Citizens in Charge

Yesterday, Citizens in Charge, joined by the Humane Society of the United States and the National Taxpayers Union, filed a friend of the court brief in the case, Michael Ni v. Warren Slocum, Chief Elections Officer of San Mateo County, asking the California Court of Appeal to reverse a lower court’s decision and hold that Michael Ni’s electronic signature on a 2010 petition was legally proper and, likewise, that electronic signatures gathered in accordance with the requirements of California law should be accepted as valid for initiative and referendum petitions.

In 2010, Michael Ni signed a petition electronically on his smart phone to legalize and tax marijuana. (All three groups filing the amicus brief made it clear they take no position on the initiative Mr. Ni signed; they are only supporting his right to sign it electronically.) But Ni’s signature was rejected by San Mateo County’s chief election officer, Warren Slocum.

In the brief, Citizens in Charge, et al, argue that “The initiative process serves as a safety valve for Californians” and that “this Court should consider the ballot initiative as an integral part of California and it should endeavor to protect that process.”

Nothing in California statute prohibits signing petitions electronically, and in combating fraud or enhancing the ability of elections officials to verify signatures, an electronic signature offers more information including the flow of the pen’s strokes on the stylus, for instance. As the brief put it, “Electronic signatures are more reliable in many respects than squiggles consisting of ink-on-paper.”

Every day millions of Americans use electronic signatures to spend trillions of dollars at the grocery store or the mall or when conducting other governmental business. But only in Utah has a state permitted this modern technology to benefit citizens wanting to participate in politics by petitioning their government. Last year, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that electronic signatures gathered to place an independent candidate on the ballot could not be rejected by state officials.

A decision allowing California voters to electronically sign initiative petitions would be a huge step forward in allowing greater participation and lowering the cost of initiative campaigns. The amicus brief submitted by Citizens in Charge concluded, “Ballot initiatives are integral to the proper functioning of our democratic system.  As the cost of collecting handwritten initiative signatures skyrockets and the signature-gathering process becomes big business, technology has presented us with an opportunity to level the playing field.  Good public policy would ensure that the initiative process continues to provide citizens with an effective method for political change.”

You can view the amicus brief here.