Hart v. Jordan

California Supreme Court Sep 14, 1939 No. S. F. 16296Published

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Holding. When the Governor exercises discretion to call a special election, all qualified initiative and referendum measures must be placed on the ballot. Statutory requirements for election procedures must yield to constitutional mandates if a conflict arises.

Issues

Whether a qualified referendum must be submitted to voters at a special election called for another initiative measure.
Whether the Governor has discretion to exclude qualified measures from a special election ballot.

Disposition. denied

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“when he has acted in the exercise of discretion, all measures which are qualified to go before the People by the constitutional provisions must be placed upon the ballot.”

“wherever they conflict with constitutional provisions, the latter must prevail.”

THE COURT.

By this proceeding in

mandamus

the petitioner seeks to compel the respondents, as Secretary of State and State Printer, respectively, to desist from taking any further steps in the matter of preparing for the ballot and submitting to the voters at the special election to be held on November 7, 1939, a proposed referendum on “The California Oil and Gas Control Act’’ enacted at the last session of the legislature (Stats. 1939, ch. 811). The question presented for determination is whether a referendum which has qualified for submission to the voters must be presented at a special election called for the purpose of presenting a particular initiative measure.

[290]

On July 1st the Governor of California by proclamation fixed November 7th as the date of a special election at which there shall be submitted to the voters for adoption or rejection an initiative constitutional amendment entitled “Retirement Warrants”. It appears that on July 27th the attorney-general prepared a title and summary of the chief purpose and points of a referendum petition against “The California Oil and Gas Control Act”,

supra,

and since that time this petition has been signed by approximately twice the number of persons required by the Constitution to submit the measure to the electors. If on or before September 18th this petition, certified as having been signed by “qualified electors equal in number to five per cent of all the votes cast for all candidates for Governor at the last preceding general election”, is presented to the Secretary of State, the challenged enactment of the legislature shall be submitted to the electors “at the next succeeding general election occurring at any time subsequent to thirty days after the filing of said petition or at any special election which may be called by the Governor, in his discretion, prior to such regular election ... ”. (Const., art. IV, sec. 1.) As the petitioner asserts that there are now on file the names of sufficient electors to qualify the referendum petition, the question for decision primarily concerns the construction of the constitutional provision in connection with certain statutes relating to elections.

Hart v. Jordan

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THE COURT.

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