To: Honorable Gavin Newsom, Mayor
Honorable Members, Board of Supervisors
From: John Arntz, Director of Elections
Date: July 19, 2010
Beginning Monday, July 26, the Ballot Simplification Committee will conduct public meetings to prepare an impartial summary of each local ballot measure for publication in San Francisco’s Voter Information Pamphlet for the upcoming November 2, 2010 Consolidated General Election. The Committee must complete its digests no later than 85 days before the election, which is Monday, August 9.
Meeting agendas and other materials will be posted on the Department of Elections website, www.sfelections.org/bsc, and in our office in City Hall, Room 48. Agendas will be posted at least 72 hours prior to the meeting, as mandated by the Sunshine Ordinance. Other meeting materials will be made available as early as possible. Please check often for any updates.
About the Ballot Simplification Committee
The Ballot Simplification Committee works in public meetings to prepare a fair and impartial summary of each local ballot measure in simple language. These summaries, or “digests,” are printed in San Francisco’s Voter Information Pamphlet, which is mailed to every registered voter before the election.
Each digest must explain the primary purposes and points of the measure, but is not required to include auxiliary or subsidiary information. Each digest must include the following four sections:
The Way It Is Now
The Proposal
A ”Yes” Vote Means
A ”No” Vote Means
In general, each digest is limited to 300 words. Digests may exceed the 300-word limit if the Committee determines that the complexity or scope of the proposed measure requires a longer digest. In addition, digests must be written as close as possible to the eighth-grade reading level.
The Ballot Simplification Committee also assists the Department of Elections in preparing other informational material for the Voter Information Pamphlet, such as a glossary of the terms that appear in the pamphlet.
For more information about the Ballot Simplification Committee, please visit www.sfelections.org/bscor the Department of Elections office in City Hall, Room 48.