Elections: filings.

Existing law establishes procedures for authors to submit arguments for and against local ballot measures, and rebuttals to those arguments, in accordance with deadlines set by local elections officials. Existing law requires elections officials to select arguments from those submitted for publication in the voter information guide. This bill would establish a lead county, as defined, for the purposes of district or school district elections when the boundaries of the district or school district encompass more than one county. The bill would require authors of arguments for or against district or school district measures, and related rebuttal arguments, to submit the arguments to the elections official of the lead county. The bill would require the elections official of the lead county to work with the other counties within the district bounds to establish deadlines for receipt of the arguments. The bill would require the elections official of the lead county to select the arguments for publication in the county voter information guide, and to transmit copies of the selected arguments to elections officials in the other counties within the district or school district, as specified. The bill would require an elections official who receives arguments selected by the lead county to include the arguments in their county voter information guide. Existing law permits an elections official to post a form on their internet website for a candidate to use to submit the candidate's statement for the voter information portion of the county voter information guide. If the elections official posts the form, existing law requires the elections official to accept that form by electronic submission if it is submitted in accordance with certain timeframes and procedures for the preparation of the voter information portion of the county voter information guide. Existing law requires a candidate running in a multicounty district to provide to each county a hardcopy of the candidate statement form from the candidate's county of residence and payment of the requisite fee. This bill would require elections officials to post and accept electronic submission of a form for candidates to submit a candidate statement for the voter information portion of the county voter information guide. The bill would authorize a candidate running in a multicounty district to submit to each county an electronic copy of the form from the candidate's county of residence, and would require the candidate to transmit hardcopies of the candidate statement form, any accompanying form, and payment of the requisite fee to each county by overnight mail within 72 hours of filing the statement electronically. By increasing the duties of local elections officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.