BILL NUMBER: SB 976 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 1, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Senator Polanco
FEBRUARY 23, 2001
An act to add Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 14025) to
Division 14 of the Elections Code, relating to voting rights.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 976, as amended, Polanco. Elections: rights of voters.
Existing law provides for political subdivisions that encompass
municipal areas of representation within the
state. With respect to these municipal areas,
public officials are generally elected by all of the voters of the
political subdivision (at-large) or from districts formed within the
political subdivision (district-based).
Existing law generally allows the voters of the entire political
subdivision to determine whether the elected public officials are
elected by divisions or by the entire political subdivision.
This bill would provide that a municipal political
subdivision may not be subdivided an at-large method
of election, as defined, may not be imposed or applied in a
manner that results in a denial the dilution
or abridgment of the right of a registered voter to
vote on account of membership in a minority race, color or language
group registered voters who are members of a protected
class, as defined, by impairing their ability to elect candidates of
their choice or to influence the outcome of an election .
This bill would provide that a violation of its provisions shall
be established if it is shown that racially polarized voting, as
defined, occurs in elections for governing board members of a
municipal political subdivision , among other
things . It would provide that an intent to discriminate
against a protected class, as defined, is not required to establish a
violation of this bill.
This bill would authorize a court to impose appropriate remedies,
including district-based elections, and to award a prevailing
nonstate or nonlocal government plaintiff party reasonable attorney's
fees consistent with specified case law as part of the costs.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 14025) is added to
Division 14 of the Elections Code, to read:
CHAPTER 1.5. RIGHTS OF VOTERS
14025. This act shall be known and may be cited as the California
Voting Rights Act of 2001.
14026. As used in this chapter:
(a) "At-large method of election" means any method of electing
members to the governing body of a municipal political subdivision in
which the voters of the entire jurisdiction elect the members of the
governing body, and does not include any method of district-based
elections.
(a) "At-large method of election" means any of the following
methods of electing members to the governing body of a political
subdivision, and does not include any method of district-based
elections:
(1) One in which the voters of the entire jurisdiction elect the
members to the governing body.
(2) One in which the candidates are required to reside within
given areas of the jurisdiction and the voters of the entire
jurisdiction elect the members to the governing body.
(3) One which combines at-large elections with district-based
elections.
(b) "District-based election" means a method of electing members
to the governing body of a municipal political
subdivision in which the candidate must reside within an election
district that is a divisible part of the municipal
political subdivision and is elected only by voters residing within
that election district.
(c) "Minority language group" means persons who are American
Indian, Asian American, Alaskan Native, or of Spanish heritage.
(d) "Municipal political
(c) "Political subdivision" means a geographic area of
representation created for the provision of municipal
government services, including, but not limited to, a city,
a school district, a community college district, or other
local district district organized pursuant to state
law .
(e)
(d) "Protected class" means a class of voters who are
members of a minority race, color or language group , as this
class is referenced and defined in the federal Voting Rights Act (42
U.S.C. Sec. 1973 et seq.) .
(f) "Racially polarized voting" means voting in which there is a
consistent difference in the way voters of an identifiable class
based on a minority race, color or language group vote and the way
the rest of the electorate vote in a municipal political subdivision.
14027. A municipal political subdivision may not be subdivided in
a manner that results in a denial or abridgment of the right of any
registered voter to vote on account of membership in a minority race,
color or language group.
(e) "Racially polarized voting" means voting in which there is a
difference in the choice of candidates or other electoral choices
that are preferred by voters in the protected class, and in the
choice of candidates and electoral choices that are preferred by
voters in the rest of the electorate. The methodologies for
estimating group voting behavior as approved in applicable federal
cases to enforce the federal Voting Rights Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973
et seq.) to establish racially polarized voting may be used for
purposes of this section to prove that elections are characterized by
racially polarized voting.
14027. An at-large method of election may not be imposed or
applied in a manner that results in the dilution or the abridgment of
the rights of registered voters who are members of the protected
class, as provided in Section 14028, by impairing their ability to
elect candidates of their choice of their ability to influence the
outcome of an election.
14028. (a) A violation of Section 14027 is established if it is
shown that racially polarized voting occurs in elections for members
of the governing body of a municipal political subdivision
political subdivision or in elections incorporating
other electoral choices by the voters of the political subdivision
.
(b) The occurrence of racially polarized voting shall be
determined from examining results of elections in which candidates
are members of a protected class. One circumstance that may be
considered is the extent to which candidates who are members of a
protected class have been elected to the governing body of a
municipal political subdivision that is the subject of an action
based upon Section 14027.
(b) The occurrence of racially polarized voting shall be
determined from examining results of elections in which candidates
are members of a protected class or elections involving ballot
measures, or other electoral choices that affect the rights and
privileges of members of the protected class. One circumstance that
may be considered is the extent to which candidates who are members
of a protected class have been elected to the governing body of a
political subdivision that is the subject of an action based on
Section 14027 and this section. In multi-seat at-large districts,
where the number of candidates who are members of a protected class
is fewer than the number of seats available, the relative group-wide
support received by candidates from members of the protected class
shall be the basis for the racial polarization analysis.
(c) The fact that members of a protected class are not
geographically compact or concentrated may not preclude a finding of
racially polarized voting, but may be a factor in determining an
appropriate remedy.
(d) Proof of an intent on the part of the voters or elected
officials to discriminate against a protected class is not required.
(e) Other factors such as the history of discrimination, the use
of electoral devices or other voting practices or procedures that may
enhance the dilutive effects of at-large elections, denial of access
to those processes determining which groups of candidates will
receive financial or other support in a given election, the extent to
which members of the protected class bear the effects of past
discrimination in areas such as education, employment, and health,
which hinder their ability to participate effectively in the
political process, and the use of overt or subtle racial appeals in
political campaigns, may also be introduced as evidence but these
factors are not necessary to establish a violation of this section.
14029. Upon a finding of a violation of Section 14027 and
Section 14028 , the court shall implement appropriate remedies,
including the imposition of district-based elections in
place of at-large districts , that are tailored to remedy
the violation.
14030. In any action to enforce Section 14027, the court shall
allow the prevailing plaintiff party, other than the state or
political subdivision thereof, a reasonable attorney's fee consistent
with the standards established in Serrano v. Priest (1977) 20 Cal.3d
25, at including pages 48 and 49, as
part of the costs. Prevailing plaintiff parties, other than the
state or political subdivision thereof, shall recover their expert
witness fees and expenses as part of the costs.
14031. This chapter is enacted to implement the guarantees of
Section 7 of Article I and of Section of Article II of the California
Constitution.