Local News

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Voter guides are landing with a big thud on doorsteps across California, where residents are confronted with an unusually large number of ballot measures and candidates in next month's election.

Election officials worry that the state's largest guides— 192-page books sent to 12 million homes—will overwhelm and discourage would-be voters.

The array of complicated issues on the ballot could also lead to long lines and delays at polling sites if people haven't done their homework.

"The state guide is pretty overwhelming. I haven't gotten through it myself," Shasta County Clerk Cathy Darling said. "My absentee ballot is sitting here in my desk drawer because I haven't read it all yet."

A majority of the state's 16 million registered voters are expected to vote by mail in the November election.

But the ballots in many counties are so big that election officials fear some may be returned for insufficient postage.

California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson said 24 counties have mail-in ballots exceeding one ounce and therefore requiring 63 cents of postage.

He is working with the post office to help ensure that ballots with only one 39-cent stamp will be delivered by Election Day.

East of San Francisco, Alameda County's printing and mailing costs are expected to be "substantially higher" than the $1.5 million the county spent for June's primary, said Registrar Dave Macdonald.

He isn't worried about polling delays but wonders how many voters read the meaty guide.

"For the most part, they have an idea of how they're going to vote and, frankly, if they don't understand something they just don't vote on it," McDonald said.

California law requires that guides be mailed to every household with a registered voter; the state also publishes the text online.

For every proposition, the guide provides a summary, legislative analysis, arguments in favor, arguments against, and two sets of rebuttals.

"It's the secretary of state's job to provide voters with the most information so they can be informed voters," said McPherson spokeswoman Nghia Nguyen Demovic.

The state has not yet estimated the cost of the guides.

California's voter guides could become noticeably larger in 2010, when many counties will be required to include translations in at least one southeast Asian language.

In many counties, ballots are printed only in English and Spanish.

The November sample ballot in San Joaquin County is the largest ever -- 100 to 124 pages, depending on the district, or triple the normal size.

Many pages are devoted to a proposed tax increase to pay for road and rail projects.

"We know they're big and intimidating-looking, so we're telling voters they need to pre-mark the sample ballot and be prepared when they go into the booth so they don't have to read everything in the polling place—they will never be able to do that in a timely way," San Joaquin County Registrar Debby Hench said.

California guides have been swelling since the '70s, when candidates, voters and interest groups increasingly turned to state propositions to enact legislation.

The October 2003 special election, in which Gov. Gray Davis was recalled from office and replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger from a field of 135 candidates, required super-sized ballots and guides.

But at least it was light reading, with quips from candidates such as Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt, former sitcom star Gary Coleman and melon-smashing comedian Leo Gallagher.

It included a zinger from billboard model-turned-candidate Angelyne: "We've had Gray. We've had Brown. Now it's time for some blond and pink."

By contrast, the November ballot lists candidates for eight statewide offices, 13 propositions and local ballot measures in nearly all 58 counties.

Besides five bond measures, voters will determine the fate of three statewide propositions.

Kim Alexander, president of the Davis-based California Voter Foundation, created a jingle to summarize the maze of issues for voters.

The catchy tune with banjo accompaniment includes the chorus: "It's the proposition song/because the ballot's too darn long."

"Voting in this state can sometimes feel like doing your taxes," said Alexander, who emphasized that the song isn't meant as a substitute for reading the literature. But she said voters should at least skim the guide—and, if rushed, vote only on issues that are meaningful to them.

"You don't have to have encyclopedic knowledge of a ballot measure to make an informed choice," she said.

(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)