As the City Council’s newest subcommittee, Jim Clarke and Meghan Sahli-Wells next week will begin formulating  language for a Charter amendment regarding consolidation of local-state-national elections.

Goal: To spike widely pathetic voter participation, especially in hometown elections.

No cheerleader for the unification being hustled by attention-chasing Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra in a naked bid for higher office, Mr. Clarke believes the Charter update will be approved by Culver City voters in April.

When placed before the voters in most communities, the result seems fore-ordained, in Mr. Clarke’s view. One election instead of several appeals to the casual, vaguely interested voter.

The main objection of Mr. Clarke, former Councilman Steve Gourley and other smart people is that hometown candidates and propositions will be buried at the bottom – and therefore cursorily addressed – on disgustingly long ballots.

At last week’s City Council meeting, Mr. Clarke suggested more appealing options:

• All-mail balloting, which has been smashingly successful in Santa Monica and
• Weekend voting.

At the Council meeting, members struggled to determine – without a satisfactory legally based conclusion – whether the Becerra opinion carried the weight of law, do it or else.

In the absence of a firm legal perspective, the Council’s safe  consensus was: We should ride the consolidation hobby horse.

The Sahli-Wells/Clarke subcommittee is a fascinating matchup.

She has been promoting consolidated elections since she came to office, and she soon will be rewarded. Probably.

(To be continued)