On the very day the Sacramento County Elections Office was shipping out vote-by-mail ballots for the June 5th Primary Election, volunteers wheeled in boxes of signatures for a tax measure that would fund education.
Three days later, Governor Jerry Brown - and his dog Sutter - stopped by with signatures for their own initiative.
"Well over a million signatures signed by the people," exclaimed Brown.
And those are far from the only petitions. In the back of the office, a half-dozen young employees were counting signatures for another measure.
It's all pretty overwhelming for elections officials - even for those who've been in their jobs for a while.
Sacramento County Registrar of Voters Jill LaVine:
LaVine: "Basically, we are going to have two staffs working - one on petitions and one on the election at this point."
Ben Adler: "And the county pays for it without any reimbursement?"
LaVine: "That's correct. There is no state reimbursement at all for this process."
"We will find a way. It may mean long hours. We may need extra help. But we will find a way," said LaVine.
To qualify for the November ballot, a measure must be certified by late June. That's just days before the deadline for counties to certify the results of the Primary election.
