BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 435
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 3, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 435 (Wagner) - As Amended: March 31, 2011
SUBJECT : Elections: candidate's statement: nonpartisan office.
SUMMARY : Places specific restrictions on the contents of a
candidate's statement for a candidate for a nonpartisan elective
office in any local agency, and requires additional information
be included in a county's voter's pamphlet regarding candidates'
statements. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a county's voter's pamphlet to contain a notice
informing the voter of all of the following:
a) Each candidate's statement has been prepared solely by
that candidate.
b) The representations made in each candidate's statement
are the representations solely of that candidate.
c) The accuracy and validity of the representations made in
each candidate's statement have not been independently
verified by the elections official or any other government
official or agency.
2)Prohibits a candidate's statement, for a candidate for
nonpartisan elective office in any local agency, including any
city, county, city and county, or district, from containing a
pledge, promise, or commitment with respect to a matter that
could come before the candidate in the office to which he or
she is seeking election.
3)Limits the phrases "personal background" and "qualifications,"
for the purposes of information that a candidate for
nonpartisan office can include in a candidate statement, to
objective, verifiable facts concerning the candidate's
experiences, accomplishments, and credentials, and prohibits
the inclusion of references to the candidate's beliefs, ideas,
ideology, viewpoints, or campaign platform.
4)Makes findings and declarations.
AB 435
Page 2
EXISTING LAW :
1)Permits any candidate for nonpartisan elective office in any
local agency, including any city, county, city and county, or
district to prepare a candidate's statement, which may include
the name, age, and occupation of the candidate and a brief
description, of no more than 200 words, of the candidate's
education and qualifications expressed by the candidate
himself or herself. Permits the governing body of the local
agency to authorize an increase in the limitations on words
for the statement from 200 to 400 words.
2)Prohibits the candidate statement from including the party
affiliation of the candidate, or membership or activity in
partisan political organizations.
3)Requires the elections official to send to each voter,
together with the sample ballot, a voter's pamphlet which
contains the written statements of each candidate. Requires
each voter's pamphlet to contain a statement in the heading of
the first page, as specified, that each candidate's statement
in the pamphlet is volunteered by the candidate and (if
printed at the candidate's expense) is printed at his or her
expense.
4)Provides that a candidate's statement shall be limited to a
recitation of the candidate's own personal background and
qualifications, and shall not in any way make reference to
other candidates for that office or to another candidate's
qualifications, character, or activities.
5)Prohibits the elections official from printing or circulating
any statement that does not comply with the limitations set
forth in existing law.
6)Provides a process for a 10-calendar-day public examination
period of candidates' statements immediately following the
filing deadline for submission of those documents, and permits
any voter of the jurisdiction in which the election is being
held, or the elections official, to seek a writ of mandate or
an injunction requiring any or all of the material in the
candidate's statements to be amended or deleted, upon clear
and convincing proof that the material is false, misleading,
or inconsistent with the requirements of the law.
AB 435
Page 3
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. State-mandated local program; contains
reimbursement direction.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
Following the court decision in Hammond v. Agran , ballot
statements by candidates are not limited to objective and
verifiable statements. Instead, political promises and
platforms are now permitted in the statement under the
court's expansive definition of "qualification" as used in
the statute. This leads to abuse and misunderstanding
since the public puts a lot of weight on these supposedly
objective statements. These statements are limited public
fora and can be restricted. There are considerable other
opportunities for candidates to get their platforms and
promises out. Those shouldn't come in an official
publication with the government's Ýimprimatur].
2)The Court Case : In the 1998 General Election, Larry Agran was
a candidate running for re-election to the Irvine city
council. After Agran submitted his candidate's statement for
that office, Barry Hammond, a political opponent of Agran's,
filed a petition for writ of mandate, contending that portions
of Agran's statement contained false, misleading, and/or
inconsistent information. The trial court ordered the
sections of the candidate statement in question be stricken in
their entirety. However, Agran filed an appeal from the order
to get a ruling on the scope of the word "qualifications" as
used in the Elections Code statute governing the content of
candidates' statements in voters' pamphlets.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeals opined that, "Given the
breadth of the word Ýqualifications], it would be inconsistent
with the plain meaning of the statute - indeed, perhaps even
somewhat elitist - to confine the idea of 'qualifications' for
office to resume items like degrees and experience in a
profession. No matter whether the candidate be a
rabble-rouser on a soapbox who never finished high school, or
?an honors graduate of Harvard Law School - his or her ideas
are often the most important 'quality' in many voters' minds."
Hammond v. Agran (1999) 76 Cal.App.4th 1181.
3)Purpose of Candidate Statements : A candidate's statement
AB 435
Page 4
provides an opportunity for candidates to disclose information
about themselves they feel would be relevant to voters when
making a decision on who to vote into office. In Clark v.
Burleigh (1992) 4 Cal.App.4th 474, the court pointed out that
local elections are normally low-profile events and candidates
frequently do not have the means of informing the voters of
their qualifications. The Clark court observed that the
Legislature created the candidate's statement "to help fill
this informational void."
Utilizing the purpose of a candidate's statement observed by
the Clark court, the Hammond court noted that, "The filling of
the informational void about candidates?is better done with
information about a candidate's ideas - which, after all,
provide at least some clue as to how he or she will act and
vote while in office - than with his or her resume."
4)Current Restrictions on Statements : Existing law limits a
candidate's statement to a recitation of the candidate's own
personal background and qualifications, and explicitly
prohibits any reference to other candidates for that office or
to another candidate's qualifications, character, or
activities. The current restrictions serve to ensure that a
candidate's statement focus solely on the background and
qualifications of that candidate, and not on any other
candidate running for office. The restrictions on candidate's
statements proposed by this bill would limit the information a
candidate can provide about him or herself.
5)Current Disclosures on County Pamphlets : Current law requires
the voter's pamphlet, which contains the written statements of
candidates, to contain a statement in the heading of the first
page in heavy-faced gothic type, not smaller than 10-point,
that each candidate's statement in the pamphlet is volunteered
by the candidate. This statement serves to inform voters that
candidates are responsible for the information provided in his
or her statement. This bill would expand the disclosure in
the pamphlet to more specifically notify voters that each
candidate's statement has been prepared solely by that
candidate, that the representations made in the statements are
the representations of solely that candidate, and that the
accuracy and validity of the representations made in each
candidate's statement have not been independently verified by
the elections official or any other government official or
agency.
AB 435
Page 5
6)Objective and Verifiable Facts : This bill proposes to limit a
candidate's statement to objective, verifiable facts
concerning the candidate's experiences, accomplishments, and
credentials. If this bill were to become law, a possible
consequence may be that candidate's statements only provide a
reiteration of the candidate's work history and education,
without giving the voters a clear picture of what a candidate
may bring to office, if elected. This is especially true for
candidate's who may not have much relevant work history in the
area of politics. For such a candidate, it may be more
important for voters to know his or her views and ideas on
important public policies, such as raising taxes, than it is
to know the candidate's educational or work background. The
committee may wish to consider if the limitations on
statements proposed by this bill would be beneficial to the
electorate.
7)No Promises : This bill would prohibit a candidate's statement
from containing a pledge, promise, or commitment with respect
to a matter that may come before the candidate if he or she
won the election he or she is seeking. With respect to an
office that has jurisdiction over a wide array of issues, such
as a city councilmember, it is likely that a candidate for
that office would be prohibited from making reference to any
type of commitment in their candidate statement, regardless of
the matter, so to not violate this prohibition. The Hammond
court did not discuss the issue of promises and pledges,
rather focused solely on a candidate's ideas and views.
However, the opinion offered by the court strongly favored the
notion that voters benefit more from information that tells
them what to expect out of a candidate, if elected, rather
than simply a summary of that candidate's experiences. A
promise or pledge to do, or not do, something while in office
is a clear indication for voters of what to expect from that
candidate. Although, some types of pledges make it difficult
for candidates, once elected, to compromise and negotiate on
issues, it is within that candidate's choice to make a pledge
and uphold it. Prohibiting a candidate's statement from
containing a pledge or promise does not prohibit the candidate
from making such promises, but rather makes the pledge or
promise less known to the general public.
8)Dissemination of Information : The author argues that there
are considerable other opportunities for candidates to get
AB 435
Page 6
their platforms and promises out; however, most, if not all,
such opportunities are in the form of political advertisements
and mailers mostly paid for through political contributions,
which are typically targeted at specific populations of voters
and not the electorate as a whole. It is reasonable to assume
that the limitations on a candidate's statement proposed by
this bill may require candidates to more heavily rely on
campaign contributions to disseminate their beliefs, ideas,
ideology, viewpoints, or campaign platform, which, in turn,
may limit the amount of information a voter can obtain about a
particular candidate.
9)Local Elections Only : This bill only affects candidates for
nonpartisan elective office in any local agency, including any
city, county, city and county, or district. This bill does
not affect candidates for federal, statewide, and legislative
offices, who are also allowed to provide candidates statements
that are published in the voter's pamphlet.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Maria Garcia / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094