BILL NUMBER: AB 2010 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ridley-Thomas
FEBRUARY 16, 2016
An act to amend Sections 13307 and 13312 of the Elections Code,
relating to elections.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2010, as introduced, Ridley-Thomas. Samples ballots and voter
pamphlets.
Existing law permits a candidate for a nonpartisan elective office
in any local agency, which includes any city, county, city and
county, or district, to prepare a written statement, pursuant to
specified guidelines, to be included in a voter's pamphlet that is
mailed to each voter. Existing law requires each voter's pamphlet to
contain a notice in the heading of the first page of that pamphlet
that, among other things, each candidate's statement in the pamphlet
is volunteered by the candidate. Existing law requires an elections
official to provide a Spanish translation to those candidates who
wish to have one.
Existing law authorizes a county or city elections official to
establish procedures designed to permit a voter to opt out of
receiving his or her voter's pamphlet and other related materials by
mail, and instead obtain them electronically via email or by
accessing them on the county's or city's Internet Web site, provided
specified conditions are met.
This bill would authorize the governing body of a local agency to
permit a candidate for nonpartisan elective office in the local
agency to prepare a written statement for electronic distribution.
This bill would require the statement to be posted on the Internet
Web site of the elections official, permit the statement to be
included in a voter's pamphlet that is electronically distributed,
and prohibit the statement from being included in a voter's pamphlet
that is printed and mailed to voters. This bill would require the
elections official to provide a Spanish translation to those
candidates who wish to have one. This bill would require the notice
in the heading of the first page of the voter's pamphlet, in certain
circumstances, to specify that additional statements are available on
the Internet Web site of the elections official.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 13307 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
13307. (a) (1) Each candidate for nonpartisan elective office in
any local agency, including any city, county, city and county, or
district, may prepare a candidate's statement on an appropriate form
provided by the elections official. The statement may include the
name, age, and occupation of the candidate and a brief description,
of no more than 200 words, of the candidate's education and
qualifications expressed by the candidate himself or herself.
However, the governing body of the local agency may authorize an
increase in the limitations on words for the statement from 200 to
400 words. The statement shall not include the party affiliation of
the candidate, nor membership or activity in partisan political
organizations.
(2) The statement authorized by this subdivision shall be filed in
the office of the elections official when the candidate's nomination
papers are returned for filing, if it is for a primary election, or
for an election for offices for which there is no primary. The
statement shall be filed in the office of the elections official no
later than the 88th day before the election, if it is for an election
for which nomination papers are not required to be filed. If a
runoff election or general election occurs within 88 days of the
primary or first election, the statement shall be filed with the
elections official by the third day following the governing body's
declaration of the results from the primary or first election.
(3) Except as provided in Section 13309, the statement may be
withdrawn, but not changed, during the period for filing nomination
papers and until 5 p.m. of the next working day after the close of
the nomination period.
(b) (1) The elections official shall send to each voter, together
with the sample ballot, a voter's pamphlet which
that contains the written statements of each candidate
that is prepared pursuant to this section.
subdivision (a). The statement of each candidate shall be
printed in type of uniform size and darkness, and with uniform
spacing.
(2) The elections official shall provide a Spanish translation to
those candidates who wish to have one, and shall select a person to
provide that translation who is one of the following:
(A) A certified and registered interpreter on the Judicial Council
Master List.
(B) An interpreter categorized as "certified" or "professionally
qualified" by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.
(C) From an institution accredited by a regional or national
accrediting agency recognized by the United States Secretary of
Education.
(D) A current voting member in good standing of the American
Translators Association.
(E) A current member in good standing of the American Association
of Language Specialists.
(c) (1) In addition to the statement prepared pursuant to
subdivision (a), the governing body of a local agency may permit each
candidate for nonpartisan elective office in the local agency to
prepare a candidate's statement for the purpose of electronic
distribution pursuant to this subdivision.
(2) A statement prepared pursuant to this subdivision shall be
posted on the Internet Web site of the elections official, and may be
included in a voter's pamphlet that is electronically distributed by
the elections official pursuant to Section 13300.7, but shall not be
included in a voter's pamphlet that is printed and mailed to voters
pursuant to subdivision (b).
(3) A statement that is printed in the voter's pamphlet and mailed
to voters pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be included with the
statement that is prepared and electronically distributed pursuant to
this subdivision.
(4) A statement that is prepared and electronically distributed
pursuant to this subdivision shall be displayed in type of uniform
size and darkness, and with uniform spacing.
(5) The elections official shall provide a Spanish translation to
those candidates who wish to have one, and shall select a person to
provide that translation who is one of the persons listed in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b).
(c)
(d) The local agency may estimate the total cost of
printing, handling, translating, and mailing the
mailing, and electronically distributing a candidate's
statements filed pursuant to this section, including costs incurred
as a result of complying with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965,
as amended. The local agency may require each candidate filing a
statement to pay in advance to the local agency his or her estimated
pro rata share as a condition of having his or her statement included
in the voter's pamphlet or electronically distributed .
In the event the estimated payment is required, the receipt for the
payment shall include a written notice that the estimate is just an
approximation of the actual cost that varies from one election to
another election and may be significantly more or less than the
estimate, depending on the actual number of candidates filing
statements. Accordingly, the local agency is not bound by the
estimate and may, on a pro rata basis, bill the candidate for
additional actual expense or refund any excess paid depending on the
final actual cost. In the event of underpayment, the local agency may
require the candidate to pay the balance of the cost incurred. In
the event of overpayment, the local agency which,
that, or the elections official who, collected the
estimated cost shall prorate the excess amount among the candidates
and refund the excess amount paid within 30 days of the election.
(d)
(e) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to make any
statement, or the authors thereof, free or exempt from any civil or
criminal action or penalty because of any false, slanderous, or
libelous statements offered for printing or electronic
distribution pursuant to this section, or contained in the
voter's pamphlet.
(e)
(f) Before the nominating period opens, the local
agency for that election shall determine whether a charge shall be
levied against that candidate for the candidate's statement sent to
each voter and, if authorized pursuant to subdivision (c), for
the electronically distributed candidate's statement . This
decision shall not be revoked or modified after the seventh day prior
to the opening of the nominating period. A written statement of the
regulations with respect to charges for handling, packaging,
and mailing , and electronic distribution shall
be provided to each candidate , or his or her
representative , at the time he or she picks up the
nomination papers.
(f)
(g) For purposes of this section and Section 13310, the
board of supervisors shall be deemed the governing body of judicial
elections.
SEC. 2. Section 13312 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
13312. (a) Each voter's pamphlet prepared
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 13307 shall contain
a statement notice in the heading of
the first page in heavy-faced gothic type, not smaller than 10-point,
that: (a), the that specifies both of the
following:
(1) That the pamphlet does not
contain a complete list of candidates and that a complete list of
candidates appears on the sample ballot (if any candidate is not
listed in the pamphlet), and that (b), each
pamphlet).
(2) That each candidate's
statement in the pamphlet is volunteered by the candidate,
candidate and (if printed at the candidate's
expense) is printed at his or her expense.
(b) If a local agency has authorized each candidate for
nonpartisan elective office to prepare a candidate's statement for
the purpose of electronic distribution pursuant to subdivision (c) of
Section 13307, and if a candidate has submitted a statement for that
purpose, the notice required by subdivision (a) shall specify that
additional statements are available on the Internet Web site of the
elections official and shall include the Internet Web site address at
which the statements may be viewed.