SACRAMENTO — On Monday, Assemblywoman Natasha Johnson (R-Lake Elsinore) and Assemblyman Josh Hoover (R-Folsom) announced the introduction of Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) 23, a measure that would add the office of Secretary of State to the list of nonpartisan statewide elected offices.
“Election integrity in California has become a major issue that reduces voter trust. The Secretary of State is a critical position that shouldn’t be subject to political influence. However, recent disputes over the citizen initiative process have called into question the credibility of the office as an impartial arbiter of election issues,” said Johnson. “ACA 23 and Senator Niello’s SCA 3 would restore trust at the ballot box by empowering the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office to prepare ballot titles and ensuring that election oversight by the Secretary of State is protected from partisanship. Voter trust in elections is at an all-time low, and it is our duty as a legislative body to improve confidence in our electoral process. Passing ACA 23 and SCA 3 will be an important step in that direction.”
“It’s time to take partisanship out of our elections and restore Californians’ trust in the electoral system,” Assemblyman Hoover stated. “ACA 23 will begin that process by properly establishing the Secretary of State as a nonpartisan position. To improve transparency, Senator Niello’s constitutional amendment will help ensure voters have access to the most honest and accurate information when making decisions at the ballot box. California voters deserve to have confidence in our elections.”
Assemblymembers Johnson and Hoover will be holding a press conference urging support for ACA 23 at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 13. A media advisory will follow.