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Date |
Action |
Document(s) |
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September 17, 2019 |
Santa Ana City Council adopted Ordinance NS-2975, amending the boundaries of Ward 3 to include about 25 acres of land annexed into the City (“2019 Ward 3 Boundaries”). |
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November 3, 2020 |
Councilmember Jessie Lopez elected to the City Council Ward 3 office using the 2019 Ward 3 Boundaries for a four-year term beginning in December 2020 and ending in December 2024. |
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April 5, 2022 |
Santa Ana City Council approves Resolution 2022-22 establishing new boundary lines for the wards of the City of Santa Ana and City submits this Resolution to the Registrar, including Ward 3 (the “2022 Ward 3 Boundaries”). Unless amended, these are the boundaries that will be used for Ward 3 in the upcoming November 2024 General Election. |
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February 9, 2023 |
Acting Santa Ana City Clerk emailed Notice of Intention to Circulate Recall Petition for Councilmember Lopez to ROV, asking ROV to verify the signatures on the Notice. City Clerk did not provide direction to use the 2019 Ward 3 Boundaries as opposed to the then current 2022 Ward 3 Boundaries. |
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February 10, 2023 |
ROV emails City Clerk the results of ROV’s verification of signatures on the Notice of Intention to Recall Councilmember Lopez. |
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April 6, 2023 |
City Clerk requests ROV’s certification regarding the Report of Registration for February 10, 2023. The Report provides the number of registered voters in Ward 3 based on the current 2022 Ward 3 Boundaries. |
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April 7, 2023 |
ROV provided a copy of the certification for the Report of Registration for February 10, 2023 to the City Clerk. |
8-ror-certification-response.pdf |
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City Clerk informs ROV that she approved the Recall Petition for Councilmember Lopez to be circulated. |
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June 13, 2023 |
City Clerk requested ROV verify the signatures on the petition to recall Councilmember Lopez and determined 5,274 valid signatures were required for the petition to be sufficient based on the 2022 Ward 3 Boundaries. |
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July 17, 2023 |
ROV completed its review of the signatures on the petition to recall Councilmember Lopez based on the 2022 Ward 3 Boundaries and issued a Certificate as to Verification of Signatures on Petition, determining the petition to recall Councilmember Lopez contained 5,284 valid signatures. |
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City Clerk issued a Certificate of Sufficiency of Recall Petition for the petition to recall Councilmember Lopez. |
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August 15, 2023 |
City Council adopted:
City Council Resolutions do not direct the Registrar to use any map other than the current 2022 Ward 3 Boundaries. |
15-city-council-meeting-packet.pdf |
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August 16, 2023 |
City Clerk notified ROV that City Council ordered the special recall election and requested ROV election services. ROV began providing the requested election services to the City. |
18-city-request-for-election.pdf |
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October 25, 2023 |
ROV receives inquiry from another county requesting advice regarding a recall effort involving school district officials elected before and after redistricting. Prompted by this email, ROV re-examined how it reviewed the Ward 3 recall petition and is administering the recall election pursuant to the request of the City of Santa Ana. |
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October 26, 2023 |
ROV sent letter to City Clerk, notifying her that the petition was examined and the election was being conducted using the 2022 Ward 3 map and that State law unless the City Charter provided otherwise required the 2019 Ward 3 Boundaries to be used. ROV requested direction from the City whether the City intended to proceed with the election using the 2022 Ward 3 Boundaries. |
23-letter-to-city.pdf |
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October 27, 2023 |
The City Attorney sent letter to ROV, asking whether ROV would rescind its July 17, 2023 Certificate as to Verification of Signatures on Petition. The City Attorney did not dispute that the 2019 Ward 3 Boundaries should have been used. City Attorney’s letter advises ROV that time is of the essence. |
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October 30, 2023 |
3:15 p.m. – County Counsel sent letter to City Attorney, providing the ROV’s Superseding Certificate as to Verification of Signatures on Petition as requested by the City. |
28-oc-letter-to-city.pdf |
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4:24 p.m. – Chief Assistant City Attorney sent email to County Counsel, stating the City asked whether ROV would rescind its July 17, 2023 Certificate, but was not actually directing the ROV to do so. |
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5:30 p.m. – City Council held a special meeting to discuss ROV’s October 26, 2023 letter and request for direction. City Council deadlocked on what direction to provide ROV. Absent new direction, ROV continued to conduct the special recall election using the 2022 Ward 3 Boundaries. |
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November 2, 2023 |
City Clerk sent letter to ROV, informing ROV that City Council took no action on October 30 special meeting. |
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November 3, 2023 |
Santa Ana voter filed petition in Superior Court, seeking to cancel the special recall election or to require ROV to mail ballots to voters who reside in precincts that were in Ward 3 per the 2019 Ward 3 Boundaries, but do not reside within Ward 3 per the 2022 Ward 3 Boundaries. |
34-verified-petition-for-writ.pdf |
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November 7, 2023 |
Superior Court Judge Craig Griffin denied Santa Ana voter’s ex parte petition to cancel the election or to require ROV to mail additional ballots. Judge provided voter leave to amend her petition by December 8, 2023to pursue possible post-election remedies. |
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December 8, 2023 |
City Clerk must submit certified statement of results to Santa Ana City Council no later than the fourth Thursday after Election Day. The City Council must then declare the results of the Recall Election by that day. |
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