Secretary of State Debra Bowen declared Friday that it is now too late to add any more measures to the November ballot, saying "any more changes would seriously jeopardize the integrity of the election."
Bowen, a Democrat, put her foot down after weeks of speculation in the Capitol as to how far lawmakers and governor could push back the elections calendar.
"We are at the point where that is unacceptable," Bowen said of further changes to the ballot. She instructed local elections officials to "move forward with election preparations," according to her office.
As Capitol Alert reported earlier Friday, ballots are set to be mailed to military service members serving abroad on Sept. 5. Elections officials were warning that their voting rights would be put in jeopardy with further ballot delays.
"We want to make sure that the military gets their ballots," said Jill LaVine, the registrar of voters in Sacramento County.
The declaration by Bowen gives cover to the state's 58 county registrars to begin printing those ballots.
"You just don't know how excited I am," said Rebecca Martinez, the registrar in Madera County and president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials. "It gives us the authority to go ahead and move forward without waiting any longer."
Why is the passing deadline important?
Because throughout the two-month budget impasse, lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have said that pairing a spending plan with an overhaul of the budgeting system is key to striking a deal.
"Without budget reform I think that everybody agrees these negotiations look much different," said Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear. "The Legislature needs to get their job done. They are days away from a record for the longest budget impasse of all time, which says a lot for California."
McLear added later that the governor's office is "not conceding" that the deadline has passed. "It is upon us," he said, urging the Legislature to act immediately.
But as the date bore down on the leaders, they've begun openly talking about placing any measures paired with a budget on a 2009 special election ballot.
"With several big cities having mayoral elections next year, it might not be all that expensive," said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass earlier this week.
The state's biggest city, Los Angeles, has a mayoral election in early 2009.
No deal on the budget appears imminent.
Earlier today, Republicans in the state Senate voted down a modified version of Schwarzenegger's latest budget proposal. Despite the support of the GOP governor, the bill failed along party lines, with no Republicans in support. One Democrat, Sen. Lou Correa of Orange County, abstained. As of late afternoon, the roll call vote remained open on the budget, with 24 votes in favor (all Democrats) and 15 opposed (all Republicans).
Here's the full text of Bowen's statement:
"Rumors have swirled about changing timelines for last-minute ballot measures, so I want to reiterate: The statutory deadline for placing legislative measures on the ballot was June 26. In the past, the Legislature and the Governor have chosen to waive laws and place measures on the ballot after the deadline. We are at the point where that is unacceptable. At this late date, 67 days before the election, any more changes would seriously jeopardize the integrity of the election.
"The November 4 election, which will likely yield the highest voter turnout in a generation, is just over two months away. The state voter guide has been printed. A supplemental voter guide, triggered by the addition of Proposition 1A to the ballot, is already in the works. The 58 county elections officials, all of whom have individual contracts with outside printing companies, have designed their ballots and many of them are ready to print. Their print jobs are queued up and any further delays could cause them to lose their place in line at the printing presses. Mailing of the first ballots - those for California's military and overseas voters - begins September 5. Early voting within the state and mailing of vote-by-mail ballots begins October 6.
"Every day elections officials are forced to delay increases the risk of error and the likelihood that voters will be disenfranchised. I know lawmakers and the Governor care as much as I do about ensuring every ballot is counted accurately in the November 4 election."
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