BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 331|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 331
Author: Garcia (D)
Amended: 4/30/13 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONSTIT. AMENDMENTS COMM. : 4-0, 6/18/13
AYES: Hancock, Padilla, Yee, Torres
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 5/16/13 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Consolidation of elections
SOURCE : Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
DIGEST : This bill requires voter challenges, election
contests, and recounts to be conducted in accordance with state
law for any election that is consolidated with a statewide
election, a special election, or a regularly scheduled election
held for the purposes of electing governing board members for
school districts, community college districts, county boards of
education, or special districts.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Permits an election that is called by a district, city, or
other political subdivision to be consolidated with a
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statewide election that is being held on the same day if
certain conditions are met.
2.Provides that if an election is consolidated with a statewide
election or a regularly scheduled election held to elect
governing board members to a school district, community
college district, county board of education, or a special
district, the consolidated election shall be held and
conducted, election officers appointed, voting precincts
designated, candidates nominated, ballots printed, polls
opened and closed, ballots counted and returned, returns
canvassed, results declared, certificates of election issued,
and all other proceedings connected with the election be
regulated and done in accordance with the provisions of law
regulating the statewide or regularly scheduled election.
3.Permits a county or a city to provide for its own governance
through the adoption of a charter by a majority vote of its
electors voting on the question.
4.Permits a city charter to provide for the conduct of city
elections.
5.Provides that a legally adopted city charter supersedes all
laws inconsistent with that charter with respect to municipal
affairs.
This bill:
1.Provides that the relevant provisions of state law regulating
voter challenges, election contests, and recounts, shall apply
to any election that is consolidated with a statewide
election, a special election, or a regularly scheduled
election held to elect governing board members to a school
district, community college district, county board of
education, or a special district.
2.Requires a jurisdiction, if it requests to have an election
consolidated with a statewide election, a special election, or
a regularly scheduled election held to elect governing board
members to a school district, community college district,
county board of education, or a special district, to
acknowledge that the relevant provisions of state law
regulating voter challenges, election contests, and recounts,
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shall apply to that election.
Background
Charter City Authority & Limitations on Election Consolidations .
Existing law gives cities and counties the ability to adopt
charters, which give those jurisdictions greater autonomy over
local affairs. Charter cities, in particular, have a great deal
of autonomy over the rules governing the election of municipal
officers. Accordingly, a number of charter cities have adopted
election policies and procedures that are not available to
general law cities. To the extent that those election policies
and procedures affect only municipal affairs, courts have
generally given charter cities a great deal of latitude to set
their own policies and procedures.
When an election for a charter city is consolidated with an
election for other jurisdictions, however, the conduct of that
city election can impact the elections for other jurisdictions
that are on the same ballot. For instance, a charter city could
adopt polling place hours that differ from the hours established
under state law, but if an election for such a charter city is
consolidated with a statewide election, it would not be feasible
to conduct the election in accordance with the polling place
hours adopted by the charter city, since that would also impact
the other races on the ballot which must be conducted in
accordance with state law. In light of this fact, state law
already imposes limitations on elections when they are
consolidated with statewide elections or with certain regularly
scheduled local elections. For instance, as noted above,
existing law provides that if an election is consolidated with a
statewide or regularly scheduled local election, state laws
governing the opening and closing of polls, the counting of
ballots, and the canvassing of returns generally apply to all
offices and measures appearing on that ballot.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/21/13)
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (source)
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
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California State Association of Counties
Rural County Representatives of California
Urban Counties Caucus
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
existing law allows any state, county, municipal, district, and
charter city elections to be consolidated. In certain cases,
election consolidation may present a risk to the integrity of
the elections process. County elections are conducted in
accordance with applicable state and federal laws. Charter
cities in California, however, may adopt additional election
policies and procedures. Because these municipalities are not
conducting federal or state elections, they may (inadvertently
or not) adopt policies that conflict with state and federal
election laws.
This bill requires that elections consolidated with a statewide
or regularly scheduled county election be conducted under
applicable state and federal laws, including relevant county
election procedures and practices. This bill will ensure that a
district that consolidates an election with a statewide or
county election cannot apply practices that conflict with state
and federal laws. Ultimately, this legislation would help
provide citizens a fairer and more consistent election process.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 5/16/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Garcia,
Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Roger Hern�ndez, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue,
Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea,
V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner,
Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Buchanan, Eggman, Beth Gaines, Grove,
Holden, Melendez, Morrell, Stone, Vacancy
RM:nl 6/21/13 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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