October 19, 2005

Proposition 77 Supreme Court Litigation

Lost in the political battle over the Proposition 77 redistricting measure is the fact that the litigation challenging the certification of that measure for the ballot is still pending before the California Supreme Court. After the Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court decision ordering the measure off the ballot because the version of the measure circulated was different than the version submitted to the Attorney General for title and summary, the Supreme Court granted review and ordered the measure back on the ballot.

Here are the Supreme Court briefs on the merits filed by the proponents, opponents, Attorney General, and the Secretary of State.

Interestingly, the Attorney General's brief observes that "once an election occurs, every effort should be made to validate the election if possible" and that therefore "the Attorney General is not asking this Court to invalidate Proposition 77 post-election if it is approved by the voters." The measure's opponents argue that if passed by the voters, the measure is invalid.

Another interesting point is the Secretary of State's strong stance against pre-election review.

Posted by Randy Riddle at October 19, 2005 02:58 PM