BILL NUMBER: AB 461	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 5, 2011
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 24, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bonilla

                        FEBRUARY 15, 2011

   An act to  amend Section 15342 of   add
Section 15342.5 to  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 15342.5 is added to the 
 Elections Code   , to read:  
   15342.5.  In the event of a manual recount conducted pursuant to
Section 15610 or requested pursuant to Section 15620 or 15621, the
process set forth in Section 15342 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.  
  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.