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October 30, 2023 California Mayor Amezcua and Santa Ana City Council�Un;;��;�;;;��llh�llllll� 20 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 Submitted via ecomment(&_ ,santa-ana.oru RE: Legal Questions about Recall Election of Councilmember Jessie Lopez Dear Mayor Amezcua and Members of the City Council, California Common Cause is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to fair, transparent, and participatory local and state democracy. We write today to address the controversy surrounding the recall election of Councilmember Jessie Lopez. As you know, California Election Code only permits the voters who elected an official to recall that official, meaning that only signatures gathered from within Ward 3's pre -redistricting boundaries have legal effect. Additionally, all voters within Ward 3's pre -redistricting boundaries are due a vote on any recall that is successfully and appropriately qualified. As an organization we are not invested in Santa Ana politics, have no view on Councilmember Lopez's performance as a councilmember, and take no position on the merits of the recall. As a result, we speak only from our understanding of the law, which leads us to the following conclusion: While there were serious errors committed by the Registrar of Voters and the City, and canceling the recall election would be deeply unfair to the proponents of the recall who simply followed directions from those two entities, the residents of the post -redistricting Ward 3 do not actually have the legal right to recall Councilmember Lopez. Additionally, almost 1,200 residents of the pre -redistricting Ward 3 have the legal right to decide on the recall, should it move forward, and do not have the ballots they need in order to do so. We recognize significant money has been spent by the City and the Registrar in preparing for the recall election, and proponents of the recall have expended effort and money in pursuit of their goals. But given the facts above, we have very significant questions about the legal validity of the recall and would anticipate that if it were to move forward, the result would quickly be challenged in court by members of the community, resulting in substantial legal fees for the City. We appreciate the difficulty of this situation and wish you well in your attempts to find the most appropriate resolution possible. Sincerely, Jonathan Mehta Stein Executive Director, California Common Cause