Thanks, Joe, for your thoughts. Do you know whether the rule has been interpreted to allow, or prohibit, the names of groups or clubs that include the names of political parties, such as the Chinese American Democratic Club, or the Republican Liberty Caucus, from appearing in this context?
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
···
On Aug 16, 2024, at 5:15 PM, Joe Dehn via LPSF Forum noreply@forum.lpsf.org wrote:
jwd3 https://forum.lpsf.org/u/jwd3
August 17
Yes, that’s my understanding as well. We can still “sign” the arguments
in the voter information guide, for or against, as “Chair, Libertarian
Party of XXX” – nothing has changed about that.But there are different rules for this listing of supporters/opponents
ON THE BALLOT, which is a new thing entirely, only the last couple of
elections, at least for local measures. And one of those rules is
specifically that a political party can’t be listed. Why? I don’t know
for sure, but my guess is that somebody thought that since all the
government offices at the local level are “non-partisan” (and as part of
that candidates for County Supervisor, City Council, etc. are not
allowed to identify themselves on the ballot as being affiliated with
any political party), the same should be true for measures put forth by
those local governments.··· (click for more details) https://forum.lpsf.org/t/lpsf-being-told-our-groups-name-cant-appear-on-ballot-arguments/21997/5 (attachments) (click for more details) https://forum.lpsf.org/t/lpsf-being-told-our-groups-name-cant-appear-on-ballot-arguments/21997/5
Visit Topic https://forum.lpsf.org/t/lpsf-being-told-our-groups-name-cant-appear-on-ballot-arguments/21997/5 or reply to this email to respond.In Reply To
Starchild https://forum.lpsf.org/u/starchild
August 16
The San Francisco Department of Elections is apparently claiming we can’t list the “Libertarian Party of San Francisco” as a ballot argument signatory (see letter below). We’ve been doing it this way for years and it has never been a problem in the past. I’m not sure if this “challenge” originated w…
Previous RepliesStarchild https://forum.lpsf.org/u/starchild
August 17
Thanks for your reply, Mark. I’m aware this has been common practice with other LP entities as well. It turns out I misunderstood the initial communication from the Elections Department, and they meant something different – if still rather ridiculous and unfair in my opinion. Please review the follow-up messages for more details.Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
··· (click for more details) https://forum.lpsf.org/t/lpsf-being-told-our-groups-name-cant-appear-on-ballot-arguments/21997/4
Mark_Hinkle https://forum.lpsf.org/u/mark_hinkle
August 16
Starchild,We’ve had the LP name on hundreds of ballot measures in San Mateo, Santa
Clara, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties for decades.And when Mimi was LPC Chair she had signed some 50+ measures around the
state.FYI…Mark
“It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless
minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.” -
Samuel Adams··· (click for more details) https://forum.lpsf.org/t/lpsf-being-told-our-groups-name-cant-appear-on-ballot-arguments/21997/3
Starchild https://forum.lpsf.org/u/starchild
August 16
Okay, I just spoke with Matt Selby at the Elections Department and got some clarification about his letter. He says the LPSF’s name can appear on our arguments in the Voter Handbook, just not on the actual ballots themselves. In response to my question, he said this is a new rule, which the state of California has been following for a couple cycles, but which they’ve now implemented at the local level.According to him, the actual ballots can only list my name as the individual who filed the argument, not the name of the party, and without any affiliation. I’m still a little unclear about where on the actual ballots the language to which this rule would apply appears, but he promised to email me a screenshot.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
(415) 573-7997··· (click for more details) https://forum.lpsf.org/t/lpsf-being-told-our-groups-name-cant-appear-on-ballot-arguments/21997/2
Starchild https://forum.lpsf.org/u/starchild
August 16
The San Francisco Department of Elections is apparently claiming we can’t list the “Libertarian Party of San Francisco” as a ballot argument signatory (see letter below). We’ve been doing it this way for years and it has never been a problem in the past. I’m not sure if this “challenge” originated with the department, or someone else raised the issue with them. I’m going to call them to seek clarification. But if the LPSF is “a political party” or “representing a political party”, it seems to me that this would also apply to the city’s various Democratic clubs, many of whose names often appear on ballot arguments. Either way it seems like a dumb and unnecessary rule.Any legal advice or informed opinions on this would be welcome. Please be aware our rebuttal arguments on these three measures (a $790 million school bond, and two measures seeking to increase government employee pension payouts) are due this Monday (August 19) at noon, and I’m not sure how much if any time beyond that there may be to make changes related to a challenge like this, so the window in which to act is fairly narrow. Feel free to call me directly.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
Chair, Libertarian Party of San Francisco
(415) 573-7997··· (click for more details) https://forum.lpsf.org/t/lpsf-being-told-our-groups-name-cant-appear-on-ballot-arguments/21997/1 (attachments) (click for more details) https://forum.lpsf.org/t/lpsf-being-told-our-groups-name-cant-appear-on-ballot-arguments/21997/1
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