Fight Over Validity of Petition Signatures For Arena Ballot Measure

Attorneys arguing against a public vote on a new arena say the different versions of a petition to put the measure on the ballot have errors and should be excluded.

McGeorge School of Law Professor Mary-Beth Moylan says existing law allows for "minor errors" and the different versions will likely be counted with one exception.

"One of those does not have the actual language of the petition attached," she says. "That would be a substantial defect."

Moylan says if the petitions are different enough, the argument could be made that people were not all signing the same petition and that could also open the way for many  signatures to be voided.

The county registrar has begun the process of counting 35,248 petitions and comparing them to 9,800 forms submitted by people who say they signed a petition, but now want to void that signature. 

There must be 22,026 approved signatures to put the measure on the June ballot.