BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 441
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 5, 2011

                  ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
                                  Paul Fong, Chair
                     SB 441 (Vargas) - As Amended:  June 28, 2011

                               AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED
           
           SENATE VOTE  :   30-7
           
          SUBJECT  :   Elections: political party central committees.

           SUMMARY  :   Repeals a provision of law that allows the county 
          central committee of each qualified political party to supply 
          the county elections official with a party contribution envelope 
          or one-page letter to be included in the mailing of the sample 
          ballot to each registered voter in the county who has disclosed 
          a party preference for that same party on the voter's affidavit 
          of registration.  

           EXISTING LAW:

           1)Allows the county central committee of each qualified 
            political party to supply to its county elections official, 
            not less than 83 days prior to the direct primary election, a 
            party contributor envelope or a one-page letter to be included 
            in the mailing of the sample ballot to each of the registered 
            voters in the county who have disclosed a preference for that 
            same party on the voter's affidavit of registration.

          2)Provides that, in lieu of supplying the elections official 
            with a sufficient number of copies of the one-page letter, a 
            county central committee may supply the elections official, 
            not less than 83 days before the direct primary election, with 
            the text of the letter and request the elections official to 
            print, or cause to be printed, a sufficient number of copies 
            of the letter to accommodate the mailing.  Requires the 
            elections official to notify the respective county committee 
            of, and requires the committee to reimburse the county for, 
            any actual costs incurred by the inclusion or printing, or 
            both.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  This bill was keyed non-fiscal by the 
          Legislative Counsel.









                                                                  SB 441
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           COMMENTS  :   

           1)Author's Amendments  :  The author has proposed amendments to 
            remove language that was added on June 28, 2011.  As a result 
            of these amendments, this bill will only retain Section 105, 
            which eliminates the ability of political parties to place an 
            insert, as specified, in the sample ballot for a direct 
            primary election.  
           
           2)Purpose of the Bill  :  According to the author, "This bill will 
            avoid the expenditure of public funds to defend actions by 
            political parties.  It will also help election officials avoid 
            the appearance of bias by removing endorsements from county 
            publications that are produced at public expense and are 
            designed to inform, rather than persuade, voters."

           3)Clean-Up After Top Two  :  On June 8, 2010, California voters 
            approved Proposition 14, which created the Top Two Candidates 
            Open Primary Act.  Proposition 14 requires all candidates for 
            partisan offices, except for US President and county central 
            committees, running in a primary election, regardless of their 
            party preference, to appear on a single Primary Election 
            ballot and permits voters to vote for any candidate.  The two 
            candidates who receive the most votes in the primary election 
            advance to the general election.  

          Under current law, county elections officials are required to 
            include inserts provided by the county central committee in 
            partisan sample ballots. However, given that, under this new 
            primary election system, all candidates will appear on a 
            single ballot, the need for political party-specific voter 
            information materials and ballots is virtually eliminated. As 
            such, the author argues, that the provision in this bill that 
            repeals the ability of county central committees to include 
            specified inserts in the mailings of sample ballots to voters 
            who have indicated a party preference could be considered 
            "clean-up" legislation. 

           4)Pending Litigation  :   In the June 2010 primary election, the 
            San Diego County elections official included a one-page letter 
            provided by a political party in the sample ballot booklets 
            mailed to that party's registered voters.  In addition to 
            soliciting funds for the party, the letter also contained 
            endorsements for several state and local candidates, which 
            gave it the appearance of a slate mailer. The letter was 








                                                                  SB 441
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            challenged in court on the grounds that the original intent of 
            the law that authorized the insertion of the letter was to 
            only allow for a party to solicit campaign contributions.  On 
            April 13, 2010, Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Barton issued a 
            ruling allowing the insert, with some modifications, to be 
            included in the mailings to voters, stating that because the 
            law does not include a definition for "solicitation" it does 
            not preclude a party from "describing its position on issues 
            or candidates supported." (  Kunde v. Seiler, et al.  (2010), 
            Case No. 37-2010-00089266-CU-WM-CTL).  The plaintiffs 
            appealed, arguing that the registrar had subsidized the 
            party's mailing by not charging for postage, though the 
            registrar claims that it did not incur additional postage 
            costs as a result of the mailing and therefore did not bill 
            the party for postage.  The case is pending in the California 
            Court of Appeals, 4th Appellate District.

          According to background information provided by the author's 
            office, San Diego County incurred over $25,000 in legal fees 
            to defend, what it considered, its legal obligation to comply 
            with the law.   The author argues that removing the ability of 
            county central committees to include inserts in the sample 
            ballot will avoid the expenditure of public funds to defend 
            actions by political parties. 

           5)Arguments in Support  :  Several county clerks, in support of 
            this bill, argue "it is crucial that local governments can 
            defend themselves from the appearance of bias while governing 
            local elections and it is a basic right that voters should be 
            able to cast their vote without the presence of a slate mailer 
            in the official elections materials. ÝThis bill] will 
            accomplish both of these goals."





















                                                                  SB 441
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           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          California Association of Clerks and Election Officials 
          (Sponsor)
          Alpine County Clerk/Registrar of Voters (prior version)
          Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder (prior version)
          Lake County Registrar of Voters (prior version)
          Los Angeles County Register-Recorder/County Clerk (prior 
          version)
          Merced County Clerk/Registrar of Voters (prior version)
          Santa Barbara County Clerk, Recorder and Assessor (prior 
          version)
          Santa Cruz County Clerk (prior version)
          Shasta County Clerk/Registrar of Voters (prior version)
          Plumas County Clerk-Recorder, Registrar of Voters (prior 
          version)
           
          Opposition 
           
          None on file.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Maria Garcia / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094