BILL ANALYSIS
AB 909
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 909 (Feuer and Furutani)
As Amended April 21, 2009
Majority vote
ELECTIONS 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 11-5
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|Ayes:|Fong, Adams, Bill |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Charles |
| |Berryhill, Coto, Mendoza, | |Calderon, Davis, |
| |Saldana, Swanson | |Krekorian, Hall, John A. |
| | | |Perez, Price, Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, Torlakson |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Nielsen, Duvall, Harkey, |
| | | |Miller, Audra Strickland |
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SUMMARY : Requires polling place workers to notify
decline-to-state (DTS) voters that they may request partisan
ballots at a primary election. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a member of a precinct board, prior to furnishing a
ballot to a DTS voter at a partisan primary election, to
provide written notification informing the voter that he or
she may request a ballot for a political party that has
adopted a party rule allowing DTS voters to vote the ballot of
that political party at that primary election.
2)Provides that, for the purposes of this bill, written
notification includes signs, placards, posters, and other
forms of written notice.
3)Requires the written notification to list each party that has
adopted a party rule allowing DTS voters to vote the ballot of
that political party at the primary election.
4)Requires this notice to be translated into every language for
which the elections official is required to provide translated
election materials for that precinct pursuant to state or
federal law.
5)Allows a DTS voter to request a partisan ballot at a primary
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election either verbally or in writing.
6)Makes various technical changes.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor reimbursable costs, probably less than $30,000
statewide, to inform poll workers of the new responsibility
and/or to post relevant notices for DTS voters at polling sites.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Under existing law, prior
to each primary election, county election officials are required
to mail every "decline to state" (DTS) voter, whose name appears
on the permanent vote-by-mail (PBVM) voter list, a notice
regarding voting in the primary. The notice advises the DTS
voter that he or she may request a vote-by-mail (VBM) ballot for
a particular political party if that party permits DTS voters to
vote in their primary. The notice provides a toll-free number,
established by the Secretary of State that the voter can call to
obtain information regarding which political parties have
adopted such a rule. However, there is no requirement in
current law to provide a similar notice to the remaining DTS
voter population.
"At a polling place, unless the DTS voter requests a partisan
ballot, the voter is given a non-partisan ballot containing only
the statewide ballot measures. Of course, without some form of
notice voters will not likely understand that they have such an
option. During the February 5, 2008, Presidential primary
election, some DTS voters were denied the chance to cast a vote
for their desired candidate due to poll worker and voter
confusion about the rights of DTS voters. In order to avoid
such confusion in the future, AB 909 requires poll workers to
inform DTS voters at the polls of their right to request
partisan ballots as provided in current law."
In June 2000, the United States Supreme Court struck down
California's Open Primary Act (Act), enacted by voters by
Proposition 198 in 1996, in California Democratic Party v. Jones
(2000), 530 U.S. 567. The Court ruled that the Act violated a
political party's First Amendment right to freedom of
association. In response to the ruling, the Legislature enacted
SB 28 (Peace), Chapter 898, Statutes of 2000. SB 28 implemented
a modified closed primary election system that permits DTS
voters to participate in a political party's primary election if
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authorized by that party's rules. Elections have been conducted
under the modified closed primary election system created by SB
28 since the March 2002 statewide primary election.
Under SB 28, a DTS voter who appears at the polling place at a
partisan primary election is provided only with a nonpartisan
ballot unless the DTS voter requests a ballot of a political
party that has authorized DTS voters to participate in the
party's primary election. While some counties have instructed
their polling place workers to offer DTS voters the option of
voting a partisan ballot, nothing in state law requires that
polling place workers proactively offer these partisan ballots
to DTS voters, and some counties have told poll workers that
they are not permitted to offer a partisan ballot to DTS voters.
In those counties, DTS voters who don't know that they are
required to specifically request a partisan ballot at the
primary election may end up voting only a nonpartisan ballot.
This bill is similar to AB 2953 (Feuer) of 2008. AB 2953 was
vetoed by the Governor, though the Governor did not express any
policy objections to the bill. Instead, AB 2953 was one of 136
bills that received the same veto message. That veto message is
as follows: "The historic delay in passing the 2008-2009 State
Budget has forced me to prioritize the bills sent to my desk at
the end of the year's legislative session. Given the delay, I
am only signing bills that are the highest priority for
California. This bill does not meet that standard and I cannot
sign it at this time."
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0000688