BILL NUMBER: AB 459	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 31, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Hill
    (   Coauthor:   Assembly Member  
Nestande   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 15, 2011

    An act to amend Section 5100 of the Elections Code,
relating to primary elections.   An act to add Chapter
1.5 (commencing with Section 6920) to Part 2 of Division 6 of the
Elections Code, relating to presidential elections. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 459, as amended, Hill.  Primary elections: party
eligibility.   Electoral college: interstate compact.

   Existing law  specifies conditions under which a party is
qualified to participate in a primary election  provides
for statewide election of a slate of electors to vote in the
electoral college for President and Vice President of the United
States. Under existing law, each political party selects its slate of
presidential electors in accordance with statutory procedures that
differ by party  .
   This bill would  make nonsubstantive changes to that
provision   ratify a specified interstate compact that
requires the chief election official of each signatory state to
appoint the slate of presidential electors that was nominated in
association with the presidential tic   ket that received
the largest national popular vote total. This compact would only
become effective if states cumulatively possessing a majority of the
total electoral votes have ratified the compact  .
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section
6920) is added to Part 2 of Division 6 of the   Elections
Code   , to read:  
      CHAPTER 1.5.  VOTING COMPACT


   6920.  The Legislature of the State of California hereby ratifies
the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National
Popular Vote as set forth in Section 6921.
   6921.  The provisions of the Agreement Among the States to Elect
the President by National Popular Vote are as follows:

      Article 1.  Membership


      Any state of the United States and the District of Columbia may
become a member of this agreement by enacting this agreement.

      Article 2.  Right of the People in Member States to Vote for
President and Vice President


      Each member state shall conduct a statewide popular election
for President and Vice President of the United States.

      Article 3.  Manner of Appointing Presidential Electors in
Member States


      Prior to the time set by law for the meeting and voting by the
presidential electors, the chief election official of each member
state shall determine the number of votes for each presidential slate
in each state of the United States and in the District of Columbia
in which votes have been cast in a statewide popular election and
shall add such votes together to produce a "national popular vote
total" for each presidential slate.
   The chief election official of each member state shall designate
the presidential slate with the largest national popular vote total
as the "national popular vote winner."
   The presidential elector certifying official of each member state
shall certify the appointment in that official's own state of the
elector slate nominated in that state in association with the
national popular vote winner.
   At least six days before the day fixed by law for the meeting and
voting by the presidential electors, each member state shall make a
final determination of the number of popular votes cast in the state
for each presidential slate and shall communicate an official
statement of such determination within 24 hours to the chief election
official of each other member state.
   The chief election official of each member state shall treat as
conclusive an official statement containing the number of popular
votes in a state for each presidential slate made by the day
established by federal law for making a state's final determination
conclusive as to the counting of electoral votes by Congress.
   In event of a tie for the national popular vote winner, the
presidential elector certifying official of each member state shall
certify the appointment of the elector slate nominated in association
with the presidential slate receiving the largest number of popular
votes within that state.
   If, for any reason, the number of presidential electors nominated
in a member state in association with the national popular vote
winner is less than or greater than that state's number of electoral
votes, the presidential candidate on the presidential slate that has
been designated as the national popular vote winner shall have the
power to nominate the presidential electors for that state and that
state's presidential elector certifying official shall certify the
appointment of such nominees.
   The chief election official of each member state shall immediately
release to the public all vote counts or statements of votes as they
are determined or obtained.
   This article shall govern the appointment of presidential electors
in each member state in any year in which this agreement is, on July
20, in effect in states cumulatively possessing a majority of the
electoral votes.

      Article 4.  Other Provisions


      This agreement shall take effect when states cumulatively
possessing a majority of the electoral votes have enacted this
agreement in substantially the same form and the enactments by such
states have taken effect in each state.
   Any member state may withdraw from this agreement, except that a
withdrawal occurring six months or less before the end of a President'
s term shall not become effective until a President or Vice President
shall have been qualified to serve the next term.
   The chief executive of each member state shall promptly notify the
chief executive of all other states of when this agreement has been
enacted and has taken effect in that official's state, when the state
has withdrawn from this agreement, and when this agreement takes
effect generally.
   This agreement shall terminate if the electoral college is
abolished.
   If any provision of this agreement is held invalid, the remaining
provisions shall not be affected.

      Article 5.  Definitions


      For purposes of this agreement, "chief executive" shall mean
the governor of a state of the United States or the Mayor of the
District of Columbia; "elector slate" shall mean a slate of
candidates who have been nominated in a state for the position of
presidential elector in association with a presidential slate; "chief
election official" shall mean the state official or body that is
authorized to certify the total number of popular votes for each
presidential slate; "presidential elector" shall mean an elector for
President and Vice President of the United States; "presidential
elector certifying official" shall mean the state official or body
that is authorized to certify the appointment of the state's
presidential electors; "presidential slate" shall mean a slate of two
persons, the first of whom has been nominated as a candidate for
President of the United States and the second of whom has been
nominated as a candidate for Vice President of the United States, or
any legal successors to such persons, regardless of whether both
names appear on the ballot presented to the voter in a particular
state; "state" shall mean a state of the United States and the
District of Columbia; and "statewide popular election" shall mean a
general election in which votes are cast for presidential slates by
individual voters and counted on a statewide basis.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 5100 of the Elections Code
is amended to read:
   5100.  A party is qualified to participate in a primary election
under any of the following conditions:
   (a) If at the last preceding gubernatorial election there was
polled for any one of its candidates for any office voted on
throughout the state, at least 2 percent of the entire vote of the
state.
   (b) If on or before the 135th day before any primary election, it
appears to the Secretary of State, as a result of examining and
totaling the statement of voters and their political affiliations
transmitted to him or her by the county elections officials, that
voters equal in number to at least 1 percent of the entire vote of
the state at the last preceding gubernatorial election have declared
their intention to affiliate with that party.
   (c) If on or before the 135th day before any primary election,
there is filed with the Secretary of State a petition signed by
voters, equal in number to at least 10 percent of the entire vote of
the state at the last preceding gubernatorial election, declaring
that they represent a proposed party, the name of which shall be
stated in the petition, which proposed party those voters desire to
have participate in that primary election. This petition shall be
circulated, signed, and verified, and the signatures of the voters on
it shall be certified to and transmitted to the Secretary of State
by the county elections officials substantially as provided for
initiative petitions. Each page of the petition shall bear a caption
in 18-point boldface type, which caption shall be the name of the
proposed party followed by the words "Petition to participate in the
primary election."