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California National Popular Vote for President Initiative (2018)
| California National Popular Vote for President Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Elections and campaigns | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The California National Popular Vote for President Initiative (#16-0012) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated state statute on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have advised elected officials to use their legal authority to push for a national popular vote to elect the United States President and Vice President.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The official ballot title was as follows:[2]
| “ | Electoral Votes. Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates. Initiative Advisory Question.[3] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:[2]
| “ | Asks voters whether California’s elected officials should use their authority to cause the President and Vice President of the United States to be elected according to the outcome of the national popular vote. Suggests actions such as proposal and ratification of an amendment to the federal Constitution to eliminate or modify the Electoral College process; approval and adoption of interstate compacts regarding the allocation of state electors; proposal and adoption of other related legislation; and pursuit of related litigation.[3] | ” |
Fiscal impact
- Note: The fiscal impact statement for a California ballot initiative authorized for circulation is prepared by the state's legislative analyst and director of finance.
The fiscal impact statement was as follows:[2]
| “ | No direct fiscal effect on state and local governments.[3] | ” |
Full text
The following text was submitted with the initiative petition:[1]
| “ | Shall California's elected officials use all of their federal and state constitutional and legal authority to cause the President and Vice President of the United States to be elected in a manner that follows (and, until then, more closely and more consistently follows) the outcome of the national popular vote for those offices, including, but not limited to, their authority to propose and ratify one or more amendments to the United States Constitution to eliminate or modify the Electoral College process, their authority to approve and adopt interstate compacts such as the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, and their authority to propose, adopt and pursue related legislation and litigation?[3] | ” |
Path to the ballot
In California, the number of signatures needed to qualify a measure for the ballot is based on the total number of votes cast for the office of governor. For an initiated state statute, petitioners must collect signatures equal to eight percent of the most recent gubernatorial vote. To get a measure on the 2018 ballot, the number of signatures required was 365,880. In California, initiatives can be circulated for 180 days. Signatures needed to be certified at least 131 days before the 2018 general election, which was around June 28, 2018. As the signature verification process can take several weeks, the California secretary of state issues suggested deadlines for several months before the certification deadline.
The following is the timeline for the initiative:[4]
- Rodrigo J. Howard submitted a letter requesting a title and summary on December 28, 2016.
- A title and summary were issued by the California attorney general's office on March 3, 2017.
- Proponents of the initiative needed to submit 365,880 valid signatures by August 30, 2017, in order for it to make the 2018 ballot.
- On September 18, 2017, the secretary of state reported failed to qualify for the ballot.[5]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 California Attorney General, "Initiative Petition," December 28, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed March 6, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Ballot Measures," accessed March 6, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Withdrawn or Failed to Qualify," accessed September 19, 2017
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