BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS, REAPPORTIONMENT AND
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
BILL NO: AB 2088 HEARING
DATE: 6/15/10
AUTHOR: ADAMS ANALYSIS BY:
Darren Chesin
AMENDED: 4/26/10
FISCAL: NO
SUBJECT
Recall elections
DESCRIPTION
Existing law provides that if a vacancy occurs in an office
after a recall petition is filed against the vacating
officer, the recall election shall nevertheless proceed.
The vacancy will be filled as provided by law but any
person appointed to fill the vacancy will hold office only
until a successor is elected per the recall election.
This bill establishes a process for filling a vacancy in an
office that occurs after a recall petition has been filed
against the vacating officer. Specifically, this bill:
Requires elections officials to immediately verify the
signatures on the recall petition that have been
submitted as of the date of the vacancy and if a
sufficient number of signatures have been filed for the
recall to qualify as of the date of the vacancy, the
recall election shall proceed.
Provides that if an insufficient number of signatures or
no signatures were filed for the recall to qualify as the
date of the vacancy, the recall shall not proceed and the
vacancy shall be filled as otherwise provided by current
law.
Provides that a person who is the subject of a recall
petition may not be appointed to fill the vacancy in the
office that he or she vacated nor shall that person be
appointed to fill any other vacancy in office on the same
governing board for the duration of the term of office of
the seat that he or she vacated.
Existing law provides that for the recall of a state
officer, if fewer than 500 signatures for a recall petition
are submitted to the county elections official, he or she
shall count the number of signatures and submit those
results to the Secretary of State (SOS). If 500 or more
signatures are submitted, the elections official may
verify, using a random sampling technique, either 3 percent
of the signatures submitted, or 500, whichever is less .
This bill instead provides that for the recall of a state
officer, if more than 500 signatures are submitted for a
recall petition, the elections official may verify, using a
random sampling technique, either 3 percent of the
signatures submitted, or 500, whichever is greater .
BACKGROUND
Less Than Total Recalls ? According to the SOS, the
question of how current law would be interpreted regarding
the timing of a vacancy in an office subject to a recall
was raised several times during recall efforts last year.
Specifically, concern was raised over "musical chairs"
gamesmanship where someone might resign to avoid a recall
moving forward then get appointed to another vacancy on the
same governing body.
Random Thoughts . For the recall of a local officer, the
random sampling of petition signatures must include an
examination of at least 500 or 5 percent of the signatures,
whichever is greater . This is inconsistent with the method
by which the random sample is conducted for the recall of a
state official. This bill would make the conduct of the
random sample for a state officer's recall more consistent
with the process in place for local recalls.
COMMENTS
1.According to the author , AB 2088 clarifies the recall
process in the event an elected official subject to a
recall resigns during the process. Current law provides
that if an elected official resigns after a recall
AB 2088 (ADAMS) Page
2
petition is filed with the county elections official, the
entire recall process, including the requirement that an
election be held, must proceed. In addition, there is a
conflict in statute regarding how the random sampling of
signatures used to qualify a recall for the ballot must
be conducted.
AB 2088 addresses this conflict and clarifies the process
to be followed when the elected official resigns after
recall petitions have been filed with a county elections
office. AB 2088 also eliminates a conflicting statute
regarding the random sampling of signatures that must be
verified to qualify a recall election for the ballot.
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 7-0
Assembly Floor: 76-0
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Secretary of State
Support: None received
Oppose: None received
AB 2088 (ADAMS) Page
3