SB 366, as introduced, Nguyen. Ballot materials: translations.
Existing law requires each county elections official to prepare separate sample ballots for each political party and a separate sample nonpartisan ballot, as specified. Existing law requires the elections official to send to each voter, together with the sample ballot, a voter’s pamphlet that contains the written statements of each candidate. Existing law requires the elections officials to provide a Spanish translation to those candidates who wish to have one and requires that the person selected to provide that translation be from a list of approved Spanish-language translators and interpreters of the superior court of the county or from an institution accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
Existing law requires the public posting of specified voting information at each polling place on the day of each election. Existing law requires the precinct board to post, in a conspicuous location at the polling place, at least one facsimile copy of the ballot with the ballot measures and ballot instructions printed in Spanish and facsimile ballots printed in other languages if a significant and substantial need is found by the elections official. Existing law requires that each translation of the ballot measures and ballot instructions posted at the polling place be provided by a person selected by the elections official from the list of approved translators and interpreters of the superior court of the county or from an institution accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
This bill would expand the group of acceptable translators for purposes of those provisions to include persons appearing on the Judicial Council’s Master List, persons qualified by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, persons from an institution accredited by a regional or national accrediting agency recognized by the United States Secretary of Education, and members of certain professional organizations.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 13307 of the Elections Code is amended
2to read:
(a) (1) Each candidate for nonpartisan elective office
4in any local agency, including any city, county, city and county,
5or district, may prepare a candidate’s statement on an appropriate
6form provided by the elections official. The statement may include
7the name, age, and occupation of the candidate and a brief
8description, of no more than 200 words, of the candidate’s
9education and qualifications expressed by the candidate himself
10or herself. However, the governing body of the local agency may
11authorize an increase in the limitations on words for the statement
12from 200 to 400 words. The statement shall not include the party
13affiliation of the candidate, nor membership or activity in partisan
14political organizations.
15(2) The statement
authorized by this subdivision shall be filed
16in the office of the elections official when the candidate’s
17nomination papers are returned for filing, if it is for a primary
18election, or for an election for offices for which there is no primary.
19The statement shall be filed in the office of the elections official
20no later than the 88th day before the election, if it is for an election
21for which nomination papers are not required to be filed. If a runoff
22election or general election occurs within 88 days of the primary
23or first election, the statement shall be filed with the elections
24official by the third day following the governing body’s declaration
25of the results from the primary or first election.
26(3) Except as provided in Section 13309, the statement may be
27withdrawn, but not changed, during the period for filing nomination
P3 1papers and until 5 p.m. of the next working day after the close of
2the nomination period.
3(b) begin insert(1)end insertbegin insert end insert The elections official shall send to each voter, together
4with the sample ballot, a voter’s pamphlet which contains the
5written statements of each candidate that is prepared pursuant to
6this section. The statement of each candidate shall be printed in
7type of uniform size and darkness, and with uniform spacing.begin delete Theend delete
8begin insert(2)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insertTheend insert elections official shall provide a Spanish translation to
9those candidates who wish to have one, and shall select a person
10to provide that translationbegin delete from the list of approved Spanish begin insert who is one of the following:end insert
11language translators and interpreters of the superior court of the
12county or from an institution accredited by the Western Association
13of Schools and Colleges.end delete
14(A) A certified and registered interpreter on the Judicial Council
15Master List.
16(B) An
interpreter categorized as “certified” or “professionally
17qualified” by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.
18(C) From an institution accredited by a regional or national
19accrediting agency recognized by the United States Secretary of
20Education.
21(D) A current voting member in good standing of the American
22Translators Association.
23(E) A current member in good standing of the American
24Association of Language Specialists.
25(c) The local agency may estimate the total cost of printing,
26handling, translating, and mailing the candidate’s statements filed
27pursuant to this section, including costs incurred as a result of
28complying with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended.
29The local agency may require each candidate filing a statement to
30pay in advance to the local agency his or her estimated pro rata
31share as a condition of having his or her statement included in the
32voter’s pamphlet. In the event the estimated payment is required,
33the receipt for the payment shall include a written notice that the
34estimate is just an approximation of the actual cost that varies from
35one election to another election and may be significantly more or
36less than the estimate, depending on the actual number of
37candidates filing statements. Accordingly, the local agency is not
38bound by the estimate and may, on a pro rata basis, bill the
39candidate for additional actual expense or
refund any excess paid
40depending on the final actual cost. In the event of underpayment,
P4 1the local agency may require the candidate to pay the balance of
2the cost incurred. In the event of overpayment, the local agency
3which, or the elections official who, collected the estimated cost
4shall prorate the excess amount among the candidates and refund
5the excess amount paid within 30 days of the election.
6(d) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to make any
7statement, or the authors thereof, free or exempt from any civil or
8criminal action or penalty because of any false, slanderous, or
9libelous statements offered for printing or contained in the voter’s
10pamphlet.
11(e) Before the nominating period opens, the local agency for
12that election shall determine whether a charge shall be levied
13against that candidate for the candidate’s statement sent to each
14voter. This decision shall not
be revoked or modified after the
15seventh day prior to the opening of the nominating period. A
16written statement of the regulations with respect to charges for
17handling, packaging, and mailing shall be provided to each
18candidate or his or her representative at the time he or she picks
19up the nomination papers.
20(f) For purposes of this section and Section 13310, the board of
21supervisors shall be deemed the governing body of judicial
22elections.
Section 14111 of the Elections Code is amended to
24read:
Translations of the ballot measures and ballot
26instructions, as required by Section 14201, shall be provided by a
27person selected by the elections officialbegin delete from the list of approved begin insert who is one of the following:end insert
28translators and interpreters of the superior court of the county
29orfrom an institution accredited by the Western Association of
30Schools and Colleges.end delete
31(a) A certified and registered interpreter on the Judicial Council
32Master List.
33(b) An interpreter categorized as “certified” or “professionally
34qualified” by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.
35(c) From an institution accredited by a regional or national
36accrediting agency recognized by the United States Secretary of
37Education.
38(d) A current voting member in good standing of the American
39Translators Association.
P5 1(e) A current member in good standing of the American
2Association of Language Specialists.
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