Thursday, August 13 | Volume 40 No.22

Westsidestory Newspaper

On Your November Ballot: Prop 5 Would Reshape How California Conducts Recall Elections

By Austin Gage | California Black Media

California voters will decide this Novem ber whether to change how the state replaces elected officials who are removed from office through a recall election. Proposition (Prop) 5 would eliminate the current system in which voters simultaneous ly decide whether to recall a state official and choose that official’s potential replacement. Instead, the recall ballot would contain only the yes-or-no question about removing the official. If the recall succeeds, the vacancy would be filled later under procedures established by the California Constitution and state law. Under the current system, voters answer two questions on the same ballot. The first asks whether the targeted official should be recalled. The second asks voters to select a successor who would take office if the recall passes. The replacement candidate who re ceives the most votes wins, even without sup port from a majority of voters. Prop 5 would remove that second question from the recall ballot. Depending on the office, the vacancy would be filled by appointment, succession or a subsequent special election.

See "Prop 5 Would..." page 8

Bill Requiring Public Notices to Be Published in Newspapers’ Print Editions Heads to Gov. Newsom’s Desk

Assembly Bill (AB) 2323, legislation by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) that would modernize how newspapers publish legally mandated public notices is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom for consider ation. AB 2323, co-authored by Assemblymember Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach), cleared the Legislature after the Assembly voted 75-0 on Aug. 7 to concur with Senate amendments. Newsom can sign or veto the measure. “For decades, legal notices have been pub lished in independent newspapers, creating a trusted third-party record the public can rely on,” McKinnor said. “As more Californians access information online, this bill ensures our public notice systems evolve without compro mising public access to important information. AB 2323 has received bipartisan support.” California law requires certain public no tices — including estate notices, foreclosure announcements and local government or dinances — to be published in adjudicated newspapers of general circulation. Sometimes called legal advertisements, pub lic notices are intended to promote transpar ency, protect individual rights and formally inform communities about government and private actions that may affect them.

By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media

To read more, visit www.westsidestorynewspaper.com.