BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Norma J. Torres, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1419 HEARING DATE: 6/18/13
AUTHOR: ASSEMBLY E&R COMM. ANALYSIS BY: Frances Tibon
Estoista
AMENDED: 4/30/13
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Presidential general elections: party qualifications
DESCRIPTION
Existing law provides that a political party is qualified to
participate in a primary election under any of the following
conditions:
a) If, at the last preceding gubernatorial election, there was
polled for any one of its candidates for any office voted on
through the state, at least two percent of the entire vote of
the state;
b) If, on or before the 135th day before any primary election,
it appears to the Secretary of State (SOS), as a result of
examining and totaling the statement of voters and their
political affiliations transmitted to the SOS by county
elections officials, that voters equal in number to at least
one percent of the entire vote of the state at the last
preceding gubernatorial election have declared their
intention to affiliate with that party; or,
c) If, on or before the 135th day before any primary election,
there is filed with the SOS a petition signed by voters equal
in number to 10 percent of the entire vote of the state at
the last preceding gubernatorial election, declaring that
they represent a proposed party, the name of which shall be
stated in the petition, which proposed party those voters
desire to have participate in that primary election.
Existing law requires county elections officials to send a
summary statement of the number of voters in the county to the
SOS at the following times:
a) On the 135th day before each presidential primary and before
each direct primary, with respect to voters registered on the
154th day before the primary election;
b) Not less than 50 days prior to the primary election, with
respect to voters registered on the 60th day before the
primary election;
c) Not less than 7 days prior to the primary election, with
respect to voters registered before the 14th day prior to the
primary election;
d) Not less than 50 days prior to the general election, with
respect to voters registered on the 60th day before the
general election;
e) Not less than 7 days prior to the general election, with
respect to voters registered before the 14th day prior to the
general election; and,
f) On or before March 1 of each odd-numbered year, with respect
to voters registered as of February 10.
Existing law requires each political party to have its
qualifications reviewed by the SOS upon the occurrence of the
gubernatorial election and further provides that a party that
does not meet the standards for qualification, as described
above, shall be prohibited from participating in any primary
election. Existing law requires a party that loses
qualification, but seeks to regain that qualification, to file a
notice with the SOS indicating that it intends to regain
qualification.
Existing law provides that no party shall be recognized or
qualified to participate in any primary election if the party
either directly or indirectly carries on, advocates, teaches,
justifies, aids, or abets the overthrow by any unlawful means
of, or directly or indirectly carries on, advocates, teaches,
justifies, aides, or abets a program of sabotage, force and
violence, sedition or treason against, the government of the
United States or of California.
Existing law requires the SOS, with the advice and consent of
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the Attorney General, to determine which parties are
disqualified pursuant to these provisions.
This bill provides that a political party is qualified to
participate in a presidential general election if either of the
following conditions is met:
a) If, on or before the 102nd day before a presidential general
election, it appears to the SOS, as a result of examining and
totaling the statement of voters and their political
affiliations transmitted to the SOS by county elections
officials, that voters equal in number to at least one
percent of the entire vote of the state at the last preceding
gubernatorial election have declared their intention to
affiliate with that party; or,
b) If, on or before the 135th day before a presidential general
election, there is filed with the SOS a petition signed by
voters equal in number to 10 percent of the entire vote of
the state at the last preceding gubernatorial election,
declaring that they represent a proposed party, the name of
which shall be stated in the petition, which proposed party
those voters desire to have participate in the presidential
general election.
This bill requires county elections officials to send a summary
statement of the number of voters in the county to the SOS not
less than 102 days prior to each presidential general election
with respect to voters registered before the 123rd day before
the presidential general election.
This bill requires a group of electors that are attempting to
qualify a new political party to indicate on a specified notice
to the SOS whether those electors intend to qualify the party
for the next primary election or the next presidential general
election.
This bill provides that a political party that qualifies
pursuant to the above procedure to participate in a presidential
general election does not have the ability to use the general
election ballot for the purpose of electing state party or
county central committee officers.
This bill makes conforming and corresponding changes.
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BACKGROUND
Existing law requires a political body to qualify as a political
party 135 days before the primary election if it wishes to place
candidates on the ballot, even if the party only wants to
participate in the presidential general election. Because
California currently holds its primary elections in June, this
policy effectively requires a political body to meet the
qualification threshold to become a recognized political party
by January in order for that party to have its Presidential
candidate appear on the general election ballot.
Last year, two political bodies that were attempting to qualify
as political parties filed a lawsuit against the SOS challenging
this deadline for qualifying to place their candidates on the
presidential general election ballot. In the lawsuit
( California Justice Committee v. Bowen (2012) Case No. CV
12-3956 PA), the political bodies alleged that the early
deadline violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
The U.S. District Court agreed, and enjoined the SOS from
enforcing the requirement that a political party had to qualify
by 135 days before the primary election in order to qualify to
appear on the November presidential general election. At the
same time, the Court refused to impose an alternative deadline.
COMMENTS
1. According to the Author : Recent court action holds that
requiring political bodies seeking to become political
parties to qualify prior to the presidential primary election
even if they have no intention of taking part in that
election, is not appropriate. Instead, a court determined
that a separate process must be established to allow
political bodies that only want to take part in the
presidential general election to qualify as political parties
closer to the November election. AB 1419 accomplishes that
goal and promotes the values of democracy, fairness, and
ballot access in an equitable way.
This bill establishes a new deadline for political bodies that
are seeking to become qualified political parties for the
purposes of having a candidate appear on the presidential
general election ballot. Under the provisions of this bill,
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the deadline for a political party to qualify to have its
candidate appear on the presidential general election ballot
would be 102 days before the general election if the party is
qualifying based on the number of voters who registered with
that political party, or
135 days before the presidential general election if the
party is qualifying based on signatures contained on a
petition. These deadlines were established because they fall
sufficiently in advance of deadlines for printing the voter
information guide and ballots to allow elections officials to
prepare those materials accordingly.
2. State Mandates : The 2011-12 and 2012-13 state budgets
included the suspension of various state mandates as a
mechanism for cost savings. Included on the list of
suspensions were all six existing elections-related mandates.
All the existing elections-related mandates have been
proposed for suspension again by the Governor in his budget
for the 2013-14 Fiscal Year.
This bill would establish a new state-mandated local program by
requiring county elections official to prepare one additional
summary statement of the number of voters in the county in
each four-year period. This summary statement is necessary
in order for the SOS to determine which political parties are
qualified to have their Presidential and Vice Presidential
candidates appear on the presidential general election
ballot. Given the fact that a federal court has already
enjoined the SOS from enforcing the existing deadline for a
political party to qualify in order to have its candidates
for President and Vice President appear on the presidential
general election ballot, it may be fiscally prudent to avoid
further litigation by modifying that deadline,
notwithstanding the potentially reimbursable state-mandated
costs.
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 7-0
Assembly Appropriations Committee: 17-0
Assembly Floor: 70-0
POSITIONS
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Sponsor: Author
Support: Secretary of State
Oppose: None received
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