BILL ANALYSIS AB 1294 Page 1 GOVERNOR'S VETO AB 1294 (Mullin) As Amended September 4, 2007 2/3 vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |47-31|(June 6, 2007) |SENATE: |22-18|(September 10, | | | | | | |2007) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |47-30|(September 12, | | | | | | |2007) | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 1294 Page 2 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 AB 1294 Page 3 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 AB 1294 Page 4 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 Page 5 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 FN: 0003653