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AB-3370 Elections omnibus bill. (2019-2020)

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Date Published: 09/21/2020 09:00 PM
AB3370:v96#DOCUMENT

Assembly Bill No. 3370
CHAPTER 106

An act to amend Sections 7201.1, 8001, 9144, 15101, and 18104 of the Elections Code, relating to elections.

[ Approved by Governor  September 18, 2020. Filed with Secretary of State  September 18, 2020. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 3370, Committee on Elections and Redistricting. Elections omnibus bill.
(1) Existing law governing primary elections prohibits a declaration of candidacy for membership on a county central committee unless the candidate has been affiliated with the political party of that committee for a specified time period. These provisions do not apply to the presidential primary, but do apply to other partisan offices. However, existing law defines “partisan office” to include only the offices of President of the United States, Vice President of the United States, and the delegates therefor, and elected members of party committees.
This bill would delete the provisions of law purporting to apply the candidacy restrictions to partisan offices.
(2) Existing law governing referendum of county ordinances requires a county board of supervisors to suspend and reconsider an ordinance if a petition protesting the adoption of the ordinance is presented to the board before the effective date of the ordinance and is signed by a specified number of voters of the county.
This bill would require the petition to be submitted to the county elections official instead of the board of supervisors.
(3) Existing law permits any jurisdiction in which vote by mail ballots are cast to begin processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes 29 days before the election, and authorizes any jurisdiction having the necessary computer capability to start processing vote by mail ballots 10 business days before the election.
This bill would extend that authority to start processing vote by mail ballots to 15 business days before the election.
(4) This bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes to various other provisions of existing law relating to elections.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 7201.1 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

7201.1.
 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the County of Sacramento, the elected members of the county central committee shall be elected by supervisor districts with six members elected from each supervisor district. Each member shall be a resident of the county and of the supervisor district that the member represents. Only a person who is a resident of the county may vote for a candidate for membership to the county central committee and may vote only for candidates seeking to represent the supervisor district in which the voter resides.

SEC. 2.

 Section 8001 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

8001.
 (a) A declaration of candidacy for membership on a county central committee shall not be filed by a candidate unless (1) at the time of presentation of the declaration and continuously for not less than three months immediately prior to that time, or for as long as the candidate has been eligible to register to vote in the state, the candidate is shown by the candidate’s affidavit of registration to have expressed a preference for the political party of that committee, and (2) the candidate has not been registered with a preference for a qualified political party other than that political party within 12 months.
(b) The elections official shall attach a certificate to the declaration of candidacy showing the date on which the candidate registered with a preference for the political party of that committee, and indicating that the candidate has not been registered with a preference for any other qualified political party for the period specified in subdivision (a) immediately preceding the filing of the declaration. This section does not apply to a declaration of candidacy filed by a candidate of a political party participating in its first direct primary election subsequent to its qualification as a political party pursuant to Section 5100.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a county central committee, subject to the bylaws of the state central committee, may establish the length of time that a candidate for membership on that committee must be shown by the candidate’s affidavit of registration to have expressed a preference for the political party of that committee, and may establish the length of time that a candidate for membership on that committee must not have been registered with a preference for a qualified political party other than the political party of that committee.

SEC. 3.

 Section 9144 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

9144.
 If a petition protesting the adoption of an ordinance is submitted to the county elections official before the effective date of the ordinance, the ordinance shall be suspended and the board of supervisors shall reconsider the ordinance. The petition shall be signed by voters of the county equal in number to at least 10 percent of the entire vote cast within the county for all candidates for Governor at the last gubernatorial election.

SEC. 4.

 Section 15101 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

15101.
 (a) Any jurisdiction in which vote by mail ballots are cast may begin to process vote by mail ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election. Processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes may include verifying the voter’s signature on the vote by mail ballot return envelope pursuant to Section 3019 and updating voter history records.
(b) (1) Any jurisdiction having the necessary computer capability may start to process vote by mail ballots on the 15th business day before the election. Processing vote by mail ballots includes opening vote by mail ballot return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating any damaged ballots, and preparing the ballots to be machine read, or machine reading them, including processing write-in votes so that they can be tallied by the machine, but under no circumstances may a vote count be accessed or released until 8 p.m. on the day of the election. All other jurisdictions shall start to process vote by mail ballots at 5 p.m. on the day before the election.
(2) For the statewide general election to be held on November 3, 2020, any jurisdiction having the necessary computer capability may start to process vote by mail ballots on the 29th day before the election. Processing vote by mail ballots includes opening vote by mail ballot return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating any damaged ballots, and preparing the ballots to be machine read, or machine reading them, including processing write-in votes so that they can be tallied by the machine, but under no circumstances may a vote count be accessed or released until 8 p.m. on the day of the election. All other jurisdictions shall start to process vote by mail ballots at 5 p.m. on the day before the election.
(c) Results of any vote by mail ballot tabulation or count shall not be released before the close of the polls on the day of the election.

SEC. 5.

 Section 18104 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

18104.
 An individual or organization having charge of affidavits of registration is guilty of a misdemeanor who knowingly neglects or refuses to return affidavits of registration as provided in Article 3 (commencing with Section 2138) of Chapter 2 of Division 2. The county elections official shall report to the district attorney of the county, under oath, the names of all individuals or organizations who have failed to return the affidavits. The district attorney shall take appropriate civil or criminal action.