BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   AB 459|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 459
          Author:   Hill (D)
          Amended:  4/13/11 in Assembly
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE ELEC. & CONST. AMEND. COMMITTEE  :  3-2, 6/08/11
          AYES:  Correa, De León, Lieu
          NOES:  La Malfa, Gaines

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  51-21, 5/19/11 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Electoral College:  interstate compact

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill ratifies an interstate compact whereby 
          the stat agrees to award its electoral votes to the 
          Presidential ticket that received the most popular votes 
          nationwide, if certain conditions are met.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing federal law requires all of the 
          following regarding the Electoral College: 

           Each state shall appoint, in a manner that the 
            Legislature of the state directs, a number of electors of 
            President and Vice President equal to the number of 
            Senators and Representatives to which the state is 
            entitled in Congress.
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           The electors of President and Vice President shall be 
            appointed in each state on the first Tuesday after the 
            first Monday in November in every fourth year succeeding 
            every election of a President and Vice President.

           The electors of President and Vice President of each 
            state shall meet and give their votes on the first Monday 
            after the second Wednesday in December following the 
            presidential election.

          Existing state law provides that the Presidential ticket 
          that receives the greatest number of votes in the state 
          will receive all of California's electoral votes and 
          requires each political party to select its slate of 
          electors in accordance with established party procedures.  
          The Secretary of State must certify the electors receiving 
          the highest number of votes statewide in a general 
          presidential election.

          Specifically, this bill ratifies the Agreement Among the 
          States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote, an 
          interstate compact that contains the following provisions:

          1. Allows any state of the United States and the District 
             of Columbia to become a member of the compact.

          2. Requires each member of the compact to conduct a 
             statewide popular election for President and Vice 
             President.

          3. Requires the chief election official of each member 
             state to determine the number of votes cast 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 to add such 
             votes together to produce a "national popular vote 
             total" for each presidential slate.

          4. Requires the presidential elector certifying official of 
             each member state to certify the appointment of the 
             elector slate nominated in that state in association 
             with the presidential slate that had the largest 
             national popular vote total.

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          5. Requires, at least six days before the day fixed by law 
             for the meeting and voting by presidential electors, 
             each member state to make a final determination of the 
             number of popular votes cast in the state for each 
             presidential slate and to communicate an official 
             statement of such results to the chief election officer 
             of every other state.  Requires the chief election 
             official of each member state to treat any such 
             statement received from another state as conclusive.

          6. Provides that, in the event of a tie for 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 association with the presidential 
             slate receiving the largest number of popular votes 
             within that official's state.

          7. Provides that if 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 
             had the largest national popular vote total 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.

          8. Provides that this compact will govern the appointment 
             of presidential electors in each member state in any 
             year in which the agreement in effect in states 
             cumulatively possesses a majority of electoral votes as 
             of July 20 of that year (six months prior to the 
             beginning of the next presidential term).

          9. Provides that the compact shall take effect when states 
             cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral 
             votes have enacted the compact in substantially the same 
             form and the enactments in such states have taken effect 
             in each state.

          10.Permits any member state to withdraw from the agreement, 
             except that a withdrawal occurring six months or less 

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             before the end of a President's term shall not become 
             effective until a President and Vice President have been 
             qualified to serve the next term.

          11.Requires the Governor (or the Mayor in the case of the 
             District of Columbia) of each member state to notify the 
             Governor (Mayor) of all other states when the compact 
             has been enacted and has taken effect in that official's 
             state, when the state has withdrawn from the compact, 
             and when the compact takes effect generally.

          12.Provides that the compact shall terminate if the 
             Electoral College is abolished.

          13.Defines various terms for the purposes of the compact.

          14.Provides that if any provision of the compact is held 
             invalid, the remaining provisions shall not be affected.

           Background
           
           Electoral Votes  .  Section 1 of Article II of the United 
          States Constitution provides, in part, that "each State 
          shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof 
          may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number 
          of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be 
          entitled in Congress."  In accordance with that authority 
          granted to the state legislatures, California and 47 other 
          states (along with the District of Columbia) have chosen to 
          award all electoral votes to the Presidential ticket that 
          receives the greatest number of votes in the state (or in 
          the District).  

          Two states, Maine and Nebraska, have chosen to award one 
          electoral vote to the Presidential ticket that receives the 
          greatest number of votes in each Congressional district in 
          the state, and two electoral votes to the Presidential 
          ticket that receives the greatest number of votes in the 
          state.  Maine has used this system of electoral vote 
          allocation since 1972, while Nebraska adopted this method 
          in 1996.  However, since adopting this system of electoral 
          vote allocation, Maine has always awarded all electoral 
          votes to the candidate who won the statewide vote.  
          Nebraska split its electoral votes between different 

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          Presidential campaigns for the first time in 2008, when 
          John McCain and Sarah Palin earned four electoral votes for 
          winning the statewide vote and for winning in two of the 
          state's three congressional districts, while Barack Obama 
          and Joe Biden earned one electoral vote for winning in one 
          of the state's congressional districts.

          While the "winner take all" method of awarding electoral 
          votes used in California and the district-based method of 
          awarding electoral votes that is used in Maine and Nebraska 
          are the only two methods that states currently use to award 
          electoral votes, the states are not limited to these two 
          options.  Rather, the United States Constitution gives the 
          state legislatures complete authority to determine how 
          presidential electors are appointed.  The California 
          Legislature has previously considered bills to adopt the 
          district-based method, to award electoral votes 
          proportionately to the Presidential tickets based on the 
          share of the vote that each ticket received, and to provide 
          that voters shall vote directly for Presidential electors, 
          rather than voting for candidates for President and Vice 
          President at the general election.

           Legislation in Other States  .  According to information from 
          National Popular Vote, the organization that is the source 
          of this measure, the interstate compact included in this 
          bill has been ratified by eight states (Hawaii, Illinois, 
          Maryland, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Vermont, and 
          Washington) and by the District of Columbia.  Beginning 
          with the 2012 presidential election, those six states and 
          the District of Columbia collectively will have 74 
          electoral votes.  Because the compact does not go into 
          effect until the members of the compact collectively have a 
          majority of the electoral votes, the compact needs to be 
          ratified by states with an additional 196 electoral votes 
          before it can go into effect.

          National Popular Vote additionally reports that legislation 
          to ratify the interstate compact included in this bill has 
          been introduced in all 50 states, and legislation to ratify 
          the compact has been approved in at least one house of the 
          Legislature in 14 of the 44 states that have not already 
          ratified the compact.


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           Previous Legislation

           AB 2948 (Umberg) of 2006, and SB 37 (Migden) of 2008, were 
          identical to this bill.  AB 2948 and SB 37 were vetoed by 
          Governor Schwarzenegger.  In his veto message to SB 37, 
          Governor Schwarzenegger stated, in part:

          "As I stated in vetoing similar legislation in 2006, I 
          believe strongly in democracy and in honoring the will of 
          the people.  This bill represents a significant departure 
          away from letting each individual state choose how to award 
          its presidential electoral votes and towards a national 
          vote for president.  Because California's endorsement of a 
          national popular vote would significantly change the debate 
          on the matter, enactment of this bill would represent a 
          major shift in the way not only Californians but all 
          Americans choose their president.  Such a significant 
          change should be voted on by the people.  As such, I cannot 
          support this measure but encourage the proponents to seek 
          approval of the people for the changes it proposes."

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/28/11)  

          American Civil Liberties Union
          California Common Cause
          FairVote
          League of Women Voters of California
          Secretary of State

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author, 
          "California is ignored in the general elections of 
          Presidential campaigns. Candidates do not visit our state, 
          they do not advertise here, poll here, conduct field 
          operations, send mail, or engage in any of the other normal 
          campaign activities?  Presidential candidates that do not 
          campaign in California do not have to focus on California 
          issues. Issues fundamentally important to California, 
          whether it be agriculture, water, high technology, Pacific 
          Rim trade, etc. are pushed aside while candidates pander to 
          Pennsylvania and the other 'battleground' states.  This 
          preferential treatment continues once Presidents assume 

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          office.  AB 459 seeks to change this inequity. AB 459 will 
          enter California into an interstate compact that will 
          result in a national popular vote for President.  A 
          presidential campaign where the candidate receiving the 
          most popular votes in all 50 states (and the District of 
          Columbia) is guaranteed to win will force candidates to 
          campaign in California and around the country.  Every vote 
          in every state will matter in every presidential election."

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES: Achadjian, Allen, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, 
            Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, 
            Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, 
            Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Furutani, 
            Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, 
            Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, 
            Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel 
            Pérez, Portantino, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, 
            Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NOES: Conway, Cook, Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Grove, 
            Hagman, Halderman, Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, 
            Logue, Mansoor, Morrell, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, 
            Valadao, Wagner
          NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Ammiano, Dickinson, Fletcher, 
            Fuentes, Gorell, Ma, Nestande


          DLW:do  6/28/11   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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