League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Stanislaus County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Measure K Charter Amendment Related to Definition of Votes City of Modesto Majority Approval Required Pass: 28,340 / 65.14% Yes votes ...... 15,168 / 34.86% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure K

Arguments Against Measure K

In 2005, a legal dispute over the definition of a "vote" in the Modesto City Charter forced the City to hold an expensive run-off election. The controversy threatened to leave the choice of a Councilmember up to a Judge instead of the voters. Measure K is a simple, clear solution to that problem. Under Modesto's City Charter a Modesto candidate can avoid a run-off election if he or she wins a majority of the votes in November. The question that arose in 2005 is whether the leading candidate must win a majority of valid votes cast for that office, or do blank ballots and write-in votes for cartoon characters and other ineligible candidates count against the leading candidate when determining the number of votes needed for a "majority"? A committee of Modesto residents was asked to review the City's rules for run-off elections. They came up with a simple solution to the problem: Measure K. Measure K offers a straightforward calcification to the existing City Charter: "valid" votes for the office are the votes that count. Approval of Measure K removes the potential that a court hearing, rather than the voters, could decide a Modesto election. We ask that you help Modesto ensure that the voters, not a court hearing, choose election winners. Please fix our confusing election rules. Vote YES on Measure K. /s/ Paul Baxter, Chair, City of Modesto Run-Off Election Ad Hoc Committee /s/ Kenni Friedman, Former Councilmember, City of Modesto /s/ Hugh Rose III, Co-Chair, City of Modesto Run-Off Election Ad Hoc Committee /s/ Jim Ridenour, Mayor, City of Modesto /s/ Kristin Olsen, Councilmember, City of Modesto Rebuttal to Arguments For None Filed

The present voting system works fine. If it isn't broken, don't fix it. Please vote "No". /s/ Bruce R. Frohman, Retired Councilmember Rebuttal to Arguments Against The current system is not "fine." In 2005, confusion in the City Charter language forced the City to pay for an arguably unnecessary runoff election. That money would have been better spent on more police, improved fire protection, or playground equipment for our parks. Instead, invalid votes were counted and money, time and energy had to be dedicated to another round of elections. That was a lot of money spent to let a majority of Modesto voters simply endorse the same candidate they endorsed just a few weeks earlier. Clearly, the current Charter language is broken. Luckily, there is a simple way to fix it: Measure K. All we need to clarify is that the "majority" of votes needed to avoid a runoff means 50 percent plus one of valid votes for the office. Elections are important, and clear rules will allow the voters at the voting booth to decide the winner, not attorneys in a courtroom debating imprecise charter language. Let the voters decide our election results: please vote Yes on Measure K. /s/ Paul Baxter, Chair, City of Modesto Run-Off Election Ad Hoc Committee /s/ Kenni Friedman, Former Councilmember, City of Modesto /s/ Hugh Rose Ill, Co-Chair, City of Modesto Run-Off Election Ad Hoc Committee /s/ Jim Ridenour, Mayor, City of Modesto /s/ Joe Muratore, Councilmember, City of Modesto

Full Text of Measure K

EXHIBIT A Section 300 of the City of Modesto Charter is proposed to be amended as follows (with strike out indicating deletion and underlined text indicating addition) SECTION 300. REGULAR MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS Regular Municipal Elections for the election of officers and for such other purposes as the Council may prescribe shall be held biennially on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March of each odd-numbered year until the year 1983. Thereafter they shall be held biennially on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each odd-numbered year commencing with the year 1985. If, at a regular municipal election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each odd-numbered year, no candidate for one of the elective offices of the City of Modesto receives a majority of the valid votes cast for said office at said regular municipal election, a second regular municipal election shall be held for said office on the second Tuesday in December of each odd- numbered year commencing with the year 1987. At said second regular municipal election, the two (2) candidates receiving the highest number of votes at the first regular municipal election shall have their names placed on the ballot for election to said office.