Bill Text: CA AB3284 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Elections omnibus bill.
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Passed) 2024-09-28 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 854, Statutes of 2024. [AB3284 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB3284-Chaptered.html
Assembly Bill
No. 3284
CHAPTER 854
An act to amend Sections 2166.7, 2227, 2269, 7204, 9170, 10703, and 21594 of, and to repeal Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 20301) of Division 20 of, the Elections Code, relating to elections.
[
Approved by
Governor
September 28, 2024.
Filed with
Secretary of State
September 28, 2024.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 3284, Committee on Elections.
Elections omnibus bill.
(1) Existing law requires a county elections official, upon application of a public safety officer, to make confidential that officer’s residence address, telephone number, and email address appearing on the affidavit of registration, as specified.
This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to this provision.
(2) Existing law requires a county elections official, upon application of a person who performs election-related work and interacts with the public or is observed by the public doing election-related work, as specified, to make confidential that worker’s residence address, telephone number, and email address appearing on the affidavit of registration.
This bill would update
existing provisions regarding voter registration information to include a cross-reference to the provision described above.
(3) Existing law requires the county central committee for the Democratic Party in the City and County of San Francisco to be elected from 2 Assembly districts located in the city and county, as further specified.
This bill would make a technical change to the above provision, and delete an obsolete provision regarding the June 5, 2012, statewide primary election.
(4) Existing law establishes requirements for the content and format of a county ballot label, including that the opponents of a measure must provide the list of opponents to the elections official when submitting arguments opposing the measure.
This bill would correct a statutory
cross-reference in the above provision.
(5) Existing law requires a special election to fill a vacancy in the office of Representative in Congress, State Senator, or Member of the Assembly to be conducted on a Tuesday at least 126 days, but not more than 140 days, following the issuance of an election proclamation by the Governor, except as specified.
This bill would delete an obsolete provision regarding an all-mailed ballot special election that was repealed on January 1, 2021.
(6) Existing law prohibits construing the provisions of a specified chapter in the Elections Code to impose additional reporting obligations, and provides that the chapter does not apply to the expenditure of campaign funds in conjunction with any pending litigation. The other provisions of that chapter were repealed by Proposition 208, an initiative measure
approved by the voters at the November 5, 1996, statewide general election.
This bill would repeal that obsolete provision.
(7) Existing law requires the County of Sacramento Citizens Redistricting Commission to adopt a redistricting plan adjusting the boundaries of supervisorial districts. Existing law requires the commission to file the plan with the county elections official and to refrain from releasing a draft map pursuant to specified deadlines.
This bill would correct statutory-cross references in the above provisions.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 2166.7 of the Elections Code is amended to read:2166.7.
(a) If authorized by the county board of supervisors, a county elections official shall, upon application of a public safety officer, make confidential that officer’s residence address, telephone number, and email address appearing on the affidavit of registration, in accordance with the terms and conditions of this section.(b) The application by the public safety officer shall contain a statement, signed under penalty of perjury, that the person is a public safety officer as defined in subdivision (f) and that a life-threatening circumstance exists to the officer or a member of the officer’s family. The application shall be a public record.
(c) The confidentiality granted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall terminate no more than two years after commencement, as determined by the county elections official. The officer may submit a new application for confidentiality pursuant to subdivision (a), and the new request may be granted for an additional period of not more than two years.
(d) Any person granted confidential voter status under subdivision (a) shall:
(1) Provide a valid mailing address and be considered a vote by mail voter for all subsequent elections or until the county elections official is notified otherwise by the Secretary of State or in writing by the voter. A voter requesting termination of vote by mail status thereby consents to placement of the voter’s residence address, telephone
number, and email address in the roster of voters.
(2) The elections official, in producing any list, roster, or index, shall exclude voters with a confidential voter status.
(3) Within 60 days of moving to a new county, if available in the new county, apply for confidential voter status pursuant to subdivision (a). The elections official of the new county, upon notice of the confidential voter moving into the county, shall do all of the following:
(A) Contact the confidential voter and provide information regarding the application for confidential voter status in the new county.
(B) Honor the confidential voter status from the former county for 60 days from
the date of notice.
(C) Pursuant to paragraph (2), exclude the confidential voter in any list, roster, or index during the 60-day period.
(D) Remove the confidential voter status if the new voter has not obtained or cannot obtain confidential voter status pursuant to this section in the new county during the 60-day period.
(e) No action in negligence may be maintained against any government entity or officer or employee thereof as a result of the disclosure of the information that is the subject of this section unless by a showing of gross negligence or willfulness.
(f) “A public safety officer” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (a), (d), (e), (f),
or (j) of Section 7920.535 of the Government Code.
SEC. 2.
Section 2227 of the Elections Code is amended to read:2227.
(a) In lieu of mailing a residency confirmation postcard, as prescribed in subdivision (a) of Section 2220, the county elections official may contract with a consumer credit reporting agency or its licensees to obtain use of change-of-address data in accordance with this section.(b) If the county elections official contracts with a consumer credit reporting agency or its licensees pursuant to subdivision (a), all of the following shall occur:
(1) For each registered voter in the county, the county elections official shall initiate a search for change-of-address data with the consumer credit reporting agency or its licensees by
providing the name and residence address of each registered voter in the county to the consumer credit reporting agency or its licensees.
(2) The consumer credit reporting agency or its licensees shall search their databases for each name and address provided by the county elections official and shall report to the county elections official any information indicating that the registered voter changed the voter’s residence address.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding Section 2194 of this code or Section 7924.000 of the Government Code, and except as provided in paragraph (2), a county elections official may disclose a registered voter’s name and residence address to a consumer credit reporting agency or its licensees pursuant to, and in accordance with, this section.
(2) A county elections official shall not disclose to a consumer credit reporting agency or its licensees the name and residence address of a registered voter if that information is deemed confidential pursuant to Section 2166, 2166.5, 2166.7, or 2166.8 of this code, or Chapter 3.1 (commencing with Section 6205) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code.
(d) A consumer credit reporting agency or its licensees shall use the information provided by a county elections official only pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), and shall not retain any information received from the county elections official pursuant to this section.
(e) Based on change-of-address data received from a consumer credit reporting agency
or its licensees, the county elections official shall send a forwardable notice, including a postage-paid and preaddressed return form, which may be in the form of a postcard, to the registered voter to enable the voter to verify or correct address information. The forwardable notice shall be in substantially the following form:
“We have received notification that you have moved to a new residence address in ____ County. You will remain registered to vote at your old address unless you notify our office that the address to which this card was mailed is a change of your permanent residence. Please notify our office in writing by returning the attached postage-paid postcard. If this is not a permanent residence, and you do not wish to change your address for voting purposes, please disregard this notice.”
(f) The county elections official shall take all of the following actions as appropriate:
(1) If a voter responds to the forwardable notice sent pursuant to subdivision (e) or otherwise verifies in a signed writing that the voter has moved to a new residence address in California, the
county elections official shall verify the signature on the response by comparing it to the signature on file for the voter and, if appropriate, immediately update the voter’s registration record with the new residence address.
(2) If a voter does not respond to the forwardable notice sent pursuant to subdivision (e) and does not otherwise verify in a signed writing that the voter has moved to a new residence address, the elections official shall not update the status of the voter’s registration to inactive or cancel the voter registration.
(g) For purposes of this section, “consumer credit reporting agency” has the same meaning as set forth in subdivision (d) of Section 1785.3 of the Civil Code.
SEC. 3.
Section 2269 of the Elections Code is amended to read:2269.
This chapter does not affect the confidentiality of a person’s voter registration or preregistration information, which remains confidential pursuant to Section 2194 of this code and Section 7924.000 of the Government Code and for all of the following persons:(a) A victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking pursuant to Section 2166.5.
(b) A reproductive health care service provider, employee, volunteer, or patient pursuant to Section 2166.5.
(c) A public safety officer pursuant to Section 2166.7.
(d) A
person with a life-threatening circumstance upon court order pursuant to Section 2166.
(e) A qualified worker pursuant to Section 2166.8.
SEC. 4.
Section 7204 of the Elections Code is amended to read:7204.
(a) In the City and County of San Francisco, the county central committee shall be elected from the two Assembly districts located in the city and county and shall consist of 24 members. Whichever of the two Assembly districts consists of the majority of the registered Democrats in the city and county shall elect 14 members and the Assembly district that consists of the minority of the registered Democrats in the city and county shall elect 10 members.(b) Both of the following shall apply for purposes of this section:
(1) “Registered Democrat” means any voter in the city and county who has expressed a preference for the
Democratic Party on their affidavit of registration pursuant to Sections 2150, 2151, and 2152 as of the 154th day prior to the first direct primary election after any redistricting of Assembly district boundaries.
(2) The City and County of San Francisco Department of Elections, or any comparable successor agency, shall calculate the percentage of the total registered Democrats in each Assembly district in the city and county.
SEC. 5.
Section 9170 of the Elections Code is amended to read:9170.
(a) Subject to subdivision (d), the ballot label or similar description of a county, city, district, or school measure on a county ballot shall end with all of the following:(1) After the text “Supporters:”, a listing of associations, nonprofit organizations, businesses, or individuals taken from the signers or the text of the argument in favor of the measure printed in the voter information guide. The list of supporters shall not exceed 125 characters in length. Each supporter shall be separated by a semicolon. An association, nonprofit organization, business, or individual shall not be listed unless they support the measure.
(2) After the text “Opponents:”, a listing of associations, nonprofit organizations, businesses, or individuals taken from the signers or the text of the argument against the measure printed in the voter information guide. The list of opponents shall not exceed 125 characters in length. Each opponent shall be separated by a semicolon. An association, nonprofit organization, business, or individual shall not be listed unless they oppose the measure.
(3) A supporter or opponent shall not be listed pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) unless it is one of the following:
(A) An association, nonprofit organization, or business that was not originally created as a committee described in Section 82013 of the Government Code and that has been in existence for at least four years.
(B) A current or former elected official, who may be listed with the official’s title (e.g., “State Senator Mary Smith,” “Assembly Member Carlos Garcia,” or “former Eureka City Council Member Amy Lee”). These titles may be shortened (e.g. “Senator” or “Sen.” for “State Senator” or “Asm.” for “Assembly Member”).
(C) An individual who is not a current or former elected official may be listed only with the individual’s first and last name and an honorific (e.g., “Dr.,” “M.D.,” “Ph.D.,” or “Esquire”), with no other title or designation, unless it is a title representing an association, nonprofit organization, or business that meets the requirements of subparagraph (A) or (B) and that is eligible to be listed under paragraph (1) if the individual supports the measure or under paragraph
(2) if the individual opposes the measure.
(4) Spaces, commas, semicolons, and other characters count towards the 125-character limit in paragraphs (1) and (2).
(5) A supporter or opponent shall not be listed pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) if the supporter or opponent is a political party or is representing a political party.
(6) The name of an association, nonprofit organization, or business included in the list of supporters and opponents as required by this section may be shortened by the proponents or opponents who submit it using acronyms, abbreviations, or by leaving out words in their name, as long as doing so would not confuse voters with another well-known organization or business that did not take the same
position on the ballot measure (e.g., “Hot Air Balloon Flyers of Montana Education Fund” may be shortened to “Hot Air Balloons Montana”).
(7) Supporters and opponents listed pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) shall be added as text after the condensed ballot title and summary, if any, and may be separated by semicolons. Supporters and opponents need not be displayed on separate horizontal lines on the ballot. If no list of supporters is provided by the proponents or there are none that meet the requirements of this section, then “Supporters:” shall be followed by “None submitted.” If no list of opponents is provided by the opponents or there are none that meet the requirements of this section, then “Opponents:” shall be followed by “None submitted.”
(8) If the ballot emphasizes
the text “Supporters:” or “Opponents:” by use of boldface font, underlining, or any other method that differentiates that text from the list of supporters or opponents that follow, the text “Supporters:” or “Opponents:” may be displayed with only the initial letter capitalized. If that text is not emphasized, then each letter of that text shall be capitalized.
(9) If including the list of Supporters and Opponents in the ballot labels as required by this section would necessitate the printing of an extra ballot card compared to the ballot labels not including them, the type size of the part of all of the ballot labels starting with “Supporters:” may be reduced by the minimal amount needed to stop them from necessitating an extra ballot card, as long as the type size is no smaller than 8-point and as long as the type size is reduced by the
same amount for all ballot measures.
(b) (1) The proponents of the measure shall provide the list of supporters described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) to the elections official when submitting arguments supporting the measure.
(A) For every supporter listed that is an association, a nonprofit organization, a business, or an individual whose title includes an association, nonprofit organization, or business, the supporters shall include a signed statement by a representative of the association, nonprofit organization, or business, under penalty of perjury, that includes its name and an address and that attests (i) that the association, nonprofit organization, or business supports the measure, (ii) that the association, nonprofit organization, or business
has been in existence for at least four years, and (iii) that it was not originally created as a committee described in Section 82013 of the Government Code.
(B) For every supporter listed that is an individual, the proponents shall include a signed statement by the individual that includes the individual’s name and address and attests that the individual supports the measure.
(2) The opponents of the measure shall provide the list of opponents described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) to the elections official when submitting the arguments opposing the measure.
(A) For every opponent listed that is an association, a nonprofit organization, a business, or an individual whose title includes an association,
nonprofit organization, or business, the opponents shall include a signed statement by a representative of the association, nonprofit organization, or business, under penalty of perjury, that includes its name and an address and that attests (i) that the association, nonprofit organization, or business opposes the measure, (ii) that the association, nonprofit organization, or business has been in existence for at least four years, and (iii) that it was not originally created as a committee described in Section 82013 of the Government Code.
(B) For every opponent listed that is an individual, the opponents shall include a signed statement by the individual that includes the individual’s name and address and attests that the opponent opposes the measure.
(3) The elections official that receives the ballot arguments and list of supporters or opponents shall confirm that a submission listing supporters or opponents includes the documentation required by paragraphs (1) and (2) and otherwise meets the requirements of this section. The elections official shall ask the proponents or opponents to resubmit a list if the requirements are not met. The elections official may establish deadlines by when proponents or opponents must resubmit a list.
(c) Within one week
of receipt, an elections official that is not a county elections official that administers a city, district, or school election and that receives a list of supporters or opponents for inclusion on the ballot label or similar description shall, after confirming compliance with this section as provided in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), forward that list to the county elections official.
(d) At least 30 days before the deadline for submitting arguments for or against county measures, a county board of supervisors may elect not to list supporters and opponents for county, city, district, and school measures on the county ballot and future county ballots.
(1) A county shall not include a list of supporters or opponents for any county, city, district, or school measure if the county does not include a list of supporters or opponents for all measures for which the county receives a list that meets the requirements of this section. If the county elects not to list supporters and opponents for county, city, district, or school measures on the county ballot, the requirements of subdivisions (a) through (c) do not apply.
(2) A district measure or school measure on a county ballot shall not include a list of supporters or opponents if the same district or school measure appears on the ballot of another county that does not include a list of supporters or opponents for the measure, in which case the requirements of subdivisions (a) through (c), inclusive,
do not apply for the measure.
SEC. 6.
Section 10703 of the Elections Code is amended to read:10703.
(a) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a special election to fill a vacancy in the office of Representative in Congress, State Senator, or Member of the Assembly shall be conducted on a Tuesday at least 126 days, but not more than 140 days, following the issuance of an election proclamation by the Governor pursuant to Section 1773 of the Government Code.(2) A special election to fill a vacancy in an office listed in paragraph (1) may be conducted within 200 days following the proclamation in order to consolidate the election or the primary election with an election occurring wholly or partially within the same territory in which the vacancy exists.
(b) Except as provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 10730), a special election or a primary election shall not be conducted on the day after a state holiday.
SEC. 7.
Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 20301) of Division 20 of the Elections Code is repealed.SEC. 8.
Section 21594 of the Elections Code is amended to read:21594.
(a) The commission shall establish single-member supervisorial districts for the board pursuant to a mapping process using the following criteria as set forth in the following order of priority:(1) (A) Districts shall comply with the United States Constitution and each district shall have a reasonably equal population with other districts for the board, except where deviation is required to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) or allowable by law.
(B) Population equality shall be based on the total population of residents of the county as determined by the
most recent federal decennial census for which the redistricting data described in Public Law 94-171 are available.
(C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B), an incarcerated person, as that term is used in Section 21003, shall not be counted towards the county’s population, except for an incarcerated person whose last known place of residence may be assigned to a census block in the county, if information about the last known place of residence for incarcerated persons is included in the computerized database for redistricting that is developed in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 8253 of the Government Code, and that database is made publicly available.
(2) Districts shall comply with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(3) Districts shall be geographically contiguous.
(4) The geographic integrity of any city, local neighborhood, or local community of interest shall be respected in a manner that minimizes its division to the extent possible without violating the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive. A community of interest is a contiguous population that shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of its effective and fair representation. Communities of interest shall not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates.
(5) To the extent practicable, and where this does not conflict with paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, districts shall
be drawn to encourage geographical compactness such that nearby areas of population are not bypassed for more distant areas of population.
(b) The place of residence of any incumbent or political candidate shall not be considered in the creation of a map. Districts shall not be drawn for purposes of favoring or discriminating against an incumbent, political candidate, or political party.
(c) (1) The commission shall comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code).
(2) (A) Before the commission draws a map, the commission shall conduct at least seven public hearings, to take place over a period
of no fewer than 30 days, with at least one public hearing held in each supervisorial district.
(B) In the event any state or local health order prohibits large gatherings, the commission may modify the location of the hearings, including through the use of virtual hearings that use technology to permit remote viewing and participation, to the extent required to comply with public health requirements. If the commission modifies the location of a hearing, it shall provide opportunities to view and listen to proceedings by video, to listen to proceedings by phone, and to provide public comment by phone and in writing with no limitation on the number of commenters. The commission shall, to the greatest extent practicable, provide an opportunity for in-person participation for at least one hearing in each supervisorial district. Methods for
providing in-person participation may include setting up multiple rooms with audiovisual connections to the hearing, allowing community members to make appointments to make public comment, providing personal protective equipment, or holding hearings in outdoor spaces.
(3) After the commission draws a draft map, the commission shall do both of the following:
(A) Post the map for public comment on the website of the County of Sacramento.
(B) Conduct at least two public hearings to take place over a period of no fewer than 30 days.
(4) (A) The commission shall establish and make available to the public a calendar of all public hearings
described in paragraphs (2) and (3). Hearings shall be scheduled at various times and days of the week to accommodate a variety of work schedules and to reach as large an audience as possible.
(B) Notwithstanding Section 54954.2 of the Government Code, the commission shall post the agenda for the public hearings described in paragraphs (2) and (3) at least seven days before the hearings. The agenda for a meeting required by paragraph (3) shall include a copy of the draft map.
(5) (A) The commission shall arrange for the live translation of a hearing held pursuant to this chapter in an applicable language if a request for translation is made at least 24 hours before the hearing.
(B) For
purposes of this paragraph, an “applicable language” means a language for which the number of residents of the County of Sacramento who are members of a language minority is greater than or equal to 3 percent of the total voting age residents of the county.
(6) The commission shall take steps to encourage county residents to participate in the redistricting public review process. These steps may include:
(A) Providing information through media, social media, and public service announcements.
(B) Coordinating with community organizations.
(C) Posting information on the website of the County of Sacramento that explains the redistricting process and
includes a notice of each public hearing and the procedures for testifying during a hearing or submitting written testimony directly to the commission.
(7) The board shall take all steps necessary to ensure that a complete and accurate computerized database is available for redistricting, and that procedures are in place to provide to the public ready access to redistricting data and computer software equivalent to what is available to the commission members.
(8) The board shall provide for reasonable funding and staffing for the commission.
(9) All records of the commission relating to redistricting, and all data considered by the commission in drawing a draft map or the final map, are public records.
(d) (1) The commission shall adopt a redistricting plan adjusting the boundaries of the supervisorial districts and shall file the plan with the county elections official by the map adoption deadline set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 21140. The commission shall not release a draft map before the date set forth in paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) of Section 21160.
(2) The plan shall be subject to referendum in the same manner as ordinances.
(3) The commission shall issue, with the final map, a report that explains the basis on which the commission made its decisions in achieving compliance with the criteria described in subdivisions (a) and (b).
