On March 18, seven California cities, including San Francisco, filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in Sacramento to remove Proposition 16 from the June 8, 2010 statewide ballot. See this story. Proposition 16 has little to do with election law, but this news is interesting because it shows the extent to which the California June 2010 ballot is still unsettled. Proposition 16 would provide that if a city switches to public power, the voters of that city must approve the idea with a two-thirds popular vote.
The lawsuit is Modesto Irrigation District v Bowen. UPDATE: here is the complaint, which says, “The initiative is so permeated with misinformation that it prevents a reasonable voter from making informed choices and therefore constitutes a violation of due process under the Fourteenth Amendment.”
A lot of the lawsuit is essentially a political argument against Proposition 16 (and PG&E), but there are claims, that for example, that the presentation of the measure was deceptive in order to induce persons to sign the initiative petition. So conceivably the motives of the proponents or petition signers could be considered by the courts.
The ballot titles or labels of Propositions 14, 15, and 17 have already been changed due to court action. Only Proposition 13 remains unshaken.
And there is a new initiative in circulation that would move responsibility for ballot language from the Attorney General to the Legislative Analyst.
Think laches — TOO late for last second machinations by the usual suspect party hacks.
There are other arguments against Prop. 16. Some state officials say that PG&E signed an agreement not to do what it is doing, and that PG&E is breaking its word.
Why didn’t San Francisco include those other arguments in its lawsuit?
Again – the U.S.A. has troopers on the front lines fighting the Anti-Democracy BARBARIANS in Asia — in order to defend having some sort of Democracy via elections and ballots.
What is the absolute latest deadline for printing the ballots and getting them to such troopers — in time for them to vote (while perhaps under enemy fire) and for the ballots to get back to CA to be counted ???
OUTRAGEOUS EVIL party hacks trying ANY sort of last second machinations.