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Warren Slocum - San Mateo County Chief Election Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder

  
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Instructions for Filing Arguments

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING ARGUMENTS FOR OR AGAINST LOCAL BALLOT MEASURES

Primary arguments for or against local ballot measures may be submitted in writing for printing and distribution to the voters, pursuant to provisions of the California Elections Code. Rebuttals by authors of said arguments may be filed in like manner. One argument for and one rebuttal thereto, if any, on the measure will be selected for printing and distribution to the voters.

Who Can File Arguments:

Primary Argument: The Governing Body of the local jurisdiction or any member or members of that Governing Body, or any individual voter who is eligible to vote on the measure, or bona fide association of citizens, or any combination of these voters and associations may file a written argument for or against any measure.

Rebuttal Arguments:   When an argument in favor and an argument against a measure have been selected, the elections official will send copies to the authors of those arguments in order for them to prepare and submit rebuttal arguments.   The authors of the primary arguments may also choose to authorize in writing any other person or persons to prepare, submit, or sign the rebuttal argument.


Where to File Arguments:

Primary and Rebuttal Arguments both in favor of and against a County ballot measure (a measure placed on the ballot by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors), a School District measure, or a Special District (i.e. Water, Sanitary, Health Care) measure shall be submitted in writing at the following address:

San Mateo County Chief Elections Officer
Registration - Elections Division
40 Tower Road
San Mateo, CA 94402
650.312.5222

Primary and Rebuttal Arguments both in favor of and against a City ballot measure shall be submitted in writing to the City Clerk of that City or Town:

Cities in San Mateo County
Town of Atherton
91 Ashfield Rd.
Atherton, CA 94027
650.752.0500
City of Belmont
One Twin Pines Lane
Belmont, CA 94002
650.595.7413
City of Brisbane
50 Park Place
Brisbane, CA 94005
415.508.2100
City of Burlingame
501 Primrose Ave.
Burlingame, CA 94010
650.558.7200
Town of Colma
1198 El Camino Real
Colma, CA 94014
650.997-8300
City of Daly City
333 90th St.
Daly city, CA 94015
650.991.8000
City of East Palo Alto
2415 University Ave.
East Palo Alto, CA 94303
650.853.3100
City of Foster City
610 Foster City Blvd.
Foster City, CA 94404
650.286.3200
City of Half Moon Bay
501 Main St.
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
650.726-8270
Town of Hillsborough
1600 Floribunda Ave.
Hillsborough, CA 94010
650.375.7400
City of Menlo Park
701 Laurel St.
Menlo Park, CA 94025
650.858.3380
City of Millbrae
621 Magnolia Ave.
Millbrae, CA 94030
650.259.2334
City of Pacifica
170 Santa Maria Ave.
Pacifica, CA 94044
650.738.7300
Town of Portola Valley
765 Portola Rd.
Portola Valley, CA 94028
650.851.1700
City of Redwood City
1017 Middlefield Rd.
Redwood City, CA 94063
650.780.7220
City of San Bruno
567 El Camino Real
San Bruno, CA 94066
650.616.7058
City of San Carlos
600 Elm St.
San Carlos, CA 94070
650.802.4100
City of San Mateo
330 w. 20th Ave.
San Mateo, CA 94403
650.522.7040
City of South San Francisco
400 grand Ave. (94080)
South San Francisco, CA 94083
650.877.8500
Town of Woodside
2955 Woodside Rd.
Woodside, CA 94062
650.851.6790
How to Title an Argument:

Printed arguments submitted to voters shall be titled either "Argument in Favor of Measure ___" or "Argument Against Measure ___", and "Rebuttal to Argument in Favor of Measure ____" or "Rebuttal to Argument Against Measure ___" respectively.

PDFRequired Form Statement Accompanying All Arguments

Word Count:

No primary argument shall exceed 300 words and no rebuttal argument shall exceed 250 words in length.

The above requirements, as well as more information regarding the Initiative and Referendum process, can be referenced through the California Elections Code, Division 9. You may view this code online at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html
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