Why Does This California Voter Guide Cost $12 Million?
6/19/2024 | 1m 56sVideo has Closed Captions
In the most recent $12-million voter guide, the bulk of it was devoted to a single ballot measure.
Each page of the most recent primary voter guide cost about $118,000, according to the California Secretary of State's office. That adds up to a total of about $12 million for the entire guide — the majority of which was devoted to a single ballot proposition (Prop 1). Sameea Kamal reports for CalMatters.
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SoCal Matters is a local public television program presented by PBS SoCal
Why Does This California Voter Guide Cost $12 Million?
6/19/2024 | 1m 56sVideo has Closed Captions
Each page of the most recent primary voter guide cost about $118,000, according to the California Secretary of State's office. That adds up to a total of about $12 million for the entire guide — the majority of which was devoted to a single ballot proposition (Prop 1). Sameea Kamal reports for CalMatters.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipWhat's the cost of democracy in California?
If we measure it by the most recent primary voter guide, each page costs about $118,000, according to the Secretary of State's office.
That includes the costs for printing, translations, audio, and postage.
At 112 pages, that's about $13 million for the guide, which went out to California's 22 million registered voters.
The bulk of that guide was 68 pages dedicated to Proposition 1, which asked voters to approve a $6.4 billion bond measure to build treatment facilities and supportive housing for those with mental health and addiction challenges.
The cost of the Prop 1 pages alone was about $8 million.
That was the only measure on the March ballot.
The final number of measures on the November ballot will be decided by June 27.
While ballot measure proponents and opponents have a 500-word limit for the arguments they submit, that word limit doesn't apply to the text of proposed laws.
Voting advocates say more information for voters is always better and is worth the cost.
Consumer Watchdog Executive Director Carmen Balber said, "It's also important to print the guide and mail it to each voter to ensure it's accessible to everyone."
The Secretary of State posts a version online, but not all Californians have easy internet access.
Still, there could be some cost savings.
Balber said she receives three copies of the voter guide each election.
One in her name, one to an incorrect spelling of her name, and one to someone who was previously registered at her address.
The Secretary of State's office said it cleans the voter list on a daily basis.
Voter registration files are updated in VoteCal, a single statewide voter file created in 2016, and through address updates with the DMV or the post office.
The state could also allow people to opt out of the print guide, but that should never be the default, Balber said.
"We would never want to take that away from the public."
For CalMatters, I'm Sameea Kamal.
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SoCal Matters is a local public television program presented by PBS SoCal