TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Liza Tamura, City Clerk
Martha Alvarez, Senior Deputy City Clerk
SUBJECT:Title
Ordinance Establishing New General Municipal Election Dates to be Held in November of Even Years beginning in November 2020, to Meet State Mandates Imposed by California Senate Bill 415 (City Clerk Tamura).
ADOPT ORDINANCE NO. 16-0026
Line
_________________________________________________________
Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
In accordance with prior City Council direction, staff recommends that the City Council adopt Ordinance No. 16-0026, establishing new General Municipal Election dates to be held in November of even years beginning in November 2020.
Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The fiscal impacts associated with this item are unknown at this time. Election costs vary based on the number of agencies consolidating in a particular election, number of candidates, number of polling sites, etc. It is possible that election costs could decrease as more jurisdictions are required to consolidate with statewide elections.
BACKGROUND:
As previously reported, the California Voter Participation Rights Act (SB 415) was passed on September 1, 2015. This new legislation prohibits a local government from holding an election on any date other than a statewide election date if doing so in the past has resulted in a significant decrease in voter turnout. This new law will go into effect on January 1, 2018. SB 415 requires cities with insufficient voter turn out to either change their election dates to June or November of even years, or, prior to January 1, 2018, adopt a plan to consolidate its election with the statewide election no later than the November 8, 2022 statewide general election.
The public policy behind SB 415 was to address waning civic engagement in politics as illustrated by declining voter turnout in federal, state, and municipal elections. The legislative analysis assert...
Click here for full text