California Proposition 41, Bonds for Modern Voting Equipment (March 2002)

California Proposition 41, also known as the Voting Modernization Bond Act of 2002 or the Shelley-Hertzberg Act, was on the March 5, 2002 primary election ballot in California along with five other statewide ballot propositions.

Proposition 41, a legislatively-referred bond measure, asked for $200 million to upgrade California voting systems with money raised through the sale of general obligation bonds. It was approved.

Election results

Proposition 41
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		2,474,372	51.6%
No		2,325,348	48.4%

Text of measure

Title

The ballot title was:

Voting Modernization Bond Act of 2002. Shelley-Hertzberg Act. Legislative Bond Act.

Question

The question on the ballot was:

"Should the state borrow $200 million ($200,000,000) through the sale of general obligation bonds to assist counties in the purchase of updated voting systems?"

Ballot summary

The ballot summary prepared by the Attorney General of California said:

This act is to ensure that every person's vote is accurately counted. It authorizes the issuance of state bonds allowing counties to purchase modern voting equipment and replace outdated punch card (chad) systems. This act provides for bonds in the amount of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) and appropriates money from the General Fund to pay off bonds.

Fiscal impact

See also: Fiscal impact statement

The fiscal estimate provided by the California Legislative Analyst's Office said:

• State costs of about $255 million over ten years to pay off both the principal ($200 million) and interest ($55 million) costs of the bonds. Payments of about $26 million per year.
• One-time county costs of about $67 million statewide to match state funds.
• Additional annual county operating costs for new voting systems in the several tens of millions of dollars statewide.

Supporters

Proposition 41 was endorsed by the League of Women Voters of California, Congress of California Seniors, Assembly Majority Leader Kevin Shelley, and Secretary of State Bill Jones..

Arguments for

• Proposition 41 would make sure that every vote is counted.
• Most of the systems currently used are decades old.
• The flawed Florida voting systems of the 2002 presidential election warn that modern voting equipment is necessary to save a lot of time and hassle..

Donors

The campaign to pass Proposition 41 raised $100,289 and spent $ 178,595 in support of Proposition 41.. Some of the donors were:

• Sequoia Pacific Voting Equipment, Inc.
• Election Systems and Software
• Friends of Bob Hertzberg 40th Assembly District
• Steve Kirsch
• Democratic State Central Committee of California
• Gladwell Governmental Services, Inc.

Opponents

Opponents of Proposition 41 included:

• Honorable Dennis Mountjoy, Member of the Assembly, 59th District
• Jon Coupal, President, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
• Lewis K. Uhler, President, National Tax Limitation Committee

Arguments against

• New voting machines should be paid for with current tax dollars rather than by accumulating more debt and putting more pressure on taxpayers.

Donors

There were no donors to the opposition campaign.

Path to the ballot

Proposition 41 was voted onto the ballot by the California State Legislature via Assembly Bill 56 of the 2001–2002 Regular Session (Chapter 902, Statutes of 2001).

Votes in legislature to refer to ballot
Chamber	Ayes	Noes
Assembly	71	7
Senate	29	8

External links

• Official text and other information from the California Secretary of State's Office
• "Proposition 41 would help counties oust punch-ballot machines", Union Tribune, Feb. 18, 2002
• Official Voter Guide
• Smart Voter information about Prop 41
• Donors to Proposition 41
• Official declaration of the March 5, 2002 vote
• March 5, 2002 ballot proposition voter guide (PDF)
• Legislative Analyst's summary of Proposition 41