Clear Language on Ballot Summaries is a California ballot initiative I recently submitted for circulation. This common sense measure will remove from the partisan Attorney General’s office and the legislature the responsibility of drafting title and summary for initiatives. These initiatives are laws that will govern our lives and deserve to be treated fairly on the ballot. This should not be a political game that politicians can tamper with.
Regrettably, this flaw in the system must be addressed through direct democracy in the initiative process because the current legislature refuses to deal with this issue. Last year California Assemblyman Roger Niello introduced AB 319, legislation that would reduce partisan bias by transferring responsibility of writing initiative title and summary from the Attorney General to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. The bill was summarily rejected; not even reaching the Assembly floor for a full debate. Niello has once again introduced the bill, AB 1968, but it is once again certain to fail in committee.
The National Conference of State Legislatures reiterated the impact of an unbiased title and summary: "The ballot title and summary are arguably the most important part of an initiative in terms of voter education. Most voters never read more than the title and summary of the text of initiative proposals. Therefore, it is of critical importance that titles and summaries be concise, accurate and impartial."
If voters must rely on ballot title and summary to make informed decisions, they deserve to have an impartial, accurate description of an initiative. Removing this responsibility from a process that has become too partisan will mean a better-informed public and therefore better laws.