Assemblywoman Natasha Johnson (R-Lake Elsinore) and Assemblyman Josh Hoover (R-Folsom) on Thursday urged support for Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) 23, which would make California’s Secretary of State a nonpartisan office and remove party preference from the ballot for candidates seeking the position.
They were joined at a Sacramento press conference by Senator Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks), whose SCA 3 would move responsibility for writing statewide initiative and referendum ballot titles and summaries from the Attorney General to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.
“Election integrity in California has become a major issue that reduces voter trust. The Secretary of State is a critical position that shouldn’t be subject to political influence. However, recent disputes over the citizen initiative process have called into question the credibility of the office as an impartial arbiter of election issues,” said Johnson. “ACA 23 and Senator Niello’s SCA 3 would restore trust at the ballot box by empowering the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office to prepare ballot titles and ensuring that election oversight by the Secretary of State is protected from partisanship. Voter trust in elections is at an all-time low, and it is our duty as a legislative body to improve confidence in our electoral process. Passing ACA 23 and SCA 3 will be an important step in that direction.”
“It’s time to take partisanship out of our elections and restore Californians’ trust in the electoral system,” Hoover said. “ACA 23 will begin that process by properly establishing the Secretary of State as a nonpartisan position. To improve transparency, Senator Niello’s constitutional amendment will help ensure voters have access to the most honest and accurate information when making decisions at the ballot box. California voters deserve to have confidence in our elections.”
ACA 23 would place the Secretary of State alongside judicial, school, county and city offices and the Superintendent of Public Instruction as a nonpartisan office under Article II of the California Constitution. Political parties could not nominate candidates for the office, and candidates’ party preferences would not appear on the ballot.
Legislators including Assemblymembers Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego), Minority Leader Alexandra M. Macedo (R-Tulare), Laurie Davies (R-Laguna Niguel), Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach), Stan Ellis (R-Bakersfield), Kate Sanchez (R-Rancho Santa Margarita), Tri Ta (R-Westminster), and David Tangipa (R-Fresno) were also in attendance, along with former Assemblyman Don Wagner and Victor Marani of the American Independent Party.
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