NEAL KELLEY Registrar of Voters REGISTRAR OF VOTERS Mailing Address: 1300 South Grand Avenue, Bldg. C P.O. Box 11298 Santa Ana, California 92705 Santa Ana, California 92711 (714) 567-7600 TDD (714) 567-7608 FAX (714) 567-7627 www.ocvote.com Dear Orange County Voter: Thank you for registering to vote! You’ll find all party ballots have been consolidated into one easy-to-read sample ballot. Detailed instructions have also been included for your reference. This Sample Ballot contains information for the June 3, 2014 Statewide Direct Primary Election. Please take a moment to be prepared prior to voting. • Vote-by-Mail: You can save time and vote-by-mail. If you are a permanent vote-by- mail voter your ballot will be sent automatically to you. If you are not a permanent vote-by-mail voter you may apply by using the application on the back of this pamphlet or by visiting ocvote.com/votebymail. The last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot is May 27, 2014. Please remember to mail your ballot early to avoid any potential postal delays. • Polling Place: If you choose to vote at your polling place please plan ahead. Parking is limited at some locations and you can avoid congestion by voting mid-day if possible. You will have the option of voting an electronic or paper ballot at the polls. Simply advise the poll worker of your preference when signing the roster. • Questions: California’s new Top Two Primary changes the way primary elections are conducted. Now all voters – regardless of party – can vote in the Primary Election. You can find details in this pamphlet or by visiting ocvote.com/toptwo. If you have additional questions about the June 3rd Statewide Direct Primary Election you may visit ocvote.com/info or call 1-888-628-6837. Successful elections cannot happen without YOU! We need poll workers for this and future elections. Many need to be bilingual in Chinese, Korean, Spanish or Vietnamese. Please call 1-866-551-8683 or visit ocvote.com/volunteer and sign-up today! Our mission is to serve the registered voters of Orange County in a uniform, consistent and accessible manner with the highest level of integrity. We look forward to counting your vote and giving you another successful election. Sincerely, Neal Kelley Registrar of Voters ALL VOTERS CAN NOW VOTE IN THE PRIMARY! Now all voters – regardless of party – can vote in the Primary Election. The top two vote-getters from each voter- nominated contest will advance to the General Election.† † Nonpartisan candidates advance based on other criteria. For full details visit ocvote.com/toptwo ocrov ocregistrar OCVOTE.COM ORANGE COUNTY REGISTRAR OF VOTERS | 1300 South Grand Avenue | Building C | Santa Ana, CA 92705 | 714.567.7600 ORANGE COUNTY REGISTRAR OF VOTERS | 1300 South Grand Avenue | Building C | Santa Ana, CA 92705 | 714.567.7600 TOP TWO CANDIDATES OPEN PRIMARY ACT Many candidate contests on the June 3, 2014 Statewide Direct Primary Election ballot are governed by the open primary law that took effect in 2012. The Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act requires that all candidates for a voter-nominated office be listed on the same ballot. Previously known as partisan offices, voter-nominated offices are state legislative offices, U.S. congressional offices, and state constitutional offices. In the open primary system, this means you can vote for any candidate, regardless of what party preference you indicated on your voter registration form. Only the two candidates receiving the most votes – regardless of party preference – move on to the General Election regardless of vote totals. If a candidate receives a majority of the vote (50 percent + 1), a General Election still must be held. Even if there are only two candidates in the open primary, a General Election is still required. Write-in candidates for voter-nominated offices can still run in the Primary Election. However, a write-in candidate can only move on to the General Election if the candidate is one of the top two vote-getters in the Primary Election. Additionally, there is no independent nomination process for a General Election. California’s new open primary system does not apply to candidates running for local offices in the June 3, 2014 Statewide Direct Primary Election. California law requires that the following information be printed in this pamphlet. PARTY-NOMINATED/PARTISAN OFFICES Political parties may formally nominate candidates for party-nominated/partisan offices at the Presidential Primary Election (not at the June 3, 2014 Statewide Direct Primary Election). A nominated candidate will represent that party as its official candidate for the specific office at the General Election and the ballot will reflect an official designation. The top vote-getter for each party at the Presidential Primary Election moves on to the General Election. Parties also elect officers of county central committees at the Presidential Primary Election. A voter can only vote in the Presidential Primary Election of the political party he or she has disclosed a preference for upon registering to vote. However, a political party may allow a person who has declined to disclose a party preference to vote in that party’s Presidential Primary Election. VOTER-NOMINATED OFFICES Political parties are not entitled to formally nominate candidates for voter-nominated offices at any Primary Election. A candidate nominated for a voter-nominated office at any Primary Election is the nominee of the people and not the official nominee of any party at the General Election. A candidate for nomination to a voter-nominated office shall have his or her party preference, or lack of party preference, stated on the ballot, but the party preference designation is selected solely by the candidate and is shown for the information of the voters only. It does not mean the candidate is nominated or endorsed by the party designated, or that there is an affiliation between the party and candidate, and no candidate nominated by the voters shall be deemed to be the officially nominated candidate of any political party. The parties may list the candidates for voter-nominated offices who have received the party’s official endorsement in the county sample ballot pamphlet. Any voters may vote for any candidate for a voter-nominated office, if they meet the other qualifications required to vote for that office. The top two vote-getters at any Primary Election move on to the General Election for the voter-nominated office even if both candidates have specified the same party preference designation. No party is entitled to have a candidate with its party preference designation move on to the General Election, unless the candidate is one of the two highest vote-getters at any Primary Election. NONPARTISAN OFFICES Political parties are not entitled to nominate candidates for nonpartisan offices at any Primary Election, and a candidate at any Primary Election is not the official nominee of any party for the specific office at the General Election. A candidate for nomination to a nonpartisan office may NOT designate his or her party preference, or lack of party preference, on the ballot. Any candidate for a nonpartisan office who at a Primary Election receives a majority of the votes cast for candidates for that office shall be elected to that office and does not move on to the General Election. If no candidate receives a majority of votes cast, then the top two vote-getters at any Primary Election move on to the General Election. EXCEPTIONS: (1) The highest vote-getter at any Primary Election for Member, Orange County Board of Education, shall be elected to that office and does not move on to the General Election; and (2) The top two vote-getters at the Gubernatorial Primary Election for the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction, a nonpartisan office, move on to the General Election. ocrov ocregistrar OCVOTE.COM ORANGE COUNTY REGISTRAR OF VOTERS | 1300 South Grand Avenue | Building C | Santa Ana, CA 92705 | 714.567.7600 HOW TO USE THIS SAMPLE BALLOT PAMPHLET This Sample Ballot Pamphlet has information for ALL voters for the June 3, 2014 Statewide Direct Primary Election. You may use this Sample Ballot to mark your choices, and take it with you when you vote at the polls. All of the Primary Election information is contained in this pamphlet, no matter what your political party preference is. By learning just a few tips about how to navigate through this pamphlet, you’ll be ready to go. What’s inside… Where is the Sample Ballot for my party? Use this Pamphlet to learn how to: Look for your party on the back cover of this Sample • Vote-by-mail; Ballot Pamphlet. It is printed next to your name and • Vote a paper or electronic ballot at the polls; address. • Know what a Top-Two Primary means for you; and The sample ballots are printed in this order: • Work at the polls. • Democratic Also included: • Republican • A sample ballot for each party, including for No Party • American Independent Preference voters, who did not choose a party; • Americans Elect • Candidates’ Statements, if any; and • Green • Local measures, if any. • Libertarian Where are the Candidates’ • Peace and Freedom Statements and local measures? If you are affiliated with a qualified political party, you will Candidates’ Statements are located after the be issued that official ballot. nonpartisan ballot page. Not all pamphlets will contain Candidates’ Statements. If you have questions about your party, call us: 1-888- OCVOTES (1-888-628-6837). If your voting area has local measures, they will follow the Candidates’ Statements. Local measure documents What if I did not register with any may include the text, the arguments, tax rate statement, party? fiscal impact statement, bond project list, and impartial analysis.