HomeMy WebLinkAboutRes 2026-029Resolution No. 2026-029
A Resolution of The City Council of The City of Palm Desert, California,
Adopting Regulations for Candidates for Elective Office Pertaining to
Candidate Statements Submitted to the Voters at the General Municipal
Election to be Held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Whereas, pursuant to the provisions of the Charter of the City of Palm Desert and
Chapter 2.38 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code, a General Municipal Election shall be
held on November 3, 2026, for the election of two (2) members of the City Council, one
from District 4 and one from District 5, each for the full term of four (4) years , and
Whereas, Section 13307 of the Elections Code of the State of California provides that
the governing body of the local agency may adopt regulations pertaining to materials
prepared by any candidate for a municipal election, including costs of the candidate
statement.
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Palm Desert, California,
as follows:
Section 1. That the foregoing Recitals are true and correct and are incorporated
herein by this reference.
Section 2. General Provisions.
Pursuant to Sections 13307 and 13308 of the California Elections Code, each candidate
for elective office to be voted for at the City of Palm Desert General Municipal Election
to be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, may prepare a candidate’s statement on an
appropriate form provided by the City Clerk. The statement may include the name, age,
and occupation of the candidate, and a brief description of no more than 200 words of
the candidate’s education and qualifications, expressed by the candidate themselves .
The statement shall not include the party affiliation of the candidate, nor membership or
activity in partisan political organizations. In addition, the statement shall be limited to a
recitation of the candidate’s own personal background and qualificati ons and shall not in
any way make reference to other candidates for that office or to another candidate’s
qualifications, character, or activities. The statement shall be filed in typewritten form in
the Office of the City Clerk at the time the candidate’s nomination papers are filed. The
statement may be withdrawn, but not changed, during the period for filing nomination
papers and until 5:00 p.m. of the ne xt working day after the close of the nomination
period.
The City Clerk is NOT permitted to edit any material contained in candidate statements.
Candidates are responsible for proofreading , spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Since
the statement cannot be changed after submission, it is important for candidates to
carefully prepare and proofread their statements.
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Section 3. Foreign Language Policy.
Pursuant to the Federal Voting Rights Act, candidate statements will be translated into
all languages required by the County of Riverside. The County is required to translate
candidate statements into the following language(s): Spanish.
The County will print and mail voter information guides and candidate’s statements to all
voters in Spanish and any other required translation languages to only those voters who
are on the County voter file as having requested a sample ballot in a particul ar
language. The County will make the sample ballots/voter information guides and
candidate’s statements in the required languages available at all polling places/voting
centers, on the County’s website, and in the Election Official’s office .
Section 4. Payment.
The candidate shall be required to pay for the cost of translating the candidate
statements into any required foreign language pursuant to federal and/or state law.
The candidate shall be required to pay the cost of printing the candidate statement in
English and any other language required in the voter information guide.
The City Clerk shall estimate the total cost of printing, handling, translating, and mailing
the candidate’s statements filed pursuant to this section, including costs incurred as a
result of complying with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (as amended), and r equire each
candidate filing a statement to pay in advance to the City, his or her estimated pro rata
share as a condition of having the candidate statement included in the voter information
guide.
The estimate is an approximation of the actual costs, which vary from one election to
another and may be significantly more or less than the estimate, depending on the
number of candidates who file statements. Accordingly, the City Clerk is not bound by
the estimate and may, on a pro-rata basis, bill the candidate for additional actual
expenses or refund any excess paid, depending on the final actual cost.
Section 5. Miscellaneous.
A) The City Clerk shall allow italics, underlining, and bullet points but shall not
allow bold font or ALL CAPS.
B) The City Clerk shall comply with all recommendations and standards set forth
by the California Secretary of State regarding occupational designations and other
matters relating to elections.
C) All translations shall be provided by professionally certified translators.
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Section 6. Additional Materials.
No candidate will be permitted to include additional materials in the voter information
guide.
Section 7. The City Clerk is directed to provide each candidate or the candidate’s
representative with a copy of this Resolution at the time nomination papers are issued.
Section 8. All previous resolutions adopting regulations for candidate statements
are repealed.
Section 9. The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this resolution.
Adopted on June 11, 2026.
Evan Trubee
Mayor
Attest:
Anthony J. Mejia
City Clerk
I, Anthony J. Mejia, City Clerk of the City of Palm Desert, hereby certify that
Resolution No. 2026-029 is a full, true, and correct copy, and was duly adopted at a
regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm Desert on June 11, 2026, by the
following vote:
Ayes: Harnik, Moreno, Nestande, Pradetto, and Trubee
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstain: None
Recused: None
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City
of Palm Desert, California, on ___________________.
Anthony J. Mejia
City Clerk
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6/12/2026