Councilmembers Robert Garcia, Steven Neal, and Gerrie Schipske have proposed aligning the City’s election cycle with the County and State.
Currently, Long Beach holds elections every two years at April and June, while the State holds elections every two years at June and November. The motion recommends the City Council convene as the Charter Amendment Committee to consider a ballot measure that would amend the City’s charter as necessary to change the election cycle.
In November of 2010, the Elections Oversight Committee of the City of Long Beach considered aligning the election cycles, but ultimately took no action. At that meeting, the City Clerk reported that some California cities align their election cycles with the State’s, and combine many elections operations with County and State operations. Citizen participation in elections can be hindered by having multiple elections instead of just one, according to information from that report.
Tomorrow’s discussion is also expected to include a full briefing from the Country Registrar- Recorder/County Clerk.
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