Bill Text: CA AB3259 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Enrolled

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Elections.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Passed) 2018-06-28 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 58, Statutes of 2018. [AB3259 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB3259-Enrolled.html

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Enrolled  June 15, 2018

Passed  IN  Senate  June 14, 2018

Passed  IN  Assembly  May 21, 2018

Amended  IN  Assembly  May 15, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 3259

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Introduced by Committee on Elections and Redistricting (Assembly Members Berman (Chair), Calderon, Low, Mullin, and Weber)

March 21, 2018

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An act to amend Sections 1500, 2155, 6321, 6405, 6541, 6567, 6598, 6768, 8083, 9210, 10602, 11222, 12102, and 12104 of the Elections Code, relating to elections.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 3259, Committee on Elections and Redistricting. Elections.

(1) Existing law contains various election-related forms, some of which contain obsolete date blocks that begin with “19__”.

This bill would update the date block of these forms to “20__”.

(2) Existing law requires a county elections official, upon receipt of a properly executed affidavit of registration or address correction notice or letter for a voter, to send the voter a voter notification, address correction requested. Existing law specifies a form of voter notification that county elections officials are required to use that includes a voter signature line.

This bill would remove the voter signature line from the voter notification.

(3) Existing law specifies procedures for collecting signatures on a petition for an initiative, referendum, or recall, and for filing the petition and signatures with elections officials.

Existing law requires elections officials for local recall and municipal initiative measure petitions to determine, prima facie, the total number of signatures affixed to the petition to determine whether or not the petition is accepted for filing. Existing law requires that recall and municipal initiative measure petitions not accepted for filing be returned to the proponents.

This bill would repeal this requirement to return the petitions to the proponents and instead require that further action not be taken.

(4) Existing law authorizes a local, special, or consolidated election to be conducted wholly by mail if specified conditions are satisfied. Existing law establishes specified dates in March, May, and August for conducting an all-mailed ballot election.

This bill would delete the date in March from the established dates for conducting an all-mailed ballot election.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 1500 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

1500.

 The established mailed ballot election dates are as follows:

(a) The first Tuesday after the first Monday in May of each year.

(b) The last Tuesday in August of each year.

SEC. 2.

 Section 2155 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

2155.

 Upon receipt of a properly executed affidavit of registration or address correction notice or letter pursuant to Section 2119, Article 2 (commencing with Section 2220), or the federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20501 et seq.), the county elections official shall send the voter a voter notification by nonforwardable, first-class mail, address correction requested. The voter notification shall state the party preference for which the voter has registered in the following format:

Party: (Name of political party)

The voter notification shall be substantially in the following form:

VOTER NOTIFICATION

You are registered to vote. The party preference you chose, if any, is on this card. This card is being sent as a notification of:

1. Your recently completed affidavit of registration.

OR,

2. A change to your registration because of an official notice that you have moved. If your residence address has not changed or if your move is temporary, please call or write to our office immediately.

OR,

3. Your recent registration with a change in party preference. If this change is not correct, please call or write to our office immediately.

You may vote in any election held 15 or more days after the date on this card.

Your name will appear on the roster kept at the polls.

Please contact our office if the information shown on the reverse side of this card is incorrect.

SEC. 3.

 Section 6321 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

6321.

 The notification of the number of delegates shall be in substantially the following form:

STATEMENT OF NUMBER OF DELEGATES TO THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY NATIONAL CONVENTION

To the Secretary of State
Sacramento, California _____

You are hereby notified that the number of delegates to represent the State of California in the next national convention of the Republican Party is ____.

Dated this ________ day of ________, 20__

	Chairperson of the State Central Committee of the Republican Party.

SEC. 4.

 Section 6405 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

6405.

 The county elections official’s certificate to nomination papers of a candidate shall be in substantially the following form:

COUNTY ELECTION OFFICIAL’S CERTIFICATE TO NOMINATION
PAPERS OF A CANDIDATE

To the Secretary of State:

I, County Elections Official of the County of _____________, hereby certify that I have examined the nomination papers, to which this certificate is attached, of the candidate for the ensuing presidential primary, and that the number of names which I have not marked “not sufficient” is ______________.

The candidate named in the nomination papers is ______________.

Dated this ____________ day of ____________, 20____.

________________________ , County Elections Official

By____________________ , Deputy 

SEC. 5.

 Section 6541 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

6541.

 The notification of the number of delegates shall be in substantially the following form:

STATEMENT OF NUMBER OF DELEGATES TO AMERICAN INDEPENDENT PARTY NATIONAL CONVENTION

To the Secretary of State
Sacramento, California

You are hereby notified that the number of delegates to represent the State of California in the next national convention of the American Independent Party is ____.

Dated this ____ day of ____, 20__.

Chairperson of the State Central Committee of the American Independent Party.

SEC. 6.

 Section 6567 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

6567.

 Each candidate for delegate to the American Independent Party convention shall file with the Secretary of State, before the circulation of nomination papers of the group of candidates of which he or she is a member, an affidavit which shall be in substantially the following form:

AFFIDAVIT OF CANDIDATE FOR DELEGATE

State of California County of

⎱ ⎰

ss.

I, ____, reside at No. ____ Street, in the City (or Town) of ____, in the County of ____ in the ____ Congressional District, State of California; my election precinct is ____ and I reside and am a voter therein, my post office address is ____, County of ____.

I desire to be a candidate, at the presidential primary to be held on the ____ day of ____, 20__, for delegate to the next national convention of the American Independent Party, and if elected as delegate I will qualify.

I personally prefer ____ as nominee of the American Independent Party for President of the United States, and hereby declare to the voters of my party in the State of California that if elected as delegate to their national party convention, I shall to the best of my judgment and ability, support ____ as nominee of the American Independent Party for president of the United States. (This statement of preference shall be omitted where the candidate for delegate is part of a group not expressing a preference for a particular candidate.)

I express no preference for a particular candidate. The chairman of my group is ____. (This statement shall be omitted where the candidate for delegate is part of a group expressing a preference for a particular candidate.)

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

(Signed) _________________________________________________________

SEC. 7.

 Section 6598 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

6598.

 The certificate of the elections official to nomination papers of a candidate or group of candidates shall be in substantially the following form:

Certificate of County Elections Official to Nomination Papers of Candidate or Group of Candidates
To the Secretary of State: I, County Elections Official of the County of ________, hereby certify that I have examined the nomination papers, to which this certificate is attached, of the candidate or group of candidates for election at the ensuing presidential primary, and that the number of names which I have not marked “not sufficient” is __________. The candidate or group of candidates named in the nomination papers comprise the following (state names of candidates):
etc.	etc.	etc.
Dated this ________ day of ________, 20___.
	________________________
(SEAL)	County Elections Official By Deputy

SEC. 8.

 Section 6768 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

6768.

 The declaration of a candidate for delegate shall be in substantially the following form:

_____ (Signed)

Declaration of Candidate for Delegate
State of California County of	⎱ ⎰	ss.
I, ______, reside and am a registered voter at
_____ (street address) _____ ,
in the (city or town) of ,
in the County of _______, State of California.

I desire to be a candidate, at the presidential primary to be held on
the ____ day of ____, 20_, for delegate to the next national
convention of the ____ Party with which the Peace and Freedom
Party of California is affiliated on the national level and I will qualify
as a delegate if elected.

I personally prefer ____ as the nominee of the Peace and
Freedom Party for President of the United States, and hereby declare
to the voters of the Peace and Freedom Party in the State of
California that if elected as delegate to the national party convention,
I shall to the best of my judgment and ability, support ____ as the
nominee of the Peace and Freedom Party for President of the United
States. (This statement of preference shall be omitted where the
candidate for delegate is part of a group not expressing a preference
for a particular presidential candidate.)

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and
correct.

Executed at ______, California, this ____ day of ____,
20_.

_____ (Signed)

SEC. 9.

 Section 8083 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

8083.

 The county elections official’s statement to the Secretary of State of the number of signers shall be in substantially the following form:

statement of county elections official of number of signers

I, County Elections Official of the County of ____, hereby certify that I have examined the ____ hereto attached filed on behalf of ____, candidate for nomination to the office of ____ at the primary election to be held on the __ day of ____, 20_, and that the total number of signatures which I have not marked “not sufficient” is ____.

Dated this __ day of ____, 20_.

__County Elections Official

(seal)By _________ Deputy

SEC. 10.

 Section 9210 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

9210.

 The petition shall be filed by the proponents or by a person or persons authorized in writing by the proponents. All sections of the petition shall be filed at one time. Once filed, a petition section shall not be amended except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

When the petition is presented for filing, the elections official shall do all of the following:

(a) Ascertain the number of registered voters of the city last reported by the county elections official to the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 2187 effective at the time the notice specified in Section 9202 was published.

(b) Determine the total number of signatures affixed to the petition. If, from this examination, the elections official determines that the number of signatures, prima facie, equals or is in excess of the minimum number of signatures required, he or she shall accept the petition for filing. The petition shall be deemed as filed on that date. If, from this examination, the elections official determines that the number of signatures, prima facie, does not equal or exceed the minimum number of signatures required, the official shall not take further action.

SEC. 11.

 Section 10602 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

10602.

 (a) The forms for declaration of candidacy for governing board elections shall be in substantially the following form:

“I, _____, do hereby declare myself as a candidate for election to the governing board of _____ District, of the County of ____; I am a registered voter; if elected I will qualify and serve to the best of my ability; and I request my name be placed on the official ballots of the district, for the election to be held on the ___ day of ____, 20__.

Residence address: ”

(b) In an election held under Section 5018 of the Education Code to elect additional governing board members, all candidates for member of the governing board shall also indicate on their declaration of candidacy whether they are candidates for the existing office or for the new offices.

SEC. 12.

 Section 11222 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

11222.

 (a) The petition shall be filed by the proponents, or by any person or persons authorized, in writing, by a proponent. All sections of the petition shall be filed at the same time.

(b) When the petition is presented for filing, the elections official shall determine the total number of signatures affixed to the petition. If, from this examination, the elections official determines that the number of signatures, prima facie, equals or is in excess of the minimum number of signatures required, the elections official shall accept the petition for filing. The petition shall be deemed as filed on that date. A section of the petition not so filed is void for all purposes. If, from the elections official’s examination, the elections official determines that the number of signatures, prima facie, does not equal or exceed the minimum number of signatures required, the official shall not take further action.

SEC. 13.

 Section 12102 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

12102.

 The notice of the municipal election shall be substantially in the following form:

Notice is hereby given that a ____ (general or special) municipal election will be held in the ____ of ____ on ____, the ____ day of ____, 20__, for the following officers: (name them).

The polls will be open between the hours of __ m. and __ m.

City Elections Official

Dated, _______, ___.

SEC. 14.

 Section 12104 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

12104.

 (a) A notice designating the offices for which candidates are to be nominated shall be in substantially the following form:

NOTICE BY SECRETARY OF STATE OF OFFICES FOR WHICH CANDIDATES ARE TO BE NOMINATED AT THE DIRECT PRIMARY

Secretary of State

Sacramento,__. 20 __.

To the County Elections Official of the County of ____:

Notice is hereby given that the offices for which candidates are to be nominated at the primary election to be held on the ____ day of___, 20__, together with the names of the political parties qualified to participate in the election, are as follows:

STATE AND DISTRICT OFFICES

CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES

LEGISLATIVE OFFICES

Notice is also hereby given that at the primary election, candi–
dates are to be nominated for the following office:

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

Notice is also hereby given that at the primary election, in the county first above mentioned, candidates are to be nominated for any county offices or judicial offices to which candidates are to be elected at the ensuing general election;

And notice is also hereby given that at the primary election there shall be elected in each county a county central committee for each political party above named pursuant to Division 7 (commencing with Section 7000) of the Elections Code.

_____

(seal) _____ Secretary of State

(b) The notice designating the political parties qualified to participate in this election for nomination of candidates shall be in substantially the following form:

NOTICE BY SECRETARY OF STATE OF POLITICAL PARTIES QUALIFIED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DIRECT PRIMARY ELECTION

Secretary of State

Sacramento, __. 20__.

To the County Elections Official of the County of ____:

Notice is hereby given that the political parties qualified to participate in this election for nomination of candidates to partisan offices are as follows:

_____

(seal) _____ Secretary of State