BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 88|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 88
Author: Yee (D)
Amended: 6/23/11
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS & C. A. COMM. : 5-0, 3/15/11
AYES: Correa, La Malfa, De León, Gaines, Lieu
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 39-0, 4/25/11
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon,
Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton,
Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman,
Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu,
Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio,
Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters,
Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wolk
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 7/11/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Elections: names of candidates
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires that, if a jurisdiction
provides a translation of the candidates alphabet-based
names into a character-based language, such as Chinese,
Japanese, or Korean, phonetic transliterations of the
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alphabet-based names of candidates be provided.
Assembly Amendments delete Senate language which provided
for an appeal process relative to the translation of a
candidate's alphabet-based name. Instead, the bill now
requires that if a candidate's name is to appear on the
ballot in more than one jurisdiction in an election, then
all of those jurisdictions must use the same phonetic
transliteration or character-based translation of the name.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires translation of ballots
and ballot materials into languages other than English when
specified. Existing law also provides that if a candidate
changes his/her name within one year of any election, the
new name shall not appear upon the ballot unless the change
was made by either marriage or decree of any court of
competent jurisdiction.
This bill requires a candidate's alphabet-based name to be
phonetically transliterated when the jurisdiction is
required to translate ballot materials into languages other
than English unless certain conditions are met.
Specifically, this bill:
1. Requires ballots to contain phonetic transliterations of
candidates' names whenever ballot materials are
translated into a language other than English that is a
character-based language, including Mandarin Chinese,
Cantonese, Japanese, and Korean.
2. Provides that in a jurisdiction in which separate
ballots containing translations of the candidates' names
are required to be printed in different languages, both
the alphabet-based name and the translation of the
candidate's name, for candidates that have translated
names, shall appear on the translated ballot. Provides
that if a jurisdiction is unable to comply with this
requirement due to limitations of its voting system, any
new system purchased by the jurisdiction after June 1,
2012, shall be able to accommodate the requirement.
3. Clarifies that all translated ballot materials in an
election must use the same translated name, whether
phonetic transliteration or character-based, for a
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candidate.
4. Allows a candidate who has a character-based name by
birth, which can be verified by a birth certificate or
other valid identification, to use that name on the
ballot instead of a phonetic transliteration.
5. Allows a candidate who does not have a character-based
name by birth, but who identifies by a particular
character-based name and can demonstrate that he/she has
been known and identified within the public sphere by
that name over the past two years, to use that name
instead of a phonetic transliteration.
Background
Currently, candidates for public office are allowed to
submit any name of their choosing as the "translation" of
their name on ballots without proof that the name being
submitted is a true translation of their "legal" name.
In 2002, the San Francisco Director of Elections
implemented a change to their Chinese name policy for
ballot translations and the ordinance currently provides
that:
(1) "Translation" shall mean the selection of Chinese
characters to represent the parts of a Chinese name, or a
name in any other language that traditionally is written
using Chinese characters.
(2) "Transliteration" shall mean the selection of
Chinese characters to represent the phonetic equivalent
of the syllables of an English name, or a name in any
other language that is not traditionally written using
Chinese characters.
The Director of Elections shall cause a translation or
transliteration of the names of all candidates to be
prepared by a qualified Chinese-language interpreter
according to generally-accepted professional standards.
A candidate may submit documentary evidence demonstrating
established use of a particular translation or
transliteration of his or her name to assist the
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interpreter, but the Director of Elections' decision to
accept the translation or transliteration of a
candidate's name submitted by the Department's
interpreter shall be final. Translated or transliterated
names accepted by the Director shall be available for
public review for ten days, and the Director's decision
may be challenged pursuant to California Elections Code
Section 13313. (Added by Ord. 233-99, File No. 991282,
App. 8/20/99)
Prior legislation . SB 288 (Yee, 2009), which was identical
to this bill, was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. In
his veto message, the Governor stated, in part: "Under
current law, local elections officials have the authority
to address this fraudulent behavior and to set policies
that are appropriate for their unique jurisdictions. For
example, the director of elections in San Francisco has
established a Chinese name translation policy to address
concerns that improper translations were being used by
candidates in local races. I encourage local elections
officials to continue to address the concerns raised in
this bill at the local level."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/11/11)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
California Communities United Institute
Chinese Consolidated United Institute
City and County of San Francisco
Japanese American Citizens League
Korean American Bar Association of Southern California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
the lack of state law governing this topic has opened the
door to abuse. In one instance, a candidate for Supervisor
in California hired a political consulting firm to pick an
Asian-character name for him. This name was allowed on the
ballot even though it had no relationship to his English
name and he had no history of being identified by it. In
another instance, a candidate submitted the "translation"
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of his name as a common Asian name that the candidate had
just picked for the race, with the intent to win votes from
that community through this false identity and not through
his actual name or accomplishments. Allowing this voter
fraud to continue or worse, to expand, is an affront to
civil rights and democracy. On the flip side, this bill
will also protect people who legitimately identify by an
Asian name. In a California Assembly race, a candidate was
initially rejected for the use of a name that he had used
and been identified by within the Chinese community for a
number of years. This bill will establish standards to
protect people like this candidate who legitimately have an
Asian name that they would like to be identified by on the
ballot. This bill will establish statewide guidelines for
counties and the Secretary of State's office to follow to
ensure the integrity of the translated names on our ballots
in California. It will prevent the hodgepodge rules and
regulations that are currently in place in different
regions that place access to our democratic system at risk
for Asian-language communities.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 7/11/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen,
Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino,
Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao,
Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Beall, Gorell, Mitchell
DLW:mw 7/12/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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