BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 213
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 25, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
SB 213 (Galgiani) - As Amended: May 28, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 38-0
SUBJECT : Election petitions: circulators.
SUMMARY : Repeals various requirements that an individual must
be qualified to register to vote in order to circulate election
petitions and nomination papers. Specifically, this bill :
1)Repeals a requirement that a person must be qualified to
register to vote in order to circulate an initiative or
referendum petition. Repeals a requirement that a person must
be a voter in the city or qualified to register to vote in the
city in order to circulate a city initiative or referendum
petition. Repeals a requirement that a person must be a voter
in the district or qualified to register to vote in the
district in order to circulate a district initiative petition.
2)Repeals a requirement that a person must be a voter in the
electoral jurisdiction of an officer sought to be recalled in
order to circulate a recall petition for that officer.
3)Repeals a requirement that a person must be a voter in the
district or political subdivision in which a candidate is to
be voted on in order to circulate nomination papers for that
candidate.
4)Repeals a requirement that a person must be a registered voter
of the district or political subdivision in which a candidate
is to be voted on in order to circulate an in-lieu-filing-fee
petition for that candidate. Repeals a requirement that a
person can circulate an in-lieu-filing-fee petition only in a
county in which he or she resides.
5)Requires a person to be 18 years of age or older in order to
circulate a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall
petition, an in-lieu-filing-fee petition, or a nominating
paper.
6)Makes corresponding and technical changes.
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EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires a person to be a voter or qualified to register to
vote in the state in order to circulate an initiative or
referendum petition.
2)Requires a person to be a voter in the electoral jurisdiction
of an officer sought to be recalled in order to circulate a
recall petition for that officer.
3)Requires a person to be a voter in the city or qualified to
register to vote in the city in order to circulate a city
initiative or referendum petition.
4)Requires a person to be a voter in the district or qualified
to register to vote in the district in order to circulate a
district initiative petition.
5)Requires a person to be a voter in the district or political
subdivision in which a candidate is to be voted on in order to
circulate nomination papers for that candidate.
6)Permits a candidate to submit a petition containing signatures
of registered voters in lieu of paying a filing fee, as
specified. Requires a person to be a registered voter of the
district or political subdivision in which a candidate is to
be voted on in order to circulate an in-lieu-filing-fee
petition for that candidate. Provides that a person can
circulate an in-lieu-filing-fee petition only in a county in
which he or she resides.
7)Requires each section of an elections petition or paper that
is submitted to the elections official to have a circulator's
declaration attached to it with all of the following
information:
a) The printed name of the circulator;
b) The residence address of the circulator;
c) The dates between which the signatures on the petition
or paper were obtained;
d) A statement that the circulator circulated that section
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and witnessed the signatures being written; and,
e) A statement that, according to the best information and
belief of the circulator, each signature is the genuine
signature of the person whose name it purports to be.
8)Requires a circulator to certify to truth and correctness of
the content of the circulator's declaration, as described
above, under penalty of perjury.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative
Counsel.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
Federal case law (Nader v. Brewer) holds that ballot
petitions or candidate papers may be circulated by a
person regardless of whether he or she resides in the
state or jurisdiction where the petitions or papers
must be circulated. California state law is not in
accordance with this federal court decision. Last
year, 19 California counties were sued because they
enforced state laws preventing non-California
residents from circulating papers or petitions.
The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down statutes that
require petition circulators to be registered voters.
( Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation,
Inc. (1999) 525 U.S. 182.) Other federal courts have
struck down statutes that require petition circulators
to reside within the state or locality affected by a
petition, especially where requiring circulators to
submit to jurisdiction by agreement would achieve the
same end and would be more narrowly tailored to
further the state's interest in preventing fraud.
(See, e.g., Nader v. Brewer (9th Cir. 2008) 531 F.3d
1028; Krislov v. Rednour (7th Cir. 2000) 226 F.3d 851;
Lerman v. NYC Board of Elections (2d Cir. 2000) 232
F.3d 135; and Chandler v. Arvada (10th Cir. 2002) 292
F.3d 1236.)
The Secretary of State is constitutionally constrained
from declaring a state statute invalid, and Elections
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Code section 8106, subdivision (b), subsection (4) has
not been declared unconstitutional by any state or
federal court in California. However, given the
similarities between this statute and the provisions
struck down in the foregoing cases, the Secretary of
State does not recommend or support the enforcement of
this statute against any petition circulator,
especially where the petition circulator agrees to
submit to local jurisdiction.
2)Non-Resident Circulators and Pending Litigation : In 2008, the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in
Nader v. Brewer (2008), 531 F.3d 1028, that it was
unconstitutional for states to prevent non-residents from
circulating petitions. In 2009, the United States Supreme
Court declined to hear the case on appeal, so the Ninth
Circuit opinion stands.
In 2010, the Libertarian Party of Los Angeles filed a lawsuit
against the Secretary of State (SOS) in federal court
challenging provisions of the California Elections Code that
require people who circulate nomination papers on behalf of a
candidate to be voters in the district or political
subdivision in which the candidate is to be voted on. The
district court dismissed the complaint on the grounds that the
Libertarian Party lacked standing to sue, but a panel of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that
the district court erred in dismissing the case. The SOS
filed a petition requesting that the case be reheard before
the entire Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, but that
petition was denied. Further proceedings in the case were
delayed by the district court pending a potential appeal by
the SOS to the United States Supreme Court.
In the latter half of 2012, a number of California counties were
sued in federal court because their county clerks were
allegedly enforcing state laws that prevent non-Californians
from circulating initiatives and/or nomination papers.
Proceedings in that case, which are pending in district court,
have been stayed pending the decision in the Libertarian Party
case.
In light of the court's ruling in Nader , this bill repeals
residency requirements for individuals who circulate
initiative, referendum, or recall petitions,
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in-lieu-filing-fee petitions, and nomination papers.
3)Arguments in Support : In support of this bill, Secretary of
State Debra Bowen writes:
Under state law, only Californians may circulate state
or local ballot measure petitions, recall petitions,
or nomination papers for signature, but several recent
federal court decisions have deemed those statutes
unconstitutional. In 2012, 19 California
counties-unaware of federal court decisions-were sued
for upholding these state laws.
SB 213 brings California's Elections Code in line with
recent federal court decisions and will save local
elections officials from unwittingly creating grounds
for costly lawsuits against them. The bill permits
people who live outside of California to circulate
state or local ballot measure petitions, recall
petitions, or nominating papers for signature?
I am sponsoring SB 213 to spare local election
officials from unnecessary litigation.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Secretary of State (Sponsor)
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials (prior
version)
Rural County Representatives of California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094