BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1365
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1365 (Padilla)
As Amended August 7, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :23-11
ELECTIONS 5-1
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|Ayes:|Fong, Bonta, Hall, Perea, | | |
| |Rodriguez | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Donnelly | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Expands the California Voting Rights Act of 2001
(CVRA) to allow challenges to district-based elections to be
brought under the CVRA, as specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits, pursuant to the CVRA, district-based elections from
being imposed or applied in a manner that impairs the ability
of a protected class of voters to elect candidates of its
choice, or its ability to influence the outcome of an
election, as the result of the dilution or abridgement of the
rights of voters who are members of a protected class.
2)Provides that the fact that a district-based election was
imposed on a political subdivision as a result of an action
filed pursuant to the CVRA shall not be a defense to an action
alleging that the district-based elections violate the
provisions of this bill.
3)Requires a court, upon finding that a political subdivision's
district-based elections violate this bill, to implement
appropriate remedies that are tailored to remedy the violation
and that are guided in part by the views of the protected
class.
a) Requires the court to implement an effective
district-based elections system that provides the protected
class the opportunity to elect candidates of its choice
from single-member districts. Provides that if no such
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system is possible, the court shall implement a
single-member district-based election system that provides
the protected class the opportunity to join in a coalition
of two or more protected classes of voters, as defined, to
elect candidates of their choice.
b) Requires a court, if the remedies outlined in a) above
are not legally viable, to implement other appropriate
remedies, including increasing the size of the governing
body; issuing an injunction to delay an election; or
requiring an election to be held on the same day as a
statewide election.
4)Provides that a court-ordered district-based election system
that is adopted on or after January 1, 2015, as a result of an
action filed pursuant to the CVRA shall be subject to a
rebuttable presumption that the system does not violate this
bill. Provides that this presumption applies only to the
exact district-based election system that was approved by the
court.
5)Contains a severability clause.
FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Nothing in state law
protects minority voters from poorly drawn districts. Poorly
drawn districts can have the same negative impact on voter
turnout and equitable representation as at-large elections.
Dividing up minority populations or cramming them into only one
district can weaken their ability to even influence an election.
SB 1365 will create a process, building on the current
California Voting Rights Act, for the public to challenge poorly
drawn district elections."
SB 976 (Polanco), Chapter 129, Statutes of 2002, enacted the
CVRA to address racial block voting in at-large elections for
local office in California. In areas where racial block voting
occurs, an at-large method of election can dilute the voting
rights of minority communities if the majority typically votes
to support candidates that differ from the candidates who are
preferred by minority communities. In such situations, breaking
a jurisdiction up into districts can result in districts in
which a minority community can elect the candidate of its choice
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or otherwise have the ability to influence the outcome of an
election. Accordingly, the CVRA prohibits an at-large method of
election from being imposed or applied in a political
subdivision in a manner that impairs the ability of a protected
class of voters to elect the candidate of its choice or to
influence the outcome of an election, as a result of the
dilution or the abridgement of the rights of voters who are
members of the protected class.
This bill expands the CVRA to permit challenges to be brought to
district-based election systems that impair the ability of a
protected class of voters to elect the candidates of its choice
or to influence the outcome of an election, as a result of the
dilution or the abridgement of the rights of voters who are
members of the protected class. Challenges to district-based
election systems under the CVRA would be subject to the same
standards and procedures that currently apply to challenges to
at-large election systems that are brought under the CVRA. As
is the case with challenges to at-large election systems under
the CVRA, prevailing plaintiff parties that bring successful
challenges to district-based election systems under this bill
would be able to recover attorney's fees, including expert
witness fees and expenses. Prevailing defendant parties are not
able to recover costs, unless the court finds the action to be
frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.
The primary difference between challenges brought under the CVRA
to at-large elections and challenges brought to district-based
elections under this bill are the remedies that would be
available when a court finds that a violation exists. While
existing law does not explicitly limit the remedies that a court
may consider in response to an at-large election system that
violates the CVRA, it does state that the imposition of
district-based elections may be an appropriate remedy for such a
violation. By contrast, if a district-based election system
were found to violate the CVRA under the provisions of this
bill, the court would be required to implement a single-member
district-based election system as a remedy, unless such a remedy
was not legally viable. In situations where the court finds
that such a remedy is not viable, this bill requires the court
to consider other appropriate remedies, including increasing the
size of the governing body, delaying an election, or changing
the dates of elections in the political subdivision.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
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of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0004371