The Sonoma County Democratic Party voted to support AB 1416 The Ballot Disclose Act. This bill proposes including a short list of supporters and opponents on the ballot itself to provide voters with more information about the measures that they are voting on.

One of the things voters most want to know about ballot measures is who supports and opposes them. But many voters don’t know that information when they vote, and ballot measure campaigns supported by organizations people trust often don’t have the financial resources to effectively communicate that information to them, giving an unfair advantage to campaigns backed by wealthy interests who do.

AB 1416 (Santiago-Chiu-Gonzalez), sponsored by the California Clean Money Campaign, give voters the information they want and need by adding a short list of supporters and opponents who signed the arguments for and against each state ballot measure in the voter information guide to the current title and summary shown on the ballot for state ballot measures. Counties may voluntarily choose to include supporters and opponents for local ballot measures on the ballot, also. This will give voters the information they need at the time and place it matters most — on the ballot itself.