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CC - Item 5A - March 2017 General Municipal Election Options s E M F ,�� ROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT Pow..EO,p5 TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL FROM: BILL R. MANIS, CITY MANAGER - z.en DATE: SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 SUBJECT: MARCH 2017 GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION OPTIONS SUMMARY On September 14, 2016, the City Clerk's Office was advised that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to preserve an option for a Countywide Special Election on March 7, 2017. This gives the City of Rosemead the option to consolidate its March 7, 2017, general municipal election with the County of Los Angeles. ANALYSIS The City may conduct its own concurrent election at the same time as the County election without consolidating, however that would pose potential concerns. Concurrent election not only duplicate efforts of elections officials, but also significantly impact voters. Under a concurrent model, a voter could be required to report to two different polling locations, or if they are located at the same polling place, the voter must check in at two different tables, sign two different rosters, and vote two different ballots. In addition, if a voter receives a vote-by-mail ballot, they will be required to mail separate ballots to different addresses. This creates confusion among voters and poll workers alike, has the potential of disenfranchising voters, and contributes to an overall negative voting experience. Also, without consolidation, there could possibly be an insufficient amount of poll workers for a City election being that poll workers would be working for the County during the March 7,2017. election. STAFF RECOMMENDATION That the City Council proceed with one of the following options: 1. Proceed with consolidating the March 7, 2017, general municipal election with the County of Los Angeles. OR IOM NUMBER: SP,' City Council Meeting September 27,2016 Page 2 of 2 2. Proceed with a stand-alone general municipal election on March 7, 2017. FISCAL IMPACT The Fiscal Year 2016-2017, budget for the March 7. 2017. election is $90,000. The County's estimated cost for the City to consolidate is S35.405.42, if the County does in fact call for a special election. If no special election is called, the County will administer the election at approximately the same cost that the City originally budgeted for the election. PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS This item has been noticed through the regular agenda notification process. Prepared by: Al Marc Donohue, City Clerk Attachment A: Emails from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder E M t, Q � CIVIC PRIDE CDPORAT[V y9 Attachment A Emails from the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters Marc Donohue Subject: (Rosemead): Board of Supevisor Motion - Countywide Special Election in March 2017 Attachments: Resolution No. 2014-57.pdf; Resolution No. 2014-58.pdf From:Aaron Nevarez [mailto:ANevarez @rrcc.lacounty.gov] Sent:Thursday, September 22, 2016 3:10 PM To: Marc Donohue Subject: (Rosemead): Board of Supevisor Motion -Countywide Special Election in March 2017 Hi Marc, At this point we would like to begin having individual discussions with each city on this issue. Our Department is moving forward on this effort with the understanding that the Board of Supervisors is expected to call for a Countywide Special Election in March 2017 and that it is their intent to have all cities consolidate their local elections with the County.Our continued desire would be for your city to request that the County administer this election on your behalf.We have been asked by some cities if the County could simply consolidate its measure onto the city elections. Not only do we think that this will be more burdensome for both of our offices and potentially confusing for voters, but more importantly we are not aware of any specific authority that would allow for this type of process. Cost Estimate: We know this has been the most asked about component of this discussion.Our finance team has completed its initial election cost estimates for March 2017 and your city's estimate is$35,405.42.This is for 3 at-large offices. Please note that this is just an initial estimate, and changes in any factors and/or overall election statistics, as well as unanticipated labor rates and cost of materials, will have a significant impact on the final costs. Thanks for providing us your March 2015 election costs. If possible, please send us your estimated election costs for March 2017.We need this information to ensure that this effort is administered in a cost-neutral manner for you. Resolution: We understand that your office will need to bring a resolution(s)to your City Council very soon for your upcoming election and would propose that your office review the attached resolutions from the City of Bell from their March 2015 election.These resolutions are good samples because they refer to the County's oversight without reducing the request to"rendering of specified services" or elevating it to "consolidation". Additionally, since your office can't wait until December for the potential Countywide election to be called, we would recommend that cities add a reference/clause indicating that if there is a County measure, then the request would convert to a request for consolidation. City vs. County Responsibilities: Generally speaking in regards to city/County responsibilities, your office would still conduct your candidate filing and publish notices but most other elements of the election would be administered by our Office. Please see the following Municipal Information Booklet for the upcoming November 2016 election: http://lavote.net/Documents/Election Info/11082016 Municipal-Info-Booklet.pdf.Although one has not yet been created for the March 2017 election, this booklet shows a good breakdown of the city/County responsibilities. We are also committed to working with cities/districts on coordinated voter outreach and efforts. Election Results: For some cities,the March 2017 election is a Primary election (Part 1)with a potential run-off election (Part 2)following as soon as six weeks after this election. To accommodate the time-sensitive nature of their election preparation,we are exploring ways to certify their results in an expedited fashion. We want to be clear up front that this is only being done 1 to meet their preparation requirements. For the remaining cities, the results will be certified as soon as possible but it may not be possible to finish prior to the finish of the canvass period allowed by law. We hope that this information is enough for you to make a thorough presentation to your governing body. We will continue to work cooperatively with you on this issue moving forward, and will be available to answer any additional questions that you may have. Aaron 2 From:Aaron Nevarez [mailto:ANevarez @rrcc.lacounty.gov] Sent:Wednesday, September 14,2016 5:56 PM Cc: Dean Logan<DLogan @rrcc.lacounty.gov> Subject: RE: Board of Supervisor Motion-Countywide Special Election in March 2017 Good afternoon everyone, In case you haven't yet heard,the Board of Supervisors approved this motion at their meeting yesterday. Many of you have already reached out to us and provided some initial feedback on this issue. I wanted to take a moment to let you all know that we are reviewing your questions/comments and will be following up with you very soon.The following are some recurring areas of the feedback. • Requests for cost estimates • Resolution timelines • Election calendar/deadlines • Subsequent run-off elections • Responsibilities of city vs. county Thank you to all of the cities that have reached out to us already,and thanks in advance to the cities that are still putting together this feedback.We understand the time-sensitive nature of this issue,and we'll be in touch soon. Thanks again, Aaron Nevarez Governmental and Legislative Affairs Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (562)462-2800- Office anevarez@mcc.lacountY.gov From: Frances Posadas Sent: Friday, September 09, 2016 1:44 PM Cc: Dean Logan; Aaron Nevarez Subject: Board of Supevisor Motion -Countywide Special Election in March 2017 Good afternoon, Sent on behalf of Dean C. Logan, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Greetings — I wanted to bring an important issue to your attention. The Board of Supervisors will be considering the following motion (http://file.lacountv.oov/SDSlnter/bos/supdocs/107349.pdf) at their meeting this coming Tuesday, September 13, 2016. The intent of the motion is to preserve the County's option to call a Countywide Special Election in March 2017. If the Board decides to move in that direction, their intent would be for the County to conduct a consolidated election including city/district elections in those cities/districts with regularly scheduled municipal elections in March and any cities/districts that may wish to place measures before their voters in a special election. I am reaching out to you directly because your city/district is scheduled to conduct an election; or your district will be consolidated with a city conducting an election in March 2017; or you have contacted my office with interest in consolidating an issue onto a special election ballot if such an election is called by the Board of Supervisors. As you undoubtedly know there would need to be a lot of coordination between my office and your city/district to make this happen. I am fully aware that this is unanticipated and felt it was important to get the issue on your radar. Assuming this motion is approved, we will begin reaching out to you to coordinate follow-up discussions. As time is of the essence, I would like to initiate the conversation now and begin identifying key issues and information needed to ensure success and minimize concerns. It would be very helpful to get a couple pieces of information from cities/districts now to get the ball rolling. First, we are very interested to know your initial thoughts/concerns about a potential Countywide election in March and what would be required to facilitate consolidation of your city/district election with the County. Secondly, in preparing a response to the directive in the motion to ensure a cost-neutral mechanism for cities/districts (see motion), I am hoping you can provide preliminary information on what your city/district has budgeted to conduct the March election. Again, my intent here is to inform you of the Board motion, and begin a dialogue. I will update you as new information is available and notify you once the Board of Supervisors has acted on the motion. Our City Clerk Liaison, Aaron Nevarez, is managing this effort on my behalf and can answer any questions you may have. Likewise, if you could send any response to the information requests above to Aaron at your earliest convenience, I would greatly appreciate it. You can reach Aaron at (562) 462-2800 or via email at anevarez(rDrrcc.lacou ntV.gov. Thanks for your ongoing support and partnership with us. AGN. NO. MOTION BY SUPERVISOR MARK RIDLEY-THOMAS SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 Preserving the Option for a Countywide Special Election in March 2017 The next available election date for the Board of Supervisors (Board) to place potential measures before the voters to address homelessness and other issues is on March 7, 2017. The ideal scenario is for several jurisdictions to combine elections on that date and hold one election, known as a consolidated election, conducted by the County of Los Angeles (County). While ideal, a consolidated election on this date requires significant due diligence, jurisdictional coordination, and advance preparation to ensure success. The last scheduled meeting that the Board could vote to order a special election for March 2017 is on December 6, 2016. The last day to have a special meeting that the Board could vote to order a special election is only a few days later on December 9, 2016. To administer a successful countywide election, the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) cannot wait to begin coordinating until December. Election planning for all jurisdictions begins several months in advance of the December 9, 2016 deadline. As such, coordinating early in an effort to conduct a consolidated election with other cities and districts is critical. The benefits of a consolidated election are clear. They improve voter clarity, avoid duplication of services, reduce voter fatigue, and serve to ensure a countywide awareness of the election which facilitates and encourages voter participation. There are 36 other jurisdictions — cities and districts, including the City of Los Angeles — that are currently scheduled to conduct their regular municipal elections in March 2017. The vast majority of - MORE - MOTION RIDLEY-THOMAS KUEHL KNABE ANTONOVICH SOLIS MOTION BY SUPERVISOR MARK RIDLEY-THOMAS SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 PAGE 2 these jurisdictions administer their own elections outside of the purview of the RR/CC. If the County wants to consider calling for a special election and adding a countywide ballot initiative in March 2017, the best course of action would be for other cities and districts to consolidate onto the County's ballot. Without a consolidated election, cities would conduct their own concurrent election at the same time as the County election, which is not in the best interest of the public. Concurrent elections not only duplicate efforts of elections officials, but also significantly impact voters. Under a concurrent model, a voter could be required to report to two different polling locations, or if they are located at the same polling place the voter must check in at two different tables, sign two different rosters, and vote two different ballots. This creates confusion among voters and poll workers alike, has the potential of disenfranchising voters, and contributes to an overall negative voting experience. The RR/CC needs adequate time to begin having discussions with the various jurisdictions to ensure the feasibility of consolidation. The RR/CC must start notifying and coordinating with cities and districts and begin expressing the County's intent to conduct a consolidated, countywide election in March. It is also possible that additional cities or districts may want to consider placing local measures on a consolidated ballot if there is a countywide special election being considered. In addition, early coordination efforts are necessary because each jurisdiction will be required to pass a resolution requesting consolidation and specified elections services that must then be presented to the Board for approval. The deadline for a jurisdiction to request consolidation with the County for the March 2017 election is December 9, 2016. The final element of a consolidated election in March is the potential budgetary impacts. The RR/CC estimates that if the County agreed to conduct a consolidated election with every city and district in March 2017, it would cost the County approximately $10.5 million plus $8.5 million distributed on a pro rata basis to the participating cities and districts. These estimates assume that the Board moves forward with calling a special election in March 2017. If the Board decides not to proceed with a County measure at that time, then MOTION BY SUPERVISOR MARK RIDLEY-THOMAS SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 PAGE 3 the estimated election costs to be distributed among the participating cities and districts will increase to an estimated $13 million. If the County does not place a County measure on the ballot in March, the potential increased cost to cities and districts is problematic. These jurisdictions have limited funding, rely on stable estimates of election costs, and have budgeted accordingly. For this reason, it is important for the County to explore a budget-neutral provision for cities in the event that a countywide measure does not move forward and the RR/CC conducts the election for the participating cities and districts. This will require discussions and agreements with each city and district to determine their estimated election costs. In this way, the County can ensure that the individual city or district can present accurate estimates to their governing bodies in the event that the Board decides not to proceed with a countywide ballot measure in March 2017. I THEREFORE MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: 1. Direct the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Registrar Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) to contact and coordinate with the appropriate jurisdictions (cities and districts) to facilitate a countywide consolidated special election in March 2017 and report back in 30 days on the status of that coordination, identifying any further issues or actions necessary for the Board's action; and 2. Direct the CEO, in coordination with the RR/CC, to identify and allocate the resources to conduct the special election and the associated agreements with the jurisdictions for proportional costs of a special countywide election or the direct costs of conducting the elections absent a countywide measure that is cost-neutral for the jurisdictions. (YV/DW)