The Legal Challenge to the anti-Measure I ballot statements

Attorney Rick Young recently challenged the ballot statements written by the opponents of Measure I in court. During the litigation, Gordon Wozniak, a Berkeley City Councilmember, revealed that he was the primary author of the arguments against Measure I. In his court papers, Mr. Young alleged the anti-IRV statements were false or misleading, pointing out a reliance on out-of-date sources, misleading editing of those sources, and completely unsupported assertions. Mr. Young bolstered his arguments with the Berkeley City Attorney's analysis of Measure I, a sworn statement by a nationally-known expert on IRV systems, and the actual text of the ballot measure itself.

After considering the evidence, the judge ruled that the challenge failed to meet the required standard of proof - "clear and convincing evidence" - needed to strike Wozniak's statements. It is, however, important to note that the judge did not explicitly rule on the truthfulness of the Wozniak's arguments - the judge simply ruled that the challenge failed to meet the required burden of proof. In fact, the judge encouraged Mr. Young to take his case to the ultimate arbiters of this matter: the Berkeley voters themselves.