BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1626 HEARING DATE: 6/19/12
AUTHOR: YAMADA ANALYSIS BY: Frances Tibon
Estoista
AMENDED: AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL: NO
SUBJECT
Election materials: public examination: writ of mandate:
elections official
DESCRIPTION
Existing law 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.
Existing law 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.
Existing law 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.
Existing law 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. 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.
Existing law provides that during the 10-calendar-day
public examination period for special district or school
district elections, any voter of the jurisdiction in which
the election is being held (but not the elections
official), may seek a writ of mandate or an injunction
requiring any material to be amended or deleted.
Existing law 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.
Existing law provides that writ of mandate or injunction
requests must be filed no later than the end of the
10-calendar-day public examination period.
Existing law 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.
This bill authorizes an election 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;
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c) Rebuttal arguments; and,
d) Any analysis of the measure prepared by county
counsel or district attorney.
This bill 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.
BACKGROUND
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.
COMMENTS
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1. According to the author : This bill would extend from
county and municipal elections to special district and
school district elections, a county elections official's
authority to seek a writ of mandate or injunction to
amend or delete errors or omissions in election
materials.
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.
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.
2. 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
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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 respondent and the person or
official who authorized the material in question to be
named a real party in interest.
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 7-0
Assembly Floor: 73-0
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Yolo County Clerk/Recorder
Support: American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees,
(AFSCME) AFL-CIO
California Special Districts Association (CSDA)
Orchard Dale Water District
Rowland Water District
Oppose: No School Board Taxes PAC
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