BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                AB 1413
                                                                Page  1

        CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
        AB 1413 (Fong)
        As Amended  January 5, 2012
        2/3 vote.  Urgency
         
         
         ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
        |ASSEMBLY: |     |(May 19, 2011)  |SENATE: |36-0 |(January 19, 2012)   |
         ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
             (vote not relevant)


         ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
        |COMMITTEE VOTE:  |7-0  |(January 26, 2012)  |RECOMMENDATION: |concur    |
        |                 |     |                    |                |          |
         ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

        Original Committee Reference:    E. & R.  

         SUMMARY  :  Makes numerous substantive and technical changes to state 
        election law to implement the top two primary election system.

         The Senate amendments  delete the Assembly version of this bill, and 
        instead: 

        1)Conform the procedure for presidential electors to be chosen by 
          the Democratic Party to the top two primary system.  Establish a 
          procedure for the chairperson of the Democratic Party to appoint 
          an elector if the candidate who is entitled to appoint that 
          elector fails to do so.

        2)Require that the option for a voter to decline to disclose a 
          party preference be placed at the end of the listing of qualified 
          political parties on the voter registration card.  Permit the 
          Secretary of State (SOS) to exhaust the existing supply of voter 
          registration cards.

        3)Permit candidate filing for a voter-nominated office to re-open 
          if any candidate who filed nomination papers at the primary 
          election for that office dies after the deadline for delivery of 
          nomination documents, but not less than 83 days before the 
          election.

        4)Modify the format of nomination documents to conform to the top 
          two primary system.  Require a candidate for voter-nominated 








                                                                AB 1413
                                                                Page  2

          office to include a certification of his or her party preference 
          history for the previous 10 years on his or her nomination 
          papers.

        5)Provide that if a candidate for voter-nominated office dies prior 
          to the primary election, and that deceased candidate is one of 
          the top two vote getters in the primary election, the name of 
          that deceased candidate shall appear on the ballot at the general 
          election.  Provide that if a candidate for voter-nominated office 
          who is entitled to appear on the general election ballot dies, 
          the name of that candidate nonetheless shall appear on the 
          general election ballot.  

        6)Provide that if a candidate for voter-nominated office who is 
          deceased receives a majority of votes cast for the office at the 
          general election, a vacancy shall exist in the office to which he 
          or she was elected.  Provide that this vacancy shall be filled in 
          the same manner as if the candidate had died subsequent to taking 
          office.

        7)Shorten and clarify the explanation of the election procedure for 
          partisan office, voter-nominated office, and nonpartisan office 
          that appears in the state ballot pamphlet.  Require an 
          explanation of the election procedure for voter-nominated office 
          to be included in the sample ballot at any special election held 
          to fill a vacancy in the Legislature or in Congress.

        8)Modify the manner in which the party preference designation for a 
          candidate for voter-nominated office will appear on the ballot, 
          pursuant to the following:

           a)   If the candidate has declared a preference for a qualified 
             political party on his or her most recently filed affidavit of 
             registration, the designation appears in the following manner: 
             "Party Preference:  _______ (name of the qualified political 
             party)."

           b)   If the candidate has not declared a preference for a 
             qualified political party on his or her most recently filed 
             affidavit of registration, the designation appears in the 
             following manner:  "Party Preference:  None."

        9)Provide flexibility to counties in the placement on the ballot of 
          the party affiliation of Presidential candidates.  Eliminate 
          type-size and typeface requirements for instructions that must be 








                                                                AB 1413
                                                                Page  3

          printed on the ballot.  Clarify and shorten the instructions that 
          appear on the ballot, and require specified instructions to be 
          printed on the ballot at general elections.

        10)Provide that spaces for write-in votes will not be printed on 
          the ballot for voter-nominated offices at the general election.

        11)Conform provisions of the Political Reform Act (PRA) that 
          regulate payments made by a political party for communications 
          with its members to the top two primary election process.

        12)Make various technical and non-substantive changes.

        13)Add an urgency clause, allowing this bill to take effect 
          immediately upon enactment.

         AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill made minor and technical 
        changes to the PRA.

         FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, 
        pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.

         COMMENTS  :  In February 2009, the Legislature approved SCA 4 
        (Maldonado), Res. Chapter 2, Statutes of 2009, which was enacted by 
        the voters as Proposition 14 on the June 2010 statewide primary 
        election ballot.  Proposition 14 implemented a top two primary 
        election system in California for most elective state and federal 
        offices.  At primary elections, voters are able to vote for any 
        candidate, regardless of party, and the candidates receiving the 
        two highest vote totals, regardless of party, advance to the 
        general election.

        At the same time that it passed SCA 4, the Legislature also 
        approved and the Governor signed SB 6 (Maldonado), Chapter 1, 
        Statutes of 2009.  SB 6 made various changes to state statute that 
        became effective upon the approval of Proposition 14 by the voters. 
         This bill makes numerous technical and substantive changes to the 
        Elections Code to provide for more effective and efficient 
        implementation of California's top two primary election system.

        This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the 
        Assembly-approved provisions of this bill were deleted.  As a 
        result, this bill was re-referred to the Assembly Elections & 
        Redistricting Committee pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.2, and the 
        committee subsequently recommended that the Assembly concur in the 








                                                                AB 1413
                                                                Page  4

        Senate amendments to this bill.

        Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of 
        this bill.


         Analysis Prepared by  :    Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 


                                                                FN: 0003093