The Board of Supervisors Tuesday will consider interim Riverside County Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco’s proposed resolution mandating that the names of supporters and opponents of local ballot measures not be included on the ballots themselves.
Tinoco’s request, which is among items scheduled on the board’s policy agenda Tuesday, is in response to Assembly Bill 1416, the “Ballot Disclose Act,” which was signed into law by the governor in September 2022.
The legislation requires that future statewide ballot measures list supporters and opponents on the ballots themselves, up to a maximum of 125 characters, including the names of nonprofits, business groups, unions and individuals taking a position on one side of an issue or another.
The law implemented a requirement for counties and cities to follow the state practice — unless they specifically choose to opt out of it.
Tinoco wrote in documents posted to the board’s agenda that “printing supporters and opponents of local measures (comes) with cost increases (due to) the increase in length and size of ballots.”
“It should be noted that the listing of supporters and opponents will remain on the voter information guides, as has always been the case,” according to the registrar’s statement.
Officials said that, along with lengthening ballot cards, listing names would additionally require more proofreading — thus more staff — and would invite legal challenges “due to the wording of abbreviations.”
A total of 14 counties have exercised the opt-out provision to date. All of them, except for Imperial County, are in Northern California.
Counties and municipalities must decide whether to opt out a minimum of 30 days prior to an election.