Memo: Effect of per word fee on the number of words in Green Party candidate statements in California Voter Guide

Effect of per word fee on the number of words in Green Party candidate statements in California Voter Guide, combined with signature-in-lieu fees to get on to ballot, post-Proposition 14
By Mike Feinstein, Santa Monica. October 8, 2020; updated September 13, 2023

Executive Summary:  Prior to the implementation of Top Two elections in California, Green Party candidates almost exclusively qualified for the ballot by gathering the required number of signatures-in-lieu of paying a filing fee, obviating the need to ever pay a filing fee. Prior to Proposition 14’s passage, the number of signatures was 150 party members for statewide office, and 40 to 60 party members for other state and federal offices.

With the passage of Proposition 14 in June 2010, the number of signatures a statewide Green Party candidate needed to get on the ballot went up 66 times, from 150 party members to 10,000 registered voters (subsequently reduced to 7,000 starting in 2018). Similar increases (and subsequent reductions) were found for state and federal legislative office.

The consequence has been that Green candidates (and other candidates from California’s four legacy smaller parties - Libertarians, Peace & Freedom, American Independent) could no longer gather enough signatures-in-lieu of the filing fee to avoid paying the fee, and had to either pay the fee, or not get on the ballot. 

At the same time, with the passage of Proposition 34 in 2000 (https://lao.ca.gov/ballot/2000/34_11_2000.html), the cost of a candidate statement in the statewide voter information guide has gone up from free before 2002, to $6250 today. 

Hence, the combined cost to have a full ballot statement and registration fee for statewide office was between $9,747 and $10,621 in 2022 and between $8,730 and $9,550 in 2018, depending upon the office, all the way up to Governor. 

The combination of the high cost of a candidate statement along with the increased cost of the filing fee — combined with other disincentives and roadblocks created by the Top Two system, is that a record few candidates from California's legacy parties (Peace and Freedom, American Independent, Libertarian, Green) qualified in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2022 - the first six elections under Top Two.

References:

Voters’ Right to Know Undermined by High Candidate Statement Fees, SoS Conflict of Interest. By Michael Feinstein. Fox and Hounds Daily. January 18, 2018 https://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2018/01/voters-right-know-undermined-high-candidate-statement-fees-sos-conflict-interest

Op/Ed: Top-two primary creates barriers to voter choice. By Michael Feinstein. Special to The Sacramento Bee. June 5, 2016
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article81520547.html

Viewpoints: Top-two primary system is eliminating diverse political expression. By Michael Feinstein, Special to The Sacramento Bee, May. 6, 2014  http://web.archive.org/web/20140718133241/http://www.sacbee.com/2014/05/06/6380742/viewpoints-top-two-primary-system.html

Report - Table of Contents

Part I: Proposition 34 Costs for Candidate Statement for Governor/Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, Controller, Insurance Commissioner

Part II: Number of words in GPCA candidate statements pre- and post-Proposition 34 

Part I: Proposition 34 Costs for Candidate Statement for Governor/Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, Controller, Insurance Commissioner

The fee for a candidate statement to be included in the state Voter Information Guide for the California’s Statewide Direct Primary Elections is $25.00 per word, not to exceed $6,250.00 (250 words). ​https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/candidate-statements

Separately, according to California Election Code 8103(a), the filing fees for appearing on the statewide ballot  are "Two percent of the first-year salary...for any state office." (http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=elec&group=08001-09000&file=8100-8107); meaning that the average filing fee for such offices is between $2,480 and $3,300 per candidate.

Hence, the combined cost to have a full ballot statement and registration fee for statewide office is between $8,730 and $9,550, depending upon the office, all the way up to Governor.

Proposition 34 Primary Election Cost Estimates for U.S. House, State Senate, State Assembly (2020) 
https://web.archive.org/web/20191220202231/https://elections.cdn.sos.ca....

Proposition 34: Changes to California Campaign Finance Law. FPPC
https://web.archive.org/web/20150917181305/http://fppc.ca.gov/index.php?...

Proposition 34 Candidate Statement Provisions
https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/candidate-statements

Here is the explanation from the SoS office about the fees they charge:

The Secretary of State is responsible for publishing the state ballot pamphlet. Government Code section 85601 provides that candidates for statewide office may purchase space in the pamphlet. The Secretary of State’s authority to establish the fee derives from section 85601(a), which requires submission of candidate statements “in accordance with timeframes and procedures set forth by the Secretary of State for the preparation of the state ballot pamphlet.” Government Code section 88001(i) and Elections Code section 9084(i) provide that candidates for United States Senate may also purchase space for a candidate statement in the statewide ballot pamphlet, also “in accordance with timeframes and procedures set forth by the Secretary of State for the preparation of the state ballot pamphlet.” In 2006 candidate statement fees were $20 per word and in 2010, $25 per word.  These fees apply separately to candidate statements in the ballot pamphlets for the primary and general elections. The Secretary of State sends a candidate statement package to every candidate who files a Form 501 and to all of the qualified political parties. The Secretary of State's website includes candidate statement information, including candidate statement fee information, at https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/candidate-statements

Candidate statements are needed by a certain date because the state ballot pamphlet is statutorily required to be on public display for at least 20 days before the ballot pamphlet is sent to the State Printer. This, coupled with other statutory requirements and the time required to compile, translate and print the pamphlet, determines the calendar of deadlines before each election. The Elections calendar is shared on the Secretary of State's website.  Finally, if a candidate ultimately does not qualify for the ballot by the end of the public display period, the candidate statement fee is refunded. 

Part II: Number of words in GPCA candidate statements pre- and post-Proposition 34 

Proposition 34, which was passed in 2002, mandated charging for candidate ballot statements, when previously there was no cost. Before 2012, because most minor party candidates were able to get on the ballot without having to pay a filing fee (because the signatures-in-lieu requirement was low), the only thing they had to pay for was their candidate statement. Since Top Two, now it is both charges together, which means fewer candidates and shorter statements.

http://www.cagreens.org/elections/ballot-statements

Number of words per candidate statement for statewide Green candidates after the Secretary of State started charging per word (2006-2022)

$25/per word in 2022

James "Henk" Conn, U.S. Senate (2022) - 37 words
Pamela Elizondo, U.S. Senate (2022)  - 0 words
Luis Javier Rodriguez, Governor (2022) - 197 words
Gary Blenner, Secretary of State (2022) - 45 words
Dan Kapelovitz, Attorney General (2022) - 38 words
Laura Wells, Controller (2022) - 88 words
Veronika Fimbres, Insurance Commissioner (2022) - 7 words

$25/per word in 2018

Christopher Carlson, Governor (2018) - 20 words
Jason Jones, Governor (2018) - 90 words
Michael Feinstein, Secretary of State (2018) - 247 words
Erik Rydberg, Secretary of State (2018) - 12 words

$25/per word in 2014

Luis Javier Rodriguez, Governor (2014) - 64 words
Jena Goodman, Lt. Governor (2014) - 0 words
Laura Wells, Controller (2014) - 62 words
Ellen Brown, Treasurer (2014) - 119 words
David Curtis, Secretary of State (2014) - 60 words

$25/per word in 2010

Laura Wells, Governor (2010) - 87 words
Jimi Castillo, Lt. Governor (2010) - 8 words
Ann Menasche, Secretary of State (2010) - 62 words
Charles "Kit" Crittendon, Treasurer (2010) - 25 words
Peter Allen, Attorney General (2010) - 14 words
William Balderston, Insurance Commissioner (2010) - 5 words

$20/per word in 2006

Peter Camejo, Governor (2006) - 213 words
Donna Warren, Lt. Governor (2002) - 78 words
Forrest Hill, Secretary of State (2006) - 97 words
Laura Wells, Controller (2006) - 213 words
Methual M. Thakker, Treasurer (2006) - 171 words
Michael S. Wyman, Attorney General (2006) - 155 words

Number of words per candidate statement for statewide Green candidates before the Secretary of State started charging per word (1994-2002)

Peter Camejo, Governor (2002) - 246 words
Donna Warren, Lt. Governor (2002) - 249 words
Larry Shoup, Secretary of State (2002) - 248 words
Laura Wells, Controller (2002) - 242 words
Jeanne-Marie Rosenmeier, Treasurer (2002) - 244 words
Glen Mower, Attorney General (2002) - 250 words
David Sheidlower, Insurance Commissioner (2002) - 204 words

Dan Hamburg, Governor (1998) - 198 words
Sara Amir, Lt. Governor (1998) - 193 words

Barbara Blong, US Senate (1994) - 210 words
Danny Moses, Lt. Governor (1994) - 189 words
Margaret Garcia, Secretary of State (1994) - 198 words

(note - these number counts are via Microsoft word, so they will differ slightly from the SoS official method of counting https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawC....)