BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    





                                                                  AB 1294

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          GOVERNOR'S VETO
          AB 1294 (Mullin)
          As Amended September 4, 2007
          2/3 vote

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          |ASSEMBLY:  |47-31|(June 6, 2007)  |SENATE: |22-18|(September 10, |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2007)          |
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |47-30|(September 12,  |        |     |               |
          |           |     |2007)           |        |     |               |
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          Original Committee Reference:   E. & R.  

           SUMMARY  :  Permits any city or county to conduct a local election  
          using ranked voting (RV).  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Defines "ranked voting" as an election method in which voters  
            rank the candidates for office in order of preference, and the  
            ballots are counted in rounds.  In the case of a single-winner  
            election, also known as "instant run-off voting" (IRV), these  
            rounds simulate a series of runoffs until only two candidates  
            remain, with the candidate having the greater number of votes  
            being declared the winner.  In the case of a multiple-winner  
            election, also known as "choice voting" (CV), these rounds  
            fill all seats to be elected.

          2)Allows any city or county to conduct a local election using  
            RV.  Provides that RV may be adopted for use in local  
            elections by approval of a ballot measure submitted to the  
            voters by the governing body, by an initiative measure, or by  
            a charter amendment.

          3)Requires any city or county that uses RV to conduct a voter  
            education and outreach campaign to familiarize voters with RV.

          4)Provides a methodology for counting ballots and determining  










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            the winning candidate(s) for IRV and CV elections,  
            respectively.

           The Senate amendments  :

          1)Allow a city or county to conduct a local election using RV  
            even if that election is not conducted on a RV-capable voting  
            system if the election is conducted in compliance with  
            procedures that have been approved by the Secretary of State  
            (SOS).  Require these procedures to include detailed  
            specifications for counting, auditing, and reporting of  
            results.

          2)Make technical changes.
           
          AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill was substantially similar  
          to the version approved by the Senate.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, unknown, nonreimbursable costs to cities and counties  
          that choose to adopt RV for local elections and minor,  
          absorbable administrative costs to the SOS.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "Despite growing public  
          interest in using ranked voting systems such as [IRV], most  
          local jurisdictions are not able to use [RV] systems under  
          current law.  Today only charter counties or charter cities can  
          use [RV], but over three-fourths of cities and counties - and  
          nearly all districts - are general law jurisdictions and don't  
          have these options.  Over half of all Californians live in a  
          general law city, a general law county, or both, and are  
          currently denied the opportunity to benefit from these better  
          voting systems.  Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) ensures that the  
          winner on a single-winner election has the support of the  
          majority of voters in a single election.  By eliminating the  
          need for a costly runoff election it saves local governments a  
          lot of money-about $2 million per election in San Francisco  
          alone.  IRV also eliminates vote-splitting and spoiler effects,  
          both of which undermine the public's confidence in the political  
          process.  Numerous other general law cities and counties are  
          exploring using ranked voting methods, and the Legislature  










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          should allow these cities the flexibility they need to serve  
          their voters.  Cities and counties deserve the opportunity to  
          use the electoral systems that best address their unique needs."

          Proposition A, a charter amendment approved by the voters of the  
          City and County of San Francisco at the March 5, 2002, statewide  
          primary election, requires elections for the offices of Mayor,  
          City Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, Sheriff,  
          Assessor-Recorder, Treasurer, and Board of Supervisors to be  
          conducted by IRV.  Prior to the approval of that ballot measure,  
          San Francisco held the first round of its local elections in  
          November, with a runoff election (if necessary) about a month  
          later.  Turnout at a runoff election typically was much lower  
          than the turnout at the first round of that election.  Since the  
          approval of Proposition A, San Francisco has conducted three  
          elections using IRV (November 2004, November 2005, and November  
          2006).  San Francisco has not yet conducted a mayoral election  
          using IRV, though it is scheduled to do so in November of this  
          year.  Thus far, San Francisco is the only governmental body  
          within the state to have conducted an election using IRV.  

          There are no voting systems currently certified for use in  
          California that have the capability to tabulate ballots cast in  
          an IRV or CV election.  The voting system used in San Francisco  
          for its elections conducted using RV was first conditionally  
          approved by the SOS for use in San Francisco's elections on  
          April 30, 2004, which permitted San Francisco to use the system  
          on a one-time basis for the November 2004 General Election.   
          After receiving reports on the system's performance in that  
          election at a public hearing on February 17, 2005, the SOS  
          conditionally recertified the system for use from March 7, 2005,  
          until December 31, 2005, only in the City and County of San  
          Francisco.  On August 3, 2006, the SOS received an application  
          requesting a one-time, final approval of the system for use in  
          the November 2006 General Election.  That application was  
          approved, under the condition that the system not be used again  
          for any election in California.  However, in April of this year,  
          the SOS received yet another application requesting  
          re-certification of the same IRV-capable system until December  
          31, 2008.  That application was denied.  As a result, while San  
          Francisco has been able to conduct elections using IRV, it does  










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          not currently have a voting system that has the capability to  
          tabulate ballots cast in an IRV election.

          Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion  
          of this bill.
           













































                                                                 AB 1294

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          GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE  :

               This bill would allow cities and counties, subject to  
               voter approval, to conduct a local election using a  
               ranked voting system.  This represents a drastic  
               change to the way we vote.  Although there are some  
               proponents for ranked voting, which allows for  
               so-called "instant runoff" elections, I am concerned  
               that we don't yet know enough about how voters will  
               react to such a dramatic change in the way they vote.   
               For instance, charter cities and counties already have  
               the right to hold ranked voting elections, yet only  
               one city has done so thus far, and that was on a trial  
               basis only.

               Further, the machines necessary to implement ranked  
               voting are not widely available nor have any been  
               certified by the Secretary of State.  As the Secretary  
               of State recently decertified the vast majority of  
               electronic voting machines used for traditional  
               elections, it is premature to even contemplate moving  
               to ranked voting tomorrow until we have resolved any  
               issues with machines needed for how we vote today.



           Analysis Prepared by:     Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 



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