Initiative Qualifies for Ballot

On Mar. 6, Mission Viejo resident Dale Tyler received word that the Mission Viejo Right-To-Vote Initiative qualified for the ballot with 2,000 signatures to spare. Tyler, who created the initiative, patterned it after a similar one approved by voters in Yorba Linda.

More than 100 Mission Viejo residents began gathering signatures last August. The number needed to qualify the initiative for the next general election was 6,142 (10 percent of the city’s registered voters). Tyler delivered approximately 11,000 to the city clerk on Jan. 26, and the Orange County Registrar of Voters determined 8,327 were valid.

While proponents are thankful the initiative qualified, they will review the findings at the RoV’s office and look at each petition to see why 3,854 signatures were thrown out. The RoV said 1,158 were duplicates, which is an unusually high number.

Prior to Jan. 26, volunteers verified signatures with a CD from the Registrar of Voters, and their results indicated the initiative would qualify for a special election. The minimum to qualify for a special election is 9,213 valid signatures (15 percent of the city’s registered voters).

The first opportunity for the initiative to be on the ballot is the California Primary Election on June 8, 2010.