Stanislaus County election official not concerned about Measure I complaint

Stanislaus County’s top election official disagreed with a complaint that claims voter materials for Modesto’s Stamp Out Sprawl initiative did not meet legal requirements.

In a complaint Friday to the California secretary of state, former Councilman Denny Jackman said the city violated the state Elections Code by failing to put the full text of Measure I in voter pamphlets for the Nov. 3 election.

Jackman, who wrote Measure I, cited an Elections Code section that requires cities to submit initiative petitions “without alteration” to voters. The election pamphlets sent to Modesto voters included the actual language for measures F, G and H, but did not have the text for Measure I.

Jackman suggested in a Modesto Bee Letter to the Editor that the omission might have been a dirty trick. “As a former Modesto City Council member and lifetime resident, it saddens me that a strong possibility of intentional ballot tampering has occurred,” Jackman wrote.

He said the voters had to rely on the city attorney’s impartial analysis to understand the anti-sprawl proposal. Measure I proposed an urban growth limit on three sides of Modesto to keep productive farmland from being destroyed. The contentious ballot issue, pitting slow-growth advocates against business and development interests, failed by a 215-vote margin.

County Registrar of Voters Lee Lundrigan said Tuesday she disagreed with Jackman. Referring to Elections Code section 9280, Lundrigan said there is no legal requirement to print the text of voter initiatives in the sample ballot.

“In the event the entire text of the measure is not printed on the ballot, nor in the voter information portion of the sample ballot,” the code says, the city can print a phone number and instructions for ordering a copy of the initiative below the impartial analysis.

The impartial analysis for Measure I did not offer a phone number or instructions for obtaining a copy of the initiative. Local officials will wait to see if the state considers that a serious omission.

Modesto City Attorney Adam Lindgren said his office received a copy of Jackman’s complaint Monday and is looking into it. He said he expects to provide his findings to the City Council at its meeting next week.

County Counsel John Doering said Tuesday his office had not been asked for an opinion on Jackman’s complaint. Later, Doering said he agreed with Lundrigan’s assessment that state law does not require the full text to be printed in voter pamphlets.

The county election office conducted the November election for Modesto and relied on the city to furnish the required information and content for the four measures, Lundrigan said.

A spokesman for Secretary of State Alex Padilla said the department does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations. A local official and Jackman said they received confirmation the secretary of state’s fraud unit was considering the complaint.

Last week, the Modesto City Council laid blame on City Clerk Stephanie Lopez for a mishap over Measure F, which resulted in a court order not to count the vote and to reschedule the item for the June ballot. According to city officials, Measure F was not included in all ballots because Lopez changed election paperwork.

The council issued a reprimand and docked the pay of the city clerk. The city put Measure F on the ballot for Modesto City Schools, asking voters if the city charter should be amended to change the way the district elects board members.

This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Stanislaus County election official not concerned about Measure I complaint."