Bill Text: CA ACR145 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Presidential primary elections: advisory ballots.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [ACR145 Detail]
Download: California-2015-ACR145-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: ACR 145 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Olsen
(Principal coauthor: Senator Cannella)
FEBRUARY 29, 2016
Relative to presidential primary elections.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 145, as introduced, Olsen. Presidential primary elections:
advisory ballots.
Existing provisions of the California Constitution require the
Legislature to provide for primary elections for partisan offices,
including an open presidential primary election whereby the
candidates on the ballot are those found by the Secretary of State to
be recognized candidates throughout the nation or throughout
California for the office of President of the United States, and
those whose names are placed on the ballot by petition, but excluding
any candidate who has withdrawn by filing an affidavit of
noncandidacy. Existing statutory provisions proscribe the procedures
for specified political parties to select delegates to the party's
national convention, at which the party chooses its candidate for the
office of President of the United States.
For a partisan primary election, existing law requires one form of
ballot to be provided for each qualified political party and one
form of nonpartisan ballot to be provided, as specified. Existing law
requires a voter who is not registered as disclosing a preference
for any one of the political parties participating in the election to
be furnished with a nonpartisan ballot, unless he or she requests a
ballot of a political party and that party authorizes a person who
has declined to disclose a party preference to vote the ballot of the
party, as specified.
This measure would urge the Secretary of State to exercise his or
her authority to establish a new advisory voting process that would
allow specified voters to cast an advisory ballot in the presidential
primary election, as specified. This measure would encourage each
political party that participates in the presidential primary
election to consider the results of the advisory ballots in selecting
the party's nominee for the office of President of the United
States.
Fiscal committee: yes.
WHEREAS, California has made it a responsibility of the state to
promote the exercise of the right to vote by, among other things,
encouraging voter registration; and
WHEREAS, The California Secretary of State has the authority to
adopt regulations to assure the uniform application and
administration of state election law; and
WHEREAS, Subdivision (a) of Section 5 of Article II of the
California Constitution requires a voter-nominated primary election
to be conducted to select the candidates for congressional and state
elective offices in California, at which all voters, regardless of
their political party preference, may vote for any candidate; and
WHEREAS, Voters in California have become accustomed to
voter-nominated primary elections, and therefore, voters are likely
to be confused if they cannot vote for the candidate of their choice,
without regard to political party preference; and
WHEREAS, In 2012, many voters throughout the state were confused
with respect to their right to vote in the presidential primary
election due to its semi-closed partisan nature; and
WHEREAS, Pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 5 of Article II of
the California Constitution, the Legislature is required to provide
for an open presidential primary election, as specified; and
WHEREAS, The Legislature has provided for a semi-closed primary
election system, as reflected in Section 13102 of the Elections Code,
under which a voter who is not registered as disclosing a preference
with any one of the political parties participating in the election
may vote a ballot of a political party only if the party, by party
rule duly noticed to the Secretary of State, permits a person to do
so; and
WHEREAS, An open primary election is generally one in which a
voter may participate, unconditioned by his or her party preference
or lack thereof, and not subject to conditions governed outside of
the exclusive authority and control of the state; and
WHEREAS, Under the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution, as recognized by the United States Supreme Court in
California Democratic Party v. Jones (2000) 530 U.S. 567, a state may
not require a political party to allow a non-party member to
participate in the party's nomination proceedings without the party's
consent; and
WHEREAS, Pursuant to Section 3 of Article XVI of the California
Constitution, no money shall ever be appropriated or drawn from the
State Treasury for the purpose or benefit of any corporation or
institution not under the exclusive management and control of the
State of California; and
WHEREAS, A presidential primary election is publicly funded in
accordance with Section 13001 of the Elections Code; and
WHEREAS, Section 2 of Article II of the California Constitution
specifies that citizenship, age, and residency are the requirements
for a person to vote; and
WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has recognized that
primary elections are an integral stage of the election process; and
WHEREAS, A partisan presidential primary election may be conducted
so as to protect the rights of political parties, while at the same
time protecting the rights of all voters to participate; and,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature urges the Secretary of State
to exercise his or her authority to establish a new advisory voting
process that would allow certain voters to cast an advisory ballot in
the presidential primary election; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature urges the Secretary of State to
prepare an advisory ballot for the presidential primary election that
would allow a voter who did not request or vote a ballot of a
political party in that election to submit an advisory vote for a
candidate for the office of President of the United States; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Legislature urges the Secretary of State to
list on the advisory ballot each qualified candidate for the office
of President of the United States, regardless of the candidate's
political party preference; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature urges the Secretary of State to
provide for the distribution of the advisory ballot to all voters who
did not request or vote a ballot of a political party in that
election; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature urges the Secretary of State to
provide for the canvassing of the advisory ballots in the same
manner, and at the same time and place, as the results of the
presidential primary elections ballots for the political parties are
canvassed; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature encourages each political party
that participates in the presidential primary election to, but does
not requires the party to, consider the results of the advisory
ballots in selecting the party's nominee for the office of President
of the United States; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
