City of Berkeley Elections Code Charter Amendment, Measure O (November 2014)

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A City of Berkeley Elections Code Charter Amendment, Measure O ballot question was on the November 4, 2014 election ballot for voters in the city of Berkeley in Alameda County, California. It was approved.

Measure O amended the Berkeley city charter to make it compatible with judicial rulings and state law with regard to laws governing recall, signature petitions, signature verification and elections. The specific provisions of Measure O are listed below in the city attorney's impartial analysis of the measure.

Election results

Measure O
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		29,741	90.57%
No		3,098	9.43%

Election results via: Alameda County Elections Office

Text of measure

Ballot question

The question on the ballot:

“

Shall the Charter of the City of Berkeley be amended to conform the provisions for the recall of elective officers to recent judicial rulings and the state Elections Code with respect to counting of votes, signature threshold, petition circulators, and signature verification, and adjust the deadlines for calling recall elections to allow for consolidation with statewide elections? Financial Implications: Potential cost savings from increased likelihood of election consolidation.

”

Impartial analysis

The following impartial analysis of Measure O was provided by the office of the city attorney:

“	The proposed Charter amendment would revise the recall provisions of the Berkeley Charter (Section 7) to eliminate provisions that are contrary to state law and case law, generally revise the wording for clarity, and modify deadlines for calling elections to meet current election deadlines in the Elections Code, and ensure the City’s ability to consolidate elections and request services from the County Registrar of Voters, thereby reducing the likelihood of special elections. In particular, the proposed Charter amendment would: Prohibit recalls of an office holder within six months before his or her term expires; Base the number of required signatures on the most recent report of registration by the county elections official; Require recall proponents to file of an affidavit of publication with the City Clerk; Combine the 75-day circulation period and the 15-day supplemental circulation period for a recall petition into a single 90-day circulation period; Conform the requirements for the declaration of circulator to state law and petitioning requirements; Provide the City Clerk 30 days to examine signatures rather than 15 days; Require the City Clerk to retain insufficient recall petitions as required by state law; Conform the timeline for calling an election to state law; Permit registered voters to vote on a replacement candidate even if they do not vote on the recall, as required by state law; and Provide the City Council and Board of Education 60 days rather than 30 days to fill any vacancies after a recall election. This measure was placed on the ballot by the City Council.	”
—Zach Cowan, Berkeley City Attorney

Full text

The full text of the charter amendment that was enacted by the approval of Measure O is available here.

See also

• Laws governing local ballot measures in California
• Laws governing recall in California
• City governance on the ballot
• Local elections and campaigns on the ballot
• Alameda County, California ballot measures
• November 4, 2014 ballot measures in California

External links

Suggest a link

• Alameda County Elections Office website