BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1419
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1419 (Elections and Redistricting Committee)
As Amended August 19, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |70-0 |(May 16, 2013) |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 26, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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Original Committee Reference: E. & R.
SUMMARY : Establishes a process for a political body to qualify
as a political party for the purposes of having that party's
Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates appear on the
presidential general election ballot. Specifically, this bill :
1)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 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 1% 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% 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.
2)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.
AB 1419
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3)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.
4)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.
5)Makes conforming and corresponding changes.
The Senate amendments add intent language specifying that this
bill is being enacted to comply with the holding of the United
States District Court for the Central District of California in
California Justice Committee v. Bowen (C.D. Cal. Oct. 18, 2012)
No. CV 12-3956 PA (AGRx) and make technical changes.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : 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), the political bodies
alleged that the early deadline violated their First and
Fourteenth Amendment rights. The United States 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.
AB 1419
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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, 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.
The Senate amendments add intent language to clarify that this
bill is being enacted in response to the court's decision in
California Justice Committee v. Bowen, and make technical
changes, but do not make substantive changes to the version of
the bill that was approved by the Assembly. This bill, as
amended in the Senate, is consistent with Assembly actions.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0001783