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