BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1121
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1121 (Davis)
As Amended April 28, 2009
Majority vote
ELECTIONS 5-1 APPROPRIATIONS 10-6
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|Ayes:|Fong, Coto, Mendoza, |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Charles |
| |Saldana, Swanson | |Calderon, Davis, Fuentes, |
| | | |Hall, , Price, Solorio, |
| | | |Torlakson, Krekorian |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+---------------------------|
|Nays:|Adams |Nays:|Nielsen, Duvall, Harkey, |
| | | |Miller, |
| | | |John A. Perez, Audra |
| | | |Strickland |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Establishes a pilot project allowing up to 10 general
law cities and general law counties to conduct a local election
using ranked voting (RV) if certain conditions are met.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Limits participation in the pilot to three cities or counties
with a population of 15,000 or less, three cities or counties
with a population between 15,000 and 40,000, and four cities
or counties with a population of more than 40,000.
Participants in the three population categories are also to be
distributed between the northern, central, and southern
regions of the state.
2)Requires a city or county to submit a written request to the
Secretary of State (SOS) to participate in the pilot, and
requires the SOS to approve each request in the order of
receipt (subject to the above restrictions on participants).
3)Defines "ranked voting" as an election method in which voters
rank the candidates for office in order of preference, and the
ballots are counted in rounds. In the case of a single-winner
election, "instant runoff voting" (IRV) simulates a series of
runoffs until only two candidates remain, with the candidate
with the greater number of votes being declared the winner.
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In the case of a multiple-winner election, "choice voting"
(CV) fills all seats to be elected.
4)Provides a methodology for counting ballots and determining
the winning candidate or candidates for IRV and CV elections,
respectively.
5)Prohibits a city or county from conducting a local election
using RV unless that election is conducted on a voting system
that is capable of conducting the election using RV and that
voting system has been certified for use in the state by the
SOS, or the election is conducted by another procedure
approved by the SOS which at a minimum include detailed
specifications for counting, auditing, and reporting of
results.
6)Provides that RV may be adopted for use pursuant to this bill
in a general law city or county by approval of a ballot
measure submitted to the voters by the governing body or by an
initiative measure.
7)Requires a city or county that uses RV in an election to
conduct a voter education and outreach campaign to familiarize
voters with RV, and requires that campaign to be conducted in
English and in every language that a ballot is required to be
made available pursuant to state and federal law.
8)Requires participating cities and counties, following an RV
election, to report specified information to the Legislative
Analyst's Office (LAO), and requires the LAO to report to the
Legislature regarding the elections' success and to recommend
whether the Legislature should expand the authorization for
RV.
9)Contains a January 1, 2019 sunset date.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, costs to the LAO for the report are minor and
absorbable, and any net costs to cities and counties would be
nonreimbursable, as participation in the pilot is voluntary.
Costs for the SOS to certify a voting system are about $360,000.
Vendors seeking certification deposit funds for this purpose in
an escrow account from which the SOS draws down to cover
certification-related expenses.
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COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 1121 is a limited 'local
option' bill that would allow a small number of general law
cities or general law counties to use ranked voting systems,
specifically instant runoff voting and choice voting, to elect
local officials and legislative bodies. This bill would specify
the ranked voting method as it applies to both a
single-candidate election and a multiple-candidate election.
Only 10 cities or counties would be granted this authorization.
AB 1121 would NOT mandate that any jurisdictions use ranked
voting, and municipalities wishing to do so would need to obtain
voter approval for the change."
There are no voting systems currently certified for use in
California that have the capability to tabulate ballots cast in
an IRV or CV election. Given the lack of certified voting
equipment that is capable of conducting an election using RV,
and given the lack of certainty about the availability of such
equipment in the immediate future, it may be desirable to delay
consideration of this measure until such equipment is available.
Although San Francisco is the only jurisdiction in California
that has used IRV for an election, a number of other
jurisdictions have approved IRV for use in future elections.
The cities of Oakland, Berkeley, and San Leandro have all
approved charter amendments to conduct city elections using IRV.
Given that a natural pilot project of sorts will be conducted
over the next few years as a number of other cities use IRV for
local elections, the need and desirability for the Legislature
to create a pilot project is unclear.
AB 1294 (Mullin) of 2007 would have allowed any city, county, or
district to conduct a local election using RV. AB 1294 was
vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, who expressed concerns that
there was not enough information about how voters would react to
RV and that there were no voting systems certified for use in
the state that were capable of conducing RV elections.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
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