Define the meaning of 'ballot'

I have been trying to understand the controversies surrounding the Ross Valley flood fee election held under the requirements of Proposition 218.

I found a Web site that included not only the text and an analysis of Proposition 218, but the drafter's suggested procedures.

Proposition 218 requires that before adopting a new property-related fee, local governments must mail information to every property owner, hold an election and reject the fee if a majority of the property owners object in writing.

Where the Ross Valley election went wrong was in the design and definition of the meaning of the ballot. The suggested procedures of the drafter for the ballot clearly show the sealed return envelope is a part of the ballot, whereas the consulting firm that conducted the controversial election considered the envelope just a container for the ballot.

The proposition drafter states that "the ballot should remain sealed with all pertinent property owner information on the outside of the envelope so that both the signature and the information can be verified by the tabulator before the envelope is opened. The envelope should include parcel number, signature, address, sworn declaration, etc."

About half of Marin voters use absentee ballots and are used to signing the envelope. If the election had followed these suggested procedures, the only information on the card inside the envelope would have been a place for a "yes" or "no" vote. A large number of votes would not have been disqualified and the controversy could have been avoided if the needed verification of the ballot had been handled the same way other mail-in ballots have been handled.

To avoid a similar debacle in the future, any elections run by consultants should have procedures approved and all materials examined by the Registrar of Voters before they are mailed.

Phyllis Metcalfe, Corte Madera