, 2014 ; and
WHEREAS,the City Council has determined that it is unable to fill the vacancy b y
appointment pursuant to San Luis Obispo Charter Section 406 and has directed that the vacanc y
shall be filled by a Special Municipal Election to be held Tuesday, June 18, 2013, for the election a
Municipal Officer; in accordance with the provisions of Article III of the San Luis Obispo Cit y
Charter and Chapter 2 .42 of the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code .;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of San Lui s
Obispo does declare, determine and order as follows :
•SECTION 1 . Pursuant to Article III, Section 303 of the City Charter and Title 2, Chapte r
2 .42 of the City Municipal Code, an All Mail Ballot Special Municipal Election shall be hel d
Tuesday, June 18, 2013, for the purpose of electing one Council Member to serve out the balance o f
an unexpired term ending December 1, 2014 .
SECTION 2 .Pursuant to Election Code Section 13307, each candidate may submit wit h
the nomination papers a Statement of Qualifications of the candidate of no more than 200 words ,
which statement will be printed and mailed out with the voters' pamphlet .
SECTION 3 . The candidate shall be required to pay for the cost of printing the candidate's
statement in the voters' pamphlet . The City Clerk shall estimate the total cost of printing, handling ,
and mailing the candidates' statements filed pursuant to this section, and require each candidat e
filing a statement to pay in advance to the City his or her estimated pro rata share as a condition o f
his or her statement in the voters' pamphlet . Accordingly, the City Clerk is not bound by th e
estimate and may, on a pro rata basis, bill the candidate for any additional actual expense or refun d
any excess amount paid depending on the final actual cost . Said amount will include the cost for th e
translation and printing in the voters' pamphlet the statement in Spanish, if requested by th e
candidate . In the event of overpayment, the Clerk shall prorate the excess amount among the
candidates and refund the excess amount paid within 30 days following notification by the Registra r
of Voters office of the exact cost .
SECTION 4 . That the ballots to be used at the election shall be in form and content a s
required by law .
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B1-5
Resolution No . (2013 Series)
ATTACHMENT 1
Page 2
SECTION 5 .That the City Clerk is authorized, instructed and directed to procure an d
furnish any and all official ballots, notices, printed matter and all supplies, equipment an d
paraphernalia that may be necessary in order to properly and lawfully conduct the election by all
mail ballot.
SECTION 6.That pursuant to the City of San Luis Obispo Municipal Code, and othe r
applicable provisions of the City Charter and Ordinances of the City of San Luis Obispo, sai d
Election shall be conducted by all mail ballot, and shall be conducted pursuant to Chapter 2 o f
Division 4 (Commencing with Section 4100) of the California Elections Code only insofar a s
required by law, and only where not inconsistent with the Charter and ordinances of the City o f
San Luis Obispo . Notwithstanding Elections Code Section 4103, ballots cast in this Electio n
shall be returned to the office of the City Clerk no later than 8 :00 p .m . on Election Day. Onl y
ballots received in the office of the City Clerk by eight o'clock p .m . on Election Day shall be
counted .
SECTION 7. That in all particulars not recited in this resolution, the election shall b e
held and conducted as provided by law for holding municipal elections .
SECTION 8 .That notice of the time and place of holding the election is given and th e
City Clerk is authorized, instructed and directed to give further or additional notice of th e
election, in time, form and manner as required by law .
SECTION 9 .That the City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of thi s
Resolution and enter it into the book of original Resolutions .
SECTION 10 .The City Council authorizes the City Clerk to administer said electio n
and all reasonable and actual election expenses shall be paid by the City upon presentation of a
properly submitted bill .
Upon motion of , seconded by , and on
the following roll call vote :
AYES :
NOES :
ABSENT :
The foregoing resolution was adopted this 20th day of February 2013 .
Mayor Jan Marx
ATTEST :
Maeve Kennedy Grime s
City Clerk
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B1-6
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Resolution No .
(2013 Series )
Page 2
APPROVED AS TO FORM :
J . Christine Dietric k
City Attorne y
•
City of San Luis Obis p
All Mail Ballot
Special Municipal ectio n
June 18,2 3
Attachment 2
2/2 0
2/2 0
2/2 1
2/2 5
2/25 - 3/2 2
3/2 2
4/4
4/1 9
4/22 -6/4
5/9
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6/3
6/4
6/6
6/7
6/8
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6/1 8
x/2 5
7/2 4
7/31
egister to Vot e
file Write-in .ndidate s
e-Election Camp .':n Expenditure s
First d
P
to process returned allot s
ubli Notice of Central Count' g Plac e
Las day to publish Notice of Nom ee s
La t day to Post Notice of Manual T . l y
P .st Notice – Post Election Mail Ballo anvas s
lection Da y
Last Day to Receive Ballots – 8 :00 p m
Election Official to Canvass Voter Ballot s
Last Day to Declare Results & Install Council M- be r
Last Day to File Statement of Economic Interest s
Last Day to File Campaign Expenditure Statements emi Annua l
L a
Ele c
Filin g
Last da y
Last day t o
Time to Tra n
Filing period fo
File Pre-Electi o
First day fo r
Last day t o
Last day t
File 2 nd P
Adopt Regulations for Candida t
dopt Resolution Calling Ele c
t day to request rando m
'on Official to Publi s
iod Nominati o
o file Nomi n
ncel E l
i t
ailin
s Statement s
o n
rawing from SO S
otice of Electio n
Papers / Candidate's Statement s
on Papers / Candidate's Statement s
tion – Insufficient Candidate s
Ilot to Military and Overseas Voter s
rite-in Candidate s
mpaign Expenditure s
allot packages
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B1-8
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Attachment 2
crty of san Luis osispe
All Mail Ballot
Special Municipal Electio n
June 18, 201 3
2/20 Adopt Regulations for Candidates Statement s
2/20 Adopt Resolution Calling Electio n
2/21 Last day to request random drawing from SO S
2/25 Election Official to Publish Notice of Electio n
2/25 - 3/22 Filing period Nomination Papers / Candidate's Statement s
3/22 Last day to file Nomination Papers / Candidate's Statement s
4/4 Last day to Cancel Election – Insufficient Candidates
4/19 Time to Transmit Ballot to Military and Overseas Voters
4/22 -6/4 Filing period for Write-in Candidate s
5/9 File Pre-Election Campaign Expenditure s
5/20 First day for mailing ballot package s
•6/3 Last day to Register to Vot e
6/4 Last day to file Write-in Candidate s
6/6 File 2 nd Pre-Election Campaign Expenditure s
6/7 First day to process returned Ballot s
6/8 Publish Notice of Central Counting Plac e
6/11 Last day to publish Notice of Nominee s
6/14 Last day to Post Notice of Manual Tally
6/17 Post Notice – Post Election Mail Ballot Canvas s
6/18 Election Da y
6/18 Last Day to Receive Ballots – 8 :00 p m
6/18 Election Official to Canvass Voter Ballot s
No later than 7/12 Election Official to Certify the Result s
No later than 7/12 Declaration of Result s
No later than 7/16 Administer Oath to Elected Officia l
7/24 Last Day to File Statement of Economic Interest s
7/31 Last Day to File Campaign Expenditure Statements – Semi Annua l
Updated February 19, 201 3
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DATE :February 19, 201 3
TO :Mayor Marx and Members of the City Counci l
FROM :Maeve Kennedy Grimes, City Cler k
SUBJECT :Council Memorandum regarding item B1 on February 20, 2013 Agend a
In reviewing Attachment 2 to my Council Agenda Report for Item B1 on the February 20, 201 3
Agenda, I came across an error in my calendar . I have updated the election calendar (not e
footer at the bottom with the date of February 19, 2013) and attached it to this memorandum .
RECEIVE D
FEB 20 201 3
utTIT~CLER KL memonan bcounc
1Y LUIS O ispo, Or
AGENDA
CORRESPONDENC E
Date 2/z0II ~Item #
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Attachment 2
city of san Luis osisp o
All Mail Ballot Calenda r
Special Municipal Electio n
June 18, 201 3
Adopt Regulations for Candidates Statement s
Adopt Resolution Calling Electio n
Last day to request random drawing from SO S
Election Official to Publish Notice of Electio n
Filing period Nomination Papers / Candidate's Statement s
Last day to file Nomination Papers / Candidate's Statement s
Last day to Cancel Election — Insufficient Candidate s
Time to Transmit Ballot to Military and Overseas Voter s
Filing period for Write-in Candidate s
File Pre-Election Campaign Expenditure s
First day for mailing ballot package s
Last day to Register to Vot e
Last day to file Write-in Candidate s
File 2 nd Pre-Election Campaign Expenditure s
First day to process returned Ballot s
Publish Notice of Central Counting Plac e
Last day to publish Notice of Nominee s
Last day to Post Notice of Manual Tall y
Post Notice — Post Election Mail Ballot Canvas s
Election Da y
Last Day to Receive Ballots — 8 :00 p m
Election Official to Canvass Voter Ballot s
Processing and counting any remaining vote-by-mail ballots . (Checking the vote r
registration file to verify the voter's eligibility to cast the ballot and signatur e
verification ; duplicating ballots as necessary ; preparing tally sheets ; conducting a
recount if necessary and completing the Certificate of Canvass .)
(The California Elections Code requires that the official canvass begin no later tha n
the Thursday following the election, that it be open to the public, and that it continu e
daily (Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excepted) for not less than six hours eac h
day until completed .)
No later than 7/12 Election Official to Certify the Result s
No later than 7/12 Declaration of Result s
No later than 7/16 Administer Oath to Elected Officia l
7/24 Last Day to File Statement of Economic Interest s
7/31 Last Day to File Campaign Expenditure Statements — Semi Annua l
Updated February 19, 201 3
2/2 0
2/2 0
2/2 1
2/2 5
2/25 - 3/2 2
3/2 2
4/4
4/1 9
4/22 - 6/4
5/9
5/2 0
6/3
6/4
6/6
6/7
6/8
6/1 1
6/1 4
6/1 7
6/1 8
6/1 8
6/18 - 7/12