BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 362|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 362
Author: Bonnie Lowenthal (D)
Amended: 5/9/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/8/11
AYES: Correa, La Malfa, De Le�n, Gaines, Lieu
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 53-21, 4/11/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Elections: local offices: write-in candidate
SOURCE : California Judges Association
DIGEST : This bill raises the signature threshold for
persons seeking to be a write-in candidate for superior
court judge to .01 percent of the eligible registered
voters in the county the candidacy is filed in, with a
minimum of 100 and a maximum of 600. It also requires
write-in candidates for a variety of county offices,
including superior court judge to file a statement that
they meet the statutory or constitution requirements for
the office they are seeking.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that in any county in
which only the incumbent has filed nomination papers for
the office of superior court judge, his or her name will
not appear on the ballot unless within 10 days after the
filing deadline a petition is filed indicating that a
write-in campaign will be conducted for the office which is
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signed by 100 registered voters qualified to vote for that
office.
This bill instead requires that a petition indicating that
a write-in campaign will be conducted for the office of
superior court judge be signed by one-tenth of one percent
of the registered voters qualified to vote for that office,
except that the petition must have no fewer than 100 and
does not need more than 600 signatures.
Existing law requires candidates seeking to run for
specified offices must provide documentation sufficient to
establish that they meet minimum qualifications to hold
those offices when they file a declaration of candidacy,
nomination papers, or statement of write-in candidacy.
These offices include County Auditor, District Attorney,
County Sheriff, County Superintendent of Schools, Superior
Court Judge, County Treasurer, County Tax Collector, and
County Treasurer-Tax Collector.
Existing law requires every person who desires to be a
write-in candidate and have his/her name as written on the
ballot of an election counted for a particular office to
file a statement of write-in candidacy.
This bill requires a write-in candidate for the offices of
County Auditor, District Attorney, County Sheriff, County
Superintendent of Schools, Superior Court Judge, County
Treasurer, County Tax Collector, and County Treasurer-Tax
Collector to include a declaration on the statement of
write-in candidacy that he/she satisfies the eligibility
requirements for those offices.
Background
Not on the Ballot . Unlike candidates for State
Legislature, incumbent superior court judges and other
specified local officeholders do not appear on the ballot
if nobody files to run against them unless a petition is
filed indicating that a write-in campaign will be
conducted. In fact, candidates for superior court judge
typically do not appear on the ballot, because it is fairly
common for an incumbent judge to be unopposed in a
re-election bid.
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As a result, write-in candidates for superior court judge
must organize a write-in candidacy much earlier than a
write-in candidate for other offices. While the deadline
for submitting a declaration of write-in candidacy for
judge is the same as the deadline for submitting a write-in
candidacy for any other office (14 days before the
election), a candidate who plans to run as a write-in
candidate for judge against an unopposed incumbent will
have to file a petition weeks earlier to ensure that the
judge's name is on the ballot, and that a write-in
candidacy is even an option.
Are You Qualified ? Candidates for the local offices
mentioned above must provide documentation sufficient to
establish that they meet minimum qualifications to hold
those offices. For instance, candidates for judge have to
be a member of the State Bar or served as a judge of a
court of record in California for 10 years. Candidates for
District Attorney must also be a member of the State Bar
while candidates for Sheriff must possess an active or
inactive advanced certificate issued by the Commission on
Peace Officer Standards and Training or possess a specified
combination of professional law enforcement experience and
related education.
Previous Legislation
AB 1335 (Lieu), Session of 2009-10, was similar in intent
to this bill but capped the maximum number of petition
signatures at 1,000 instead of 600. AB 1335 was vetoed by
Governor Schwarzenegger. In his veto message, Governor
Schwarzenegger stated, in part:
"By increasing the number of signatures required of a
write-in candidate, this bill could deter an individual
from challenging an incumbent for the office of superior
court judge. I have long supported the people's right to
transform their government, whether through, initiative,
referendum, or recall. Allowing write-in candidates to
oppose a current elected official is a similar
opportunity for the people to make their voice heard.
"The situation noted by proponents of this measure
highlights the unfortunate possibility for abuse by
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individuals that launch a campaign based on prejudice.
However, this regrettable incident does not warrant the
significant change proposed in this bill. Our democracy
is successful in part because it is structured with three
co-equal branches of government. Current law regarding
write-in candidates allows an individual to challenge a
Member of the House of Representatives with as few as 40
signatures, and state constitutional officers with as few
as 65 signatures. This bill would create a new standard
for superior court judges, increasing the requirement in
some counties to 1,000 signatures. This would set a
precedent that I cannot support."
Required Number of Signatures . Under this bill, the number
of signatures required on a petition indicating a write-in
campaign for judge would range from 100 to 600 depending on
the total number of registered voters in the relevant
county.
The following table shows the number of signatures required
by this bill
based on recent voter registration statistics:
-----------------------------------------------------------
|County |Eligible |Registere|0.01% |# of |
| | |d | |Signatures |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Alpine |893 |733 |1 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Sierra |2,479 |2,298 |2 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Modoc |6,994 |5,471 |5 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Mono |9,512 |6,286 |6 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Trinity |10,650 |7,642 |8 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Colusa |12,073 |7,867 |8 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Inyo |13,019 |9,406 |9 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Mariposa |14,079 |11,367 |11 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Glenn |17,659 |12,264 |12 |100 |
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|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Del Norte |18,124 |12,441 |12 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Plumas |15,445 |13,055 |13 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Lassen |18,050 |14,291 |14 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Amador |26,094 |21,354 |21 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|San Benito |34,692 |25,352 |25 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Siskiyou |33,881 |25,919 |26 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Yuba |46,029 |28,677 |29 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Calaveras |34,881 |28,740 |29 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Tehama |43,354 |31,163 |31 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Tuolumne |38,476 |31,891 |32 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Lake |46,603 |32,551 |33 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Sutter |62,506 |40,140 |40 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Mendocino |62,228 |48,614 |49 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Kings |81,007 |49,116 |49 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Madera |84,767 |54,817 |55 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Imperial |93,890 |54,957 |55 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Nevada |74,144 |61,411 |61 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Napa |92,914 |69,872 |70 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Humboldt |99,924 |77,755 |78 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Merced |141,339 |95,844 |96 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Shasta |133,134 |96,463 |96 |100 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Yolo |132,225 |102,160 |102 |102 |
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|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|El Dorado |129,238 |107,925 |108 |108 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Butte |160,298 |115,737 |116 |116 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Santa Cruz |182,864 |148,501 |149 |149 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Tulare |248,522 |149,667 |150 |150 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Marin |183,477 |151,876 |152 |152 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|San Luis |196,365 |156,504 |157 |157 |
|Obispo | | | | |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Monterey |238,281 |160,221 |160 |160 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Solano |274,565 |196,133 |196 |196 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Santa Barbara |280,517 |198,457 |198 |198 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Placer |248, 397 |202,876 |203 |203 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Stanislaus |324,720 |229,109 |229 |229 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Sonoma |339,466 |248,273 |248 |248 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|San Joaquin |415,708 |269,777 |270 |270 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Kern |484,611 |311,585 |312 |312 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|San Mateo |488,810 |346,516 |347 |347 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Fresno |548,699 |391,572 |392 |392 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Ventura |532,050 |423,994 |424 |424 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|San Francisco |620,651 |461,768 |462 |462 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Contra Costa |712,085 |533,825 |534 |534 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Sacramento |941,477 |678,923 |679 |600 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Alameda |1,006,632 |765,885 |766 |600 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
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|Santa Clara |1,139,951 |779,330 |779 |600 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|San Bernardino |1,234,760 |806,163 |806 |600 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Riverside |1,304,845 |857,839 |858 |600 |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|San Diego |2,099,557 |1,442,161|1,442 |600 |
| | | | | |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Orange |1,890,794 |1,621,934|1,622 |600 |
| | | | | |
|---------------+-----------+---------+------+--------------|
|Los Angeles |5,823,294 |4,449,415|4,449 |600 |
| | | | | |
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/8/11)
California Judges Association (source)
California Advocates
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
Judicial Council of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, a low
signature threshold and lack of explicit requirements for
write-in candidates to verify they are qualified for the
office of superior court judge allows people who are not
intending to run for the office to harass sitting judges
and cost the taxpayer's money. In a large county like Los
Angeles, the requirement for 100 signatures is very easily
reached, whereas in smaller counties it is more reflective
of the amount of registered voters. In addition, existing
law is not explicit enough that write-in candidates need to
confirm that they meet the constitutional requirements for
the office of superior court judge.
For example, in the 2008 June primary, a known white
supremacist used the low signature requirement and lack of
requirement to demonstrate qualifications to file write-in
campaigns against six sitting judges based on their
Hispanic surnames. The judges were left unsure if they
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needed to raise money, hire consultants and actually run a
campaign.
Because the judges would have been left off the ballot
otherwise, the Los Angeles County Registrar had to add
those contests to the ballot, arrange for translation into
other languages and print additional ballot material for
campaigns that never materialized.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 53-21, 4/11/11
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer,
Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall,
Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman,
Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning,
Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Conway, Cook, Donnelly, Garrick, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby,
Olsen, Silva, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fletcher, Fong, Gorell, Logue, Valadao,
Vacancy
DLW:kc 6/8/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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