BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS, REAPPORTIONMENT AND
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
BILL NO: SB 288 HEARING DATE:3/31/2009
AUTHOR: YEE ANALYSIS BY:Frances Tibon
Estoista
AMENDED: AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Elections: names of candidates
DESCRIPTION
Existing law requires translation of ballots and ballot
materials into languages other than English when specified.
Existing law also provides that if a candidate changes his
or her name within one year of any election, the new name
shall not appear upon the ballot unless the change was made
by either of the following:
Marriage.
Decree of any court of competent jurisdiction.
This bill would require that phonetic translations of the
English names of candidates be provided whenever the ballot
materials are required to be translated.
This bill will allow a candidate who has a non-English
language name by birth, and can demonstrate by birth
certificate or other valid identification his or her
non-English name, to use that name on the ballot instead of
a phonetic translation.
This bill would also provide an exception to candidates who
identify with a non-English name and can demonstrate to
elections officials that he or she has been known and
identified within the public sphere with that non-English
name for at least two years, to use that name on the ballot
instead of a phonetic translation.
BACKGROUND
Currently, candidates for public office are allowed to
submit any name of their choosing as the "translation" of
their name on ballots without proof that the name being
submitted is a true translation of their "legal" name.
In 2002 the San Francisco director of elections implemented
a change to their Chinese name policy for ballot
translations and the ordinance currently provides that:
(1) "Translation" shall mean the selection of Chinese
characters to represent the parts of a Chinese name, or a
name in any other language that traditionally is written
using Chinese characters.
(2) "Transliteration" shall mean the selection of Chinese
characters to represent the phonetic equivalent of the
syllables of an English name, or a name in any other
language that is not traditionally written using Chinese
characters.
The Director of Elections shall cause a translation or
transliteration of the names of all candidates to be
prepared by a qualified Chinese-language interpreter
according to generally-accepted professional standards. A
candidate may submit documentary evidence demonstrating
established use of a particular translation or
transliteration of his or her name to assist the
interpreter, but the Director of Elections' decision to
accept the translation or transliteration of a candidate's
name submitted by the Department's interpreter shall be
final. Translated or transliterated names accepted by the
Director shall be available for public review for ten days,
and the Director's decision may be challenged pursuant to
California Elections Code Section 13313. (Added by Ord.
233-99, File No. 991282, App. 8/20/99)
COMMENTS
1. According to the author : The lack of state law
governing this topic has opened the door to abuse. In
one instance, a candidate for Supervisor in California
hired a political consulting firm to pick an
Asian-character name for him. This name was allowed
on the ballot even though it had no relationship to
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his English name and he had no history of being
identified by it. In another instance, a candidate
submitted the "translation" of his name as a common
Asian name that the candidate had just picked for the
race, with the intent to win votes from that community
through this false identity and not through his actual
name or accomplishments. Allowing this voter fraud to
continue or worse, to expand, is an affront to civil
rights and democracy in our state.
On the flip side, this bill will also protect people who
legitimately identify by an Asian name. In a
California Assembly race, a candidate was initially
rejected for the use of a name that he had used and
been identified by within the Chinese community for a
number of years. SB 288 will establish standards to
protect people like this candidate who legitimately
have an Asian name that they would like to be
identified by on the ballot.
SB 288 will establish statewide guidelines for counties
and the Secretary of State's Office to follow to
ensure the integrity of the translated names on our
ballots in California. It will prevent the hodgepodge
rules and regulations that are currently in place in
different regions that place access to our democratic
system at risk for Asian-language communities.
2. For a candidate who does not have a non-English
name by birth, but who identifies by a particular
non-English name, it is unclear what would constitute
adequate demonstration to the elections officials that
the candidate has been known and identified within the
public sphere with that particular non-English name
over the past two years.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) Northern
California-
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Western Nevada-Pacific (NCWNP) District
Korean American Bar Association of Northern
California (KABANC)
Oppose: None received
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