Open primary opponents may not have enough money to mount a huge campaign against Proposition 14 this June, but Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Allen Sumner today ordered changes to the ballot summary and fiscal impact statement that lawmakers wrote for the measure last year.
Sumner ordered that the summary, which is the sole source of information for many voters, contain new wording to make it clear that political parties whose candidates don't finish in the top two in the primary will not be able to participate in the general election.
"This amendment is necessary," Sumner wrote, "to inform voters of a fundamental change that would occur if Proposition 14 is adopted: The elimination of the constitutional right of a political party that has participated in a primary election for a partisan office to participate in the general election for that office."
Also, Sumner declared that Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor didn't have enough information from county elections' officials to say that the measure would cause "no significant net change in state and local government costs to administer elections."
Instead, the summary should say "The data are insufficient to identify the amount of any increase or decrease in costs to administer elections," Sumner ordered.
California School Employees Association sued the Legislature, which placed the measure on the June ballot, seeking to strike language saying the measure "gives voters increased options" and "encourages increased participation."
On that point, Sumner actually expanded the title language, replacing "PRIMARY ELECTION PROCESS REFORM. GREATER PARTICIPATION IN ELECTIONS" to "ELECTIONS. INCREASES RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN PRIMARY ELECTIONS."
He said that change was needed "to clarify that "greater participation" refers to the voter's range of choices, not voter turnout."
Read Sumner's decision here.
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