IRVINE

A volunteer group has fallen nearly 200 signatures short in its bid to add a campaign finance reform measure to Irvine’s November ballot.

Jeri Stately of the city clerk’s office said roughly 2,800 of more than 12,000 signatures gathered by the Ralph Nader-led Oaks Project were deemed invalid.

The group needed to collect 9,736 names, or 10% of Irvine’s registered voters, to add the taxpayer protection initiative to this fall’s ballot.

The initiative would prohibit companies with major city contracts from donating to local political campaigns. The measure sought to prevent elected officials from accepting contributions from companies that have earned more than $20,000 from the city.