The City of Santa Ana must pay Plaintiffs $35,014.15 in attorneys fees and costs to settle fee claims in their successful lawsuit to strike biased ballot language from Measure DD on the November ballot.
Measure DD, if approved, would allow for noncitizen voting in city elections. A lawsuit filed by James V. Lacy and other Plaintiffs, alleged that wording of the ballot measure, passed by a 4-3 vote of the City Council, characterizing noncitizens as “including those who are taxpayers and parents,” was unlawfully biased to create a prejudice to encourage voters to vote for the measure.
An Orange County Superior Court Judge agreed and ruled against the City, forcing the City to remove the biased wording from the ballot. The Judge’s Order is available here: https://usjf.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Hearing-on-Petition-1.pdf.
Having won the case, the Plaintiffs had a “public interest” claim against the City for reimbursement of their expenses in bringing the lawsuit. The parties decided to settle these claims out of court. The written settlement of the fee claims of the prevailing party Plaintiffs was signed by City officials yesterday, October 24.
James V. Lacy, said “Santa Ana’s unlawful attempt to “rig” the ballot in favor of the noncitizen voting measure was corrected by the Judge, assuring a fairer election. Now the City has to pay for their mistake too. Measure DD has become a financial liability to Santa Ana, which will only get worse if it passes, forcing the City to take on all the costs of election administration, while at the same time doing a disservice to the voting rights of citizens.”
