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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|COMMITTEE VOTE: |6-0 |(August 17, 2010) |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
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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.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Prohibits a person from becoming a judge of a court of record
unless for 10 years immediately preceding selection, the person
has been a member of the State Bar or served as a judge of a
court of record in the State of California.
AB 1335
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2)Provides that in any county in which only the incumbent has filed
nomination papers for the office of superior court judge, his or
her name shall not appear on the ballot unless there is filed
with the elections official, within 10 days after the final date
for filing nomination papers for the office, a petition
indicating that a write-in campaign will be conducted for the
office and signed by 100 registered voters qualified to vote with
respect to the office. Provides that if a petition indicating
that a write-in campaign will be conducted for the office at the
general election, signed by 100 registered voters qualified to
vote with respect to the office, is filed with the elections
official not less than 83 days before the general election, the
name of the incumbent shall be placed on the general election
ballot if it has not appeared on the direct primary election
ballot.
3)Requires every person who desires to be a write-in candidate and
have his or her name as written on the ballot of an election
counted for a particular office to file a statement of write-in
candidacy that contains the following information:
a) Candidate's name;
b) Residence address;
c) A declaration stating that he or she is a write-in
candidate;
d) The title of the office for which he or she is running;
e) The party nomination which he or she seeks, if running
in a primary election; and,
f) The date of the election.
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
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AB 1335 makes two narrow changes to the Elections
Code relating to write-in candidates for judicial
races. Under current 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. 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.
Unlike candidates for the Legislature, incumbent
Superior Court judges do not appear on the ballot if
nobody files to run against them unless a petition is
filed within a specified time period indicating that
a write-in campaign will be conducted. In fact,
candidates for Superior Court judge typically do not
appear on the ballot, because it is fairly common for
an incumbent judge to be unopposed in a re-election
bid.
The current threshold of 100 signatures has been
abused by groups intent on harassing judges,
primarily based on race and ethnicity. For example,
during the June 2008 primary election, 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 that called 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
instigator 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 if they would actually have write-in campaigns
AB 1335
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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 current signature threshold of 100 is too low. A
higher number of signatures should be required to
force a county to include a judge's name on the
ballot, particularly in light of the potential for
harassment on improper grounds. In addition, if an
individual is going to run for judicial office, he or
she should demonstrate that he or she meets the state
constitutional requirements to serve as a judge. AB
1335 addresses both of these issues.
Analysis Prepared by : Lori Barber / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0006181