Ballot title
From Ballotpedia
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However, it is not always clear how one would neutrally describe the gist of what a new law would do.
As a result, ballot titles are fertile grounds for conflict and lawsuits. (See Ballot title litigation.)
Differences between states
One way that states differ in laws governing the initiative process has to do with whether the ballot title is determined before signatures are collected, or after.
Another way that states differ has to do with whether the ballot title is determined by the government (which could be a commission, a ballot title determination board, the Secretary of State, or some other election official) or whether the ballot title is determined by the political organization that is advocating for the measure.
Pre-circulation ballot titles
States where the ballot title is set prior to circulation include:
Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho,[2] Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon (In Oregon, the ballot title is set after 1,000 initial sponsorship signatures have been submitted) and Washington.
Post-circulation ballot titles
States where the ballot title is determined by the government after the signatures have been collected are:
Arizona, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma[3], Utah, Wyoming[4].
Ballot titles determined by proponents
In Florida and South Dakota, the ballot title is determined by the proponent, subject to legal challenge by opponents in court.
Impact of ballot title on election outcome
There is a general consensus that the ballot title can be highly determinative of whether a ballot measure wins or loses.
Cost of preparation
The Office of the Attorney General of California says that it costs them about $6,800 to prepare a ballot title and summary for each potential ballot proposition submitted to their office.[5]
Ballot title challenges
2008
2002
Proposed changes
- Roger Niello, a Republican in the California State Assembly, has introduced California Assembly Bill 319 in 2009. AB 319 proposes to transfer responsibility for writing the ballot titles of statewide California propositions from the California Attorney General's office to the office of the California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO). AB 319 would also have the LAO come up with the fiscal estimates for statewide ballot propositions, rather than the current system under which the fiscal estimate is compiled jointly by the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee along with an estimate by the LAO.[6]
Candidate ballot titles
In some states, for some candidate elections, candidates also have ballot titles. In California in 2009, Andrew Wong, a member of the Pomona Unified School District, was listed on the ballot with his occupation identified as "teacher". Three Pomona Unified teachers and the Associated Pomona Teachers union, successfully sought a court order preventing the county election office from listing that occupation as his ballot title. A Superior Court judge ordered that his ballot title be "School board member, Pomona Unified School District" rather than "teacher". Professionally, Wong is an attorney who does some teaching in some contexts.[7]
See also
References
- ↑ Preparation of a ballot title and summary
- ↑ Idaho petition requirements
- ↑ Brief of Oklahoma petition process';
- ↑ Wyoming laws governing the initiative process from the Wyoming Secretary of State
- ↑ Sacramento Bee, "It's not easy to get an initative on California's ballot", December 28, 2009
- ↑ Rocklin Today, "AB 319 will reduce misleading information for ballot initiatives", February 26, 2009
- ↑ Contra Costa Times, "Judge: PUSD board member can't call himself 'teacher' on ballot", September 1, 2009
