BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 80
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 80 (Fong)
As Amended March 3, 2011
Majority vote
ELECTIONS 7-0
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|Ayes:|Fong, Logue, Bonilla, | | |
| |Hall, Mendoza, Swanson, | | |
| |Valadao | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Moves the presidential primary election from February to
June in presidential election years and consolidates it with the
statewide direct primary held in that year.
EXISTING LAW requires the presidential primary to be held on the
first Tuesday in February in any year that is evenly divisible by
the number four, and prohibits the consolidation of the
presidential primary with the statewide direct primary held in
that year.
FISCAL EFFECT : Keyed non-fiscal by Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Current law is out of
compliance with national party rules and requires California to
hold three separate statewide elections in 2012, imposing a huge
cost on the state and local governments at a time when our fiscal
situation is in crisis. Eliminating the state's stand-alone
presidential primary election and consolidating it with other
statewide elections will save millions of dollars, increase voter
turnout, and ensure that California's primary is held in
accordance with national party rules."
In 2008, the Legislature and Governor attempted to increase
California's influence in the presidential campaign and encourage
candidates to discuss and debate issues relevant to this state by
moving up the presidential primary election. SB 113 (Calderon),
Chapter 2, Statutes of 2007, moved California's presidential
primary from the first Tuesday in June to February 5th - the
earliest vote in state history. In addition to moving up the
presidential primary, SB 113 (Calderon) required a separate
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primary election for legislative and congressional offices to be
held in June. By the time California voters went to the polls on
election day, 33 other states had also moved up their
presidential primaries and 15 states held their primary on the
same day as California - giving February 5th the title of 'Super
Tuesday.' As a result of the primary date change, California
conducted three separate statewide elections in 2008.
This bill proposes to eliminate the stand-alone presidential
primary and consolidate it with the statewide direct primary in
June.
When a state holds a presidential primary or caucus, it is
actually selecting delegates who are pledged to support a
specified presidential candidate to represent the state at the
political party conventions. Those delegates then vote at the
party convention to choose the party's presidential nominee.
While a state is free to schedule its presidential primary
election or caucus whenever it wants, it may face sanctions at
the national convention if its election or caucus is held at a
time or in a manner that violates the national party rules. The
national Democratic and Republican party rules establish a time
period during which state parties are permitted to select
delegates to the national convention. That time period is
commonly referred to as the "window." Historically, the parties
have allowed certain states, including Iowa and New Hampshire, to
schedule their presidential contests prior to the designated
window without penalty.
In response to the 2008 'Super Tuesday' where several states
shared the same primary date, both national political parties
adopted new rules in August 2010 to extend the primary season and
encourage states to hold their presidential primaries or caucuses
later in the year. Though both parties begin the window on the
first Tuesday in March, they take different approaches to
encourage states to hold later primary elections. The Democratic
National Committee will be awarding states who schedule their
primaries later than March 6th a specific percentage of bonus
delegates, allotting more delegates the later the primary or
caucus. The Republican National Committee will penalize states
that choose to schedule their presidential contests prior to the
first day of April by reducing the number of delegates awarded to
an offending state by 50%. Absent a change to current law, which
sets California's presidential primary for February, California
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will be out of compliance with the national party rules. Several
states have introduced or passed legislation to comply with the
new political party rules.
This bill's proposed timeframe for the presidential primary would
be consistent with national party rules.
The presidential primary election in 2008 marked the first time
in recent history that California did not consolidate its
presidential primary with the statewide direct primary election,
and as a result California held three separate statewide
elections that year. According to information provided by the
State Controller's Office and the Secretary of State's Office,
California spent approximately $96,980,195 on the stand-alone
presidential primary election in 2008.
This bill proposes to consolidate all future presidential primary
elections with statewide direct primaries.
Analysis Prepared by : Maria Garcia / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0000082