BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1335
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1335 (Lieu)
As Amended June 9, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(May 18, 2009) |SENATE: |23-11|(August 11, |
| | | | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: E. & R.
SUMMARY : Requires write-in candidates for the office of
superior court judge to include on their statements of write-in
candidacy a statement that they satisfy the eligibility
requirements for a judge.
The Senate amendments :
1)Change the number of signatures needed on a petition
indicating that a write-in campaign will be conducted for the
office of superior court judge from 100 signatures to a number
of signatures equal to one tenth of one percent of the
registered voters qualified to vote with respect to the
office, except that the petition must have not fewer than 100
and does not need more than 1,000 signatures.
2)Make technical changes.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was similar to the Senate
approved version, except that it did not change the number of
signatures required on a petition indicating that a write-in
campaign will be conducted for the office of superior court
judge.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8. negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 1335 deals with write-in
candidates for judicial elections. Under present law, the names
of incumbent Superior Court judges running for re-election do
not appear on the ballot unless either a qualified challenger
files to run against them, in which case the name of the judge
and the challenger will appear on the ballot, or unless a
petition is filed pursuant to Elections Code Section 8203.
AB 1335
Page 2
Under this section, if a petition signed by at least 100 voters
in the appropriate county is filed during the requisite
timeframe, the judge's name will appear on the ballot.
Additionally, write-in candidates may qualify to challenge the
judge by submitting nomination papers, during the period running
from 57 days prior to the election until 14 days prior.
"The sponsor of AB 1335, the California Judges Association,
believes that the Section 8203 petition procedure has been
abused by groups intent on harassing judges based upon race and
ethnicity. During the 2008 June primary, a known white
supremacist used this procedure to focus on six incumbent judges
in Los Angeles with Spanish surnames. The person spearheading
this effort published a book in 1989 calling for
disenfranchisement and deportation of non-whites, and was
endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan in a 1989 special election race for
Congress in Wyoming. The protagonist and his colleagues
acknowledged that the judges were selected because of their
names.
"The six Latino judges were shocked when they learned that they
were targeted, but under the law they did not know whether they
would actually have write-in campaigns run against them, or by
whom. They were left uncertain as to whether they needed to
raise campaign money, hire consultants, and carry out a
campaign.
"The Judges Association believes that more than 100 signatures
should be required to force the county to include judge's names
on the ballot, particularly in light of the potential for
harassment on improper grounds."
Analysis Prepared by : Lori Barber / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0005164