BILL NUMBER: AB 461 AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 24, 2011 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bonilla FEBRUARY 15, 2011 An act to amend Section 15342 of the Elections Code, relating to elections. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 461, as amended, Bonilla. Write-in candidates. Existing law regulates the processing of write-in votes, including requiring that a ballot for a qualified write-in candidate be counted if, on specified voting systems, the candidate's name is written on the ballot in the blank space provided and the voting space next to the write-in space, if provided, is marked according to voting instructions. It further requires that, for other voting systems, a ballot for a write-in candidate, if otherwise qualified, be counted if the name is written in the manner described in the voting instructions. This bill would require a liberal construction of these write-in vote processing provisions in the event of a manual recount conducted under specified circumstances to ensure that a ballot is counted if the voter's intent can be determined, regardless of whether the voter has complied with the voting instructions. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 15342 of the Elections Code is amended to read: 15342. Any name written upon a ballot for a qualified write-in candidate, including a reasonable facsimile of the spelling of a name, shall be counted for the office, if it is written in the blank space provided and voted as specified below: (a) For voting systems in which write-in spaces appear directly below the list of candidates for that office and provide a voting space, no write-in vote shall be counted unless the voting space next to the write-in space is marked or slotted as directed in the voting instructions. (b) For voting systems in which write-in spaces appear separately from the list of candidates for that office and do not provide a voting space, the name of the write-in candidate, if otherwise qualified, shall be counted if it is written in the manner described in the voting instructions. (c) The use of pressure-sensitive stickers, glued stamps, or any other device not provided for in the voting procedures for the voting systems approved by the Secretary of State to indicate the name of the write-in candidate are not valid, and a name indicated by these methods shall not be counted. (d) Neither a vote cast for a candidate whose name appears on the ballot nor a vote cast for a write-in candidate shall be counted if the voter has indicated, by a combination of marking and writing, a choice of more names than there are candidates to be nominated or elected to the office. (e) All valid write-in votes shall be tabulated and certified to the elections official on forms provided for this purpose, and the write-in votes shall be added to the results of the count of the ballots at the counting place and be included in the official returns for the precinct. (f) In the event of a manual recount conducted pursuant to Section 15610 or requested pursuant to Section 15620 or 15621 , this section shall be liberally construed to ensure that each ballot is counted if the intent of the voter can be determined, regardless of whether the voter has complied with the voting instructions.