BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1626
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Date of Hearing: May 1, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 1626 (Yamada) - As Introduced: February 9, 2012
SUBJECT : Election materials: public examination: writ of
mandate: elections official.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the elections official to seek a writ of
mandate or injunction to amend or delete elections materials for
district and school district elections. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Provides that in the case of district or school district
elections, the elections official in the jurisdiction in which
the election is being held, during the 10-calendar-day public
examination period, is authorized to seek a writ of mandate or
injunction requiring the amendment or deletion of any or all
of the following election materials concerning a measure that
will appear on the ballot:
a) Text of the proposed measure;
b) Arguments for and against the proposed measure;
c) Rebuttal arguments; and,
d) Any analysis of the measure prepared by county counsel
or district attorney.
1)Provides that in any case where an elections official seeks a
writ of mandate or injunction pursuant to this bill, the board
of supervisors of the county shall be named as the respondent
and the person or official who authored the material in
question shall be named as a real party in interest.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the elections official administering a county,
municipal, district or school district election, immediately
following the filing deadline for submission of specified
election materials and for a period of 10-calendar-days, to
make a copy of those materials available for public
examination.
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2)Provides that any person may obtain a copy of specified
election materials from the elections official for a fee not
to exceed the actual cost incurred to provide the copy.
3)Provides that during the 10-calendar-day public examination
period for county or municipal elections, any voter of the
jurisdiction in which the election is being held, or the
elections official, himself or herself, may seek a writ of
mandate or an injunction requiring any material to be amended
or deleted.
4)Provides that for county or municipal elections, the elections
official shall be named as respondent and the person or
official who authorized the material in question shall be
named as a real party in interest. Provides that in the case
of the elections official bringing the mandamus or injunctive
action, the board of supervisors of the county shall be named
as the respondent and the person or official who authored the
material in question shall be named as the real party in
interest.
5)Provides that during the 10-calendar-day public examination
period for district or school district elections, any voter of
the jurisdiction in which the election is being held may seek
a writ of mandate or an injunction requiring any material to
be amended or deleted.
6)Provides that for district or school district elections, the
elections official shall be named as respondent and the person
or official who authored the material in question shall be
named as a real party in interest.
7)Provides that writ of mandate or injunction requests must be
filed no later than the end of the 10-calendar-day public
examination period.
8)Requires a preemptory writ of mandate or an injunction to be
issued only upon clear and convincing proof that the material
in question is false, misleading or inconsistent with current
law, and that issuance of the writ or injunction will not
substantially interfere with the printing or distribution of
official election materials.
FISCAL EFFECT : Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
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COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
For each election, a county elections official provides
each voter with a sample ballot that contains arguments for
or against measures on the ballot. In state, county and
city elections any voter in the jurisdiction, OR the
elections official, may seek a writ of mandate or
injunction to prevent the inclusion of false or misleading
statements or omission of fact, in a ballot argument.
However, in special district or school district elections,
only a voter within that jurisdiction may attempt to stop
the dissemination of misleading voter materials, not the
elections official.
This issue recently received attention with a local Yolo
County school district parcel tax measure. While the law
allows opinions in ballot arguments and the author can
discuss any issue they wish, the county elections official
believed that the argument submitted to the official for
inclusion in the sample ballot contained incorrect and
misleading information about all-mailed ballot elections.
However, the law did not allow the Yolo County Elections
office to contest the false statements. To ensure the
dissemination of information based on fact, the official
had to find a qualified voter willing to go to court on
behalf of the county in time to meet legal deadlines. A
court ultimately struck portions of the argument proven
incorrect.
In smaller electoral communities, which are most commonly
school districts or special districts, it is often the
Elections Official who is the first to spot any issues with
the ballot argument. In order to encourage timeliness and
efficiency, the elections official should be able to ask
the courts directly to rectify any issues that arise as
soon as possible. AB 1626 would allow county elected
officials to perform a well-established function of office
and create an equal standard to contest ballot arguments at
all levels of elections.
2)Argument in Support : The Yolo County Clerk/Recorder, who is
the Sponsor of this measure, writes:
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In elections for these small districts frequently it is the
Election Official who is the first to notice any issues
with the ballot arguments provided by the proponent and
opposition groups. Twice in recent months a ballot
statement has been ordered corrected in Yolo County through
the courts, in one case by the intervention of a former
Election Official who intervened on behalf of the actual
Election Official who was barred from requesting action.
Changing the law to allow Election Officials to act in all
local elections serves the voters of California by ensuring
that arguments presented to them are accurate and honest.
The allowance for timely action of those Officials who are
most aware of the content will save the counties and
districts the cost of reprinting materials as errors are
discovered later.
3)Creating Consistency : During the 10-calendar-days immediately
following the filing deadline for the submission of specified
elections materials, elections officials are required to make
copies of those materials available for public examination.
If during the public examination period either a voter from
that jurisdiction or the elections official himself or herself
raises questions about the validity of the ballot arguments
submitted, they may seek a writ of mandate or injunction with
the court to have the materials amended or deleted, as long as
the request is filed no later than the end of the
10-calendar-day public examination period. However, this rule
does not apply to a district or school district election.
Existing law provides that for district or school district
elections the elections official shall be named the respondent
and the person or official who authored the material in
question shall be named as a real party in interest, however,
the elections official is not authorized to request a writ of
mandate or injunction.
This bill would create consistency in current law and
authorize the elections official to seek a writ of mandate or
injunction, during the 10-calendar-day public examination
period, for a district or school district election.
Additionally, this bill also requires, in the case of the
elections official bringing the mandamus or injunctive action,
the board of supervisors of the county to be named as the
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respondent and the person or official who authorized the
material in question to be named a real party in interest.
AB 1626
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Yolo County Clerk/Recorder (Sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME), AFL-CIO
California Special Districts Association
Orchard Dale Water District
Rowland Water District
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Lori Barber / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094