California voters would see clearer ballot language for referendums under bill sent to Newsom
California voters will likely see clearer ballot language on statewide referendums after lawmakers on Tuesday endorsed a bill that would eliminate the often puzzling “Yes” or “No” choice.
If Gov. Gavin Newsom signs Assembly Bill 421 into law, voters will instead be asked whether they want to “keep the law” or “overturn the law.” The changes would take effect immediately and be in effect for the 2024 election because of an urgency clause attached to the measure.
The Senate approved the bill 29-8, surpassing the two-thirds majority required to send the bill onward. The Assembly concurred with a vote of 54-17 when the roll was closed.
Assembly Majority Leader Isaac Bryan, a Los Angeles Democrat and the bill’s author, characterized the Legislature’s approval as a win even though the version that passed was significantly slimmed down from the original proposal.
“It feels like a light step because we were so ambitious. That speaks to the change that’s needed,” Bryan said. “Did we go for everything and the kitchen sink at the beginning? We absolutely did, because the people deserve for us to fix these processes completely.”
The original bill took aim at both the signature-gathering process for referendum petitions and the language on the ballot.
Portions that were amended out would have established new registration and training requirements for paid signature-gatherers; required disclosure of the top three funders on the petition form, and mandated that campaigns gather at least 10% of signatures using volunteers.
Those funders would also have been listed on the ballot itself. Instead, the final version of the bill requires that the top three backers of the referendum be disclosed in the official voter information guide prepared by the Secretary of State’s office.
The effort was championed by good governance groups and labor unions, such as SEIU California, whose policies are increasingly becoming the targets of business-backed referendum campaigns. Supporters argued that paid signature-gatherers flock to California and make upwards of $10-$15 per signature.
“Clearing up confusion on the ballot means putting power back where it should be: in the hands of voters,” said Tia Orr, executive director of SEIU California, in a statement Tuesday. SEIU has been supporting fast-food workers whose state-approved labor council will face a referendum next November that was bankrolled by corporations such as McDonald’s and Chipotle.
The California Chamber of Commerce, which advocates for business interests, still opposes the bill even without many of the more stringent requirements. In its letter of opposition, CalChamber argues that changing the ballot language to the “keep/oppose” format “makes the vote about the Legislature’s action, not about the proposed statute itself.” The organization posits that such a “profound difference from the historic intent and function” of the referendum process would only be changeable by constitutional amendment rather than statute.
“We will be encouraging a veto,” wrote spokesperson Denise Davis in a statement Tuesday.
AB 421 next goes to Newsom’s desk. The governor in 2021 vetoed an effort to ban paid signature gathering in the state.
This story was originally published September 6, 2023 at 6:00 AM.