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DEPARTMENT OF ELECTIONS
City and County of San Francisco
John Arntz, Director
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SAN FRANCISCO, July 24, 2006 – Beginning Monday, July 31, 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 7, 2006 Consolidated General Election.
The Committee must complete its digests no later than 85 days before the election. For the November election, this deadline falls on Monday, August 14.
For more information or to request a meeting agenda, please contact Barbara Carr at (415) 554-6105. You may also contact the Department by calling our main number at (415) 554-4375, by fax at (415) 554-7344 or via TTY at (415) 554-4386. Our mailing address is 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 48, San Francisco, CA 94102. For more information, please visit our website at www.sfgov.org/election.
About the Ballot Simplification Committee
The Ballot Simplification Committee prepares a summary (or "digest") of each local ballot measure that will be voted on only in San Francisco. The digest, which is intended to inform voters of the character and purpose of a proposed measure in a fair and impartial manner, is printed in the City's Voter Information Pamphlet and mailed to every registered voter in advance of the election. The 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 Director of Elections in preparing other informational material for the Voter Information Pamphlet, such as a glossary of the terms that appear in the pamphlet.
