SB 1288: Elections: local voting methods.
- Session Year: 2015-2016
- House: Senate
- Latest Version Date: 2016-08-26
Under existing law, a candidate for nonpartisan office who receives votes on the majority of all ballots cast at a primary election is elected to that office, and the office does not appear on the ballot in the ensuing general election. Existing law prescribes which candidates appear on the ballot in the ensuing general election if no candidate has been elected pursuant to this provision, or if the number of candidates elected at the primary election is less than the total number to be elected to that office. Under existing law, these provisions do not apply to elections to fill certain enumerated offices.
This bill would apply these provisions, upon approval by a jurisdictions voters, to the nomination of officers for any jurisdiction not formed for municipal purposes, officers for general law cities, and school district officers, except as specified.
Existing law provides procedures for the election of candidates for elective offices in cities, counties, and local educational agencies. Existing law specifies the circumstances in which voters in these jurisdictions may elect officers at large or from or by district. Existing law prescribes the length of various terms of office for locally elected officials.
This bill would authorize a city, county, or local educational agency to conduct an election using ranked choice voting, in which voters rank the candidates for office in order of preference, as specified. This bill would specify the procedures for conducting an election using ranked choice voting as it applies to both a single-winner election and a multiple-winner election.
Under existing law, a candidate for nonpartisan office who receives votes on the majority of all ballots cast at a primary election is elected to that office, and the office does not appear on the ballot in the ensuing general election. Existing law prescribes which candidates appear on the ballot in the ensuing general election if no candidate has been elected pursuant to this provision, or if the number of candidates elected at the primary election is less than the total number to be elected to that office. Under existing law, these provisions do not apply to elections to fill certain enumerated offices.
This bill would apply these provisions, upon approval by a jurisdictions voters, to the nomination of officers for any jurisdiction not formed for municipal purposes, officers for general law cities, and school district officers, except as specified.
Existing law provides procedures for the election of candidates for elective offices in cities, counties, and local educational agencies. Existing law specifies the circumstances in which voters in these jurisdictions may elect officers at large or from or by district. Existing law prescribes the length of various terms of office for locally elected officials.
This bill would authorize a city, county, or local educational agency to conduct an election using ranked choice voting, in which voters rank the candidates for office in order of preference, as specified. This bill would specify the procedures for conducting an election using ranked choice voting as it applies to both a single-winner election and a multiple-winner election.
Under existing law, a candidate for nonpartisan office who receives votes on the majority of all ballots cast at a primary election is elected to that office, and the office does not appear on the ballot in the ensuing general election. Existing law prescribes which candidates appear on the ballot in the ensuing general election if no candidate has been elected pursuant to this provision, or if the number of candidates elected at the primary election is less than the total number to be elected to that office. Under existing law, these provisions do not apply to elections to fill certain enumerated offices.
This bill would apply these provisions, upon approval by a jurisdictions voters, to the nomination of officers for any jurisdiction not formed for municipal purposes, officers for general law cities, and school district officers, except as specified.
Existing law provides procedures for the election of candidates for elective offices in cities, counties, and local educational agencies. Existing law specifies the circumstances in which voters in these jurisdictions may elect officers at large or from or by district. Existing law prescribes the length of various terms of office for locally elected officials.
This bill would authorize a city, county, or local educational agency to conduct an election using ranked choice voting, in which voters rank the candidates for office in order of preference, as specified. This bill would specify the procedures for conducting an election using ranked choice voting as it applies to both a single-winner election and a multiple-winner election.
Under existing law, a candidate for nonpartisan office who receives votes on the majority of all ballots cast at a primary election is elected to that office, and the office does not appear on the ballot in the ensuing general election. Existing law prescribes which candidates appear on the ballot in the ensuing general election if no candidate has been elected pursuant to this provision, or if the number of candidates elected at the primary election is less than the total number to be elected to that office. Under existing law, these provisions do not apply to elections to fill certain enumerated offices.
This bill would extend apply these provisions, upon approval by a jurisdictions voters, to the nomination of officers for any jurisdiction not formed for municipal purposes, officers for general law cities, and school district officers, except as specified.Existing law provides procedures for the election of candidates for elective offices in cities, counties, and local educational agencies. Existing law specifies the circumstances in which voters in these jurisdictions may elect officers at large or from or by district. Existing law prescribes the length of various terms of office for locally elected officials.
This bill would authorize a city, county, or local educational agency to conduct an election using ranked choice voting, in which voters rank the candidates for office in order of preference, as specified. This bill would specify the procedures for conducting an election using ranked choice voting as it applies to both a single-winner election and a multiple-winner election.
Under existing law, a candidate for nonpartisan office who receives votes on the majority of all ballots cast at a primary election is elected to that office, and the office does not appear on the ballot in the ensuing general election. Existing law prescribes which candidates appear on the ballot in the ensuing general election if no candidate has been elected pursuant to this provision, or if the number of candidates elected at the primary election is less than the total number to be elected to that office. Under existing law, these provisions do not apply to elections to fill certain enumerated offices.
This bill would extend these provisions to the nomination of officers for any district jurisdiction not formed for municipal purposes, officers for general law cities, and school district officers. officers, except as specified.
Existing law provides procedures for the election of candidates for elective offices in cities, counties, and local educational agencies. Existing law specifies the circumstances in which voters in these jurisdictions may elect officers at large or from or by district. Existing law prescribes the length of various terms of office for locally elected officials, and it requires certain multimember bodies to have staggered terms of office. officials.
This bill would authorize a city, county, or local educational agency to conduct an election using ranked choice voting, in which voters rank the candidates for office in order of preference, as specified. The bill would also allow a jurisdiction using ranked voting to eliminate staggered terms for a multimember body in certain circumstances. This bill would specify the procedures for conducting an election using ranked choice voting as it applies to both a single-winner election and a multiple-winner election.
Under existing law, a candidate for nonpartisan office who receives votes on the majority of all ballots cast at a primary election is elected to that office, and the office does not appear on the ballot in the ensuing general election. Existing law prescribes which candidates appear on the ballot in the ensuing general election if no candidate has been elected pursuant to this provision, or if the number of candidates elected at the primary election is less than the total number to be elected to that office. Under existing law, these provisions do not apply to elections to fill certain enumerated offices.
This bill would extend these provisions to the nomination of officers for any district not formed for municipal purposes, officers for general law cities, and school district officers.
Existing law provides procedures for the election of candidates for elective offices in cities, counties, and local educational agencies. Existing law specifies the circumstances in which voters in these jurisdictions may elect officers at large or from or by district. Existing law prescribes the length of various terms of office for locally elected officials, and it requires certain multimember bodies to have staggered terms of office.
This bill would authorize a city, county, or local educational agency to conduct an election using ranked voting, in which voters rank the candidates for office in order of preference, as specified. The bill would also allow a jurisdiction using ranked voting to eliminate staggered terms for a multimember body in certain circumstances. This bill would specify the procedures for conducting an election using ranked voting as it applies to both a single-winner election and a multiple-winner election.
(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the county board of education may adopt, or the residents of the county may propose by initiative, a proposal to elect members of the county board of education by ranked choice voting. The proposal shall specify whether the members shall be elected at large or by or from trustee area. A proposal to elect members by ranked choice voting shall apply prospectively only and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the county at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
(b)An initiative measure proposed pursuant to subdivision (a) is subject to the procedures set forth in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 9100) of Division 9 of the Elections Code.
(c)This section does not authorize a county board of education to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from trustee area.
(d)A county board of education member elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
SEC. 2.Section 1019 is added to the Education Code, to read:1019.(a)If a county board of education authorizes the use of ranked choice voting pursuant to Section 1018, before that method is used in any election, a county elections official may certify to the county board of supervisors and county superintendent of schools that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method. The elections official shall provide this certification at least seven days, and not more than 60 days, before the later of 113 days before the election or the first day on which a declaration of candidacy may be filed.
(b)If a county elections official provides a certification pursuant to subdivision (a), the county board of education shall conduct its next election in the same manner as its most recent election was conducted.
SEC. 3.Section 1020 is added to the Education Code, to read:1020.A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the county board of education to full terms using ranked choice voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same trustee area.
SEC. 4.Section 5010 is added to the Education Code, to read:5010.(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the governing board of a school district or community college district may adopt a resolution authorizing the election of members of the governing board by ranked choice voting. The resolution shall specify whether the members elected pursuant to this method shall be elected at large or by or from trustee area, and it shall be presented to the electors of the school district pursuant to Section 5020. A resolution adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall apply prospectively only.
(b)This section does not authorize the governing board of a school district or community college district to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from trustee area.
(c)A member of the governing board of a school district or community college district elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
SEC. 5.Section 5013 of the Education Code is amended to read:5013.(a)Except as provided in subdivision (b), the form of ballot for governing board member elections shall be governed by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 13100) of Division 13 of the Elections Code.
(b)The form of ballot for governing board member elections conducted by ranked choice voting shall be governed by Division 22 (commencing with Section 22000) of the Elections Code.
SEC. 6.Section 5020 of the Education Code is amended to read:5020.(a)The resolution of the county committee approving a proposal to establish or abolish trustee areas, to adopt one of the alternative methods of electing governing board members specified in Section 5010 or 5030, or to increase or decrease the number of members of the governing board shall constitute an order of election, and the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district not later than the next succeeding election for members of the governing board.
(b)If a petition requesting an election on a proposal to rearrange trustee area boundaries is filed, containing at least 5 percent of the signatures of the districts registered voters as determined by the elections official, the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district, at the next succeeding election for the members of the governing board, at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot.
(c)If a petition requesting an election on a proposal to establish or abolish trustee areas, to increase or decrease the number of members of the board, or to adopt one of the alternative methods of electing governing board members specified in Section 5010 or 5030 is filed, containing at least 10 percent of the signatures of the districts registered voters as determined by the elections official, the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district, at the next succeeding election for the members of the governing board, at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot. Before the proposal is presented to the electors, the county committee on school district organization may call and conduct one or more public hearings on the proposal.
(d)The resolution of the county committee approving a proposal to establish or abolish a common governing board for a high school and an elementary school district within the boundaries of the high school district shall constitute an order of election. The proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot.
(e)For each proposal there shall be a separate proposition on the ballot. The ballot shall contain the following words:
For the establishment (or abolition or rearrangement) of trustee areas in ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the establishment (or abolition or rearrangement) of trustee areas in ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For increasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from five to sevenYes and For increasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from five to sevenNo.
For decreasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from seven to fiveYes and For decreasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from seven to fiveNo.
For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingYes and For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingNo.
For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee areaYes and For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee areaNo.
For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee area using ranked choice votingYes and For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee area using ranked choice votingNo.
For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingYes and For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingNo.
For the establishment (or abolition) of a common governing board in the ____ (insert name) School District and the ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the establishment (or abolition) of a common governing board in the ____ (insert name) School District and the ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
(f)If more than one proposal appears on the ballot, all must carry in order for any to become effective, except as follows:
(1)A proposal to adopt one of the methods of election of board members specified in Section 5030 that is approved by the voters shall become effective unless a proposal that is inconsistent with that proposal has been approved by a greater number of voters.
(2)An inconsistent proposal approved by a lesser number of voters than the number which have approved a proposal to adopt one of the methods of election of board members specified in Section 5030 shall not be effective.
SEC. 7.Section 5027 of the Education Code is amended to read:5027.If the boundaries of a county high school district are coterminous with the boundaries of a county, the board shall consist of one of the following:
(a)One member from each supervisorial district in the county elected at large from the county high school district.
(b)As many members as there are supervisorial districts with the members elected at large using ranked choice voting.
SEC. 8.Section 5028 of the Education Code is amended to read:5028.In every community college district that was divided into five wards on or before September 7, 1955, one member of the board shall be elected from each ward by the registered voters of the ward. On or before January 1st of a fiscal year, the governing board of the district may rearrange the boundaries of the wards to provide for representation in accordance with population and geographic factors or may abolish the wards. If the wards are abolished, members of the governing board may also be elected at large using ranked choice voting.
SEC. 9.Section 5032 is added to the Education Code, to read:5032.(a)If a school district or community college district authorizes the use of ranked choice voting pursuant to Section 5010, before that method is used in any election, a county elections official may certify to the governing board of the district, the county board of supervisors, and the county superintendent of schools who have jurisdiction over the election that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method. The elections official shall provide this certification at least 7 days, and not more than 60 days, before the later of 113 days before the election or the first day on which a declaration of candidacy may be filed.
(b)If a county elections official provides a certification pursuant to subdivision (a), the district shall conduct its next election in the same manner as its most recent election was conducted.
SEC. 10.Section 5096 is added to the Education Code, to read:5096.A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the governing board of the school district or community college district to full terms using ranked choice voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same trustee area.
SEC. 11.Section 8141.3 is added to the Elections Code, to read:8141.3.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8000, the following jurisdictions may elect a candidate for nonpartisan office, other than a member of a legislative body elected at large, pursuant to Sections 8140 and 8141:
(1)A district not formed for municipal purposes.
(2)A general law city.
(3)A school district.
(b)For purposes of this section, a separately elected mayor is not a member of a legislative body.
(c)A proposal to conduct elections pursuant to this section shall be submitted to the electors of the jurisdiction at a regularly scheduled election and shall become operative only if a majority of votes cast favor adoption of the proposal.
SEC. 12.Section 10005 is added to the Elections Code, to read:10005.(a)For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Additional supported language means a language for which a jurisdiction is required to provide voting materials and assistance under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) or for which the Secretary of State has determined that it is necessary to provide facsimile ballots at a precinct within the jurisdiction pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14201.
(2)Additional supported language community means a community that speaks an additional supported language.
(b)A jurisdiction that uses ranked choice voting or elects a candidate pursuant to Section 8141.3 shall conduct a voter education and outreach campaign before each election conducted pursuant to this division, until the conclusion of the second general election conducted in this manner. A campaign conducted pursuant to this section shall include public meetings and public service announcements on radio, television, or in print media, including media serving additional supported language communities, if available, to familiarize voters with that election method. Materials and information disseminated as part of the campaign shall be provided in all additional supported languages and shall be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
(c)A jurisdiction shall, in collaboration with the county elections official, develop a plan describing how it will conduct the voter education and outreach campaign required by this section. The plan shall include all of the following information:
(1)How the jurisdiction will use media, which may include social media, newspapers, radio, and television, to inform voters about an upcoming election.
(2)What information will be publicly available on the elections officials Internet Web site.
(3)What information will be included in the sample ballot and vote by mail materials.
(4)How the jurisdiction will conduct direct outreach to voters, including voters with disabilities.
(5)How the jurisdiction will have a community presence to educate voters, including voters with disabilities.
(6)How the jurisdiction will educate voters within each additional supported language community.
(d)(1)Before finalizing its plan, a jurisdiction shall publish a draft plan and hold, at least 10 days after publication of its plan, at least two public meetings to discuss the plan. The jurisdiction shall also make a good faith effort to invite each of the following to at least one of those public meetings:
(A)Representatives, advocates, and other stakeholders representing each additional supported language community.
(B)Representatives from the disability community and community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, individuals with disabilities.
(2)A public meeting conducted pursuant to this section shall be noticed at least 10 days in advance of the meeting and shall be held in a location that is accessible to people with disabilities.
(3)If requested to do so at least 48 hours before a public meeting conducted pursuant to this section, a jurisdiction shall provide either or both of the following:
(A)Reasonable accommodations and modifications, as well as auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication with people with disabilities.
(B)Translation services in any additional supported language.
(e)All materials provided by the voter education and outreach campaign, including materials provided on the Internet Web site of the elections official, sample ballots and vote by mail materials, and materials provided through direct outreach and community presence, shall be provided in the additional supported languages and shall be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
SEC. 13.Section 22000 of the Elections Code is amended and renumbered to read:21700.(a)Each district required by its authorizing act to adjust division boundaries pursuant to this section shall, by resolution, after each federal decennial census, and using that census as a basis, adjust the boundaries of any divisions so that the divisions are, as far as practicable, equal in population and in compliance with Section 10301 of Title 52 of the United States Code, as amended, to the extent those provisions apply. In adjusting the boundaries of the divisions, the board may give consideration to the following factors: (1) topography, (2) geography, (3) cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of territory, and (4) community of interests of the division. This section does not apply to divisions in which only landowners vote for directors or whose directors are all elected at large or appointed.
(b)The resolution specified in subdivision (a) shall be adopted by a vote of not less than a majority of the directors.
(c)At the time of, or after, any annexation of territory to the district, the board of directors shall designate, by resolution, the division of which the annexed territory shall be a part.
(d)A change in division boundaries shall not be made within 180 days preceding the election of any director.
(e)(1)A change in division boundaries shall not affect the term of office of any director.
(2)If division boundaries are adjusted, the director of the division whose boundaries have been adjusted shall continue to be the director of the division bearing the number of his or her division as formerly comprised until the office becomes vacant by means of term expiration or otherwise, whether or not the director is a resident within the boundaries of the division as adjusted.
(f)The successor to the office in a division whose boundaries have been adjusted shall be a resident and voter of that division.
(g)A district is not required to adjust the boundaries of any divisions pursuant to this section until after the 2000 federal decennial census.
(h)This section shall not be construed to prohibit or restrict a district from adjusting the boundaries of any divisions whenever the governing body of the district determines by a two-thirds vote of the governing body that a sufficient change in population has occurred that makes it desirable in the opinion of the governing body to adjust the boundaries of any divisions, or whenever any territory is added by or excluded from the district.
SEC. 14.Section 22001 of the Elections Code is amended and renumbered to read:21701.Before adjusting the boundaries of a division pursuant to Section 21700 or for any other reason, the governing body of the district shall hold at least one public hearing on the proposal to adjust the boundaries of the division prior to the public hearing at which the governing body votes to approve or defeat the proposal.
SEC. 15.Division 22 (commencing with Section 22000) is added to the Elections Code, to read:22.Ranked Choice Voting1.General Provisions22000.Ranked choice voting is a method that allows voters to rank candidates for office in order of preference. Elections conducted by ranked choice voting may be used for both single-winner and multiple-winner elections. Elections conducted by ranked choice voting are tabulated in rounds, as specified in this division.
22001.For purposes of this division, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a)Abstention means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, but that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate or overvote ranking, and the voter did at least one of the following:
(1)Failed to assign an available ranking to every qualified candidate, and the ballot allowed the voter to rank an additional qualified candidate without creating an overvote ranking.
(2)Assigned a qualified candidate two or more different rankings.
(b)Continuing candidate means a qualified candidate who has not yet been elected or defeated.
(c)Highest-ranked continuing candidate means the continuing candidate on a ballot assigned a ranking with a numerical value that is lower than the ranking for both of the following:
(1)Any other continuing candidate.
(2)Any overvote ranking on the ballot.
(d)Instant runoff voting means a system of ranked choice voting used to elect a single candidate to office.
(e)Majority of votes means greater than 50 percent of the votes counting for all continuing candidates.
(f)Other exhausted vote means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, but that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate or overvote and is not an abstention.
(g)Overvote means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, contains an overvote ranking, and does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate.
(h)Overvote ranking means a ranking assigned to more than one qualified candidate.
(i)Ranking means the number assigned to a candidate to indicate a voters preference for that candidate. The ranking with the lowest numerical value indicates the voters first-choice preference, with the ranking increasing in numerical value as the voters preference decreases.
(j)Single transferable vote means a system of ranked choice voting used to elect two or more candidates to office.
22002.A ballot that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate shall not count for any candidate, but rather shall count as an overvote, abstention, or other exhausted vote.
22003.If two or more candidates are tied with the fewest number of votes, the candidate to be defeated shall be determined by lot, publicly conducted with notice.
22004.A ballot shall allow voters to assign a different ranking to each candidate, as well as to at least two write-in candidates. If a jurisdictions voting equipment cannot feasibly accommodate that number of rankings on the ballot, the elections official may limit the number of choices a voter may rank to the greater of three candidates or the maximum number allowed by the equipment.
22005.In an election conducted by ranked choice voting, the elections official shall provide ballot instructions that shall be substantially in the following form:
To vote in this election, indicate your first-choice candidate by selecting or marking a 1 in the voting square to the right of that candidate, a 2 in the voting square to the right of your second-choice candidate, a 3 in the voting square to the right of your third-choice candidate, and so on. Do not give the same number to more than one candidate. You may rank as many or as few of the candidates as you choose, up to the limit specified, if any. Your second choice will not affect your first choice; your third choice will not affect your first two choices, and so on. You may include one or more qualified write-in candidates in your rankings by writing each write-in candidates name in one of the blank spaces provided for that purpose after the names of the other candidates for the same office, and then writing the desired ranking in the voting square to the right of that name.
2.Vote Counting22100.An election using instant runoff voting shall be tabulated in a series of one or more rounds, each conducted with the following steps:
(a)Each ballot shall count as one vote for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot.
(b)The tabulation shall be complete if either of the following situations occur:
(1)There is only one continuing candidate, in which case that candidate shall be designated as elected.
(2)There are exactly two continuing candidates, in which case the candidate with a majority of votes shall be designated as elected, and the other candidate shall be designated as defeated.
(c)If a continuing candidate has a majority of votes, and the elections official determines that tabulation cannot feasibly continue until there are only two continuing candidates, the majority candidate shall be designated as elected, all other continuing candidates shall be designated as defeated, and the tabulation shall be complete.
(d)If a candidate satisfies both of the following conditions, then all candidates with fewer votes may be designated as defeated:
(1)At least one other candidate has at least as many votes as the candidate.
(2)The candidate has more votes than the total votes for all candidates with fewer votes.
(e)If a candidate was not designated as defeated in this round pursuant to subdivision (d), the continuing candidate with the fewest votes shall be designated as defeated.
(f)Each ballot counted for a candidate defeated pursuant to subdivision (d) or (e) shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot.
22101.An election using single transferable vote shall be tabulated in a series of one or more rounds, each conducted with the following steps:
(a)In the first round:
(1)All ballots shall be counted, and each ballot shall be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot, using a transfer value of one vote. The transfer value of a ballot is the one vote, or portion of a vote after a surplus transfer pursuant to subdivision (f), that the ballot will contribute to the vote total for the ballots highest-ranked continuing candidate.
(2)The threshold, which is the number of votes in excess of which a candidate will be designated as elected, shall be determined by dividing the total number of ballots counting for all candidates pursuant to paragraph (1) by one more than the number of offices to be filled and rounding up the quotient to five decimal places.
(b)For each continuing candidate, the votes for the candidate are the sum of the transfer values of all ballots counted for that candidate.
(c)In the first round, if the number of continuing candidates is less than or equal to the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as elected, and the tabulation is complete.
(d)Each continuing candidate with votes in excess of the threshold shall be designated as elected, and his or her votes in excess of the threshold calculated shall be treated as his or her surplus.
(e)If the number of candidates designated as elected is equal to the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as defeated, and the tabulation shall be complete.
(f)For each candidate that is designated as elected and has a surplus, the surplus of that candidate shall be transferred as follows:
(1)The surplus factor for the candidate shall be calculated as the quotient, rounded down to five decimal places, of the candidates surplus divided by the total number of votes for the candidate.
(2)Each ballot counted for the candidate shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot using a new transfer value, calculated as the product, rounded down to five decimal places, of the old transfer value times the candidates surplus factor.
(3)Residual surplus means the number of surplus votes not transferred pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) due to rounding. The residual surplus for the transfer equals the surplus for the candidate minus the sum of the new transfer values for every ballot transferred from the candidate. The residual surplus shall not be counted for any candidate nor as part of other exhausted votes.
(4)After the candidates surplus is transferred and his or her residual surplus is calculated, the candidate does not have a surplus, and the candidates vote total for the remainder of the tabulation shall be equal to the threshold.
(g)If a surplus was not transferred in this round pursuant to subdivision (f), the continuing candidate with the fewest votes shall be designated as defeated.
(1)If the number of continuing candidates plus the number of candidates that have been designated as elected equals the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as elected and the tabulation is complete.
(2)Each ballot that counted for the defeated candidate shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot using the current transfer value. After all ballots have been transferred, a defeated candidate shall have zero votes.
22102.The Secretary of State may promulgate regulations authorizing modifications to the vote-counting methods described in this chapter if the modifications do not change which candidates are elected.
22103.If two or more candidates are elected pursuant to Section 22101 in the same contest, and the offices to be filled by the contest have terms of different remaining lengths, candidates shall fill the offices based on the number of votes they received in the first round so that a candidate with a higher first-round vote total fills an office with an equal or longer term.
3.Reporting22200.(a)For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Contest cast selections record report means a report that lists all of the following for each ballot counted in the tabulation:
(A)The candidate or candidates indicated at each ranking.
(B)The precinct in which the ballot was cast.
(C)Whether the ballot was cast by mail.
(2)Contest tabulation report means a report that lists all of the following:
(A)The number of ballots counted.
(B)The votes received by each candidate in each round of the tabulation.
(C)The cumulative number of votes counted as an overvote, abstention, other exhausted vote, and cumulative residual surplus in each round of the tabulation.
(3)Tabulation by precinct report means a report that, for each precinct, lists all of the information required in a contest tabulation report.
(b)For a given tabulation, an entry in the contest tabulation report shall equal the total of all corresponding precinct entries that are in the tabulation by precinct report. Whether a candidate is designated as elected or defeated, and the round in which a candidate is designated as elected or defeated, shall be the same for the contest tabulation report and for every precinct in the tabulation by precinct report.
(c)The votes for each round in a contest tabulation report or in a tabulation by precinct report shall be reported as of the completion of subdivision (a) of Section 22100 or subdivision (b) of Section 22101. If Section 22100 applies, residual surplus is not applicable and shall not be reported. If Section 22101 applies, each ballot counted as an overvote, abstention, or other exhausted vote shall be counted as having the number of votes equal to the ballots transfer value.
(d)In a contest cast selections record report, ballots shall be listed in a manner that does not permit the order in which they were cast in each precinct to be reconstructed. An overvote ranking may be reported without reporting to which qualified candidates the ranking was assigned.
22201.(a)An elections official shall publish a contest tabulation report for the final tabulation of the official canvass in conjunction with the certified statement of the results. The elections official shall also publish at least one of the following reports for the final tabulation of the official canvass:
(1)A tabulation by precinct report.
(2)A contest cast selections record report.
(b)If the elections official determines that tabulation of all rounds is not feasible on election night, the elections official may provide the contest tabulation report totals for only the first round of tabulation or only a tally of the rankings of 1.
(c)For a contest that is tabulated with a voting system, the elections official shall do all of the following:
(1)Tabulate the results as soon as the elections official determines it is feasible after the close of the polls, and publish the corresponding contest tabulation report.
(2)Tabulate the results for the last preliminary results on election night and publish a corresponding contest tabulation report.
(3)Publish the corresponding contest cast selections record report whenever the results of a tabulation is published, except if tabulation is limited pursuant to subdivision (b).
22202.An elections official shall promptly post a report made available to the public pursuant to Section 22201 on his or her official Internet Web site. A contest cast selections record report made available pursuant to this section shall be provided in a plain text electronic format and need not be published by other means. If an elections official does not have an official Internet Web site, the elections official shall promptly make the report available to the public by other means, and he or she shall notify the public of the reports location through a notice prominently displayed in an appropriate location in his or her office.
SEC. 16.Section 25001 is added to the Government Code, to read:25001.(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county board of supervisors may adopt, or a resident of the county may propose by initiative, a proposal to elect an officer of the county by ranked choice voting. The proposal shall specify which county officers shall be elected by this method and whether they shall be elected at large or by or from district, if applicable.
(b)A proposal pursuant to subdivision (a) shall apply prospectively only and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the county at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
(c)A proposal enacted pursuant to this section may be amended or repealed in the same manner.
(d)A county officer elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
(e)This section does not authorize a county to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district.
SEC. 17.Section 25040 of the Government Code is amended to read:25040.Each member of the board of supervisors shall be elected by the district that he or she represents, and not at large, except if one of the following is true:
(a)The election is held in any county in which supervisorial districts have not been established by law or ordinance, and in which supervisors were on May 17, 1907, required to be elected at large, but from particular wards, the members shall be elected at large and without regard to residence.
(b)Members are elected at large by ranked choice voting pursuant to Section 25001.
SEC. 18.Section 25041 of the Government Code is amended to read:25041.If an election is conducted by or from district, a member shall have been a registered voter of the district that he or she seeks to represent for at least 30 days immediately preceding the deadline for filing nomination documents for the office of supervisor, and shall reside in the district during his or her incumbency.
SEC. 19.Section 25061 of the Government Code is amended to read:25061.(a)The election of a supervisor to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term shall be held at the next general election, unless the term expires on the first Monday after January 1st succeeding the election.
(b)A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the board of supervisors to full terms using ranked choice voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board of supervisors is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same district.
SEC. 20.Article 4 (commencing with Section 34910) is added to Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 4 of the Government Code, to read:4.Election of City Officers by Ranked Choice Voting34910.(a)A municipal legislative body may submit to the registered voters an ordinance providing for the election of an officer of the city by ranked choice voting. The ordinance may also be qualified for the ballot by means of an initiative measure in accordance with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9200) of Division 9 of the Elections Code. The ordinance shall specify which city officers shall be elected by this method and whether they shall be elected at large or by or from district, if applicable. An ordinance adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall apply prospectively only and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the city at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
(b)If a legislative body is elected by ranked choice voting:
(1)The legislative body may have an odd number of members greater than five, even if the members are elected at large.
(2)A members term of office shall be four years.
(c)An ordinance enacted pursuant to this section may be amended or repealed in the same manner.
(d)This section applies both to cities with an elective mayor and cities with a city manager form of government.
(e)This section does not authorize a city to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district.
(f)A city officer elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
34911.If a special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting is held on the same day as an election to elect one or more other members of the legislative body to full terms using ranked choice voting, those election contests shall be consolidated into a single contest, provided that the legislative body is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same district.
(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the county board of education may adopt, or the residents of the county may propose by initiative, a proposal to elect members of the county board of education by ranked choice voting. The proposal shall specify whether the members shall be elected at large or by or from trustee area. A proposal to elect members by ranked choice voting shall apply prospectively only and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the county at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
(b)An initiative measure proposed pursuant to subdivision (a) is subject to the procedures set forth in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 9100) of Division 9 of the Elections Code.
(c)This section does not authorize a county board of education to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from trustee area.
(d)A county board of education member elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
SEC. 2.Section 1019 is added to the Education Code, to read:1019.(a)If a county board of education authorizes the use of ranked choice voting pursuant to Section 1018, before that method is used in any election, a county elections official may certify to the county board of supervisors and county superintendent of schools that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method. The elections official shall provide this certification at least seven days, and not more than 60 days, before the later of 113 days before the election or the first day on which a declaration of candidacy may be filed.
(b)If a county elections official provides a certification pursuant to subdivision (a), the county board of education shall conduct its next election in the same manner as its most recent election was conducted.
SEC. 3.Section 1020 is added to the Education Code, to read:1020.A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the county board of education to full terms using ranked choice voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same trustee area.
SEC. 4.Section 5010 is added to the Education Code, to read:5010.(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the governing board of a school district or community college district may adopt a resolution authorizing the election of members of the governing board by ranked choice voting. The resolution shall specify whether the members elected pursuant to this method shall be elected at large or by or from trustee area, and it shall be presented to the electors of the school district pursuant to Section 5020. A resolution adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall apply prospectively only.
(b)This section does not authorize the governing board of a school district or community college district to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from trustee area.
(c)A member of the governing board of a school district or community college district elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
SEC. 5.Section 5013 of the Education Code is amended to read:5013.(a)Except as provided in subdivision (b), the form of ballot for governing board member elections shall be governed by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 13100) of Division 13 of the Elections Code.
(b)The form of ballot for governing board member elections conducted by ranked choice voting shall be governed by Division 22 (commencing with Section 22000) of the Elections Code.
SEC. 6.Section 5020 of the Education Code is amended to read:5020.(a)The resolution of the county committee approving a proposal to establish or abolish trustee areas, to adopt one of the alternative methods of electing governing board members specified in Section 5010 or 5030, or to increase or decrease the number of members of the governing board shall constitute an order of election, and the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district not later than the next succeeding election for members of the governing board.
(b)If a petition requesting an election on a proposal to rearrange trustee area boundaries is filed, containing at least 5 percent of the signatures of the districts registered voters as determined by the elections official, the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district, at the next succeeding election for the members of the governing board, at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot.
(c)If a petition requesting an election on a proposal to establish or abolish trustee areas, to increase or decrease the number of members of the board, or to adopt one of the alternative methods of electing governing board members specified in Section 5010 or 5030 is filed, containing at least 10 percent of the signatures of the districts registered voters as determined by the elections official, the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district, at the next succeeding election for the members of the governing board, at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot. Before the proposal is presented to the electors, the county committee on school district organization may call and conduct one or more public hearings on the proposal.
(d)The resolution of the county committee approving a proposal to establish or abolish a common governing board for a high school and an elementary school district within the boundaries of the high school district shall constitute an order of election. The proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot.
(e)For each proposal there shall be a separate proposition on the ballot. The ballot shall contain the following words:
For the establishment (or abolition or rearrangement) of trustee areas in ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the establishment (or abolition or rearrangement) of trustee areas in ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For increasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from five to sevenYes and For increasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from five to sevenNo.
For decreasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from seven to fiveYes and For decreasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from seven to fiveNo.
For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingYes and For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingNo.
For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee areaYes and For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee areaNo.
For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee area using ranked choice votingYes and For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee area using ranked choice votingNo.
For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingYes and For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingNo.
For the establishment (or abolition) of a common governing board in the ____ (insert name) School District and the ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the establishment (or abolition) of a common governing board in the ____ (insert name) School District and the ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
(f)If more than one proposal appears on the ballot, all must carry in order for any to become effective, except as follows:
(1)A proposal to adopt one of the methods of election of board members specified in Section 5030 that is approved by the voters shall become effective unless a proposal that is inconsistent with that proposal has been approved by a greater number of voters.
(2)An inconsistent proposal approved by a lesser number of voters than the number which have approved a proposal to adopt one of the methods of election of board members specified in Section 5030 shall not be effective.
SEC. 7.Section 5027 of the Education Code is amended to read:5027.If the boundaries of a county high school district are coterminous with the boundaries of a county, the board shall consist of one of the following:
(a)One member from each supervisorial district in the county elected at large from the county high school district.
(b)As many members as there are supervisorial districts with the members elected at large using ranked choice voting.
SEC. 8.Section 5028 of the Education Code is amended to read:5028.In every community college district that was divided into five wards on or before September 7, 1955, one member of the board shall be elected from each ward by the registered voters of the ward. On or before January 1st of a fiscal year, the governing board of the district may rearrange the boundaries of the wards to provide for representation in accordance with population and geographic factors or may abolish the wards. If the wards are abolished, members of the governing board may also be elected at large using ranked choice voting.
SEC. 9.Section 5032 is added to the Education Code, to read:5032.(a)If a school district or community college district authorizes the use of ranked choice voting pursuant to Section 5010, before that method is used in any election, a county elections official may certify to the governing board of the district, the county board of supervisors, and the county superintendent of schools who have jurisdiction over the election that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method. The elections official shall provide this certification at least 7 days, and not more than 60 days, before the later of 113 days before the election or the first day on which a declaration of candidacy may be filed.
(b)If a county elections official provides a certification pursuant to subdivision (a), the district shall conduct its next election in the same manner as its most recent election was conducted.
SEC. 10.Section 5096 is added to the Education Code, to read:5096.A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the governing board of the school district or community college district to full terms using ranked choice voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same trustee area.
SEC. 11.Section 8141.3 is added to the Elections Code, to read:8141.3.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8000, the following jurisdictions may elect a candidate for nonpartisan office, other than a member of a legislative body elected at large, pursuant to Sections 8140 and 8141:
(1)A district not formed for municipal purposes.
(2)A general law city.
(3)A school district.
(b)For purposes of this section, a separately elected mayor is not a member of a legislative body.
(c)A proposal to conduct elections pursuant to this section shall be submitted to the electors of the jurisdiction at a regularly scheduled election and shall become operative only if a majority of votes cast favor adoption of the proposal.
SEC. 12.Section 10005 is added to the Elections Code, to read:10005.(a)For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Additional supported language means a language for which a jurisdiction is required to provide voting materials and assistance under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) or for which the Secretary of State has determined that it is necessary to provide facsimile ballots at a precinct within the jurisdiction pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14201.
(2)Additional supported language community means a community that speaks an additional supported language.
(b)A jurisdiction that uses ranked choice voting or elects a candidate pursuant to Section 8141.3 shall conduct a voter education and outreach campaign before each election conducted pursuant to this division, until the conclusion of the second general election conducted in this manner. A campaign conducted pursuant to this section shall include public meetings and public service announcements on radio, television, or in print media, including media serving additional supported language communities, if available, to familiarize voters with that election method. Materials and information disseminated as part of the campaign shall be provided in all additional supported languages and shall be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
(c)A jurisdiction shall, in collaboration with the county elections official, develop a plan describing how it will conduct the voter education and outreach campaign required by this section. The plan shall include all of the following information:
(1)How the jurisdiction will use media, which may include social media, newspapers, radio, and television, to inform voters about an upcoming election.
(2)What information will be publicly available on the elections officials Internet Web site.
(3)What information will be included in the sample ballot and vote by mail materials.
(4)How the jurisdiction will conduct direct outreach to voters, including voters with disabilities.
(5)How the jurisdiction will have a community presence to educate voters, including voters with disabilities.
(6)How the jurisdiction will educate voters within each additional supported language community.
(d)(1)Before finalizing its plan, a jurisdiction shall publish a draft plan and hold, at least 10 days after publication of its plan, at least two public meetings to discuss the plan. The jurisdiction shall also make a good faith effort to invite each of the following to at least one of those public meetings:
(A)Representatives, advocates, and other stakeholders representing each additional supported language community.
(B)Representatives from the disability community and community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, individuals with disabilities.
(2)A public meeting conducted pursuant to this section shall be noticed at least 10 days in advance of the hearing meeting and shall be held in a location that is accessible to people with disabilities.
(3)If requested to do so at least 48 hours before a public meeting conducted pursuant to this section, a jurisdiction shall provide either or both of the following:
(A)Reasonable accommodations and modifications, as well as auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication with people with disabilities.
(B)Translation services in any additional supported language.
(e)All materials provided by the voter education and outreach campaign, including materials provided on the Internet Web site of the elections official, sample ballots and vote by mail materials, and materials provided through direct outreach and community presence, shall be provided in the additional supported languages and shall be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
SEC. 13.Section 22000 of the Elections Code is amended and renumbered to read:21700.(a)Each district required by its authorizing act to adjust division boundaries pursuant to this section shall, by resolution, after each federal decennial census, and using that census as a basis, adjust the boundaries of any divisions so that the divisions are, as far as practicable, equal in population and in compliance with Section 10301 of Title 52 of the United States Code, as amended, to the extent those provisions apply. In adjusting the boundaries of the divisions, the board may give consideration to the following factors: (1) topography, (2) geography, (3) cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of territory, and (4) community of interests of the division. This section does not apply to divisions in which only landowners vote for directors or whose directors are all elected at large or appointed.
(b)The resolution specified in subdivision (a) shall be adopted by a vote of not less than a majority of the directors.
(c)At the time of, or after, any annexation of territory to the district, the board of directors shall designate, by resolution, the division of which the annexed territory shall be a part.
(d)A change in division boundaries shall not be made within 180 days preceding the election of any director.
(e)(1)A change in division boundaries shall not affect the term of office of any director.
(2)If division boundaries are adjusted, the director of the division whose boundaries have been adjusted shall continue to be the director of the division bearing the number of his or her division as formerly comprised until the office becomes vacant by means of term expiration or otherwise, whether or not the director is a resident within the boundaries of the division as adjusted.
(f)The successor to the office in a division whose boundaries have been adjusted shall be a resident and voter of that division.
(g)A district is not required to adjust the boundaries of any divisions pursuant to this section until after the 2000 federal decennial census.
(h)This section shall not be construed to prohibit or restrict a district from adjusting the boundaries of any divisions whenever the governing body of the district determines by a two-thirds vote of the governing body that a sufficient change in population has occurred that makes it desirable in the opinion of the governing body to adjust the boundaries of any divisions, or whenever any territory is added by or excluded from the district.
SEC. 14.Section 22001 of the Elections Code is amended and renumbered to read:21701.Before adjusting the boundaries of a division pursuant to Section 21700 or for any other reason, the governing body of the district shall hold at least one public hearing on the proposal to adjust the boundaries of the division prior to the public hearing at which the governing body votes to approve or defeat the proposal.
SEC. 15.Division 22 (commencing with Section 22000) is added to the Elections Code, to read:22.Ranked Choice Voting1.General Provisions22000.Ranked choice voting is a method that allows voters to rank candidates for office in order of preference. Elections conducted by ranked choice voting may be used for both single-winner and multiple-winner elections. Elections conducted by ranked choice voting are tabulated in rounds, as specified in this division.
22001.For purposes of this division, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a)Abstention means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, but that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate or overvote, overvote ranking, and the voter did at least one of the following:
(1)Failed to assign an available ranking to every qualified candidate, and the ballot allowed the voter to rank an additional qualified candidate without creating an overvote ranking.
(2)Assigned a qualified candidate two or more different rankings.
(b)Continuing candidate means a qualified candidate who has not yet been elected or defeated.
(c)Highest-ranked continuing candidate means the continuing candidate on a ballot assigned a ranking with a numerical value that is lower than the ranking for both of the following:
(1)Any other continuing candidate.
(2)Any overvote ranking on the ballot.
(d)Instant runoff voting means a system of ranked choice voting used to elect a single candidate to office.
(e)Majority of votes means greater than 50 percent of the votes counting for all continuing candidates.
(f)Other exhausted vote means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, but that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate or overvote and is not an abstention.
(g)Overvote means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, contains an overvote ranking, and does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate.
(h)Overvote ranking means a ranking assigned to more than one qualified candidate.
(i)Ranking means the number assigned to a candidate to indicate a voters preference for that candidate. The ranking with the lowest numerical value indicates the voters first-choice preference, with the ranking increasing in numerical value as the voters preference decreases.
(j)Single transferable vote means a system of ranked choice voting used to elect two or more candidates to office.
22002.A ballot that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate shall not count for any candidate, but rather shall count as an overvote, abstention, or other exhausted vote.
22003.If two or more candidates are tied with the fewest number of votes, the candidate to be defeated shall be determined by lot, publicly conducted with notice.
22004.A ballot shall allow voters to assign a different ranking to each candidate, as well as to at least two write-in candidates. If a jurisdictions voting equipment cannot feasibly accommodate that number of rankings on the ballot, the elections official may limit the number of choices a voter may rank to the greater of three candidates or the maximum number allowed by the equipment.
22005.In an election conducted by ranked choice voting, the elections official shall provide ballot instructions that shall be substantially in the following form:
To vote in this election, indicate your first-choice candidate by selecting or marking a 1 in the voting square to the right of that candidate, a 2 in the voting square to the right of your second-choice candidate, a 3 in the voting square to the right of your third-choice candidate, and so on. Do not give the same number to more than one candidate. You may rank as many or as few of the candidates as you choose, up to the limit specified, if any. Your second choice will not affect your first choice; your third choice will not affect your first two choices, and so on. You may include one or more qualified write-in candidates in your rankings by writing each write-in candidates name in one of the blank spaces provided for that purpose after the names of the other candidates for the same office, and then writing the desired ranking in the voting square to the right of that name.
2.Vote Counting22100.An election using instant runoff voting shall be tabulated in a series of one or more rounds, each conducted with the following steps:
(a)Each ballot shall count as one vote for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot.
(b)The tabulation shall be complete if either of the following situations occur:
(1)There is only one continuing candidate, in which case that candidate shall be designated as elected.
(2)There are exactly two continuing candidates, in which case the candidate with a majority of votes shall be designated as elected, and the other candidate shall be designated as defeated.
(c)If a continuing candidate has a majority of votes, and the elections official determines that tabulation cannot feasibly continue until there are only two continuing candidates, the majority candidate shall be designated as elected, all other continuing candidates shall be designated as defeated, and the tabulation shall be complete.
(d)If a candidate satisfies both of the following conditions, then all candidates with fewer votes may be designated as defeated:
(1)At least one other candidate has at least as many votes as the candidate.
(2)The candidate has more votes than the total votes for all candidates with fewer votes.
(e)If a candidate was not designated as defeated in this round pursuant to subdivision (d), the continuing candidate with the fewest votes shall be designated as defeated.
(f)Each ballot counted for a candidate defeated pursuant to subdivision (d) or (e) shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot.
22101.An election using single transferable vote shall be tabulated in a series of one or more rounds, each conducted with the following steps:
(a)In the first round:
(1)All ballots shall be counted, and each ballot shall be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot, using a transfer value of one vote. The transfer value of a ballot is the one vote, or portion of a vote after a surplus transfer pursuant to subdivision (f), that the ballot will contribute to the vote total for the ballots highest-ranked continuing candidate.
(2)The threshold, which is the number of votes in excess of which a candidate will be designated as elected, shall be determined by dividing the total number of ballots counting for all candidates pursuant to paragraph (1) by one more than the number of offices to be filled and rounding up the quotient to five decimal places.
(b)For each continuing candidate, the votes for the candidate are the sum of the transfer values of all ballots counted for that candidate.
(c)In the first round, if the number of continuing candidates is less than or equal to the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as elected, and the tabulation is complete.
(d)Each continuing candidate with votes in excess of the threshold shall be designated as elected, and his or her votes in excess of the threshold calculated shall be treated as his or her surplus.
(e)If the number of candidates designated as elected is equal to the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as defeated, and the tabulation shall be complete.
(f)For each candidate that is designated as elected and has a surplus, the surplus of that candidate shall be transferred as follows:
(1)The surplus factor for the candidate shall be calculated as the quotient, rounded down to five decimal places, of the candidates surplus divided by the total number of votes for the candidate.
(2)Each ballot counted for the candidate shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot using a new transfer value, calculated as the product, rounded down to five decimal places, of the old transfer value times the candidates surplus factor.
(3)Residual surplus means the number of surplus votes not transferred pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) due to rounding. The residual surplus for the transfer equals the surplus for the candidate minus the sum of the new transfer values for every ballot transferred from the candidate. The residual surplus shall not be counted for any candidate nor as part of other exhausted votes.
(4)After the candidates surplus is transferred and his or her residual surplus is calculated, the candidate does not have a surplus, and the candidates vote total for the remainder of the tabulation shall be equal to the threshold.
(g)If a surplus was not transferred in this round pursuant to subdivision (f), the continuing candidate with the fewest votes shall be designated as defeated.
(1)If the number of continuing candidates plus the number of candidates that have been designated as elected equals the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as elected and the tabulation is complete.
(2)Each ballot that counted for the defeated candidate shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot using the current transfer value. After all ballots have been transferred, a defeated candidate shall have zero votes.
22102.The Secretary of State may promulgate regulations authorizing modifications to the vote-counting methods described in this chapter if the modifications do not change which candidates are elected.
22103.If two or more candidates are elected pursuant to Section 22101 in the same contest, and the offices to be filled by the contest have terms of different remaining lengths, candidates shall fill the offices based on the number of votes they received in the first round so that a candidate with a higher first-round vote total fills an office with an equal or longer term.
3.Reporting22200.(a)For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Contest cast selections record report means a report that lists all of the following for each ballot counted in the tabulation:
(A)The candidate or candidates indicated at each ranking.
(B)The precinct in which the ballot was cast.
(C)Whether the ballot was cast by mail.
(2)Contest tabulation report means a report that lists all of the following:
(A)The number of ballots counted.
(B)The votes received by each candidate in each round of the tabulation.
(C)The cumulative number of votes counted as an overvote, abstention, other exhausted vote, and cumulative residual surplus in each round of the tabulation.
(3)Tabulation by precinct report means a report that, for each precinct, lists all of the information required in a contest tabulation report.
(b)For a given tabulation, an entry in the contest tabulation report shall equal the total of all corresponding precinct entries that are in the tabulation by precinct report. Whether a candidate is designated as elected or defeated, and the round in which a candidate is designated as elected or defeated, shall be the same for the contest tabulation report and for every precinct in the tabulation by precinct report.
(c)The votes for each round in a contest tabulation report or in a tabulation by precinct report shall be reported as of the completion of subdivision (a) of Section 22100 or subdivision (b) of Section 22101. If Section 22100 applies, residual surplus is not applicable and shall not be reported. If Section 22101 applies, each ballot counted as an overvote, abstention, or other exhausted vote shall be counted as having the number of votes equal to the ballots transfer value.
(d)In a contest cast selections record report, ballots shall be listed in a manner that does not permit the order in which they were cast in each precinct to be reconstructed. An overvote ranking may be reported without reporting to which qualified candidates the ranking was assigned.
22201.(a)An elections official shall publish a contest tabulation report for the final tabulation of the official canvass in conjunction with the certified statement of the results. The elections official shall also publish at least one of the following reports for the final tabulation of the official canvass:
(1)A tabulation by precinct report.
(2)A contest cast selections record report.
(b)If the elections official determines that tabulation of all rounds is not feasible on election night, the elections official may provide the contest tabulation report totals for only the first round of tabulation or only a tally of the rankings of 1.
(c)For a contest that is tabulated with a voting system, the elections official shall do all of the following:
(1)Tabulate the results as soon as the elections official determines it is feasible after the close of the polls, and publish the corresponding contest tabulation report.
(2)Tabulate the results for the last preliminary results on election night and publish a corresponding contest tabulation report.
(3)Publish the corresponding contest cast selections record report whenever the results of a tabulation is published, except if tabulation is limited pursuant to subdivision (b).
22202.An elections official shall promptly post a report made available to the public pursuant to Section 22201 on his or her official Internet Web site. A contest cast selections record report made available pursuant to this section shall be provided in a plain text electronic format and need not be published by other means. If an elections official does not have an official Internet Web site, the elections official shall promptly make the report available to the public by other means, and he or she shall notify the public of the reports location through a notice prominently displayed in an appropriate location in his or her office.
SEC. 16.Section 25001 is added to the Government Code, to read:25001.(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county board of supervisors may adopt, or a resident of the county may propose by initiative, a proposal to elect an officer of the county by ranked choice voting. The proposal shall specify which county officers shall be elected by this method and whether they shall be elected at large or by or from district, if applicable.
(b)A proposal pursuant to subdivision (a) shall apply prospectively only and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the county at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
(c)A proposal enacted pursuant to this section may be amended or repealed in the same manner.
(d)A county officer elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
(e)This section does not authorize a county to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district.
SEC. 17.Section 25040 of the Government Code is amended to read:25040.Each member of the board of supervisors shall be elected by the district that he or she represents, and not at large, except if one of the following is true:
(a)The election is held in any county in which supervisorial districts have not been established by law or ordinance, and in which supervisors were on May 17, 1907, required to be elected at large, but from particular wards, the members shall be elected at large and without regard to residence.
(b)Members are elected at large by ranked choice voting pursuant to Section 25001.
SEC. 18.Section 25041 of the Government Code is amended to read:25041.If an election is conducted by or from district, a member shall have been a registered voter of the district that he or she seeks to represent for at least 30 days immediately preceding the deadline for filing nomination documents for the office of supervisor, and shall reside in the district during his or her incumbency.
SEC. 19.Section 25061 of the Government Code is amended to read:25061.(a)The election of a supervisor to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term shall be held at the next general election, unless the term expires on the first Monday after January 1st succeeding the election.
(b)A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the board of supervisors to full terms using ranked choice voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board of supervisors is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same district.
SEC. 20.Article 4 (commencing with Section 34910) is added to Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 4 of the Government Code, to read:4.Election of City Officers by Ranked Choice Voting34910.(a)A municipal legislative body may submit to the registered voters an ordinance providing for the election of an officer of the city by ranked choice voting. The ordinance may also be qualified for the ballot by means of an initiative measure in accordance with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9200) of Division 9 of the Elections Code. The ordinance shall specify which city officers shall be elected by this method and whether they shall be elected at large or by or from district, if applicable. An ordinance adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall apply prospectively only and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the city at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
(b)If a legislative body is elected by ranked choice voting:
(1)The legislative body may have an odd number of members greater than five, even if the members are elected at large.
(2)A members term of office shall be four years.
(c)An ordinance enacted pursuant to this section may be amended or repealed in the same manner.
(d)This section applies both to cities with an elective mayor and cities with a city manager form of government.
(e)This section does not authorize a city to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district.
(f)A city officer elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
34911.If a special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting is held on the same day as an election to elect one or more other members of the legislative body to full terms using ranked choice voting, those election contests shall be consolidated into a single contest, provided that the legislative body is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same district.
(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the county board of education may adopt, or the residents of the county may propose by initiative, a proposal to elect members of the county board of education by ranked choice voting. The proposal shall specify whether the members shall be elected at large or by or from trustee area. A proposal to elect members by ranked choice voting shall apply prospectively only and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the county at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
(b)An initiative measure proposed pursuant to subdivision (a) is subject to the procedures set forth in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 9100) of Division 9 of the Elections Code.
(c)This section does not authorize a county board of education to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from trustee area.
(d)A county board of education member elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
SEC. 2.Section 1019 is added to the Education Code, to read:1019.(a)If a county board of education authorizes the use of ranked choice voting pursuant to Section 1018, before that method is used in any election, a county elections official may certify to the county board of supervisors and county superintendent of schools that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method. The elections official shall provide this certification at least seven days, and not more than 60 days, before the later of 113 days before the election or the first day on which a declaration of candidacy may be filed.
(b)If a county elections official provides a certification pursuant to subdivision (a), the county board of education shall conduct its next election in the same manner as its most recent election was conducted.
SEC. 3.Section 1020 is added to the Education Code, to read:1020.A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the county board of education to full terms using ranked choice voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same trustee area.
SEC. 4.Section 5010 is added to the Education Code, to read:5010.(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the governing board of a school district or community college district may adopt a resolution authorizing the election of members of the governing board by ranked choice voting. The resolution shall specify whether the members elected pursuant to this method shall be elected at large or by or from trustee area, and it shall be presented to the electors of the school district pursuant to Section 5020. A resolution adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall apply prospectively only.
(b)This section does not authorize the governing board of a school district or community college district to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from trustee area.
(c)A member of the governing board of a school district or community college district elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
SEC. 5.Section 5013 of the Education Code is amended to read:5013.(a)Except as provided in subdivision (b), the form of ballot for governing board member elections shall be governed by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 13100) of Division 13 of the Elections Code.
(b)The form of ballot for governing board member elections conducted by ranked choice voting shall be governed by Division 22 (commencing with Section 22000) of the Elections Code.
SEC. 6.Section 5020 of the Education Code is amended to read:5020.(a)The resolution of the county committee approving a proposal to establish or abolish trustee areas, to adopt one of the alternative methods of electing governing board members specified in Section 5010 or 5030, or to increase or decrease the number of members of the governing board shall constitute an order of election, and the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district not later than the next succeeding election for members of the governing board.
(b)If a petition requesting an election on a proposal to rearrange trustee area boundaries is filed, containing at least 5 percent of the signatures of the districts registered voters as determined by the elections official, the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district, at the next succeeding election for the members of the governing board, at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot.
(c)If a petition requesting an election on a proposal to establish or abolish trustee areas, to increase or decrease the number of members of the board, or to adopt one of the alternative methods of electing governing board members specified in Section 5010 or 5030 is filed, containing at least 10 percent of the signatures of the districts registered voters as determined by the elections official, the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district, at the next succeeding election for the members of the governing board, at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot. Before the proposal is presented to the electors, the county committee on school district organization may call and conduct one or more public hearings on the proposal.
(d)The resolution of the county committee approving a proposal to establish or abolish a common governing board for a high school and an elementary school district within the boundaries of the high school district shall constitute an order of election. The proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot.
(e)For each proposal there shall be a separate proposition on the ballot. The ballot shall contain the following words:
For the establishment (or abolition or rearrangement) of trustee areas in ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the establishment (or abolition or rearrangement) of trustee areas in ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For increasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from five to sevenYes and For increasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from five to sevenNo.
For decreasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from seven to fiveYes and For decreasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from seven to fiveNo.
For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingYes and For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingNo.
For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee areaYes and For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee areaNo.
For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee area using ranked choice votingYes and For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee area using ranked choice votingNo.
For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingYes and For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingNo.
For the establishment (or abolition) of a common governing board in the ____ (insert name) School District and the ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the establishment (or abolition) of a common governing board in the ____ (insert name) School District and the ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
(f)If more than one proposal appears on the ballot, all must carry in order for any to become effective, except as follows:
(1)A proposal to adopt one of the methods of election of board members specified in Section 5030 that is approved by the voters shall become effective unless a proposal that is inconsistent with that proposal has been approved by a greater number of voters.
(2)An inconsistent proposal approved by a lesser number of voters than the number which have approved a proposal to adopt one of the methods of election of board members specified in Section 5030 shall not be effective.
SEC. 7.Section 5027 of the Education Code is amended to read:5027.If the boundaries of a county high school district are coterminous with the boundaries of a county, the board shall consist of one of the following:
(a)One member from each supervisorial district in the county elected at large from the county high school district.
(b)As many members are as there are supervisorial districts with the members elected at large using ranked choice voting.
SEC. 8.Section 5028 of the Education Code is amended to read:5028.In every community college district that was divided into five wards on or before September 7, 1955, one member of the board shall be elected from each ward by the registered voters of the ward. On or before January 1st of a fiscal year year, the governing board of the district may rearrange the boundaries of the wards to provide for representation in accordance with population and geographic factors or may abolish the wards. If the wards are abolished, members of the governing board may also be elected at large using ranked choice voting.
SEC. 9.Section 5032 is added to the Education Code, to read:5032.(a)If a school district or community college district authorizes the use of ranked choice voting pursuant to Section 5010, before that method is used in any election, a county elections official may certify to the governing board of the district, the county board of supervisors, and the county superintendent of schools who have jurisdiction over the election that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method. The elections official shall provide this certification at least 7 days, and not more than 60 days, before the later of 113 days before the election or the first day on which a declaration of candidacy may be filed.
(b)If a county elections official provides a certification pursuant to subdivision (a), the district shall conduct its next election in the same manner as its most recent election was conducted.
SEC. 10.Section 5096 is added to the Education Code, to read:5096.A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the governing board of the school district or community college district to full terms using ranked choice voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same trustee area.
SEC. 11.Section 8141.3 is added to the Elections Code, to read:8141.3.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8000, the following jurisdictions may elect a candidate for nonpartisan office, other than a member of a legislative body elected at large, pursuant to Sections 8140 and 8141:
(1)A district not formed for municipal purposes.
(2)A general law city.
(3)A school district.
(b)For purposes of this section, a separately elected mayor is not a member of a legislative body.
(c)A proposal to conduct elections pursuant to this section shall be submitted to the electors of the jurisdiction at a regularly scheduled election and shall become operative only if a majority of votes cast favor adoption of the proposal.
SEC. 12.Section 10005 is added to the Elections Code, to read:10005.(a)For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Additional supported language means a language for which a jurisdiction is required to provide voting materials and assistance under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) or for which the Secretary of State has determined that it is necessary to provide facsimile ballots at a precinct within the jurisdiction pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14201.
(2)Additional supported language community means a community that speaks an additional supported language.
(b)A jurisdiction that uses ranked choice voting or elects a candidate pursuant to Section 8141.3 shall conduct a voter education and outreach campaign before each election conducted pursuant to this division, until the conclusion of the second general election conducted in this manner. A campaign conducted pursuant to this section shall include public meetings and public service announcements on radio, television, or in print media, including media serving additional supported language communities, if available, to familiarize voters with that election method. Materials and information disseminated as part of the campaign shall be provided in all additional supported languages and shall be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
(c)A jurisdiction shall, in collaboration with the county elections official, develop a plan describing how it will conduct the voter education and outreach campaign required by this section. The plan shall include all of the following information:
(1)How the jurisdiction will use media, which may include social media, newspapers, radio, and television, to inform voters about an upcoming election.
(2)What information will be publicly available on the elections officials Internet web Web site.
(3)What information will be included in the sample ballot and vote by mail materials.
(4)How the jurisdiction will conduct direct outreach to voters, including voters with disabilities.
(5)How the jurisdiction will have a community presence to educate voters, including voters with disabilities.
(6)How the jurisdiction will educate voters within each additional supported language community.
(d)(1)Before finalizing its plan, a jurisdiction shall publish a draft plan and hold, at least 10 days after publication of its plan, at least two public meetings to discuss the plan. The jurisdiction shall also make a good faith effort to invite each of the following to at least one of those public meetings:
(A)Representatives, advocates, and other stakeholders representing each additional supported language community.
(B)Representatives from the disability community and community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, individuals with disabilities.
(2)A public meeting conducted pursuant to this section shall be noticed at least 10 days in advance of the hearing and shall be held in a location that is accessible to people with disabilities.
(3)If requested to do so at least 48 hours before a public meeting conducted pursuant to this section, a jurisdiction shall provide either or both of the following:
(A)Reasonable accommodations and modifications, as well as auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication with people with disabilities.
(B)Translation services in any additional supported language.
(e)All materials provided by the voter education and outreach campaign, including materials provided on the Internet Web site of the elections official, sample ballots and vote by mail materials, and materials provided through direct outreach and community presence, shall be provided in the additional supported languages and shall be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
SEC. 13.Section 22000 of the Elections Code is amended and renumbered to read:21700.(a)Each district required by its authorizing act to adjust division boundaries pursuant to this section shall, by resolution, after each federal decennial census, and using that census as a basis, adjust the boundaries of any divisions so that the divisions are, as far as practicable, equal in population and in compliance with Section 10301 of Title 52 of the United States Code, as amended, to the extent those provisions apply. In adjusting the boundaries of the divisions, the board may give consideration to the following factors: (1) topography, (2) geography, (3) cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of territory, and (4) community of interests of the division. This section does not apply to divisions in which only landowners vote for directors or whose directors are all elected at large or appointed.
(b)The resolution specified in subdivision (a) shall be adopted by a vote of not less than a majority of the directors.
(c)At the time of, or after, any annexation of territory to the district, the board of directors shall designate, by resolution, the division of which the annexed territory shall be a part.
(d)A change in division boundaries shall not be made within 180 days preceding the election of any director.
(e)(1)A change in division boundaries shall not affect the term of office of any director.
(2)If division boundaries are adjusted, the director of the division whose boundaries have been adjusted shall continue to be the director of the division bearing the number of his or her division as formerly comprised until the office becomes vacant by means of term expiration or otherwise, whether or not the director is a resident within the boundaries of the division as adjusted.
(f)The successor to the office in a division whose boundaries have been adjusted shall be a resident and voter of that division.
(g)A district is not required to adjust the boundaries of any divisions pursuant to this section until after the 2000 federal decennial census.
(h)This section shall not be construed to prohibit or restrict a district from adjusting the boundaries of any divisions whenever the governing body of the district determines by a two-thirds vote of the governing body that a sufficient change in population has occurred that makes it desirable in the opinion of the governing body to adjust the boundaries of any divisions, or whenever any territory is added by or excluded from the district.
SEC. 14.Section 22001 of the Elections Code is amended and renumbered to read:21701.Before adjusting the boundaries of a division pursuant to Section 21700 or for any other reason, the governing body of the district shall hold at least one public hearing on the proposal to adjust the boundaries of the division prior to the public hearing at which the governing body votes to approve or defeat the proposal.
SEC. 15.Division 22 (commencing with Section 22000) is added to the Elections Code, to read:22.Ranked Choice Voting1.General Provisions22000.Ranked choice voting is a method that allows voters to rank candidates for office in order of preference. Elections conducted by ranked choice voting may be used for both single-winner and multiple-winner elections. Elections conducted by ranked choice voting are tabulated in rounds, as specified in this division.
22001.For purposes of this division, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a)Abstention means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, but that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate or overvote, and the voter did at least one of the following:
(1)Failed to assign an available ranking to every qualified candidate, and the ballot allowed the voter to rank an additional qualified candidate without creating an overvote ranking.
(2)Assigned a qualified candidate two or more different rankings.
(b)Continuing candidate means a qualified candidate who has not yet been elected or defeated.
(c)Highest-ranked continuing candidate means the continuing candidate on a ballot assigned a ranking with a numerical value that is lower than the ranking for both of the following:
(1)Any other continuing candidate.
(2)Any overvote ranking on the ballot.
(d)Instant runoff voting means a system of ranked choice voting used to elect a single candidate to office.
(e)Majority of votes means greater than 50 percent of the votes counting for all continuing candidates.
(f)Other exhausted vote means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, but that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate or overvote and is not an abstention.
(g)Overvote means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, contains an overvote ranking, and does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate.
(h)Overvote ranking means a ranking assigned to more than one qualified candidate.
(i)Ranking means the number assigned to a candidate to indicate a voters preference for that candidate. The ranking with the lowest numerical value indicates the voters first-choice preference, with the ranking increasing in numerical value as the voters preference decreases.
(j)Single transferable vote means a system of ranked choice voting used to elect two or more candidates to office.
22002.A ballot that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate shall not count for any candidate, but rather shall count as an overvote, abstention, or other exhausted vote.
22003.If two or more candidates are tied with the fewest number of votes, the candidate to be defeated shall be determined by lot, publicly conducted with notice.
22004.A ballot shall allow voters to assign a different ranking to each candidate, as well as to at least two write-in candidates. If a jurisdictions voting equipment cannot feasibly accommodate that number of rankings on the ballot, the elections official may limit the number of choices a voter may rank to the greater of three candidates or the maximum number allowed by the equipment.
22005.In an election conducted by ranked choice voting, the elections official shall provide ballot instructions that shall be substantially in the following form:
To vote in this election, indicate your first-choice candidate by selecting or marking a 1 in the voting square to the right of that candidate, a 2 in the voting square to the right of your second-choice candidate, a 3 in the voting square to the right of your third-choice candidate, and so on. Do not give the same number to more than one candidate. You may rank as many or as few of the candidates as you choose, up to the limit specified, if any. Your second choice will not affect your first choice; your third choice will not affect your first two choices, and so on. You may include one or more qualified write-in candidates in your rankings by writing each write-in candidates name in one of the blank spaces provided for that purpose after the names of the other candidates for the same office, and then writing the desired ranking in the voting square to the right of that name.
2.Vote Counting22100.An election using instant runoff voting shall be tabulated in a series of one or more rounds, each conducted with the following steps:
(a)Each ballot shall count as one vote for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot.
(b)The tabulation shall be complete if either of the following situations occur:
(1)There is only one continuing candidate, in which case that candidate shall be designated as elected.
(2)There are exactly two continuing candidates, in which case the candidate with a majority of votes shall be designated as elected, and the other candidate shall be designated as defeated.
(c)If a continuing candidate has a majority of votes, and the elections official determines that tabulation cannot feasibly continue until there are only two continuing candidates, the majority candidate shall be designated as elected, all other continuing candidates shall be designated as defeated, and the tabulation shall be complete.
(d)If a candidate satisfies both of the following conditions, then all candidates with fewer votes may be designated as defeated:
(1)At least one other candidate has at least as many votes as the candidate.
(2)The candidate has more votes than the total votes for all candidates with fewer votes.
(e)If a candidate was not designated as defeated in this round pursuant to subdivision (d), the continuing candidate with the fewest votes shall be designated as defeated.
(f)Each ballot counted for a candidate defeated pursuant to subdivision (d) or (e) shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot.
22101.An election using single transferable vote shall be tabulated in a series of one or more rounds, each conducted with the following steps:
(a)In the first round:
(1)All ballots shall be counted, and each ballot shall be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot, using a transfer value of one vote. The transfer value of a ballot is the one vote, or portion of a vote after a surplus transfer pursuant to subdivision (f), that the ballot will contribute to the vote total for the ballots highest-ranked continuing candidate.
(2)The threshold, which is the number of votes in excess of which a candidate will be designated as elected, shall be determined by dividing the total number of ballots counting for all candidates pursuant to paragraph (1) by one more than the number of offices to be filled and rounding up the quotient to five decimal places.
(b)For each continuing candidate, the votes for the candidate are the sum of the transfer values of all ballots counted for that candidate.
(c)In the first round, if the number of continuing candidates is less than or equal to the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as elected, and the tabulation is complete.
(d)Each continuing candidate with votes in excess of the threshold shall be designated as elected, and his or her votes in excess of the threshold calculated shall be treated as his or her surplus.
(e)If the number of candidates designated as elected is equal to the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as defeated, and the tabulation shall be complete.
(f)For each candidate that is designated as elected and has a surplus, the surplus of that candidate shall be transferred as follows:
(1)The surplus factor for the candidate shall be calculated as the quotient, rounded down to five decimal places, of the candidates surplus divided by the total number of votes for the candidate.
(2)Each ballot counted for the candidate shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot using a new transfer value, calculated as the product, rounded down to five decimal places, of the old transfer value times the candidates surplus factor.
(3)Residual surplus means the number of surplus votes not transferred pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) due to rounding. The residual surplus for the transfer equals the surplus for the candidate minus the sum of the new transfer values for every ballot transferred from the candidate. The residual surplus shall not be counted for any candidate nor as part of other exhausted votes.
(4)After the candidates surplus is transferred and his or her residual surplus is calculated, the candidate does not have a surplus, and the candidates vote total for the remainder of the tabulation shall be equal to the threshold.
(g)If a surplus was not transferred in this round pursuant to subdivision (f), the continuing candidate with the fewest votes shall be designated as defeated.
(1)If the number of continuing candidates plus the number of candidates that have been designated as elected equals the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as elected and the tabulation is complete.
(2)Each ballot that counted for the defeated candidate shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot using the current transfer value. After all ballots have been transferred, a defeated candidate shall have zero votes.
22102.The Secretary of State may promulgate regulations authorizing modifications to the vote-counting methods described in this chapter if the modifications do not change which candidates are elected.
22103.If two or more candidates are elected pursuant to Section 22101 in the same contest, and the offices to be filled by the contest have terms of different remaining lengths, candidates shall fill the offices based on the number of votes they received in the first round so that a candidate with a higher first-round vote total fills an office with an equal or longer term.
3.Reporting22200.(a)For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Contest cast selections record report means a report that lists all of the following for each ballot counted in the tabulation:
(A)The candidate or candidates indicated at each ranking.
(B)The precinct in which the ballot was cast.
(C)Whether the ballot was cast by mail.
(2)Contest tabulation report means a report that lists both all of the following:
(A)The number of ballots counted.
(B)The votes received by each candidate in each round of the tabulation.
(C)The cumulative number of votes counted as an overvote, abstention, other exhausted vote, and cumulative residual surplus in each round of the tabulation.
(3)Tabulation by precinct report means a report that, for each precinct, lists all of the information required in a contest tabulation report.
(b)For a given tabulation, an entry in the contest tabulation report shall equal the total of all corresponding precinct entries that are in the tabulation by precinct report. Whether a candidate is designated as elected or defeated, and the round in which a candidate is designated as elected or defeated, shall be the same for the contest tabulation report and for every precinct in the tabulation by precinct report.
(c)The votes for each round in a contest tabulation report or in a tabulation by precinct report shall be reported as of the completion of subdivision (a) of Section 22100 or subdivision (b) of Section 22101. If Section 22100 applies, residual surplus is not applicable and shall not be reported. If Section 22101 applies, each ballot counted as an overvote, abstention, or other exhausted vote shall be counted as having the number of votes equal to the ballots transfer value.
(d)In a contest cast selections record report, ballots shall be listed in a manner that does not permit the order in which they were cast in each precinct to be reconstructed. An overvote ranking may be reported without reporting to which qualified candidates the ranking was assigned.
22201.(a)An elections official shall publish a contest tabulation report for the final tabulation of the official canvass in conjunction with the certified statement of the results. The elections official shall also publish at least one of the following reports for the final tabulation of the official canvass:
(1)A tabulation by precinct report.
(2)A contest cast selections record report.
(b)If the elections official determines that tabulation of all rounds is not feasible on election night, the elections official may provide the contest tabulation report totals for only the first round of tabulation or only a tally of the rankings of 1.
(c)For a contest that is tabulated with a voting system, the elections official shall do all of the following:
(1)Tabulate the results as soon as the elections official determines it is feasible after the close of the polls, and publish the corresponding contest tabulation report.
(2)Tabulate the results for the last preliminary results on election night and publish a corresponding contest tabulation report.
(3)Publish the corresponding contest cast selections record report whenever the results of a tabulation is published, except if tabulation is limited pursuant to subdivision (b).
22202.An elections official shall promptly post a report made available to the public pursuant to Section 22201 on his or her official Internet Web site. A contest cast selections record report made available pursuant to this section shall be provided in a plain text electronic format and need not be published by other means. If an elections official does not have an official Internet Web site, the elections official shall promptly make the report available to the public by other means, and he or she shall notify the public of the reports location through a notice prominently displayed in an appropriate location in his or her office.
SEC. 16.Section 25001 is added to the Government Code, to read:25001.(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county board of supervisors may adopt, or a resident of the county may propose by initiative, a proposal to elect an officer of the county by ranked choice voting. The proposal shall specify which county officers shall be elected by this method and whether they shall be elected at large or by or from district, if applicable.
(b)A proposal pursuant to subdivision (a) shall apply prospectively only and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the county at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
(c)A proposal enacted pursuant to this section may be amended or repealed in the same manner.
(d)A county officer elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
(e)This section does not authorize a county to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district.
SEC. 17.Section 25040 of the Government Code is amended to read:25040.Each member of the board of supervisors shall be elected by the district which he that he or she represents, and not at large, except if one of the following is true:
(a)The election is held in any county in which supervisorial districts have not been established by law or ordinance, and in which supervisors were on May 17, 1907, required to be elected at large, but from particular wards, the members shall be elected at large and without regard to residence.
(b)Members are elected at large by ranked choice voting pursuant to Section 25001.
SEC. 18.Section 25041 of the Government Code is amended to read:25041.If an election is conducted by or from district, a member shall have been a registered voter of the district which he that he or she seeks to represent for at least 30 days immediately preceding the deadline for filing nomination documents for the office of supervisor, and shall reside in the district during his or her incumbency.
SEC. 19.Section 25061 of the Government Code is amended to read:25061.(a)The election of a supervisor to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term shall be held at the next general election, unless the term expires on the first Monday after January 1st succeeding the election.
(b)A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the board of supervisors to full terms using ranked choice voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board of supervisors is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same district.
SEC. 20.Article 4 (commencing with Section 34910) is added to Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 4 of the Government Code, to read:4.Election of City Officers by Ranked Choice Voting34910.(a)At any municipal election, or special election held for that purpose, the A municipal legislative body may submit to the registered voters an ordinance providing for the election of an officer of the city by ranked choice voting. The ordinance may also be qualified for the ballot by means of an initiative measure in accordance with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9200) of Division 9 of the Elections Code. The ordinance shall specify which city officers shall be elected by this method and whether they shall be elected at large or by or from district, if applicable. An ordinance adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall apply prospectively only. only and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the city at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
(b)If a legislative body is elected by ranked choice voting:
(1)The legislative body may have an odd number of members greater than five, even if the members are elected at large.
(2)A members term of office shall be four years.
(c)An ordinance enacted pursuant to this section may be amended or repealed in the same manner.
(d)This section applies both to cities with an elective mayor and cities with a city manager form of government.
(e)This section does not authorize a city to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district.
(f)A city officer elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
34911.If a special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting is held on the same day as an election to elect one or more other members of the legislative body to full terms using ranked choice voting, those election contests shall be consolidated into a single contest, provided that the legislative body is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same district.
(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the county board of education may adopt, or the residents of the county may propose by initiative, a proposal to elect members of the county board of education by ranked choice voting. The proposal shall specify whether the members shall be elected at large or by or from trustee area. A proposal to elect members by ranked choice voting shall apply prospectively only and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the county at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
(b)An initiative measure proposed pursuant to subdivision (a) is subject to the procedures set forth in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 9100) of Division 9 of the Elections Code.
(c)This section does not authorize a county board of education to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from trustee area.
(d)A county board of education member elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
SEC. 2.Section 1019 is added to the Education Code, to read:1019.(a)If a county board of education authorizes the use of ranked choice voting pursuant to Section 1018, before that method is used in any election, a county elections official may certify to the county board of supervisors and county superintendent of schools that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method. The elections official shall provide this certification at least seven days, and not more than 60 days, before the later of 113 days before the election or the first day on which a declaration of candidacy may be filed.
(b)If a county elections official provides a certification pursuant to subdivision (a), the county board of education shall conduct its next election in the same manner as its most recent election was conducted.
SEC. 3.Section 1020 is added to the Education Code, to read:1020.A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the county board of education to full terms using ranked choice voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same trustee area.
SEC. 4.Section 5010 is added to the Education Code, to read:5010.(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the governing board of a school district or community college district may adopt a resolution authorizing the election of members of the governing board by ranked choice voting. The resolution shall specify whether the members elected pursuant to this method shall be elected at large or by or from trustee area, and it shall be presented to the electors of the school district pursuant to Section 5020. A resolution adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall apply prospectively only.
(b)This section does not authorize the governing board of a school district or community college district to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from trustee area.
(c)A member of the governing board of a school district or community college district elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
SEC. 5.Section 5013 of the Education Code is amended to read:5013.(a)Except as provided in subdivision (b), the form of ballot for governing board member elections shall be governed by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 13100) of Division 13 of the Elections Code.
(b)The form of ballot for governing board member elections conducted by ranked choice voting shall be governed by Division 22 of the Elections Code.
SEC. 6.Section 5020 of the Education Code is amended to read:5020.(a)The resolution of the county committee approving a proposal to establish or abolish trustee areas, to adopt one of the alternative methods of electing governing board members specified in Section 5010 or 5030, or to increase or decrease the number of members of the governing board shall constitute an order of election, and the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district not later than the next succeeding election for members of the governing board.
(b)If a petition requesting an election on a proposal to rearrange trustee area boundaries is filed, containing at least 5 percent of the signatures of the districts registered voters as determined by the elections official, the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district, at the next succeeding election for the members of the governing board, at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot.
(c)If a petition requesting an election on a proposal to establish or abolish trustee areas, to increase or decrease the number of members of the board, or to adopt one of the alternative methods of electing governing board members specified in Section 5010 or 5030 is filed, containing at least 10 percent of the signatures of the districts registered voters as determined by the elections official, the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district, at the next succeeding election for the members of the governing board, at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot. Before the proposal is presented to the electors, the county committee on school district organization may call and conduct one or more public hearings on the proposal.
(d)The resolution of the county committee approving a proposal to establish or abolish a common governing board for a high school and an elementary school district within the boundaries of the high school district shall constitute an order of election. The proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot.
(e)For each proposal there shall be a separate proposition on the ballot. The ballot shall contain the following words:
For the establishment (or abolition or rearrangement) of trustee areas in ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the establishment (or abolition or rearrangement) of trustee areas in ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For increasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from five to sevenYes and For increasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from five to sevenNo.
For decreasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from seven to fiveYes and For decreasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from seven to fiveNo.
For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingYes and For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingNo.
For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee areaYes and For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee areaNo.
For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee area using ranked choice votingYes and For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee area using ranked choice votingNo.
For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingYes and For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingNo.
For the establishment (or abolition) of a common governing board in the ____ (insert name) School District and the ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the establishment (or abolition) of a common governing board in the ____ (insert name) School District and the ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
(f)If more than one proposal appears on the ballot, all must carry in order for any to become effective, except as follows:
(1)A proposal to adopt one of the methods of election of board members specified in Section 5030 that is approved by the voters shall become effective unless a proposal that is inconsistent with that proposal has been approved by a greater number of voters.
(2)An inconsistent proposal approved by a lesser number of voters than the number which have approved a proposal to adopt one of the methods of election of board members specified in Section 5030 shall not be effective.
SEC. 7.Section 5027 of the Education Code is amended to read:5027.If the boundaries of a county high school district are coterminous with the boundaries of a county, the board shall consist of one of the following:
(a)One member from each supervisorial district in the county elected at large from the county high school district.
(b)As many members are there are supervisorial districts with the members elected at large using ranked choice voting.
SEC. 8.Section 5028 of the Education Code is amended to read:5028.In every community college district that was divided into five wards on or before September 7, 1955, one member of the board shall be elected from each ward by the registered voters of the ward. On or before January 1st of a fiscal year the governing board of the district may rearrange the boundaries of the wards to provide for representation in accordance with population and geographic factors or may abolish the wards. If the wards are abolished, members of the governing board may also be elected at large using ranked choice voting.
SEC. 9.Section 5032 is added to the Education Code, to read:5032.(a)If a school district or community college district authorizes the use of ranked choice voting pursuant to Section 5010, before that method is used in any election, a county elections official may certify to the governing board of the district, the county board of supervisors, and the county superintendent of schools who have jurisdiction over the election that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method. The elections official shall provide this certification at least 7 days, and not more than 60 days, before the later of 113 days before the election or the first day on which a declaration of candidacy may be filed.
(b)If a county elections official provides a certification pursuant to subdivision (a), the district shall conduct its next election in the same manner as its most recent election was conducted.
SEC. 10.Section 5096 is added to the Education Code, to read:5096.A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the governing board of the school district or community college district to full terms using ranked choice voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same trustee area.
SEC. 11.Section 8141.3 is added to the Elections Code, to read:8141.3.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8000, the following jurisdictions may elect a candidate for nonpartisan office, other than a member of a legislative body elected at large, pursuant to Sections 8140 and 8141:
(1)A district not formed for municipal purposes.
(2)A general law city.
(3)A school district.
(b)For purposes of this section, a separately elected mayor is not a member of a legislative body.
(c)A proposal to conduct elections pursuant to this section shall be submitted to the electors of the jurisdiction at a regularly scheduled election and shall become operative only if a majority of votes cast favor adoption of the proposal.
SEC. 12.Section 10005 is added to the Elections Code, to read:10005.A (a)For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Additional supported language means a language for which a jurisdiction is required to provide voting materials and assistance under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) or for which the Secretary of State has determined that it is necessary to provide facsimile ballots at a precinct within the jurisdiction pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14201.
(2)Additional supported language community means a community that speaks an additional supported language.
(b)A jurisdiction that uses ranked choice voting or elects a candidate pursuant to Section 8141.3 shall conduct a voter education and outreach campaign that includes before each election conducted pursuant to this division, until the conclusion of the second general election conducted in this manner. A campaign conducted pursuant to this section shall include public meetings and public service announcements on radio, television, or in print media media, including media serving additional supported language communities, if available, to familiarize voters with that election method. Materials and information disseminated as part of the campaign shall be provided in languages other than English, as required by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10503). all additional supported languages and shall be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
(c)A jurisdiction shall, in collaboration with the county elections official, develop a plan describing how it will conduct the voter education and outreach campaign required by this section. The plan shall include all of the following information:
(1)How the jurisdiction will use media, which may include social media, newspapers, radio, and television, to inform voters about an upcoming election.
(2)What information will be publicly available on the elections officials Internet web site.
(3)What information will be included in the sample ballot and vote by mail materials.
(4)How the jurisdiction will conduct direct outreach to voters, including voters with disabilities.
(5)How the jurisdiction will have a community presence to educate voters, including voters with disabilities.
(6)How the jurisdiction will educate voters within each additional supported language community.
(d)(1)Before finalizing its plan, a jurisdiction shall publish a draft plan and hold, at least 10 days after publication of its plan, at least two public meetings to discuss the plan. The jurisdiction shall also make a good faith effort to invite each of the following to at least one of those public meetings:
(A)Representatives, advocates, and other stakeholders representing each additional supported language community.
(B)Representatives from the disability community and community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, individuals with disabilities.
(2)A public meeting conducted pursuant to this section shall be noticed at least 10 days in advance of the hearing and shall be held in a location that is accessible to people with disabilities.
(3)If requested to do so at least 48 hours before a public meeting conducted pursuant to this section, a jurisdiction shall provide either or both of the following:
(A)Reasonable accommodations and modifications, as well as auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication with people with disabilities.
(B)Translation services in any additional supported language.
(e)All materials provided by the voter education and outreach campaign, including materials provided on the Internet Web site of the elections official, sample ballots and vote by mail materials, and materials provided through direct outreach and community presence, shall be provided in the additional supported languages and shall be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
SEC. 13.Section 22000 of the Elections Code is amended and renumbered to read:21700.(a)Each district required by its authorizing act to adjust division boundaries pursuant to this section shall, by resolution, after each federal decennial census, and using that census as a basis, adjust the boundaries of any divisions so that the divisions are, as far as practicable, equal in population and in compliance with Section 10301 of Title 52 of the United States Code, as amended, to the extent those provisions apply. In adjusting the boundaries of the divisions, the board may give consideration to the following factors: (1) topography, (2) geography, (3) cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of territory, and (4) community of interests of the division. This section does not apply to divisions in which only landowners vote for directors or whose directors are all elected at large or appointed.
(b)The resolution specified in subdivision (a) shall be adopted by a vote of not less than a majority of the directors.
(c)At the time of, or after, any annexation of territory to the district, the board of directors shall designate, by resolution, the division of which the annexed territory shall be a part.
(d)A change in division boundaries shall not be made within 180 days preceding the election of any director.
(e)(1)A change in division boundaries shall not affect the term of office of any director.
(2)If division boundaries are adjusted, the director of the division whose boundaries have been adjusted shall continue to be the director of the division bearing the number of his or her division as formerly comprised until the office becomes vacant by means of term expiration or otherwise, whether or not the director is a resident within the boundaries of the division as adjusted.
(f)The successor to the office in a division whose boundaries have been adjusted shall be a resident and voter of that division.
(g)A district is not required to adjust the boundaries of any divisions pursuant to this section until after the 2000 federal decennial census.
(h)This section shall not be construed to prohibit or restrict a district from adjusting the boundaries of any divisions whenever the governing body of the district determines by a two-thirds vote of the governing body that a sufficient change in population has occurred that makes it desirable in the opinion of the governing body to adjust the boundaries of any divisions, or whenever any territory is added by or excluded from the district.
SEC. 14.Section 22001 of the Elections Code is amended and renumbered to read:21701.Before adjusting the boundaries of a division pursuant to Section 21700 or for any other reason, the governing body of the district shall hold at least one public hearing on the proposal to adjust the boundaries of the division prior to the public hearing at which the governing body votes to approve or defeat the proposal.
SEC. 15.Division 22 (commencing with Section 22000) is added to the Elections Code, to read:22.Ranked Choice Voting1.General Provisions22000.Ranked choice voting is a method that allows voters to rank candidates for office in order of preference. Elections conducted by ranked choice voting may be used for both single-winner and multiple-winner elections. Elections conducted by ranked choice voting are tabulated in rounds, as specified in this division.
22001.For purposes of this division, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a)Abstention means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, but that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate or overvote, and the voter did at least one of the following:
(1)Failed to assign an available ranking to every qualified candidate, and the ballot allowed the voter to rank an additional qualified candidate without creating an overvote ranking.
(2)Assigned a qualified candidate two or more different rankings.
(b)Continuing candidate means a qualified candidate who has not yet been elected or defeated.
(c)Highest-ranked continuing candidate means the continuing candidate on a ballot assigned a ranking with a numerical value that is lower than the ranking for both of the following:
(1)Any other continuing candidate.
(2)Any overvote ranking on the ballot.
(d)Instant runoff voting means a system of ranked choice voting used to elect a single candidate to office.
(e)Majority of votes means greater than 50 percent of the votes counting for all continuing candidates.
(f)Other exhausted vote means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, but that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate or overvote and is not an abstention.
(g)Overvote means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, contains an overvote ranking, and does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate.
(h)Overvote ranking means a ranking assigned to more than one qualified candidate.
(i)Ranking means the number assigned to a candidate to indicate a voters preference for that candidate. The ranking with the lowest numerical value indicates the voters first-choice preference, with the ranking increasing in numerical value as the voters preference decreases.
(j)Single transferable vote means a system of ranked choice voting used to elect two or more candidates to office.
22002.A ballot that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate shall not count for any candidate, but rather shall count as an overvote, abstention, or other exhausted vote.
22003.If two or more candidates are tied with the fewest number of votes, the candidate to be defeated shall be determined by lot, publicly conducted with notice.
22004.A ballot shall allow voters to assign a different ranking to each candidate, as well as to at least two write-in candidates. If a jurisdictions voting equipment cannot feasibly accommodate that number of rankings on the ballot, the elections official may limit the number of choices a voter may rank to the greater of three candidates or the maximum number allowed by the equipment.
22005.In an election conducted by ranked choice voting, the elections official shall provide ballot instructions that shall be substantially in the following form:
To vote in this election, indicate your first-choice candidate by selecting or marking a 1 in the voting square to the right of that candidate, a 2 in the voting square to the right of your second-choice candidate, a 3 in the voting square to the right of your third-choice candidate, and so on. Do not give the same number to more than one candidate. You may rank as many or as few of the candidates as you choose, up to the limit specified, if any. Your second choice will not affect your first choice; your third choice will not affect your first two choices, and so on. You may include one or more qualified write-in candidates in your rankings by writing each write-in candidates name in one of the blank spaces provided for that purpose after the names of the other candidates for the same office, and then writing the desired ranking in the voting square to the right of that name.
2.Vote Counting22100.An election using instant runoff voting shall be tabulated in a series of one or more rounds, each conducted with the following steps:
(a)Each ballot shall count as one vote for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot.
(b)The tabulation shall be complete if either of the following situations occur:
(1)There is only one continuing candidate, in which case that candidate shall be designated as elected.
(2)There are exactly two continuing candidates, in which case the candidate with a majority of votes shall be designated as elected, and the other candidate shall be designated as defeated.
(c)If a continuing candidate has a majority of votes, and the elections official determines that tabulation cannot feasibly continue until there are only two continuing candidates, the majority candidate shall be designated as elected, all other continuing candidates shall be designated as defeated, and the tabulation shall be complete.
(d)If a candidate satisfies both of the following conditions, then all candidates with fewer votes may be designated as defeated:
(1)At least one other candidate has at least as many votes as the candidate.
(2)The candidate has more votes than the total votes for all candidates with fewer votes.
(e)If a candidate was not designated as defeated in this round pursuant to subdivision (d), the continuing candidate with the fewest votes shall be designated as defeated.
(f)Each ballot counted for a candidate defeated pursuant to subdivision (d) or (e) shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot.
22101.An election using single transferable vote shall be tabulated in a series of one or more rounds, each conducted with the following steps:
(a)In the first round:
(1)All ballots shall be counted, and each ballot shall be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot, using a transfer value of one vote. The transfer value of a ballot is the one vote, or portion of a vote after a surplus transfer pursuant to subdivision (f), that the ballot will contribute to the vote total for the ballots highest-ranked continuing candidate.
(2)The threshold, which is the number of votes in excess of which a candidate will be designated as elected, shall be determined by dividing the total number of ballots counting for all candidates pursuant to paragraph (1) by one more than the number of offices to be filled and rounding up the quotient to five decimal places.
(b)For each continuing candidate, the votes for the candidate are the sum of the transfer values of all ballots counted for that candidate.
(c)In the first round, if the number of continuing candidates is less than or equal to the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as elected, and the tabulation is complete.
(d)Each continuing candidate with votes in excess of the threshold shall be designated as elected, and his or her votes in excess of the threshold calculated shall be treated as his or her surplus.
(e)If the number of candidates designated as elected is equal to the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as defeated, and the tabulation shall be complete.
(f)For each candidate that is designated as elected and has a surplus, the surplus of that candidate shall be transferred as follows:
(1)The surplus factor for the candidate shall be calculated as the quotient, rounded down to five decimal places, of the candidates surplus divided by the total number of votes for the candidate.
(2)Each ballot counted for the candidate shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot using a new transfer value, calculated as the product, rounded down to five decimal places, of the old transfer value times the candidates surplus factor.
(3)Residual surplus means the number of surplus votes not transferred pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) due to rounding. The residual surplus for the transfer equals the surplus for the candidate minus the sum of the new transfer values for every ballot transferred from the candidate. The residual surplus shall not be counted for any candidate nor as part of other exhausted votes.
(4)After the candidates surplus is transferred and his or her residual surplus is calculated, the candidate does not have a surplus, and the candidates vote total for the remainder of the tabulation shall be equal to the threshold.
(g)If a surplus was not transferred in this round pursuant to subdivision (f), the continuing candidate with the fewest votes shall be designated as defeated.
(1)If the number of continuing candidates plus the number of candidates that have been designated as elected equals the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as elected and the tabulation is complete.
(2)Each ballot that counted for the defeated candidate shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot using the current transfer value. After all ballots have been transferred, a defeated candidate shall have zero votes.
22102.The Secretary of State may promulgate regulations authorizing modifications to the vote-counting methods described in this chapter if the modifications do not change which candidates are elected.
22103.If two or more candidates are elected pursuant to Section 22101 in the same contest, and the offices to be filled by the contest have terms of different remaining lengths, candidates shall fill the offices based on the number of votes they received in the first round so that a candidate with a higher first-round vote total fills an office with an equal or longer term.
3.Reporting22200.(a)For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Contest cast selections record report means a report that lists all of the following for each ballot counted in the tabulation:
(A)The candidate or candidates indicated at each ranking.
(B)The precinct in which the ballot was cast.
(C)Whether the ballot was cast by mail.
(2)Contest tabulation report means a report that lists both of the following:
(A)The number of ballots counted.
(B)The votes received by each candidate in each round of the tabulation.
(C)The cumulative number of votes counted as an overvote, abstention, other exhausted vote, and cumulative residual surplus in each round of the tabulation.
(3)Tabulation by precinct report means a report that, for each precinct, lists all of the information required in a contest tabulation report.
(b)For a given tabulation, an entry in the contest tabulation report shall equal the total of all corresponding precinct entries that are in the tabulation by precinct report. Whether a candidate is designated as elected or defeated, and the round in which a candidate is designated as elected or defeated, shall be the same for the contest tabulation report and for every precinct in the tabulation by precinct report.
(c)The votes for each round in a contest tabulation report or in a tabulation by precinct report shall be reported as of the completion of subdivision (a) of Section 22100 or subdivision (b) of Section 22101. If Section 22100 applies, residual surplus is not applicable and shall not be reported. If Section 22101 applies, each ballot counted as an overvote, abstention, or other exhausted vote shall be counted as having the number of votes equal to the ballots transfer value.
(d)In a contest cast selections record report, ballots shall be listed in a manner that does not permit the order in which they were cast in each precinct to be reconstructed. An overvote ranking may be reported without reporting to which qualified candidates the ranking was assigned.
22201.(a)An elections official shall publish a contest tabulation report for the final tabulation of the official canvass in conjunction with the certified statement of the results. The elections official shall also publish at least one of the following reports for the final tabulation of the official canvass:
(1)A tabulation by precinct report.
(2)A contest cast selections record report.
(b)If the elections official determines that tabulation of all rounds is not feasible on election night, the elections official may provide the contest tabulation report totals for only the first round of tabulation or only a tally of the rankings of 1.
(c)For a contest that is tabulated with a voting system, the elections official shall do all of the following:
(1)Tabulate the results as soon as the elections official determines it is feasible after the close of the polls, and publish the corresponding contest tabulation report.
(2)Tabulate the results for the last preliminary results on election night and publish a corresponding contest tabulation report.
(3)Publish the corresponding contest cast selections record report whenever the results of a tabulation is published, except if tabulation is limited pursuant to subdivision (b).
22202.An elections official shall promptly post a report made available to the public pursuant to Section 22201 on his or her official Internet Web site. A contest cast selections record report made available pursuant to this section shall be provided in a plain text electronic format and need not be published by other means. If an elections official does not have an official Internet Web site, the elections official shall promptly make the report available to the public by other means, and he or she shall notify the public of the reports location through a notice prominently displayed in an appropriate location in his or her office.
SEC. 16.Section 25001 is added to the Government Code, to read:25001.(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county board of supervisors may adopt, or a resident of the county may propose by initiative, a proposal to elect an officer of the county by ranked choice voting. The proposal shall specify which county officers shall be elected by this method and whether they shall be elected at large or by or from district, if applicable.
(b)A proposal pursuant to subdivision (a) shall apply prospectively only and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the county at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
(c)A proposal enacted pursuant to this section may be amended or repealed in the same manner.
(d)A county officer elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
(e)This section does not authorize a county to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district.
SEC. 17.Section 25040 of the Government Code is amended to read:25040.Each member of the board of supervisors shall be elected by the district which he represents, and not at large, except if one of the following is true:
(a)The election is held in any county in which supervisorial districts have not been established by law or ordinance, and in which supervisors were on May 17, 1907, required to be elected at large, but from particular wards, the members shall be elected at large and without regard to residence.
(b)Members are elected at large by ranked choice voting pursuant to Section 25001.
SEC. 18.Section 25041 of the Government Code is amended to read:25041.If an election is conducted by or from district, a member shall have been a registered voter of the district which he seeks to represent for at least 30 days immediately preceding the deadline for filing nomination documents for the office of supervisor, and shall reside in the district during his incumbency.
SEC. 19.Section 25061 of the Government Code is amended to read:25061.(a)The election of a supervisor to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term shall be held at the next general election, unless the term expires on the first Monday after January 1st succeeding the election.
(b)A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the board of supervisors to full terms using ranked choice voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board of supervisors is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same district.
SEC. 20.Article 4 (commencing with Section 34910) is added to Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 4 of the Government Code, to read:4.Election of City Officers by Ranked Choice Voting34910.(a)At any municipal election, or special election held for that purpose, the legislative body may submit to the registered voters an ordinance providing for the election of an officer of the city by ranked choice voting. The ordinance may also be qualified for the ballot by means of an initiative measure in accordance with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9200) of Division 9 of the Elections Code. The ordinance shall specify which city officers shall be elected by this method and whether they shall be elected at large or by or from district, if applicable. An ordinance adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall apply prospectively only.
(b)If a legislative body is elected by ranked choice voting:
(1)The legislative body may have an odd number of members greater than five, even if the members are elected at large.
(2)A members term of office shall be four years.
(c)An ordinance enacted pursuant to this section may be amended or repealed in the same manner.
(d)This section applies both to cities with an elective mayor and cities with a city manager form of government.
(e)This section does not authorize a city to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district.
(f)A city officer elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
34911.If a special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting is held on the same day as an election to elect one or more other members of the legislative body to full terms using ranked choice voting, those election contests shall be consolidated into a single contest, provided that the legislative body is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same district.
(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the county board of education may adopt, or the residents of the county may propose by initiative, a proposal to elect members of the county board of education by ranked choice voting. The proposal shall specify whether the members shall be elected at large or by or from district. trustee area. A proposal to elect members by ranked choice voting shall apply prospectively only and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the county at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
(b)An initiative measure proposed pursuant to subdivision (a) is subject to the procedures set forth in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 9100) of Division 9 of the Elections Code.
(c)If a county board of education authorizes its members to be elected at large by ranked voting pursuant to subdivision (a), the county board of education, or a resident by initiative, may also submit to the registered voters a proposal providing for the election of one or more board members to serve transitional terms in order to eliminate staggered terms on the board. A transitional term authorized by this section shall not shorten a term of office that has already started.
(d)
(c)This section does not authorize a county board of education to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district. trustee area.
SEC. 2.Section 1019 is added to the Education Code, to read:1019.(a)If a county board of education authorizes the use of ranked choice voting pursuant to Section 1018, before that method is used in any election, a county elections official may certify to the county board of supervisors and county superintendent of schools that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method. The elections official shall provide this certification at least seven days, and not more than 60 days, before any candidate begins circulating a nomination paper. the later of 113 days before the election or the first day on which a declaration of candidacy may be filed.
(b)If a county elections official provides a certification pursuant to subdivision (a), the county board of education shall conduct its next election in the same manner as its most recent prior election was conducted.
SEC. 3.Section 1020 is added to the Education Code, to read:1020.A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the county board of education to full terms using ranked choice voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same trustee area.
SEC. 4.Section 5010 is added to the Education Code, to read:5010.(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the governing board of a school district or community college district may adopt a resolution authorizing the election of members of the governing board by ranked choice voting. The resolution shall specify whether the members elected pursuant to this method shall be elected at large or by or from district, trustee area, and it shall be presented to the electors of the school district pursuant to Section 5020. A resolution adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall apply prospectively only.
(b)The governing board of a school district or community college district that authorizes members to be elected at large by ranked voting pursuant to subdivision (a) may also by resolution presented to the electors authorize the election of one or more members to serve transitional two-year terms in order to eliminate staggered terms on the board. A transitional two-year term shall not shorten a term of office that has already started.
(c)Except as provided in subdivision (b), the term of office for a member elected pursuant to this section shall be four years.
(d)
(b)This section does not authorize the governing board of a school district or community college district to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district. trustee area.
SEC. 5.Section 5013 of the Education Code is amended to read:5013.(a)Except as provided in subdivision (b), the form of ballot for governing board member elections shall be governed by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 13100) of Division 13 of the Elections Code.
(b)The form of ballot for governing board member elections conducted by ranked choice voting shall be governed by Division 22 of the Elections Code.
SEC. 6.Section 5020 of the Education Code is amended to read:5020.(a)The resolution of the county committee approving a proposal to establish or abolish trustee areas, to adopt one of the alternative methods of electing governing board members specified in Section 5010 or 5030, or to increase or decrease the number of members of the governing board shall constitute an order of election, and the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district not later than the next succeeding election for members of the governing board.
(b)If a petition requesting an election on a proposal to rearrange trustee area boundaries is filed, containing at least 5 percent of the signatures of the districts registered voters as determined by the elections official, the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district, at the next succeeding election for the members of the governing board, at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot.
(c)If a petition requesting an election on a proposal to establish or abolish trustee areas, to increase or decrease the number of members of the board, or to adopt one of the alternative methods of electing governing board members specified in Section 5010 or 5030 is filed, containing at least 10 percent of the signatures of the districts registered voters as determined by the elections official, the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district, at the next succeeding election for the members of the governing board, at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot. Before the proposal is presented to the electors, the county committee on school district organization may call and conduct one or more public hearings on the proposal.
(d)The resolution of the county committee approving a proposal to establish or abolish a common governing board for a high school and an elementary school district within the boundaries of the high school district shall constitute an order of election. The proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot.
(e)For each proposal there shall be a separate proposition on the ballot. The ballot shall contain the following words:
For the establishment (or abolition or rearrangement) of trustee areas in ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the establishment (or abolition or rearrangement) of trustee areas in ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For increasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from five to sevenYes and For increasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from five to sevenNo.
For decreasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from seven to fiveYes and For decreasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from seven to fiveNo.
For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice votingYes and For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice voting No.
For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee areaYes and For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee areaNo.
For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee area using ranked choice voting Yes and For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee area using ranked choice voting No.
For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice voting Yes and For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked choice voting No.
For the establishment (or abolition) of a common governing board in the ____ (insert name) School District and the ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the establishment (or abolition) of a common governing board in the ____ (insert name) School District and the ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For the election of one member, or more than one
member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District to serve transitional two-year terms in order to eliminate staggered terms on the board Yes and For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District to serve transitional two-year terms in order to eliminate staggered terms on the board No.
(f)Two or more compatible proposals may be combined into a single proposition. If more than one proposition proposal appears on the ballot, all must carry in order for any to become effective, except as follows:
(1)A proposition proposal to adopt one of the methods of election of board members specified in Section 5030 that is approved by the voters shall become effective unless a proposition proposal that is inconsistent with that proposition proposal has been approved by a greater number of voters.
(2)An inconsistent proposition proposal approved by a lesser number of voters than the number which have approved a proposition proposal to adopt one of the methods of election of board members specified in Section 5030 shall not be effective.
(3)A proposal to elect at least one member to serve a transitional two-year term shall only appear on a ballot if a proposal to elect each member of the governing board by the registered voters of the entire district using ranked voting also appears on the ballot, in which case the latter proposal may be approved even if the former is not.
SEC. 7.Section 5027 of the Education Code is amended to read:5027.If the boundaries of a county high school district are coterminous with the boundaries of a county, the board shall consist of one of the following:
(a)One member from each supervisorial district in the county elected at large from the county high school district.
(b)As many members are there are supervisorial districts with the members elected at large using ranked choice voting.
SEC. 8.Section 5028 of the Education Code is amended to read:5028.In every community college district that was divided into five wards on or before September 7, 1955, one member of the board shall be elected from each ward by the registered voters of the ward. On or before January 1st of a fiscal year the governing board of the district may rearrange the boundaries of the wards to provide for representation in accordance with population and geographic factors or may abolish the wards. If the wards are abolished, members of the governing board may also be elected at large using ranked choice voting.
SEC. 9.Section 5032 is added to the Education Code, to read:5032.(a)If a school district or community college district authorizes the use of ranked choice voting pursuant to Section 5010, before that method is used in any election, a county elections official may certify to the governing board of the district, the county board of supervisors supervisors, and the county superintendent of schools who have jurisdiction over the election that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method. The elections official shall provide this certification at least seven days, and not more than 60 days, before any candidate circulates a nomination paper. the later of 113 days before the election or the first day on which a declaration of candidacy may be filed.
(b)If a county elections official provides a certification pursuant to subdivision (a), the district shall conduct its next election in the same manner as its most recent election was conducted.
SEC. 10.Section 5096 is added to the Education Code, to read:5096.A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the governing board of the school district or community college district to full terms using ranked choice voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same trustee area.
SEC. 11.Section 72036 of the Education Code is amended to read:72036.Notwithstanding any other law, the governing board of a community college district may change election systems, in accordance with the provisions of this section and the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 14025) of Division 14 of the Elections Code), upon the adoption by the board of trustees of a resolution in support of electing the trustees in accordance with this section and upon the approval of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as follows:
(a)The governing board of a community college district may establish elections by trustee areas. In establishing trustee areas, the territory of a district shall be divided into trustee areas, and one member of the governing board shall be elected from each trustee area. A candidate for election as a member of the governing board shall reside in, and be registered to vote in, the trustee area he or she seeks to represent. The governing board shall set the initial boundaries of each trustee area to reflect substantially equal population in each district as enumerated in the most recent decennial federal census. Thereafter, the boundaries of trustee areas shall be adjusted pursuant to Section 5019.5, and may be abolished or adjusted as otherwise provided in this code.
(b)The governing board of a community college district may establish a top-two primary election system. Candidates for election as a member of a governing board of a district shall be nominated by trustee area at a district primary election held on the date of the statewide direct primary election. At the district primary election, the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes within the trustee area shall be nominees for the district general election for that trustee area, and the nominee who receives a majority of the votes cast by the voters of the trustee area in the district general election shall be elected to represent that trustee area. The district general election shall be held on the same date as the statewide general election.
(c)The governing board of a community college district may determine the number of trustees pursuant to this subdivision. The governing board of a community college district shall be composed of not less than five members and not more than nine, as determined by the governing board. Sections 5019 to 5030, inclusive, do not apply to the governing boards determination of the number of members pursuant to this subdivision. If the number of members of a governing board is increased or decreased, a governing board shall establish new trustee areas, abolish trustee areas, or adjust the boundaries of trustee areas so that the number of trustee areas is equal to the number of governing board members. If the number of members of a governing board is increased, the additional members of the governing board shall be elected at the next regular district general election of board members occurring at least 123 days after the governing board approved the increased number of board members. Prior to the next district general election, the governing board shall divide by lot the additional trustee area positions that are created so that the term of one-half of the board members elected to those positions shall expire on the first Friday in December following the next district general election. The term of the other board members elected to fill the remainder of the additional positions shall expire on the first Friday in December following the second district general election succeeding their election.
(d)The governing board of a community college district may provide for the election of its members at large by ranked voting, and it may also authorize members to serve transitional two-year terms, pursuant to Section 5010.
(e)This section does not apply to any community college district that has been authorized by statute to provide for its own trustee elections.
SEC. 12.SEC. 11.Section 8141.3 is added to the Elections Code, to read:8141.3.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8000, the following districts jurisdictions may elect a candidate for nonpartisan office, other than a member of a legislative body elected at large, pursuant to Sections 8140 and 8141:
(a)
(1)A district not formed for municipal purposes.
(b)
(2)A general law city.
(c)
(3)A school district.
(b)For purposes of this section, a separately elected mayor is not a member of a legislative body.
SEC. 12.Section 10005 is added to the Elections Code, to read:10005.A jurisdiction that uses ranked choice voting or elects a candidate pursuant to Section 8141.3 shall conduct a voter education and outreach campaign that includes public service announcements on radio, television, or in print media to familiarize voters with that election method. Materials and information disseminated as part of the campaign shall be provided in languages other than English, as required by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10503).
SEC. 13.Section 22000 of the Elections Code is amended and renumbered to read:21700.(a)Each district required by its authorizing act to adjust division boundaries pursuant to this section shall, by resolution, after each federal decennial census, and using that census as a basis, adjust the boundaries of any divisions so that the divisions are, as far as practicable, equal in population and in compliance with Section 10301 of Title 52 of the United States Code, as amended, to the extent those provisions apply. In adjusting the boundaries of the divisions, the board may give consideration to the following factors: (1) topography, (2) geography, (3) cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of territory, and (4) community of interests of the division. This section does not apply to divisions in which only landowners vote for directors or whose directors are all elected at large or appointed.
(b)The resolution specified in subdivision (a) shall be adopted by a vote of not less than a majority of the directors.
(c)At the time of, or after, any annexation of territory to the district, the board of directors shall designate, by resolution, the division of which the annexed territory shall be a part.
(d)A change in division boundaries shall not be made within 180 days preceding the election of any director.
(e)(1)A change in division boundaries shall not affect the term of office of any director.
(2)If division boundaries are adjusted, the director of the division whose boundaries have been adjusted shall continue to be the director of the division bearing the number of his or her division as formerly comprised until the office becomes vacant by means of term expiration or otherwise, whether or not the director is a resident within the boundaries of the division as adjusted.
(f)The successor to the office in a division whose boundaries have been adjusted shall be a resident and voter of that division.
(g)A district is not required to adjust the boundaries of any divisions pursuant to this section until after the 2000 federal decennial census.
(h)This section shall not be construed to prohibit or restrict a district from adjusting the boundaries of any divisions whenever the governing body of the district determines by a two-thirds vote of the governing body that a sufficient change in population has occurred that makes it desirable in the opinion of the governing body to adjust the boundaries of any divisions, or whenever any territory is added by or excluded from the district.
SEC. 14.Section 22001 of the Elections Code is amended and renumbered to read:21701Before adjusting the boundaries of a division pursuant to Section 21700 or for any other reason, the governing body of the district shall hold at least one public hearing on the proposal to adjust the boundaries of the division prior to the public hearing at which the governing body votes to approve or defeat the proposal.
SEC. 15.Division 22 (commencing with Section 22000) is added to the Elections Code, to read:22.Ranked Choice Voting1.General Provisions22000.Ranked choice voting is a method that allows voters to rank candidates for office in order of preference. Elections conducted by ranked choice voting may be used for both single-winner and multiple-winner elections. Elections conducted by ranked choice voting are tabulated in rounds, as specified in this division.
22001.A jurisdiction that introduces ranked voting shall conduct a voter education and outreach campaign, which shall include public service announcements on radio, television, or in print media, to familiarize voters with that election method. Materials and information disseminated as part of the campaign shall be provided in languages other than English, as required by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10503).
22002.22001.For purposes of this division, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a)Abstention means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, but that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate or overvote, and the voter did at least one of the following:
(1)Failed to assign an available ranking to every qualified candidate. candidate, and the ballot allowed the voter to rank an additional qualified candidate without creating an overvote ranking.
(2)Assigned a qualified candidate two or more different rankings.
(b)Continuing candidate means a qualified candidate who has not yet been elected or defeated.
(c)Highest-ranked continuing candidate means the continuing candidate on a ballot assigned the a ranking with the lowest a numerical value, unless that ranking is assigned to more than one candidate. value that is lower than the ranking for both of the following:
(1)Any other continuing candidate.
(2)Any overvote ranking on the ballot.
(d)Instant runoff voting means a system of ranked choice voting used to elect a single candidate to office.
(e)Majority of votes means greater than 50-percent of the votes counted counting for all continuing candidates.
(f)Other exhausted vote means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, but that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate or overvote and is not an abstention.
(g)Overvote means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, contains an overvote ranking, and does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate.
(h)Overvote ranking means a ranking assigned to more than one qualified candidate.
(h)
(i)Ranking means the number assigned to a candidate to indicate a voters preference for that candidate. The ranking with the lowest numerical value indicates the voters first-choice preference, with the ranking increasing in numerical value as the voters preference decreases.
(i)
(j)Single transferable vote means a system of ranked choice voting used to elect two or more candidates to office.
22003.22002.A ballot that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate shall not be counted count for any candidate in determining the highest-ranked candidate, candidate, but rather shall be counted count as an overvote, abstention, or other exhausted vote for the remainder of the tabulation unless the ballot contains an overvote or is an abstention. vote.
22004.22003.If two or more candidates are tied with the fewest number of votes, the candidate to eliminate be defeated shall be determined by lot, publicly conducted with notice.
22005.22004.A ballot shall allow voters to assign a different ranking to each candidate, as well as to at least two write-in candidates. If a jurisdiction's voting equipment cannot feasibly accommodate that number of rankings on the ballot, the elections official may limit the number of choices a voter may rank to the greater of ten three candidates or the maximum number allowed by the equipment.
22006.22005.In an election conducted by ranked choice voting, the elections official shall provide ballot instructions that shall be substantially in the following form:
To vote in this election, indicate your first-choice candidate by selecting or marking a 1 in the voting square to the right of that candidate, a 2 in the voting square to the right of your second-choice candidate, a 3 in the voting square to the right of your third-choice candidate, and so on. Do not give the same number to more than one candidate. You may rank as many or as few of the candidates as you choose, up to the limit specified, if any. Your second choice will not affect your first choice; your third choice will not affect your first two choices, and so on. You may include one or more qualified write-in candidates in your rankings by writing each write-in candidates name in one of the blank spaces provided for that purpose after the names of the other candidates for the same office, and then writing the desired ranking in the voting square to the right of that name.
2.Vote Counting22100.An election using instant runoff voting shall be tabulated in a series of one or more rounds that are rounds, each conducted as follows: with the following steps:
(a)Each ballot shall count as one vote for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot.
(b)The tabulation shall be complete if either of the following situations occur:
(1)There is only one continuing candidate after the first round of tabulation, candidate, in which case that candidate shall be designated as elected.
(2)There are exactly two continuing candidates after any round of tabulation, candidates, in which case the candidate with a majority of votes shall be designated as elected, and the other candidate shall be designated as defeated.
(c)If a continuing candidate has a majority of votes, and the elections official determines that tabulation cannot feasibly continue until there are only two continuing candidates, the tabulation may be terminated after the elections official designates the majority candidate shall be designated as elected and designates elected, all other continuing candidates shall be designated as defeated. defeated, and the tabulation shall be complete.
(d)If a candidate satisfies both of the following conditions, then all candidates with fewer votes may be designated as defeated:
(1)At least one other candidate has at least as many votes as the candidate.
(2)The candidate has more votes than the total votes for all candidates with fewer votes.
(e)If a candidate was not designated as defeated in a particular this round pursuant to subdivision (d), the continuing candidate with the fewest votes shall be designated as defeated.
(f)Each ballot counted for a candidate defeated pursuant to subdivision (d) or (e) shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot.
22101.An election using single transferable vote shall be tabulated in a series of one or more rounds that are rounds, each conducted as follows: with the following steps:
(a)(1)In the first round, all round:
(1)All ballots shall be counted, and each ballot shall be transferred to, and counted for, for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot, using a transfer value of one vote. The transfer value of a ballot is the one vote, or portion of a vote after a surplus transfer pursuant to subdivision (f), that the ballot will contribute to the vote total for the ballots highest-ranked continuing candidate.
(2)The threshold, which is the number of votes in excess of which a candidate will be designated as elected, shall be determined by dividing the total number of ballots counted counting for a candidate all candidates pursuant to paragraph (1) by one more than the number of offices to be filled and rounding up the quotient to five decimal places.
(b)For each continuing candidate, the votes for the candidate are the sum of the transfer values of all ballots counted for that candidate.
(3)If
(c)In the first round, if the number of continuing candidates is less than or equal to the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as elected, and the tabulation is complete.
(b)For each continuing candidate, the votes for the candidate are the sum of the transfer values of all ballots counted for that candidate.
(c)A
(d)Each continuing candidate with votes in excess of the threshold shall be designated as elected, and his or her votes in excess of the threshold calculated shall be treated as his or her surplus.
(d)
(e)If the number of candidates designated as elected is equal to the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as defeated, and the tabulation shall be complete.
(e)If a
(f)For each candidate is not designated as defeated in a particular round, and one or more candidate that is designated as elected and has a surplus, the surplus of that candidate shall be transferred as follows:
(1)The surplus factor for the candidate shall be calculated as the quotient, rounded down to five decimal places, of the candidates surplus divided by the total number of votes for the candidate.
(2)Each ballot counted for the candidate shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot using a new transfer value, calculated as the product, rounded down to five decimal places, of the old transfer value times the candidates surplus factor.
(3)Residual surplus means the number of surplus votes not transferred pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) due to rounding. The residual surplus for the transfer equals the surplus for a the candidate minus the sum of the new transfer values for every ballot transferred from the candidate. The residual surplus shall not be counted for any candidate or nor as part of other exhausted votes.
(4)After a the candidates surplus is transferred and his or her residual surplus is calculated, the candidate does not have a surplus, and the candidates vote count shall be considered to be the number of votes at the threshold total for the remainder of the tabulation. tabulation shall be equal to the threshold.
(f)
(g)If a surplus was not transferred in a particular this round pursuant to subdivision (e), (f), the continuing candidate with the fewest votes shall be designated as defeated.
(g)If any candidates were designated as defeated in a particular round, each ballot assigned to a defeated candidate shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot using the previous transfer value. After all ballots have been transferred, a defeated candidate shall have zero votes.
(1)If the number of continuing candidates plus the number of candidates that have been designated as elected equals the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as elected and the tabulation is complete.
(2)Each ballot that counted for the defeated candidate shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot using the current transfer value. After all ballots have been transferred, a defeated candidate shall have zero votes.
22102.The Secretary of State may promulgate regulations authorizing modifications to the vote-counting methods described in this chapter if the modifications do not change which candidates are elected.
22103.If two or more candidates are elected pursuant to Section 22101 in the same contest, and the offices to be filled by the contest have terms of different remaining lengths, candidates shall fill the offices in proportion to based on the number of votes they received in the first round, with the round so that a candidate with the highest a higher first-round vote total filling the fills an office with the longest an equal or longer term.
3.Reporting22200.(a)For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Contest cast selections record report means a report that lists all of the following for each ballot counted in the tabulation:
(A)The candidate or candidates indicated at each ranking.
(B)The precinct in which the ballot was cast.
(C)Whether the ballot was cast by mail.
(2)Contest tabulation report means a report that lists both of the following:
(A)The number of ballots counted.
(B)The votes received by each candidate in each round of the tabulation.
(C)The cumulative number of votes counted as an overvote, abstention, other exhausted vote, and cumulative residual surplus in each round of the tabulation.
(3)Tabulation by precinct report means a list, for all precincts or a selected subset of precincts, that provides both of the following: report that, for each precinct, lists all of the information required in a contest tabulation report.
(A)The total number of ballots counted for each round of votes for each candidate.
(B)The total number of votes counted as an overvote, abstention, other exhausted vote, and cumulative residual surplus.
(b)For a given tabulation, an entry in the contest tabulation report shall equal the total of all corresponding precinct entries that are in the tabulation by precinct report, or that would be in the tabulation by precinct report if all precincts were reported. report. Whether a candidate is designated as elected or defeated, and the round in which a candidate is designated as elected or defeated, shall be the same for the contest tabulation report and for every precinct in the tabulation by precinct report.
(c)The votes for each round in a contest tabulation report or in a tabulation by precinct report shall be reported as of the completion of subdivision (a) of Section 22100 or subdivision (b) of Section 22101. If Section 22100 applies, residual surplus is not applicable and shall not be reported. If Section 22101 applies, each ballot counted as an overvote, abstention, or other exhausted vote shall be counted as having the number of votes equal to the ballots transfer value.
(d)In a contest cast selections record report, ballots shall be listed in an a manner that does not permit the order in which they were cast in each precinct to be reconstructed. An overvote ranking may be reported without reporting to which qualified candidates the ranking was assigned.
22201.(a)An elections official shall publish a contest tabulation report for the final tabulation of the official canvass in conjunction with the certified statement of the results. The elections official shall also publish at least one of the following reports for the final tabulation of the official canvass:
(1)A tabulation by precinct report covering all precincts. report.
(2)A contest cast selections record report.
(b)If the elections official determines that tabulation of all rounds is not feasible on election night, the elections official may provide the contest tabulation report totals for only the first round of tabulation or only a tally of the rankings of 1.
(c)For a contest that is tabulated with a voting system, the elections official shall do all of the following:
(1)Tabulate the results as soon as the elections official determines it is feasible after the close of the polls, and publish the corresponding contest tabulation report.
(2)Tabulate the results for the last preliminary results on election night and publish a corresponding contest tabulation report.
(3)Publish the corresponding contest cast selections record report whenever the results of a tabulation is published, except if tabulation is limited pursuant to subdivision (b).
22202.An elections official shall promptly post a report made available to the public pursuant to Section 22201 on his or her official Internet Web site. A contest cast selections record report made available pursuant to this section shall be provided in a plain text electronic format and need not be published by other means. If an elections official does not have an official Internet Web site, the elections official shall promptly make the report available to the public by other means, and he or she shall notify the public of the reports location through a notice prominently displayed in an appropriate location in his or her office.
SEC. 16.Section 25001 is added to the Government Code, to read:25001.(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county board of supervisors may adopt, or a resident of the county may propose by initiative, a proposal to elect an officer of the county by ranked choice voting. The proposal shall specify which county officers shall be elected by this method and whether they shall be elected at large or by or from district, if applicable.
(b)If a county board of supervisors authorizes its members to be elected at large by ranked voting pursuant to subdivision (a), the county board of supervisors may also adopt, or a resident of the county may propose by initiative, a proposal to elect one or more supervisors to serve transitional two-year terms in order to eliminate staggered terms on the board. A transitional two-year term shall not shorten a term of office that has already started.
(c)
(b)A proposal pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) shall apply prospectively only and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the county at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
(d)Except as provided in subdivision (b), the term of office for a member of the board of supervisors elected by ranked voting shall be four years.
(e)
(c)A proposal enacted pursuant to this section may be amended or repealed in the same manner, but an officer's term of office shall not be affected. manner.
(d)A county officer elected to a full term by ranked choice voting shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
(f)
(e)This section does not authorize a county to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district.
SEC. 17.Section 25040 of the Government Code is amended to read:25040.Each member of the board of supervisors shall be elected by the district which he represents, and not at large, except if one of the following is true:
(a)The election is held in any county in which supervisorial districts have not been established by law or ordinance, and in which supervisors were on May 17, 1907, required to be elected at large, but from particular wards, the members shall be elected at large and without regard to residence.
(b)Members are elected at large by ranked choice voting pursuant to Section 25001.
SEC. 18.Section 25041 of the Government Code is amended to read:25041.If an election is conducted by or from district, a member shall have been a registered voter of the district which he seeks to represent for at least 30 days immediately preceding the deadline for filing nomination documents for the office of supervisor, and shall reside in the district during his incumbency.
SEC. 19.Section 25061 of the Government Code is amended to read:25061.(a)The election of a supervisor to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term shall be held at the next general election, unless the term expires on the first Monday after January 1st succeeding the election.
(b)A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the board of supervisors to full terms using ranked choice voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board of supervisors is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same district.
SEC. 20.Article 4 (commencing with Section 34910) is added to Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 4 of the Government Code, to read:4.Election of City Officers by Ranked Choice Voting34910.(a)At any municipal election, or special election held for that purpose, the legislative body may submit to the registered voters an ordinance providing for the election of an officer of the city by ranked choice voting. The ordinance may also be qualified for the ballot by means of an initiative measure in accordance with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9200) of Division 9 of the Elections Code. The ordinance shall specify which city officers shall be elected by this method and whether they shall be elected at large or by or from district, if applicable. An ordinance adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall apply prospectively only.
(b)If a city authorizes members of the legislative body to be elected at large by ranked voting pursuant to subdivision (a), the legislative body, or the proponent of an initiative, may also submit to the registered voters an ordinance providing for the election of one or more members to serve transitional two-year terms in order to eliminate staggered terms on the body. A transitional two-year term authorized by this section shall not shorten a term of office that has already started.
(c)
(b)If a legislative body is elected by ranked choice voting:
(1)The legislative body may have more an odd number of members greater than five members, five, even if the members are elected at large.
(2)A members term of office shall be four years, except as provided in subdivision (b). years.
(d)
(c)An ordinance enacted pursuant to this section may be amended or repealed in the same manner, but an officer's term of office shall not be affected. manner.
(e)
(d)This section applies both to cities with an elective mayor and cities with a city manager form of government.
(f)
(e)This section does not authorize a city to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district.
34911.If a special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked choice voting is held on the same day as an election to elect one or more other members of the legislative body to full terms using ranked choice voting, those election contests shall be consolidated into a single contest, provided that the legislative body is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same district.
(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the county board of education may adopt, or the residents of the county may propose by initiative, a proposal to elect members of the county board of education by ranked voting. The proposal shall specify whether the members shall be elected at large or by or from district. A proposal to elect members by ranked voting shall apply prospectively only and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the county at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
(b)An initiative measure proposed pursuant to subdivision (a) is subject to the procedures set forth in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 9100) of Division 9 of the Elections Code.
(c)If a county board of education authorizes its members to be elected at large by ranked voting pursuant to subdivision (a), the county board of education, or a resident by initiative, may also submit to the registered voters a proposal providing for the election of one or more board members to serve transitional terms in order to eliminate staggered terms on the board. A transitional term authorized by this section shall not shorten a term of office that has already started.
(d)This section does not authorize a county board of education to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district.
SEC. 2.Section 1019 is added to the Education Code, to read:1019.(a)If a county board of education authorizes the use of ranked voting pursuant to Section 1018, before that method is used in any election, a county elections official may certify to the county board of supervisors and county superintendent of schools that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method. The elections official shall provide this certification at least seven days, and not more than 60 days, before any candidate begins circulating a nomination paper.
(b)If a county elections official provides a certification pursuant to subdivision (a), the county board of education shall conduct its next election in the same manner as its most recent prior election was conducted.
SEC. 3.Section 1020 is added to the Education Code, to read:1020.A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the county board to full terms using ranked voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same trustee area.
SEC. 4.Section 5010 is added to the Education Code, to read:5010.(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the governing board of a school district or community college district may adopt a resolution authorizing the election of members of the governing board by ranked voting. The resolution shall specify whether the members elected pursuant to this method shall be elected at large or by or from district, and it shall be presented to the electors of the school district pursuant to Section 5020. A resolution adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall apply prospectively only.
(b)The governing board of a school district or community college district that authorizes members to be elected at large by ranked voting pursuant to subdivision (a) may also by resolution presented to the electors authorize the election of one or more members to serve transitional two-year terms in order to eliminate staggered terms on the board. A transitional two-year term shall not shorten a term of office that has already started.
(c)Except as provided in subdivision (b), the term of office for a member elected pursuant to this section shall be four years.
(d)This section does not authorize the governing board of a school district or community college district to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district.
SEC. 5.Section 5013 of the Education Code is amended to read:5013.The (a)Except as provided in subdivision (b), the form of ballot for governing board member elections shall be governed by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 13100) of Division 13 of the Elections Code.
(b)The form of ballot for governing board member elections conducted by ranked voting shall be governed by Division 22 of the Elections Code.
SEC. 6.Section 5020 of the Education Code is amended to read:5020.(a)The resolution of the county committee approving a proposal to establish or abolish trustee areas, to adopt one of the alternative methods of electing governing board members specified in Section 5010 or 5030, or to increase or decrease the number of members of the governing board shall constitute an order of election, and the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district not later than the next succeeding election for members of the governing board.
(b)If a petition requesting an election on a proposal to rearrange trustee area boundaries is filed, containing at least 5 percent of the signatures of the districts registered voters as determined by the elections official, the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district, at the next succeeding election for the members of the governing board, at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot.
(c)If a petition requesting an election on a proposal to establish or abolish trustee areas, to increase or decrease the number of members of the board, or to adopt one of the alternative methods of electing governing board members specified in Section 5010 or 5030 is filed, containing at least 10 percent of the signatures of the districts registered voters as determined by the elections official, the proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district, at the next succeeding election for the members of the governing board, at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot. Before the proposal is presented to the electors, the county committee on school district organization may call and conduct one or more public hearings on the proposal.
(d)The resolution of the county committee approving a proposal to establish or abolish a common governing board for a high school and an elementary school district within the boundaries of the high school district shall constitute an order of election. The proposal shall be presented to the electors of the district at the next succeeding statewide primary or general election, or at the next succeeding regularly scheduled election at which the electors of the district are otherwise entitled to vote, provided that there is sufficient time to place the issue on the ballot.
(e)For each proposal there shall be a separate proposition on the ballot. The ballot shall contain the following words:
For the establishment (or abolition or rearrangement) of trustee areas in ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the establishment (or abolition or rearrangement) of trustee areas in ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For increasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from five to sevenYes and For increasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from five to sevenNo.
For decreasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from seven to fiveYes and For decreasing the number of members of the governing board of ____ (insert name) School District from seven to fiveNo.
For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked votingYes and For the election of each member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked voting No.
For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee areaYes and For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee areaNo.
For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee area using ranked voting Yes and For the election of one member of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters in that trustee area using ranked voting No.
For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked voting Yes and For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District residing in each trustee area elected by the registered voters of the entire ____ (insert name) School District using ranked voting No.
For the establishment (or abolition) of a common governing board in the ____ (insert name) School District and the ____ (insert name) School DistrictYes and For the establishment (or abolition) of a common governing board in the ____ (insert name) School District and the ____ (insert name) School DistrictNo.
For the election of one member, or more than one
member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District to serve transitional two-year terms in order to eliminate staggered terms on the board Yes and For the election of one member, or more than one member for one or more trustee areas, of the governing board of the ____ (insert name) School District to serve transitional two-year terms in order to eliminate staggered terms on the board No.
If
(f)Two or more compatible proposals may be combined into a single proposition. If more than one proposal proposition appears on the ballot, all must carry in order for any to become effective, except that a proposal as follows:
(1)A proposition to adopt one of the methods of election of board members specified in Section 5030 which that is approved by the voters shall become effective unless a proposal which proposition that is inconsistent with that proposal proposition has been approved by a greater number of voters. An
(2)An inconsistent proposal proposition approved by a lesser number of voters than the number which have approved a proposal proposition to adopt one of the methods of election of board members specified in Section 5030 shall not be effective.
(3)A proposal to elect at least one member to serve a transitional two-year term shall only appear on a ballot if a proposal to elect each member of the governing board by the registered voters of the entire district using ranked voting also appears on the ballot, in which case the latter proposal may be approved even if the former is not.
SEC. 7.Section 5027 of the Education Code is amended to read:5027.Whenever If the boundaries of a county high school district are coterminous with the boundaries of a county, the board shall consist of one of the following:
(a)One member from each supervisorial district in the county elected at large from the county high school district.
(b)As many members are there are supervisorial districts with the members elected at large using ranked voting.
SEC. 8.Section 5028 of the Education Code is amended to read:5028.In every community college district which that was divided into five wards on or before September 7, 1955, one member of the board shall be elected from each ward by the registered voters of the ward. On or before January 1st of a fiscal year the governing board of the district may rearrange the boundaries of the wards to provide for representation in accordance with population and geographic factors or may abolish the wards. If the wards are abolished, members of the governing board may also be elected at large using ranked voting.
SEC. 9.Section 5032 is added to the Education Code, to read:5032.If a school district or community college district authorizes the use of ranked voting pursuant to Section 5010, before that method is used in any election, a county elections official may certify to the county board of supervisors and county superintendent of schools who have jurisdiction over the election that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method. The elections official shall provide this certification at least seven days, and not more than 60 days, before any candidate circulates a nomination paper.
SEC. 10.Section 5096 is added to the Education Code, to read:5096.A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the governing board of the school district or community college district to full terms using ranked voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same trustee area.
SEC. 11.Section 72036 of the Education Code is amended to read:72036.Notwithstanding any other law, the governing board of a community college district may change election systems, in accordance with the provisions of this section and the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 14025) of Division 14 of the Elections Code), upon the adoption by the board of trustees of a resolution in support of electing the trustees in accordance with this section and upon the approval of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as follows:
(a)The governing board of a community college district may establish elections by trustee areas. In establishing trustee areas, the territory of a district shall be divided into trustee areas, and one member of the governing board shall be elected from each trustee area. A candidate for election as a member of the governing board shall reside in, and be registered to vote in, the trustee area he or she seeks to represent. The governing board shall set the initial boundaries of each trustee area to reflect substantially equal population in each district as enumerated in the most recent decennial federal census. Thereafter, the boundaries of trustee areas shall be adjusted pursuant to Section 5019.5, and may be abolished or adjusted as otherwise provided in this code.
(b)The governing board of a community college district may establish a top-two primary election system. Candidates for election as a member of a governing board of a district shall be nominated by trustee area at a district primary election held on the date of the statewide direct primary election. At the district primary election, the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes within the trustee area shall be nominees for the district general election for that trustee area, and the nominee who receives a majority of the votes cast by the voters of the trustee area in the district general election shall be elected to represent that trustee area. The district general election shall be held on the same date as the statewide general election.
(c)The governing board of a community college district may determine the number of trustees pursuant to this subdivision. The governing board of a community college district shall be composed of not less than five members and not more than nine, as determined by the governing board. Sections 5019 to 5030, inclusive, do not apply to the governing boards determination of the number of members pursuant to this subdivision. If the number of members of a governing board is increased or decreased, a governing board shall establish new trustee areas, abolish trustee areas, or adjust the boundaries of trustee areas so that the number of trustee areas is equal to the number of governing board members. If the number of members of a governing board is increased, the additional members of the governing board shall be elected at the next regular district general election of board members occurring at least 123 days after the governing board approved the increased number of board members. Prior to the next district general election, the governing board shall divide by lot the additional trustee area positions that are created so that the term of one-half of the board members elected to those positions shall expire on the first Friday in December following the next district general election. The term of the other board members elected to fill the remainder of the additional positions shall expire on the first Friday in December following the second district general election succeeding their election.
(d)The governing board of a community college district may provide for the election of its members at large by ranked voting, and it may also authorize members to serve transitional two-year terms, pursuant to Section 5010.
(d)
(e)This section shall does not apply to any community college district that has been authorized by statute to provide for its own trustee elections.
SEC. 12.Section 8141.3 is added to the Elections Code, to read:8141.3.Notwithstanding Section 8000, the following districts may elect a candidate for nonpartisan office pursuant to Sections 8140 and 8141:
(a)A district not formed for municipal purposes.
(b)A general law city.
(c)A school district.
SEC. 13.Section 22000 of the Elections Code is amended and renumbered to read:22000.21700.(a)Each district required by its authorizing act to adjust division boundaries pursuant to this section shall, by resolution, after each federal decennial census, and using that census as a basis, adjust the boundaries of any divisions so that the divisions are, as far as practicable, equal in population and in compliance with Section 10301 of Title 52 of the United States Code, as amended, to the extent those provisions apply. In adjusting the boundaries of the divisions, the board may give consideration to the following factors: (1) topography, (2) geography, (3) cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of territory, and (4) community of interests of the division. This section does not apply to divisions in which only landowners vote for directors or whose directors are all elected at large or appointed.
(b)The resolution specified in subdivision (a) shall be adopted by a vote of not less than a majority of the directors.
(c)At the time of, or after, any annexation of territory to the district, the board of directors shall designate, by resolution, the division of which the annexed territory shall be a part.
(d)No A change in division boundaries may shall not be made within 180 days preceding the election of any director.
(e)(1)A change in division boundaries shall not affect the term of office of any director.
(2)If division boundaries are adjusted, the director of the division whose boundaries have been adjusted shall continue to be the director of the division bearing the number of his or her division as formerly comprised until the office becomes vacant by means of term expiration or otherwise, whether or not the director is a resident within the boundaries of the division as adjusted.
(f)The successor to the office in a division whose boundaries have been adjusted shall be a resident and voter of that division.
(g)A district is not required to adjust the boundaries of any divisions pursuant to this section until after the 2000 federal decennial census.
(h)Nothing in this This section shall not be construed to prohibit or restrict a district from adjusting the boundaries of any divisions whenever the governing body of the district determines by a two-thirds vote of the governing body that a sufficient change in population has occurred that makes it desirable in the opinion of the governing body to adjust the boundaries of any divisions, or whenever any territory is added by or excluded from the district.
SEC. 14.Section 22001 of the Elections Code is amended and renumbered to read:22001.21701Before adjusting the boundaries of a division pursuant to Section 22000 21700 or for any other reason, the governing body of the district shall hold at least one public hearing on the proposal to adjust the boundaries of the division prior to the public hearing at which the governing body votes to approve or defeat the proposal.
SEC. 15.Division 22 (commencing with Section 22000) is added to the Elections Code, to read:22.Ranked Voting1.General Provisions22000.Ranked voting is a method that allows voters to rank candidates for office in order of preference. Elections conducted by ranked voting may be used for both single-winner and multiple-winner elections. Elections conducted by ranked voting are tabulated in rounds, as specified in this division.
22001.A jurisdiction that introduces ranked voting shall conduct a voter education and outreach campaign, which shall include public service announcements on radio, television, or in print media, to familiarize voters with that election method. Materials and information disseminated as part of the campaign shall be provided in languages other than English, as required by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10503).
22002.For purposes of this division, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a)Abstention means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, but that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate or overvote, and the voter did at least one of the following:
(1)Failed to assign an available ranking to every qualified candidate.
(2)Assigned a qualified candidate two or more different rankings.
(b)Continuing candidate means a qualified candidate who has not yet been elected or defeated.
(c)Highest-ranked continuing candidate means the continuing candidate on a ballot assigned the ranking with the lowest numerical value, unless that ranking is assigned to more than one candidate.
(d)Instant runoff voting means a system of ranked voting used to elect a single candidate to office.
(e)Majority of votes means greater than 50-percent of the votes counted for all candidates.
(f)Other exhausted vote means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, but that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate or overvote and is not an abstention.
(g)Overvote means a ranking assigned to more than one qualified candidate.
(h)Ranking means the number assigned to a candidate to indicate a voters preference for that candidate. The ranking with the lowest numerical value indicates the voters first-choice preference, with the ranking increasing in numerical value as the voters preference decreases.
(i)Single transferable vote means a system of ranked voting used to elect two or more candidates to office.
22003.A ballot that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate shall not be counted for any candidate in determining the highest-ranked candidate, but rather shall be counted as an other exhausted vote for the remainder of the tabulation unless the ballot contains an overvote or is an abstention.
22004.If two or more candidates are tied with the fewest number of votes, the candidate to eliminate shall be determined by lot, publicly conducted with notice.
22005.A ballot shall allow voters to assign a different ranking to each candidate, as well as to at least two write-in candidates. If a jurisdiction's voting equipment cannot feasibly accommodate that number of rankings on the ballot, the elections official may limit the number of choices a voter may rank to the greater of ten candidates or the maximum number allowed by the equipment.
22006.In an election conducted by ranked voting, the elections official shall provide ballot instructions that shall be substantially in the following form:
To vote in this election, indicate your first-choice candidate by selecting or marking a 1 in the voting square to the right of that candidate, a 2 in the voting square to the right of your second-choice candidate, a 3 in the voting square to the right of your third-choice candidate, and so on. Do not give the same number to more than one candidate. You may rank as many or as few of the candidates as you choose, up to the limit specified, if any. Your second choice will not affect your first choice; your third choice will not affect your first two choices, and so on. You may include one or more qualified write-in candidates in your rankings by writing each write-in candidates name in one of the blank spaces provided for that purpose after the names of the other candidates for the same office, and then writing the desired ranking in the voting square to the right of that name.
2.Vote Counting22100.An election using instant runoff voting shall be tabulated in a series of one or more rounds that are conducted as follows:
(a)Each ballot shall count as one vote for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot.
(b)The tabulation shall be complete if either of the following situations occur:
(1)There is only one continuing candidate after the first round of tabulation, in which case that candidate shall be designated as elected.
(2)There are exactly two continuing candidates after any round of tabulation, in which case the candidate with a majority of votes shall be designated as elected, and the other candidate shall be designated as defeated.
(c)If a continuing candidate has a majority of votes, and the elections official determines that tabulation cannot feasibly continue until there are only two continuing candidates, the tabulation may be terminated after the elections official designates the majority candidate as elected and designates all other continuing candidates as defeated.
(d)If a candidate satisfies both of the following conditions, then all candidates with fewer votes may be designated as defeated:
(1)At least one other candidate has at least as many votes as the candidate.
(2)The candidate has more votes than the total votes for all candidates with fewer votes.
(e)If a candidate was not designated as defeated in a particular round pursuant to subdivision (d), the continuing candidate with the fewest votes shall be designated as defeated.
(f)Each ballot counted for a candidate defeated pursuant to subdivision (d) or (e) shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot.
22101.An election using single transferable vote shall be tabulated in a series of one or more rounds that are conducted as follows:
(a)(1)In the first round, all ballots shall be counted, and each ballot shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot, using a transfer value of one vote.
(2)The threshold, which is the number of votes in excess of which a candidate will designated as elected, shall be determined by dividing the total number of ballots counted for a candidate pursuant to paragraph (1) by one more than the number of offices to be filled and rounding the quotient to five decimal places.
(3)If the number of continuing candidates is less than or equal to the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as elected, and the tabulation is complete.
(b)For each continuing candidate, the votes for the candidate are the sum of the transfer values of all ballots counted for that candidate.
(c)A continuing candidate with votes in excess of the threshold shall be designated as elected, and his or her votes in excess of the threshold calculated shall be treated as his or her surplus.
(d)If the number of candidates designated as elected is equal to the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as defeated, and the tabulation shall be complete.
(e)If a candidate is not designated as defeated in a particular round, and one or more candidate is designated as elected and has a surplus, the surplus of that candidate shall be transferred as follows:
(1)The surplus factor for the candidate shall be calculated as the quotient, rounded to five decimal places, of the candidates surplus divided by the total number of votes for the candidate.
(2)Each ballot counted for the candidate shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot using a new transfer value, calculated as the product, rounded to five decimal places, of the transfer value times the candidates surplus factor.
(3)Residual surplus means the number of surplus votes not transferred pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) due to rounding. The residual surplus for the transfer equals the surplus for a candidate minus the sum of the new transfer values for every ballot transferred from the candidate. The residual surplus shall not be counted for any candidate or as part of other exhausted votes.
(4)After a candidates surplus is transferred and his or her residual surplus is calculated, the candidate does not have a surplus, and the candidates vote count shall be considered to be the number of votes at the threshold for the remainder of the tabulation.
(f)If a surplus was not transferred in a particular round pursuant to subdivision (e), the continuing candidate with the fewest votes shall be designated as defeated.
(g)If any candidates were designated as defeated in a particular round, each ballot assigned to a defeated candidate shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot using the previous transfer value. After all ballots have been transferred, a defeated candidate shall have zero votes.
(1)If the number of continuing candidates plus the number of candidates that have been designated as elected equals the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as elected and the tabulation is complete.
22102.The Secretary of State may promulgate regulations authorizing modifications to the vote-counting methods described in this chapter if the modifications do not change which candidates are elected.
22103.If two or more candidates are elected pursuant to Section 22101 in the same contest, and the offices to be filled by the contest have terms of different remaining lengths, candidates shall fill the offices in proportion to the number of votes they received in the first round, with the candidate with the highest first-round vote total filling the office with the longest term.
3.Reporting22200.(a)For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)Contest cast selections record report means a report that lists all of the following for each ballot counted in the tabulation:
(A)The candidate or candidates indicated at each ranking.
(B)The precinct in which the ballot was cast.
(C)Whether the ballot was cast by mail.
(2)Contest tabulation report means a report that lists both of the following:
(A)The number of ballots counted.
(B)The votes received by each candidate in each round of the tabulation.
(C)The cumulative number of votes counted as an overvote, abstention, other exhausted vote, and cumulative residual surplus in each round of the tabulation.
(3)Tabulation by precinct report means a list, for all precincts or a selected subset of precincts, that provides both of the following:
(A)The total number of ballots counted for each round of votes for each candidate.
(B)The total number of votes counted as an overvote, abstention, other exhausted vote, and cumulative residual surplus.
(b)For a given tabulation, an entry in the contest tabulation report shall equal the total of all corresponding precinct entries that are in the tabulation by precinct report, or that would be in the tabulation by precinct report if all precincts were reported. Whether a candidate is designated as elected or defeated, and the round in which a candidate is designated as elected or defeated, shall be the same for the contest tabulation report and for every precinct in the tabulation by precinct report.
(c)The votes for each round in a contest tabulation report or in a tabulation by precinct report shall be reported as of the completion of subdivision (a) of Section 22100 or subdivision (b) of Section 22101. If Section 22101 applies, each ballot counted as an overvote, abstention, or other exhausted vote shall be counted as having the number of votes equal to the ballots transfer value.
(d)In a contest cast selections record report, ballots shall be listed in an manner that does not permit the order in which they were cast in each precinct to be reconstructed. An overvote ranking may be reported without reporting to which qualified candidates the ranking was assigned.
22201.(a)An elections official shall publish a contest tabulation report for the final tabulation of the official canvass in conjunction with the certified statement of the results. The elections official shall also publish at least one of the following reports for the final tabulation of the official canvass:
(1)A tabulation by precinct report covering all precincts.
(2)A contest cast selections record report.
(b)If tabulation of all rounds is not feasible on election night, the elections official may provide the contest tabulation report totals for only the first round of tabulation or only a tally of the rankings of 1.
(c)For a contest that is tabulated with a voting system, the elections official shall do all of the following:
(1)Tabulate the results as soon as feasible after the close of the polls, and publish the corresponding contest tabulation report.
(2)Tabulate the results for the last preliminary results on election night and publish a corresponding contest tabulation report.
(3)Publish the corresponding contest cast selections record report whenever the results of a tabulation is published, except if tabulation is limited pursuant to subdivision (b).
22202.An elections official shall promptly post a report made available to the public pursuant to Section 22201 on his or her official Internet Web site. A contest cast selections record report made available pursuant to this section shall be provided in a plain text electronic format and need not be published by other means. If an elections official does not have an official Internet Web site, the elections official shall promptly make the report available to the public by other means, and he or she shall notify the public of the reports location through a notice prominently displayed in an appropriate location in his or her office.
SEC. 16.Section 25001 is added to the Government Code, to read:25001.(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county board of supervisors may adopt, or a resident of the county may propose by initiative, a proposal to elect an officer of the county by ranked voting. The proposal shall specify which county officers shall be elected by this method and whether they shall be elected at large or by or from district, if applicable.
(b)If a county board of supervisors authorizes its members to be elected at large by ranked voting pursuant to subdivision (a), the county board of supervisors may also adopt, or a resident of the county may propose by initiative, a proposal to elect one or more supervisors to serve transitional two-year terms in order to eliminate staggered terms on the board. A transitional two-year term shall not shorten a term of office that has already started.
(c)A proposal pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) shall apply prospectively only and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the county at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
(d)Except as provided in subdivision (b), the term of office for a member of the board of supervisors elected by ranked voting shall be four years.
(e)A proposal enacted pursuant to this section may be amended or repealed in the same manner, but an officer's term of office shall not be affected.
(f)This section does not authorize a county to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district.
SEC. 17.Section 25040 of the Government Code is amended to read:25040.Each member of the board of supervisors shall be elected by the district which he represents, and not at large, except in if one of the following is true:
(a)The election is held in any county in which supervisorial districts have not been established by law or ordinance, and in which supervisors were on May 17, 1907, required to be elected at large, but from particular wards, the members shall be elected at large and without regard to residence.
(b)Members are elected by ranked voting pursuant to Section 25001.
SEC. 18.Section 25041 of the Government Code is amended to read:25041.In all other cases each If an election is conducted from district, a member shall have been a registered voter of the district which he seeks to represent for at least 30 days immediately preceding the deadline for filing nomination documents for the office of supervisor, and shall reside in the district during his incumbency.
SEC. 19.Section 25061 of the Government Code is amended to read:25061.(a)The election of a supervisor to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term shall be held at the next general election, unless the term expires on the first Monday after January 1st succeeding the election.
(b)A special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked voting and an election to elect one or more other members of the board of supervisors to full terms using ranked voting that are held on the same day shall be consolidated into a single contest if the board of supervisors is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same district.
SEC. 20.Article 4 (commencing with Section 34910) is added to Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 4 of the Government Code, to read:4.Election of City Officers by Ranked Voting34910.(a)At any municipal election, or special election held for that purpose, the legislative body may submit to the registered voters an ordinance providing for the election of an officer of the city by ranked voting. The ordinance may also be qualified for the ballot by means of an initiative measure in accordance with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9200) of Division 9 of the Elections Code. The ordinance shall specify which city officers shall be elected by this method and whether they shall be elected at large or by or from district, if applicable. An ordinance adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall apply prospectively only.
(b)If a city authorizes members of the legislative body to be elected at large by ranked voting pursuant to subdivision (a), the legislative body, or the proponent of an initiative, may also submit to the registered voters an ordinance providing for the election of one or more members to serve transitional two-year terms in order to eliminate staggered terms on the body. A transitional two-year term authorized by this section shall not shorten a term of office that has already started.
(c)If a legislative body is elected by ranked voting:
(1)The legislative body may have more than five members, even if the members are elected at large.
(2)A members term of office shall be four years, except as provided in subdivision (b).
(d)An ordinance enacted pursuant to this section may be amended or repealed in the same manner, but an officer's term of office shall not be affected.
(e)This section applies both to cities with an elective mayor and cities with a city manager form of government.
(f)This section does not authorize a city to elect members at large if it is required by a court order or judgment to elect its members by or from district.
34911.If a special election to fill one or more vacancies with ranked voting is held on the same day as an election to elect one or more other members of the legislative body to full terms using ranked voting, those election contests shall be consolidated into a single contest, provided that the legislative body is elected at large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same district.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| May 23, 2016 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 24. Noes 12. Page 3924.) Ordered to the Assembly. |
| Aug 30, 2016 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 1:30 p.m. |
| Aug 24, 2016 | Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 26. Noes 12.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
| Aug 19, 2016 | In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending. |
| Aug 18, 2016 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 48. Noes 26. Page 5925.) Ordered to the Senate. |
| Aug 18, 2016 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. |
| Aug 4, 2016 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Aug 3, 2016 | From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 6.) (August 3). |
| Aug 1, 2016 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun 29, 2016 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (June 29). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun 29, 2016 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun 15, 2016 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E. & R. |
| May 27, 2016 | Referred to Com. on E. & R. |
| May 23, 2016 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 24. Noes 12.) Ordered to the Assembly. |
| Feb 19, 2016 | Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print. |
| May 23, 2016 | In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. |
| May 10, 2016 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| May 9, 2016 | From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8. |
| Apr 29, 2016 | Set for hearing May 9. |
| Apr 28, 2016 | May 2 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| Apr 22, 2016 | Set for hearing May 2. |
| Apr 20, 2016 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 3. Noes 1.) (April 19). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Apr 20, 2016 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 3. Noes 1. Page 3608.) (April 19). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Apr 5, 2016 | Set for hearing April 19. |
| Apr 4, 2016 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E. & C.A. |
| Mar 3, 2016 | Referred to Com. on E. & C.A. |
| Feb 22, 2016 | Read first time. |
| Feb 22, 2016 | From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 23. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 24, 2016 | Unfinished Business SB1288 Leno Concurrence | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 18, 2016 | SB 1288 Leno Senate Third Reading By CHIU | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 3, 2016 | Do pass. | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Jun 29, 2016 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Assembly Standing Committee on Elections and Redistricting |
Passed |
|
| May 23, 2016 | Senate 3rd Reading SB1288 Leno | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Apr 19, 2016 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Senate Standing Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| Asian American Action Fund | ** Support | Aug 24, 2016 |
| Asian American Advancing Justice- California | ** Support | Aug 24, 2016 |
| California Common Cause | ** Support | Aug 24, 2016 |
| Californians for Electoral Reform | ** Support | Aug 24, 2016 |
| countedascast.org | * Indeterminate | Jun 29, 2016 |
| Democracy for America | ** Support | Aug 24, 2016 |
| FairVote | ** Support | Aug 24, 2016 |
| League Of California Cities | ** Support | Aug 24, 2016 |
| League Of Women Voters Of California | ** Support | Aug 24, 2016 |
| Los Angeles Voters for Instant Runoff Elections | ** Support | Aug 24, 2016 |
| Mendocino County Board of Supervisors | ** Support | Aug 24, 2016 |
| Oakland Rising | ** Support | Aug 24, 2016 |
| One individual | ** Support | Jun 29, 2016 |
| Southwest Voter Registration Education Project | ** Support | Aug 24, 2016 |
Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | SB |
VETO
Bill No: SB 1288
:
SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 3-1, 4/19/16
AYES: Allen, Hancock, Hertzberg
NOES: Anderson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Liu
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR: 24-12, 5/23/16
AYES: Allen, Beall, Block, Cannella, De León, Glazer, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, McGuire, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Wieckowski, Wolk
NOES: Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Fuller, Gaines, Huff, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Stone, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Galgiani, Liu, Mendoza, Runner
SENATE FLOOR: 26-12, 8/24/16
AYES: Allen, Beall, Block, Cannella, De León, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Wieckowski, Wolk
NOES: Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Fuller, Gaines, Huff, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Stone, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Liu
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 48-26, 8/18/16 - See last page for vote
SOURCE: California Common Cause
Californians for Electoral Reform
DIGEST: This bill authorizes a general law city, a general law county, or an educational district, as specified, to conduct a local election using ranked choice voting (RCV), as specified. Permits a general law city, a school district, and a district not formed for municipal purposes to elect a candidate for nonpartisan office at a primary election by majority vote, instead of a plurality vote, as specified.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Provides, generally, that a candidate for nonpartisan local office who receives votes on the majority of all ballots cast at a primary election is elected to that office, and the office does not appear on the ballot in the ensuing general or run-off election. For some local offices the two candidates who receive the highest number of votes proceed to a general or run-off election. However, the winning candidates for some local offices are required to be determined in a single election by only having to garner a plurality of all votes cast.
- Does not permit general law cities and counties, nor school and special districts, to adopt alternative voting methods commonly known as ranked choice or instant run-off voting. These types of jurisdictions are limited to traditional voting methods whereby candidates are elected by either attaining a plurality of votes in a single election or through a run-off election held on a later date. Charter cities and charter counties, however, do currently have the ability to adopt alternative voting methods through the charter amendment process.
This bill:
- Allows a general law city, a school district, and a district not formed for municipal purposes to require a candidate for nonpartisan office that does not receive a majority of all votes cast in a primary election to appear in a general or runoff election, instead of being required to elect officials using a single, plurality election, as specified.
- Allows a general law city, a general law county, county board of education, school district, or community college district, with voter approval, to conduct a local election using RCV, as specified.
- Permits a county elections official, if a county board of education, school district, or community college district authorizes the use of RCV, to certify that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method before that method is used in any election, as specified.
- Requires a jurisdiction that uses RCV or changes from a plurality vote method to a majority vote method pursuant to this bill, to conduct a voter education and outreach campaign, as specified.
- Provides that RCV is a method that allows voters to rank candidates for office in order of preference and that elections conducted by RCV may be used for both single-winner and multiple-winner elections. Provides that elections conducted by RCV are tabulated in rounds, as specified.
- Requires an elections official to publish and post tabulation reports, as specified.
- Makes other corresponding and technical changes.
Background
So How Does this System Work? RCV is an election method in which voters rank the candidates for office in order of preference, and the ballots are counted in rounds. In the case of a single-winner election these rounds simulate a series of runoffs until only two candidates remain, with the candidate having the greater number of votes being declared the winner. In the case of a multiple-winner election, these rounds fill all seats to be elected.
For single winner elections, in the first round, every ballot shall count as a vote towards the candidate indicated by the highest ranking on that ballot. After every round, if a candidate receives a majority of votes from the continuing ballots, that candidate is declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority, the candidate receiving the smallest number of votes will be eliminated, and every ballot counting towards that candidate will be advanced to the next-ranked continuing candidate on the ballot.
For an election to elect two or more candidates to office, a minimum threshold of votes necessary to be elected will be determined according to a specified formula. All ballots are counted and each ballot will be allocated as a vote to the candidate receiving the highest ranking. Each candidate that receives the minimum threshold of votes necessary to be elected will be declared elected.
Current Ranked Voting in California. In California the charter cities of San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and San Leandro have all conducted city elections using ranked voting. Commensurately, San Francisco and Alameda County (where the other cities are located) are the only jurisdictions that have voting systems currently certified for use in California that would accommodate an election using ranked voting.
Can Voters Vote Twice or Are Votes Counted Twice? While explaining the vote tabulation system is somewhat complex, no voter gets to vote twice and no vote is counted twice. In a single-winner system where the last place candidate is eliminated, voters who listed that candidate first on their ballot then get to use the second choice on their ballot once that first choice is eliminated. They may get two (or more) chances to use their vote, but they never get more than one vote. The multi-winner system is somewhat more complicated because of how a portion of the “excess votes” can be transferred, but there’s still only one total vote per voter.
Comments
- According to the author, under current law, general law cities are only allowed to hold plurality winner elections (i.e. most votes wins, even if the winner has less than majority support). Charter cities, on the other hand, are given more flexibility in selecting voting systems under constitutional home rule protections within the state Constitution. Under current law, general law cities are prohibited from using the majoritarian voting systems commonly used by charter cities and counties in California, for example the traditional runoff or RCV.
While all voting systems have trade-offs, restricting general law cities to plurality elections locks them into a voting system that does an especially poor job of reflecting voter preferences. Plurality voting has a number of well-recognized drawbacks:
First, it is not clear that a candidate elected by plurality is a true “representative” of that area, as a majority of the electorate voted for another candidate. Plurality voting can even enable a candidate who is least liked by the majority of voters to get elected due to vote-splitting, commonly referred to as the “spoiler effect.” Non-majority winners happen frequently under plurality voting. In fact, from 2006-2014, a candidate for a single-seat local office was elected with less than a majority 13% of the time; when looking only at races with three or more candidates, the winner is elected by a mere plurality 42% of the time.
Second, candidates who are elected by plurality may enter office with a weak mandate, harming their ability to govern.
Finally, plurality voting encourages insincere voting – due to fears of “wasting their vote” or flipping an election to the candidate they least like, plurality election systems actively discourage voters from casting their ballot for the candidate that best represents their preferences.
This bill gives local governments (cities, counties, school districts, and community colleges) the ability to adopt a voting system that best matches the needs of their community. It does not impose any new voting system, but simply gives local jurisdictions additional options which ensure that candidates are elected with majority support. In particular, this bill authorizes local governments to adopt, in addition to plurality voting:
Traditional two-round runoff: if no candidate receives over 50% of the vote, a second election is held between the top two vote-getters to determine who wins. Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento, and many counties use this system.
Ranked Choice Voting: voters rank the candidates on their ballots. Votes are counted in runoff elimination rounds until only two candidates remain, eliminating the need for a second election. This bill also authorizes local governments to use the multi-seat version of RCV. Several cities, including San Francisco and Oakland use RCV.
Numerous other general law cities and counties are exploring using RCV, and the Legislature should allow these cities the flexibility they need to serve their voters. Cities and counties deserve the opportunity to use the electoral systems that best address their unique needs.
- Sounds Complicated – Or is It? While the formulas for determining winners and transfer values, etc. under this bill may appear complicated, that will not be evident to the voters. Voters will merely have to rank the candidates on the ballot according to their preference.
Related/Prior Legislation
Since 2006, there have been numerous prior bills intended to permit local jurisdictions to use RCV for either regular or special elections. All of these bills either failed passage in the Legislature or were vetoed by the Governor, including all of the following: SB 596 (Bowen, 2006), AB 1294 (Mullin and Leno, 2007), AB 1121 (Davis, 2009), SB 2732 (Eng, 2010), and SB 1346 (Hancock, 2010).
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
- Any costs to cities and counties to procure and obtain certification of an election system with RCV capability and to conduct voter education and outreach on RCV would be significant, but would be nonreimbursable, as the bill is permissible.
- Minor one-time costs of $40,000 to the Secretary of State (SOS) for RCV regulations. The SOS has already developed guidelines for the handful of jurisdictions currently conducting RCV.
SUPPORT: (Verified 10/12/16)
California Common Cause (co-source)
Californians for Electoral Reform (co-source)
Asian American Action Fund
Asian American Advancing Justice- California
Democracy for America
FairVote
League of California Cities
League of Women Voters of California
Los Angeles Voters for Instant Runoff Elections
Mendocino County Board of Supervisors
Oakland Rising
Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
OPPOSITION: (Verified 10/12/16)
None received
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
I am returning Senate Bill 1288 without my signature.
This bill authorizes local governments to conduct a local election using ranked choice voting.
In a time when we want to encourage more voter participation, we need to keep voting simple. Ranked choice voting is overly complicated and confusing. I believe it deprives voters of genuinely informed choice.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 48-26, 8/18/16
AYES: Alejo, Atkins, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Daly, Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Olsen, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Arambula, Bigelow, Brough, Chávez, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Dodd, Beth Gaines, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Jones, Lackey, Linder, Mathis, Melendez, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson, Salas, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Frazier, Gallagher, Roger Hernández, Kim, Maienschein
10/17/16 15:25:14
**** END ****
Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | SB |
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1288
:
SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 3-1, 4/19/16
AYES: Allen, Hancock, Hertzberg
NOES: Anderson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Liu
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR: 24-12, 5/23/16
AYES: Allen, Beall, Block, Cannella, De León, Glazer, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, McGuire, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Wieckowski, Wolk
NOES: Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Fuller, Gaines, Huff, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Stone, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Galgiani, Liu, Mendoza, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 48-26, 8/18/16 - See last page for vote
SOURCE: California Common Cause
Californians for Electoral Reform
DIGEST: This bill authorizes a general law city, a general law county, or an educational district, as specified, to conduct a local election using ranked choice voting (RCV), as specified. Permits a general law city, a school district, and a district not formed for municipal purposes to elect a candidate for nonpartisan office at a primary election by majority vote, instead of a plurality vote, as specified.
Assembly Amendments add coauthors and provide that an ordinance establishing RCV voting shall not become operative unless it is approved by the electors of the city at a regularly scheduled election.
Existing law:
- Provides, generally, that a candidate for nonpartisan local office who receives votes on the majority of all ballots cast at a primary election is elected to that office, and the office does not appear on the ballot in the ensuing general or run-off election. For some local offices the two candidates who receive the highest number of votes proceed to a general or run-off election. However, the winning candidates for some local offices are required to be determined in a single election by only having to garner a plurality of all votes cast.
- Does not permit general law cities and counties, nor school and special districts, to adopt alternative voting methods commonly known as ranked choice or instant run-off voting. These types of jurisdictions are limited to traditional voting methods whereby candidates are elected by either attaining a plurality of votes in a single election or through a run-off election held on a later date. Charter cities and charter counties, however, do currently have the ability to adopt alternative voting methods through the charter amendment process.
This bill:
- Allows a general law city, a school district, and a district not formed for municipal purposes to require a candidate for nonpartisan office that does not receive a majority of all votes cast in a primary election to appear in a general or runoff election, instead of being required to elect officials using a single, plurality election, as specified.
- Allows a general law city, a general law county, county board of education, school district, or community college district, with voter approval, to conduct a local election using RCV, as specified.
- Permits a county elections official, if a county board of education, school district, or community college district authorizes the use of RCV, to certify that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method before that method is used in any election, as specified.
- Requires a jurisdiction that uses RCV or changes from a plurality vote method to a majority vote method pursuant to this bill, to conduct a voter education and outreach campaign, as specified.
- Provides that RCV is a method that allows voters to rank candidates for office in order of preference and that elections conducted by RCV may be used for both single-winner and multiple-winner elections. Provides that elections conducted by RCV are tabulated in rounds, as specified.
- Requires an elections official to publish and post tabulation reports, as specified.
- Makes other corresponding and technical changes.
Background
So How Does this System Work? RCV is an election method in which voters rank the candidates for office in order of preference, and the ballots are counted in rounds. In the case of a single-winner election these rounds simulate a series of runoffs until only two candidates remain, with the candidate having the greater number of votes being declared the winner. In the case of a multiple-winner election, these rounds fill all seats to be elected.
For single winner elections, in the first round, every ballot shall count as a vote towards the candidate indicated by the highest ranking on that ballot. After every round, if a candidate receives a majority of votes from the continuing ballots, that candidate is declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority, the candidate receiving the smallest number of votes will be eliminated, and every ballot counting towards that candidate will be advanced to the next-ranked continuing candidate on the ballot.
For an election to elect two or more candidates to office, a minimum threshold of votes necessary to be elected will be determined according to a specified formula. All ballots are counted and each ballot will be allocated as a vote to the candidate receiving the highest ranking. Each candidate that receives the minimum threshold of votes necessary to be elected will be declared elected.
Current Ranked Voting in California. In California the charter cities of San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and San Leandro have all conducted city elections using ranked voting. Commensurately, San Francisco and Alameda County (where the other cities are located) are the only jurisdictions that have voting systems currently certified for use in California that would accommodate an election using ranked voting.
Can Voters Vote Twice or Are Votes Counted Twice? While explaining the vote tabulation system is somewhat complex, no voter gets to vote twice and no vote is counted twice. In a single-winner system where the last place candidate is eliminated, voters who listed that candidate first on their ballot then get to use the second choice on their ballot once that first choice is eliminated. They may get two (or more) chances to use their vote, but they never get more than one vote. The multi-winner system is somewhat more complicated because of how a portion of the “excess votes” can be transferred, but there’s still only one total vote per voter.
Comments
- According to the author, under current law, general law cities are only allowed to hold plurality winner elections (i.e. most votes wins, even if the winner has less than majority support). Charter cities, on the other hand, are given more flexibility in selecting voting systems under constitutional home rule protections within the state Constitution. Under current law, general law cities are prohibited from using the majoritarian voting systems commonly used by charter cities and counties in California, for example the traditional runoff or RCV.
While all voting systems have trade-offs, restricting general law cities to plurality elections locks them into a voting system that does an especially poor job of reflecting voter preferences. Plurality voting has a number of well-recognized drawbacks:
First, it is not clear that a candidate elected by plurality is a true “representative” of that area, as a majority of the electorate voted for another candidate. Plurality voting can even enable a candidate who is least liked by the majority of voters to get elected due to vote-splitting, commonly referred to as the “spoiler effect.” Non-majority winners happen frequently under plurality voting. In fact, from 2006-2014, a candidate for a single-seat local office was elected with less than a majority 13% of the time; when looking only at races with three or more candidates, the winner is elected by a mere plurality 42% of the time.
Second, candidates who are elected by plurality may enter office with a weak mandate, harming their ability to govern.
Finally, plurality voting encourages insincere voting – due to fears of “wasting their vote” or flipping an election to the candidate they least like, plurality election systems actively discourage voters from casting their ballot for the candidate that best represents their preferences.
This bill gives local governments (cities, counties, school districts, and community colleges) the ability to adopt a voting system that best matches the needs of their community. It does not impose any new voting system, but simply gives local jurisdictions additional options which ensure that candidates are elected with majority support. In particular, this bill authorizes local governments to adopt, in addition to plurality voting:
Traditional two-round runoff: if no candidate receives over 50% of the vote, a second election is held between the top two vote-getters to determine who wins. Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento, and many counties use this system.
Ranked Choice Voting: voters rank the candidates on their ballots. Votes are counted in runoff elimination rounds until only two candidates remain, eliminating the need for a second election. This bill also authorizes local governments to use the multi-seat version of RCV. Several cities, including San Francisco and Oakland use RCV.
Numerous other general law cities and counties are exploring using RCV, and the Legislature should allow these cities the flexibility they need to serve their voters. Cities and counties deserve the opportunity to use the electoral systems that best address their unique needs.
- Sounds Complicated – Or is It? While the formulas for determining winners and transfer values, etc. under this bill may appear complicated, that will not be evident to the voters. Voters will merely have to rank the candidates on the ballot according to their preference.
Related/Prior Legislation
Since 2006, there have been numerous prior bills intended to permit local jurisdictions to use RCV for either regular or special elections. All of these bills either failed passage in the Legislature or were vetoed by the Governor, including all of the following: SB 596 (Bowen, 2006), AB 1294 (Mullin and Leno, 2007), AB 1121 (Davis, 2009), SB 2732 (Eng, 2010), and SB 1346 (Hancock, 2010).
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
- Any costs to cities and counties to procure and obtain certification of an election system with RCV capability and to conduct voter education and outreach on RCV would be significant, but would be nonreimbursable, as the bill is permissible.
- Minor one-time costs of $40,000 to the Secretary of State (SOS) for RCV regulations. The SOS has already developed guidelines for the handful of jurisdictions currently conducting RCV.
California Common Cause (co-source)
Californians for Electoral Reform (co-source)
Asian American Action Fund
Asian American Advancing Justice- California
Democracy for America
FairVote
League of California Cities
League of Women Voters of California
Los Angeles Voters for Instant Runoff Elections
Mendocino County Board of Supervisors
Oakland Rising
Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/19/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 48-26, 8/18/16
AYES: Alejo, Atkins, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Daly, Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Olsen, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Arambula, Bigelow, Brough, Chávez, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Dodd, Beth Gaines, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Jones, Lackey, Linder, Mathis, Melendez, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson, Salas, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Frazier, Gallagher, Roger Hernández, Kim, Maienschein
8/19/16 19:37:24
**** END ****
SENATE THIRD READING
STR Bill Id:SB 1288
Author:(Leno)
As Amended Ver:August 1, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 24-12
Committee | Votes | Ayes | Noes |
Elections | 5-2 | Weber, Gordon, Low, Mullin, Nazarian | Harper, Travis Allen |
Appropriations | 14-6 | Gonzalez, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Calderon, Daly, Eggman, Eduardo Garcia, Holden, Quirk, Santiago, Weber, Wood, Chau | Bigelow, Chang, Gallagher, Jones, Obernolte, Wagner |
SUMMARY: Authorizes a general law city, a general law county, or an educational district, as specified, to conduct a local election using ranked choice voting (RCV), as specified. Permits a general law city, a school district, and a district not formed for municipal purposes to elect a candidate for nonpartisan office at a primary election by majority vote, instead of a plurality vote, as specified. Specifically, this bill:
- Allows a general law city, a school district, and a district not formed for municipal purposes to require a candidate for nonpartisan office that does not receive a majority of all votes cast in a primary election to appear in a general or runoff election, instead of being required to elect officials using a single, plurality election, as specified.
- Allows a general law city, a general law county, county board of education, school district, or community college district, with voter approval, to conduct a local election using RCV, as specified.
- Permits a county elections official, if a county board of education, school district, or community college district authorizes the use of RCV, to certify that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method before that method is used in any election, as specified.
- Requires a jurisdiction that uses RCV or changes from a plurality vote method to a majority vote method pursuant to this bill, to conduct a voter education and outreach campaign, as specified.
- Provides that RCV is a method that allows voters to rank candidates for office in order of preference and that elections conducted by RCV may be used for both single-winner and multiple-winner elections. Provides that elections conducted by RCV are tabulated in rounds, as specified.
- Requires an elections official to publish and post tabulation reports, as specified.
- Makes other corresponding and technical changes.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
- Any costs to cities and counties to procure and obtain certification of an election system with RCV capability and to conduct voter education and outreach on RCV would be significant, but would be nonreimbursable, as the bill is permissible.
- Minor one-time costs of $40,000 to the Secretary of State (SOS) for RCV regulations. The Secretary of State (SOS) has already developed guidelines for the handful of jurisdictions currently conducting RCV.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "Under current law, general law cities are only allowed to hold plurality winner elections (i.e. most votes wins, even if the winner has less than majority support). …Under current law, general law cities are prohibited from using the majoritarian voting systems commonly used by charter cities and counties in California, for example the traditional runoff or [RCV]…This bill would give local governments (cities, counties, school districts, community colleges) the ability to adopt a voting system that best matches the needs of their community. It does not impose any new voting system, but simply gives local jurisdictions additional options which ensure that candidates are elected with majority support. …Numerous other general law cities and counties are exploring using ranked choice voting, and the Legislature should allow these cities the flexibility they need to serve their voters. Cities and counties deserve the opportunity to use the electoral systems that best address their unique needs."
Three cities and the City and County of San Francisco have all chosen to conduct local elections using RCV. These jurisdictions were able to choose to use RCV because they are charter cities. Certain home rule provisions in California's state constitution allow cities and counties to exercise a greater degree of control over local affairs by adopting a charter. Under current law the only way in which a general law city or a general law county may conduct elections using RCV is to become a charter jurisdiction. This bill sets up a new mechanism that authorizes a general law city, a general law county, and specified educational jurisdictions, with voter approval, to conduct local elections using RCV.
There are no voting systems currently certified for general use in California that have the capability to tabulate ballots cast in an RCV election. The voting system used in San Francisco and Alameda counties for elections conducted using RCV were conditionally approved by the SOS. In 2013, based on San Francisco and Alameda counties success in conducting multiple elections using RCV-capable voting systems, the SOS approved use of the RCV system to both counties. However, despite the fact that the RCV voting system has been certified for use in both San Francisco and Alameda counties, the use of the RCV system is limited to only those jurisdictions. No other city or county in California are allowed to purchase and use that system for an election in California without separate approval by the SOS.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by: Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0003737
Date of Hearing: August 3, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1288
Author:(Leno) – As Amended Ver:August 1, 2016
Policy Committee: | Elections and Redistricting | Vote: | 5 - 2 |
|
| ||
|
|
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill:
- Allows a general law city, a school district, or a special district to require a candidate for nonpartisan office that does not receive a majority of all votes cast in a primary election to appear in a general or runoff election, instead of electing officials using a single, plurality election. Prior to adopting this change, the proposal would have to be submitted to the electors of the jurisdiction at a regularly scheduled election and would become operative only if a majority of votes cast favor adoption of the proposal.
- Allows a general law city, a general law county, county board of education, school district, or community college district, upon voter approval, to conduct a local election using ranked choice voting (RCV), as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT:
- Any costs to cities and counties to procure and obtain certification of an election system with RCV capability and to conduct voter education and outreach on RCV would be significant, but would be nonreimbursable, as the bill is permissible.
- Minor one-time costs of $40,000 to the Secretary of State (SOS) for RCV regulations. The SOS has already developed guidelines for the handful of jurisdictions currently conducting RCV.
COMMENTS:
- Plurality Vote Method and Majority Vote Method: Plurality voting, also known as "winner-take-all" or "first-past-the-post," gives all representation to the candidate finishing first. In plurality voting, each voter selects one candidate, and the candidate with the largest number of votes is the winner regardless of whether the winner receives a majority (50% +1) of the vote. In a majority vote method a voter votes for one candidate and the candidate with the majority (50%+1) of the votes wins. Commonly used majority vote methods include traditional run-off and RCV.
Current law specifically excludes a general law city, school district, and special district from using a majority vote primary election method and instead only permits these jurisdictions to use a single, plurality election method. This bill allows these jurisdictions to elect a candidate for nonpartisan office majority vote, instead of a plurality vote, if such a change is first approved by the jurisdiction's voters.
The author identifies drawbacks with plurality voting: that a candidate elected by plurality may not be a true “representative” of that area, as a majority of the electorate voted for other candidates; candidates elected by plurality may enter office with a weak mandate, harming their ability to govern; due to fears of “wasting their vote” or flipping an election to the candidate they least like, plurality election systems actively discourage voters from casting their ballot for the candidate that best represents their preferences.
- Ranked Choice Voting. RCV is a style of voting that allows voters to rank a first, second and third choice candidate instead of selecting a candidate (e.g., checking a box). Under RCV, for single winner elections, if a candidate receives a majority (50%+1) of the first-choice votes cast for that office, that candidate will be elected. However, if no candidate receives a majority of the first-choice votes cast, an elimination process begins. The candidate who received the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated. Next, each vote cast for that candidate will be transferred to the voter's next-ranked choice among the remaining candidates. This elimination process will continue until one candidate receives a majority and is deemed the winner.
There are no voting systems currently certified for general use in California that have the capability to tabulate ballots cast in an RCV election. The voting system with RCV capability first used by San Francisco in 2004 was conditionally approved by the SOS on a one-time basis. The city received approval to use the system again in 2006 and to use a new RCV system for subsequent elections. Alameda County (for the Cities of Berkeley, Oakland, and San Leandro) was also granted approval to use this system in elections since 2010.
The three cities and the City and County of San Francisco were able to choose to use RCV because they are charter cities, which under the state Constitution these entities are allowed to exercise a greater degree of control over local affairs. The RCV option is currently not available to general law cities and counties.
According to the author, "Numerous other general law cities and counties are exploring using ranked choice voting, and the Legislature should allow these cities the flexibility they need to serve their voters. Cities and counties deserve the opportunity to use the electoral systems that best address their unique needs."
- Prior Legislation. Since 2006, these bills intended to permit local jurisdictions to use RCV for either regular or special elections either failed passage in the Legislature or were vetoed: SB 596 (Bowen) of 2006, AB 1294 (Mullin and Leno) of 2007, AB 1121 (Davis) of 2009, AB 2732 (Eng) of 2010, and SB 1346 (Hancock) of 2010.
Analysis Prepared by: Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
Date of Hearing: June 29, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Shirley Weber, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1288
Author:(Leno) – As Amended Ver:June 15, 2016
SENATE VOTE: 24-12
SUBJECT: Elections: local voting methods.
SUMMARY: Authorizes a general law city, a general law county, or an educational district, as specified, to conduct a local election using ranked choice voting (RCV), as specified. Permits a general law city, a school district, and a district not formed for municipal purposes to elect a candidate for nonpartisan office at a primary election by majority vote, instead of a plurality vote, as specified. Specifically, this bill:
- Allows a general law city, a school district, and a district not formed for municipal purposes to require a candidate for nonpartisan office that does not receive a majority of all votes cast in a primary election to appear in a general or runoff election, instead of being required to elect officials using a single, plurality election. Requires a proposal to conduct local elections by majority vote to be submitted to the electors of the jurisdiction at a regularly scheduled election and become operative only if a majority of votes cast favor adoption of the proposal.
- Allows a general law city, a general law county, county board of education, school district, or community college district, with voter approval, to conduct a local election using RCV, as specified. Provides that RCV may be authorized for use in local elections by a resolution or ordinance adopted by the local jurisdiction’s governing body or by an initiative measure, subject to the following requirements:
- The proposal must specify whether the members shall be elected at-large or by or from districts, as specified.
- The proposal to elect members or local officers by RCV shall only apply prospectively and shall not become operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the jurisdiction at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal.
- Any member or local officer elected to a full term by RCV shall only be elected in a general election held in November of an even-numbered year.
- Provides that a local jurisdiction is not authorized by these provisions to elect members or officers at-large if it is required by a court order or judgement to elect its members or officers by or from districts or trustee areas, as specified.
- Requires a special election to fill one or more vacancies by RCV and an election to elect one or more other members of the local jurisdiction's governing body to full terms using RCV that are held on the same day to be consolidated into a single contest if the governing body is elected at-large or the contests to be consolidated are for members elected by or from the same district or trustee area.
- Permits a county elections official, if a county board of education, school district, or community college district authorizes the use of RCV, to certify that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method before that method is used in any election, as specified. Requires the elections official to provide this certification at least seven days, and not more than 60 days, before the later of 113 days before the election or the first day on which a declaration of candidacy may be filed. Requires a county board of education, school district, or community college district, if a county elections official provides the certification described above, to conduct its next election in the same manner as its most recent election was conducted.
- Requires a jurisdiction that uses RCV or changes from a plurality vote method to a majority vote method pursuant to this bill, to conduct a voter education and outreach campaign before each election conducted and until the conclusion of the second general election conducted in this manner. Requires a campaign to include public meetings and public service announcements on radio, television, or in print media, including media serving additional supported language communities, if available, to familiarize voters with that election method. Requires materials and information disseminated as part of the campaign to be provided in all additional supported languages and be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
- Defines the following terms for the voter education and outreach provisions of this bill:
- "Additional supported language” means a language for which a jurisdiction is required to provide voting materials and assistance under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 or for which the Secretary of State (SOS) has determined that it is necessary to provide facsimile ballots at a precinct within the jurisdiction pursuant to existing law.
- “Additional supported language community” means a community that speaks an additional supported language.
- "Additional supported language” means a language for which a jurisdiction is required to provide voting materials and assistance under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 or for which the Secretary of State (SOS) has determined that it is necessary to provide facsimile ballots at a precinct within the jurisdiction pursuant to existing law.
- Requires a jurisdiction, in collaboration with the county elections official, to develop a plan describing how it will conduct the voter education and outreach campaign. Requires the plan to include all of the following information:
- How the jurisdiction will use media, which may include social media, newspapers, radio, and television, to inform voters about an upcoming election;
- What information will be publicly available on the elections official’s Internet Web site;
- What information will be included in the sample ballot and vote by mail materials;
- How the jurisdiction will conduct direct outreach to voters, including voters with disabilities;
- How the jurisdiction will have a community presence to educate voters, including voters with disabilities; and,
- How the jurisdiction will educate voters within each additional supported language community, as defined.
- How the jurisdiction will use media, which may include social media, newspapers, radio, and television, to inform voters about an upcoming election;
- Requires a jurisdiction, before finalizing a plan to publish a draft plan and hold, at least 10 days after publication of its draft plan, at least two public meetings to discuss the plan. Requires the jurisdiction to make a good faith effort to invite each of the following to at least one of those public meetings:
- Representatives, advocates, and other stakeholders representing each additional supported language community; and,
- Representatives from the disability community and community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, individuals with disabilities.
- Representatives, advocates, and other stakeholders representing each additional supported language community; and,
- Requires a public meeting to be noticed 10 days in advance and be held in a location that is accessible to people with disabilities. Requires a jurisdiction, if requested to do so at least 48 hours before a public meeting, to provide either or both of the following:
- Reasonable accommodations and modifications, and auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication with people with disabilities; and,
- Translation services in any additional supported language.
- Reasonable accommodations and modifications, and auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication with people with disabilities; and,
- Requires all materials provided by the voter education and outreach campaign, including materials provided on the Internet Web site of the elections official, sample ballots and vote by mail materials, and materials provided through direct outreach and community presence, to be provided in the additional supported languages and be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
- Provides that RCV is a method that allows voters to rank candidates for office in order of preference and that elections conducted by RCV may be used for both single-winner and multiple-winner elections. Provides that elections conducted by RCV are tabulated in rounds, as specified by this bill.
- Defines the following terms for the RCV provisions of this bill:
- "Abstention" means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, but that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate or overvote, and the voter did at least one of the following:
- Failed to assign an available ranking to every qualified candidate and the ballot allowed the voter to rank an additional qualified candidate without creating an overvote ranking; or,
- Assigned a qualified candidate two or more different rankings.
- Failed to assign an available ranking to every qualified candidate and the ballot allowed the voter to rank an additional qualified candidate without creating an overvote ranking; or,
- "Continuing candidate" means a qualified candidate who has not yet been elected or defeated.
- "Highest-ranked continuing candidate" means the continuing candidate on a ballot assigned a ranking with a numerical value that is lower than the ranking for both of the following:
- Any other continuing candidate; or,
- Any overvote ranking on the ballot.
- Any other continuing candidate; or,
- "Instant runoff voting" means a system of RCV used to elect a single candidate to office.
- "Majority of votes" means greater than 50-percent of the votes counting for all continuing candidates.
- "Other exhausted vote" means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, but that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate or overvote, and is not an abstention.
- "Overvote" means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, contains an overvote ranking, and does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate.
- "Overvote ranking" means a ranking assigned to more than one qualified candidate.
- "Ranking" means the number assigned to a candidate to indicate a voter's preference for that candidate. The ranking with the lowest numerical value indicates the voter's first-choice preference, with the ranking increasing in numerical value as the voter's preference decreases.
- "Single transferable vote" means a system of RCV used to elect two or more candidates to office.
- "Abstention" means a ballot that is to be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate, but that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate or overvote, and the voter did at least one of the following:
- Provides that a ballot that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate shall not count for any candidate, but rather shall count as an overvote, abstention, or other exhausted vote. Provides that if two or more candidates are tied with the fewest number of votes, the candidate to be defeated shall be determined by the lot, publically conducted with notice.
- Requires a ballot to allow voters to assign a different ranking to each candidate and at least two write-in candidates. Permits an elections official, if a jurisdiction’s voting equipment cannot feasibly accommodate that number of rankings on the ballot, to limit the number of choices a voter may rank to the greater of three candidates or the maximum number allowed by the equipment.
- Requires an elections official, in an election conducted by RCV, to provide ballot instructions in the following form:
“To vote in this election, indicate your first-choice candidate by selecting or marking a “1” in the voting square to the right of that candidate, a “2” in the voting square to the right of your second-choice candidate, a “3” in the voting square to the right of your third-choice candidate, and so on. Do not give the same number to more than one candidate. You may rank as many or as few of the candidates as you choose, up to the limit specified, if any. Your second choice will not affect your first choice; your third choice will not affect your first two choices, and so on. You may include one or more qualified write-in candidates in your rankings by writing each write-in candidate’s name in one of the blank spaces provided for that purpose after the names of the other candidates for the same office, and then writing the desired ranking in the voting square to the right of that name.”
- Requires an election using instant runoff voting (IRV) to be tabulated in a series of one or more rounds, each conducted with the following steps:
- Each ballot shall count as one vote for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot.
- The tabulation shall be complete if either of the following situations occur:
- There is only one continuing candidate, in which case that candidate shall be designated as elected; or,
- There are exactly two continuing candidates, in which case the candidate with a majority of votes shall be designated as elected, and the other candidate shall be designated as defeated.
- If a continuing candidate has a majority of votes and the elections official determines that tabulation cannot feasibly continue until there are only two continuing candidates, the majority candidate shall be designated as elected, all other continuing candidates shall be designated as defeated, and the tabulation shall be complete.
- If a candidate satisfies both the following conditions, then all candidates with fewer votes may be designated as defeated:
- At least one other candidate has at least as many votes as the candidate; and,
- The candidate has more votes than the total votes for all candidates with fewer votes.
- If a candidate was not designated as defeated in this round pursuant to subdivision (d), the continuing candidate with the fewest votes shall be designated as defeated.
- Each ballot counted for a candidate as defeated pursuant to subdivision (d) and (e), shall be transferred to and counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on the ballot.
- Requires an election using single transferable vote (STV) to be tabulated in a series of one or more rounds, each conducted with the following steps:
- In the first round:
- All ballots shall be counted, and each ballot shall be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot, using a transfer value of one vote. The “transfer value” of a ballot is the one vote or portion of a vote after a surplus transfer pursuant to subdivision (f) below that the ballot will contribute to the vote total for the ballot’s highest-ranked continuing candidate.
- The “threshold,” which is the number of votes in excess of which a candidate will be designated as elected, shall be determined by dividing the total number of ballots counting for all candidates pursuant to paragraph (1) by one more than the number of offices to be filled and rounding up the quotient to five decimal places.
- All ballots shall be counted, and each ballot shall be counted for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot, using a transfer value of one vote. The “transfer value” of a ballot is the one vote or portion of a vote after a surplus transfer pursuant to subdivision (f) below that the ballot will contribute to the vote total for the ballot’s highest-ranked continuing candidate.
- For each continuing candidate, the votes for the candidate are the sum of the transfer values of all ballots counted for that candidate.
- In the first round, if the number of continuing candidates is less than or equal to the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as elected, and the tabulation is complete.
- Each continuing candidate with votes in excess of the threshold shall be designated as elected, and his or her votes in excess of the threshold calculated shall be treated as his or her surplus.
- If the number of candidates designated as elected is equal to the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as defeated, and the tabulation shall be complete.
- For each candidate that is designated as elected and has a surplus, the surplus of that candidate shall be transferred as follows:
- The surplus factor for the candidate shall be calculated as the quotient, rounded down to five decimal places, of the candidate’s surplus divided by the total number of votes for the candidate.
- Each ballot counted for the candidate shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot using a new transfer value, calculated as the product, rounded down to five decimal places, of the old transfer value times the candidate’s surplus factor.
- “Residual surplus” means the number of surplus votes not transferred due to rounding. The residual surplus for the transfer equals the surplus for the candidate minus the sum of the new transfer values for every ballot transferred from the candidate. The residual surplus shall not be counted for any candidate or be part of other exhausted votes.
- After the candidate’s surplus is transferred and his or her residual surplus is calculated, the candidate does not have a surplus, and the candidate’s vote total for the remainder of the tabulation shall be equal to the threshold.
- The surplus factor for the candidate shall be calculated as the quotient, rounded down to five decimal places, of the candidate’s surplus divided by the total number of votes for the candidate.
- If a surplus was not transferred in this round pursuant to subdivision (f), the continuing candidate with the fewest votes shall be designated as defeated. If the number of continuing candidates plus the number of candidates that have been designated as elected equals the number of offices to be filled, all continuing candidates shall be designated as elected and the tabulation is complete. Provides that each ballot that counted for the defeated candidate shall be transferred to, and counted for, the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot using the current transfer value and after all ballots have been transferred, a defeated candidate shall have zero votes.
- In the first round:
- Permits the SOS to promulgate regulations authorizing modifications to the vote-counting methods described in this bill if the modifications do not change which candidates are elected.
- Provides that if two or more candidates are elected in the same contest, and the offices to be filled by the contest have terms of different remaining lengths, the candidates shall fill the offices based on the number of votes they received in the first round so that a candidate with a higher first-round vote total fills an office with an equal or longer term.
- Provides the following terms for the RCV reporting provisions of this bill:
- “Contest cast selections record report” means a report that lists all of the following for each ballot counted in the tabulation:
- The candidate or candidates indicated at each ranking;
- The precinct in which the ballot was cast; and,
- Whether the ballot was cast by mail.
- The candidate or candidates indicated at each ranking;
- “Contest tabulation report” means a report that lists the following:
- The number of ballots counted;
- The votes received by each candidate in each round of the tabulation; and,
- The cumulative number of votes counted as an overvote, abstention, other exhausted vote, and cumulative residual surplus in each round of the tabulation.
- The number of ballots counted;
- “Tabulation by precinct report” means a report that, for each precinct, lists all of the information required in a contest tabulation report.
- “Contest cast selections record report” means a report that lists all of the following for each ballot counted in the tabulation:
- Requires an entry in the contest tabulation report, for a given tabulation, to equal the total of all corresponding precinct entries that are in the tabulation by precinct report. Provides that whether a candidate is designated as elected or defeated, and the round in which a candidate is designated as elected or defeated, shall be the same for the contest tabulation report and for every precinct in the tabulation by precinct report.
- Requires the votes for each round in a contest tabulation report or in a tabulation by precinct report to be reported, as specified.
- Requires ballots, in a contest cast selections record report, to be listed in a manner that does not permit the order in which they were cast in each precinct to be reconstructed. Provides that an overvote ranking may be reported without reporting to which qualified candidates the ranking was assigned.
- Requires an elections official to publish a contest tabulation report for the final tabulation of the official canvass in conjunction with the certified statement of the results. Requires the elections official to also publish at least one of the following reports for the final tabulation of the official canvass:
- A tabulation by precinct report; or,
- A contest cast selections record report.
- A tabulation by precinct report; or,
- Permits an elections official, if the elections official determines that tabulation of all rounds is not feasible on election night, to provide the contest tabulation report totals for only the first round of tabulation or only a tally of the rankings of “1”.
- Requires the elections official, for a contest that is tabulated with a voting system, to do all of the following:
- Tabulate the results as soon as the elections official determines it is feasible after the close of the polls, and publish the corresponding contest tabulation report;
- Tabulate the results for the last preliminary results on election night and publish a corresponding contest tabulation report; and,
- Publish the corresponding contest cast selections record report whenever the results of a tabulation is published, as specified.
- Tabulate the results as soon as the elections official determines it is feasible after the close of the polls, and publish the corresponding contest tabulation report;
- Requires an elections official to promptly post a report made available to the public on his or her official Internet Web site. Requires a contest cast selections record report made available to be provided in a plain text electronic format. Requires an elections official, if an elections official does not have an official Internet Web site, to promptly make the report available to the public by other means and notify the public of the report’s location through a notice prominently displayed in an appropriate location in his or her office.
EXISTING LAW:
- Provides, in general, that any candidate for a nonpartisan office who receives votes on a majority of all the ballots cast for that office at a primary election is elected to that office and prohibits the office from appearing on the ballot at the ensuing general election. Provides that where two or more candidates are to be elected to a given office and a greater number of candidates receives a majority than the number to be elected, those candidates that receive the highest number of votes proceed to the general or run-off election, as specified.
- Requires certain local jurisdictions to determine the winning candidate in a single election by a plurality of votes cast.
- Does not allow a general law city, general law county, school district, or special district to conduct local elections using RCV.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
- Purpose of the Bill: According to the author:
Under current law, general law cities are only allowed to hold plurality winner elections (i.e. most votes wins, even if the winner has less than majority support). See Elec. Code Sec. 15452 and Gov. Code Sec. 34871. (Charter cities, on the other hand, are given more flexibility in selecting voting systems under constitutional home rule protections. See Cal. Const. art. XI, § 5(b).) Under current law, general law cities are prohibited from using the majoritarian voting systems commonly used by charter cities and counties in California, for example the traditional runoff or Ranked Choice Voting (RCV).
While all voting systems have trade-offs, restricting general law cities to plurality elections locks them into a voting system that does an especially poor job of reflecting voter preferences. Plurality voting has a number of well-recognized drawbacks:
- First, it is not clear that a candidate elected by plurality is a true “representative” of that area, as a majority of the electorate voted for other candidates. Plurality voting can even enable a candidate who is least liked by the majority of voters to get elected due to vote-splitting, commonly referred to as the “spoiler effect.” Non-majority winners happen frequently under plurality voting. In fact, from 2006-2014, a candidate for a single-seat local office was elected with less than a majority 13% of the time; when looking only at races with 3 or more candidates, the winner is elected by a mere plurality 42% of the time.
- Second, candidates who are elected by plurality may enter office with a weak mandate, harming their ability to govern.
- Finally, plurality voting encourages insincere voting – due to fears of “wasting their vote” or flipping an election to the candidate they least like, plurality election systems actively discourage voters from casting their ballot for the candidate that best represents their preferences.
This bill would give local governments (cities, counties, school districts, community colleges) the ability to adopt a voting system that best matches the needs of their community. It does not impose any new voting system, but simply gives local jurisdictions additional options which ensure that candidates are elected with majority support. In particular, this bill would authorize local governments to adopt, in addition to plurality voting:
- Traditional two-round runoff: if no candidate receives over 50% of the vote, a second election is held between the top two vote getters to determine who wins. Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento, and many counties use this system.
- Ranked Choice Voting: voters rank the candidates on their ballots. Votes are counted in runoff elimination rounds until only two candidates remain, eliminating the need for a second election. This bill would also authorize local governments to use the multi-seat version of RCV. Several cities, including San Francisco and Oakland use RCV.
Numerous other general law cities and counties are exploring using ranked choice voting, and the Legislature should allow these cities the flexibility they need to serve their voters. Cities and counties deserve the opportunity to use the electoral systems that best address their unique needs.
- Plurality Vote Method and Majority Vote Method: Plurality voting, also known as "winner-take-all" or "first-past-the-post," gives all representation to the candidate finishing first. In plurality voting, each voter selects one candidate, and the candidate with the largest number of votes is the winner regardless of whether the winner receives a majority (50% +1) of the vote. Plurality voting method may be used for a single candidate election or for electing a group of candidates, such as a council or committee. In a majority vote method a voter votes for one candidate and the candidate with the majority (50%+1) of the votes wins. Commonly used majority vote methods include traditional run-off and RCV.
Current law generally provides that any candidate for a nonpartisan office who receives a majority of votes from all the ballots cast for a office at a primary election is elected to that office and prohibits the office from appearing on the ballot at the ensuing general election. Additionally, existing law provides that if two or more candidates are elected to a given office, the candidates that receive the highest number of votes proceed to a general or run-off election, as specified. Certain local jurisdictions, however, are excluded from these provisions. Current law specifically excludes a general law city, school district, and special district from using a majority vote primary election method and instead only permits these jurisdictions to use a single, plurality election method.
This bill changes this policy and instead permits a general law city, a school district, or a district not formed for municipal purposes to elect a candidate for nonpartisan office at a primary election by majority vote, instead of a plurality vote. Additionally, this bill requires a local jurisdiction that wants to change from a plurality election method to a majority election method to submit a proposal to the electors of the jurisdiction at a regularly scheduled election and requires a majority of the votes cast on the question to favor the adoption of the proposal. Finally, if the voters approve a change in election method, this bill requires the jurisdiction to conduct a voter education and outreach campaign to familiarize voters with the new election method, as specified.
- Ranked Choice Voting: RCV is a style of voting that allows voters to rank a first, second and third choice candidate instead of selecting a candidate (e.g., checking a box). RCV includes both IRV and STV. Generally, IRV is used for electing a single candidate and STV is used for electing multiple candidates with proportional representation.
Under RCV, for single winner elections, if a candidate receives a majority (50%+1) of the first-choice votes cast for that office, that candidate will be elected. However, if no candidate receives a majority of the first-choice votes cast, an elimination process begins. The candidate who received the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated. Next, each vote cast for that candidate will be transferred to the voter's next-ranked choice among the remaining candidates. This elimination process will continue until one candidate receives a majority and is deemed the winner.
For an election to elect two or more candidates to office, a minimum threshold of votes necessary to be elected will be determined according to a specific formula. All ballots are counted and each ballot will be allocated as a vote to the candidate receiving the highest ranking. Each candidate that receives the minimum threshold of votes necessary to be elected will be declared elected. - Charter vs. General Law Jurisdictions: Three cities and the City and County of San Francisco have all chosen to conduct local elections using RCV. These jurisdictions were able to choose to use RCV because they are charter cities. Certain home rule provisions in California's state constitution allow cities and counties to exercise a greater degree of control over local affairs by adopting a charter. According to information from the League of California Cities, 121 of California's 482 cities are charter cities, and according to information from the California State Association of Counties, 14 of California's 58 counties are charter counties. Cities and counties that are not charter jurisdictions are commonly known as "general law" jurisdictions.
Under current law the only way in which a general law city or a general law county may conduct elections using RCV is to become a charter jurisdiction. This bill sets up a new mechanism that authorizes a general law city, a general law county, and specified educational jurisdictions, with voter approval, to conduct local elections using RCV. Specifically, this bill requires a proposal to elect members or local officers by RCV to only apply prospectively and prohibits RCV from becoming operative until it is submitted to the electors of the jurisdiction at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal. In addition, if the voters approve the change in election method, this bill requires the jurisdiction to conduct a voter education and outreach campaign to familiarize voters with the new election method, as specified.
- Jurisdictions Using RCV in California: As noted by the author, a handful of charter cities use RCV to conduct local elections for certain local offices. Oakland, San Francisco, San Leandro, and Berkeley have all used RCV for certain local elections.
In 2002, voters of the City of and County of San Francisco approved a charter amendment to conduct certain local elections by RCV. Since the approval, San Francisco has conducted elections using RCV in almost all November general elections from 2004 to 2015. Moreover, in 2006, voters in Oakland approved a charter amendment to conduct local elections using RCV and in 2010, voters in the cities of Berkeley and San Leandro also approved charter amendments to conduct certain local elections using RCV. Since 2010, the cities of Berkeley, Oakland and San Leandro have conducted elections using RCV in November 2010, November 2012, and November 2014. - Lack of RCV-Capable Certified Voting Systems: There are no voting systems currently certified for general use in California that have the capability to tabulate ballots cast in an RCV election. The voting system first used in San Francisco for its elections conducted using RCV was conditionally approved by the SOS for use in San Francisco’s elections on April 30, 2004, which permitted San Francisco to use the system on a one time basis for the November 2004 general election. After receiving reports on the system’s performance in that election at a public hearing on February 17, 2005, the SOS conditionally approved the system for use from March 7, 2005 until December 31, 2005 only in the City and County of San Francisco. On August 3, 2006 the SOS received an application requesting a one time, final approval of the system for use in the November 2006 general election. That application was approved, under the condition that the system not be used again for any election in California. Nonetheless, on September 14, 2007, the SOS approved the use of the San Francisco's voting system through December 31, 2008.
San Francisco subsequently obtained a different RCV-capable system, but that system also was approved on a "one time" basis for the November 2008 general election and again for use in the May 2009 statewide special election. Subsequently, San Francisco has been granted extensions of previous approvals to use its RCV-capable system for elections held through the calendar years of 2010, 2011, and 2012.
Similar to San Francisco, Alameda County was also able to conduct elections using RCV due to a series of “one time” approvals and extensions of previous approvals. In 2009 Alameda County was granted a one time approval by the SOS to use the same voting system that San Francisco used for the 2010 consolidated gubernatorial general election, so that elections in the cities of Berkeley, Oakland, and San Leandro could be conducted using RCV in accordance with the city charters in those cities. In granting that approval to Alameda County, the SOS imposed a number of conditions on Alameda County's use of the system, including a requirement that extensive voter education and outreach be conducted for voters in Berkeley, Oakland, and San Leandro. Again, similar to San Francisco, Alameda County has been granted extensions of previous approvals to use its RCV-capable system for elections held through the calendar years of 2011 and 2012.
In 2013, based on San Francisco and Alameda counties success in conducting multiple elections using RCV-capable voting systems, the SOS approved use of the RCV system to both counties. However, despite the fact that the RCV voting system has been certified for use in both San Francisco and Alameda counties, the use of the RCV system is limited to only those jurisdictions. No other city or county in California are allowed to purchase and use that system for an election in California without separate approval by the SOS.
- Right of Refusal: This bill permits a county elections official, if a county board of education, school district, or community college district authorizes the use of RCV before that method is used in any election, to certify that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by RCV, as specified. Additionally, this bill requires a local jurisdiction, if a county elections official provides the certification, as specified, to conduct its next election in the same manner as its most recent election was conducted. These provisions, however do not apply to general law cities or general law counties.
On a practical level these provisions are reasonable as county elections officials typically administer elections for educational jurisdictions. However, county elections officials also administer many elections for cities. If voters of a general law city voted to approve the use of RCV to conduct their local elections, could a county elections official be forced to acquire new voting equipment in order to administer the city’s elections? - Regularly Scheduled Elections and Suggested Committee Amendment: As mentioned above, this bill allows a general law city, a general law county, a county board of education, a school district, and a community college district, with voter approval, to conduct local elections using RCV. Specifically, this bill requires a proposal to elect members or local officers by RCV to only apply prospectively and prohibits the proposal from becoming operative unless it is submitted to the electors of the jurisdiction at a regularly scheduled election and a majority of the votes cast on the question favor the adoption of the proposal. According to the sponsors of the bill, the intent is to require a RCV proposal to be submitted to the jurisdiction’s voters at a regularly scheduled election, not a special election. Committee staff, however, found a drafting error, which allows a general law city to submit a RCV proposal to voters at a special election and recommends amending the bill to fix the error.
- Technical Amendments: The committee staff recommends the following technical amendments:
On page 16, in line 28, delete the word “both.”
Add Senator Hancock as a co-author.
- Arguments in Support: In support, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – California, writes:
Under current law, general law cities and school districts must use “first-past-the-post” voting, where the candidate with the most votes represents everyone else even if they received far less than majority support. Such results due to vote splitting undermine the assurance of fairer representation that elections by district or by trustee area should provide.
Advancing Justice – California supports ranked choice voting to help more voters fully participate in electing candidates of their choice in a single, high turnout election. For example, SB 1288 requires consolidation of county elections with the November state general election if ranked choice voting is used, thus avoiding lower turnout and less representative elections in June. Bay Area cities that switched to ranked choice voting have seen high percentages of women and people of color being elected in such consolidated elections. For example, in San Francisco the 11-member Board of Supervisors went from having four minority members before ranked choice voting to eight today.
We also support using ranked choice voting as an alternative to winner-take-all-elections in at-large elections, especially when historically under represented voters are geographically dispersed and cannot be adequately represented by districts or by trustee areas. Allowing voters from across a district to combine their votes and reducing the percentage of votes needed to win a seat creates new access for racial and ethnic minority voters and can allow their elected numbers to increase as their share of the electorate grows.
Local jurisdictions should have access to these election methods which better ensure elected officials are representative of their electorates. Voters deserve options to avoid the problems of vote splitting and spoiler effects. A group of like-minded voters should not be penalized just because there are a few more candidates seeking their votes.
- Previous Legislation: Since 2006 there have been numerous prior bills intended to permit local jurisdictions to use RCV for either regular or special elections. All of these bills either failed passage in the Legislature or were vetoed by the Governor, including all of the following: SB 596 (Bowen) of 2006, AB 1294 (Mullin and Leno) of 2007, AB 1121 (Davis) of 2009, AB 2732 (Eng) of 2010 and SB 1346 (Hancock) of 2010.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Common Cause (co-sponsor)
Californians for Electoral Reform (co-sponsor)
Asian American Action Fund
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – California
Democracy for America
FairVote
League of California Cities
League of Women Voters of California
Mendocino County Board of Supervisors
Oakland Rising
Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
One Individual
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | SB |
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1288
:
SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 3-1, 4/19/16
AYES: Allen, Hancock, Hertzberg
NOES: Anderson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Liu
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SOURCE: California Common Cause
Californians for Electoral Reform
DIGEST: This bill permits specified local jurisdictions to require that candidates must obtain a majority of votes cast to be elected (by runoff election if necessary) rather than winning with only a plurality in a single election and also authorizes local jurisdictions to conduct an election using ranked choice voting.
Existing law:
- Provides, generally, that a candidate for nonpartisan local office who receives votes on the majority of all ballots cast at a primary election is elected to that office, and the office does not appear on the ballot in the ensuing general or run-off election. For some local offices, the two candidates who receive the highest number of votes proceed to a general or run-off election. However, the winning candidates for some local offices are required to be determined in a single election by only having to garner a plurality of all votes cast.
- Does not permit general law cities and counties, nor school and special districts, to adopt alternative voting methods commonly known as ranked choice or instant run-off voting. These types of jurisdictions are limited to traditional voting methods whereby candidates are elected by either attaining a plurality of votes in a single election or through a run-off election held on a later date. Charter cities and charter counties, however, do currently have the ability to adopt alternative voting methods through the charter amendment process.
This bill:
- Provides that any local jurisdiction, as specified, instead of being required to elect officials in a single, plurality election, may require that if no candidate receives a majority of all votes cast in a primary election, the candidates that did receive the most votes for office appear in a general or run-off election.
- Authorizes any city, county, or local educational agency, with voter approval, to conduct an election using ranked choice voting, in which voters rank the candidates for office in order of preference, as specified, and specifies the procedures for conducting an election using ranked choice voting as it applies to both a single-winner election and a multiple-winner election.
- Specifies the method by which results of a ranked choice election shall be tabulated and reported.
- Provides that a local jurisdiction may not conduct an election using ranked choice voting if the county elections official certifies that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method.
- Provides that a jurisdiction that uses ranked choice voting or elects a candidate pursuant to 1) above, shall conduct a voter education and outreach campaign that includes public service announcements on radio, television, or in print media to familiarize voters with that election method. Materials and information disseminated as part of the campaign shall be provided in languages other than English, as required by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
- Provides that the Secretary of State may promulgate regulations authorizing modifications to the vote-counting methods described in this bill if the modifications do not change which candidates are elected.
Background
So How Does this System Work? Ranked choice voting is an election method in which voters rank the candidates for office in order of preference, and the ballots are counted in rounds. In the case of a single-winner election, these rounds simulate a series of runoffs until only two candidates remain, with the candidate having the greater number of votes being declared the winner. In the case of a multiple-winner election, these rounds fill all seats to be elected.
For single winner elections, in the first round, every ballot shall count as a vote towards the candidate indicated by the highest ranking on that ballot. After every round, if a candidate receives a majority of votes from the continuing ballots, that candidate is declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority, the candidate receiving the smallest number of votes will be eliminated, and every ballot counting towards that candidate will be advanced to the next-ranked continuing candidate on the ballot.
For an election to elect two or more candidates to office, a minimum threshold of votes necessary to be elected will be determined according to a specified formula. All ballots are counted and each ballot will be allocated as a vote to the candidate receiving the highest ranking. Each candidate that receives the minimum threshold of votes necessary to be elected will be declared elected.
Current Ranked Voting in California. In California the charter cities of San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and San Leandro have all conducted city elections using ranked voting. Commensurately, San Francisco and Alameda County (where the other cities are located) are the only jurisdictions that have voting systems currently certified for use in California that would accommodate an election using ranked voting.
Can Voters Vote Twice or Are Votes Counted Twice? While explaining the vote tabulation system is somewhat complex, no voter gets to vote twice and no vote is counted twice. In a single-winner system where the last place candidate is eliminated, voters who listed that candidate first on their ballot then get to use the second choice on their ballot once that first choice is eliminated. They may get two (or more) chances to use their vote, but they never get more than one vote. The multi-winner system is somewhat more complicated because of how a portion of the “excess votes” can be transferred, but there’s still only one total vote per voter.
Comments
- According to the author, under current law, general law cities are only allowed to hold plurality winner elections (i.e. most votes wins, even if the winner has less than majority support). Charter cities, on the other hand, are given more flexibility in selecting voting systems under constitutional home rule protections within the state Constitution. Under current law, general law cities are prohibited from using the majoritarian voting systems commonly used by charter cities and counties in California, for example the traditional runoff or Ranked Choice Voting (RCV).
While all voting systems have trade-offs, restricting general law cities to plurality elections locks them into a voting system that does an especially poor job of reflecting voter preferences. Plurality voting has a number of well-recognized drawbacks:
First, it is not clear that a candidate elected by plurality is a true “representative” of that area, as a majority of the electorate voted for another candidate. Plurality voting can even enable a candidate who is least liked by the majority of voters to get elected due to vote-splitting, commonly referred to as the “spoiler effect.” Non-majority winners happen frequently under plurality voting. In fact, from 2006-2014, a candidate for a single-seat local office was elected with less than a majority 13% of the time; when looking only at races with three or more candidates, the winner is elected by a mere plurality 42% of the time.
Second, candidates who are elected by plurality may enter office with a weak mandate, harming their ability to govern.
Finally, plurality voting encourages insincere voting – due to fears of “wasting their vote” or flipping an election to the candidate they least like, plurality election systems actively discourage voters from casting their ballot for the candidate that best represents their preferences.
This bill gives local governments (cities, counties, school districts, and community colleges) the ability to adopt a voting system that best matches the needs of their community. It does not impose any new voting system, but simply gives local jurisdictions additional options which ensure that candidates are elected with majority support. In particular, this bill authorizes local governments to adopt, in addition to plurality voting:
Traditional two-round runoff: If no candidate receives over 50% of the vote, a second election is held between the top two vote-getters to determine who wins. Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento, and many counties use this system.
Ranked Choice Voting: Voters rank the candidates on their ballots. Votes are counted in runoff elimination rounds until only two candidates remain, eliminating the need for a second election. This bill also authorizes local governments to use the multi-seat version of RCV. Several cities, including San Francisco and Oakland use RCV.
Numerous other general law cities and counties are exploring using RCV, and the Legislature should allow these cities the flexibility they need to serve their voters. Cities and counties deserve the opportunity to use the electoral systems that best address their unique needs.
- Sounds Complicated – Or is It? While the formulas for determining winners and transfer values, etc. under this bill may appear complicated, that will not be evident to the voters. Voters will merely have to rank the candidates on the ballot according to their preference.
Related/Prior Legislation
Since 2006, there have been numerous prior bills intended to permit local jurisdictions to use ranked choice voting for either regular or special elections. All of these bills either failed passage in the Legislature or were vetoed by the Governor, including all of the following: SB 596 (Bowen, 2006), AB 1294 (Mullin and Leno, 2007), AB 1121 (Davis, 2009), SB 2732 (Eng, 2010), and
SB 1346 (Hancock, 2010).
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:
California Common Cause (co-source)
Californians for Electoral Reform (co-source)
Asian American Action Fund
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - California
Democracy for America
FairVote
League of California Cities
League of Women Voters of California
Los Angeles Voters for Instant Runoff Elections
Mendocino County Board of Supervisors
Oakland Rising
Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
None received
5/11/16 15:52:47
**** END ****
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Ben Allen, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB Hearing Date: 4/19/16
Author: | |||
Version: | 4/4/16 | ||
Urgency: | No | Fiscal: | Yes |
Consultant: | Darren Chesin | ||
Subject: Elections: local voting methods
DIGEST
This bill would authorize a city, county, or local educational agency to conduct an election using ranked choice voting and would specify the procedures for conducting an election using ranked choice voting.
ANALYSIS
Existing law:
- Provides, generally, that a candidate for nonpartisan local office who receives votes on the majority of all ballots cast at a primary election is elected to that office, and the office does not appear on the ballot in the ensuing general or run-off election. For some local offices the two candidates who receive the highest number of votes proceed to a general or run-off election. However, the winning candidates for some local offices are required to be determined in a single election by only having to garner a plurality of all votes cast.
- Does not permit general law cities and counties, nor school and special districts, to adopt alternative voting methods commonly known as ranked choice or instant run-off voting. These types of jurisdictions are limited to traditional voting methods whereby candidates are elected by either attaining a plurality of votes in a single election or through a run-off election held on a later date. Charter cities and charter counties, however, do currently have the ability to adopt alternative voting methods through the charter amendment process.
This bill:
- Provides that any local jurisdiction, as specified, instead of being required to elect officials in a single, plurality election, may require that if no candidate receives a majority of all votes cast in a primary election, the candidates that did receive the most votes for office appear in a general or run-off election.
- Authorizes any city, county, or local educational agency, with voter approval, to conduct an election using ranked choice voting, in which voters rank the candidates for office in order of preference, as specified, and specifies the procedures for conducting an election using ranked choice voting as it applies to both a single-winner election and a multiple-winner election.
- Specifies the method by which results of a ranked choice election shall be tabulated and reported.
- Provides that a local jurisdiction may not conduct an election using ranked choice voting if the county elections official certifies that the county lacks the technological capacity to conduct elections by this method.
- Provides that a jurisdiction that uses ranked choice voting or elects a candidate pursuant to (1) above, shall conduct a voter education and outreach campaign that includes public service announcements on radio, television, or in print media to familiarize voters with that election method. Materials and information disseminated as part of the campaign shall be provided in languages other than English, as required by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
- Provides that the Secretary of State (SOS) may promulgate regulations authorizing modifications to the vote-counting methods described in this bill if the modifications do not change which candidates are elected.
BACKGROUND
So How Does this System Work? Ranked choice voting is an election method in which voters rank the candidates for office in order of preference, and the ballots are counted in rounds. In the case of a single-winner election these rounds simulate a series of runoffs until only two candidates remain, with the candidate having the greater number of votes being declared the winner. In the case of a multiple-winner election these rounds fill all seats to be elected.
For single winner elections, in the first round, every ballot shall count as a vote towards the candidate indicated by the highest ranking on that ballot. After every round, if a candidate receives a majority of votes from the continuing ballots, that candidate is declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority, the candidate receiving the smallest number of votes will be eliminated, and every ballot counting towards that candidate will be advanced to the next-ranked continuing candidate on the ballot.
For an election to elect two or more candidates to office, a minimum threshold of votes necessary to be elected will be determined according to a specified formula. All ballots are counted and each ballot will be allocated as a vote to the candidate receiving the highest ranking. Each candidate that receives the minimum threshold of votes necessary to be elected will be declared elected.
Current Ranked Voting in California. In California the charter cities of San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and San Leandro have all conducted city elections using ranked voting. Commensurately, San Francisco and Alameda County (where the other cities are located) are the only jurisdictions that have voting systems currently certified for use in California that would accommodate an election using ranked voting.
Can Voters Vote Twice or Are Votes Counted Twice? While explaining the vote tabulation system is somewhat complex, no voter gets to vote twice and no vote is counted twice. In a single-winner system where the last place candidate is eliminated, voters who listed that candidate first on their ballot then get to use the second choice on their ballot once that first choice is eliminated. They may get two (or more) chances to use their vote, but they never get more than one vote. The multi-winner system is somewhat more complicated because of how a portion of the “excess votes” can be transferred, but there’s still only one total vote per voter.
COMMENTS
- According to the author: Under current law, general law cities are only allowed to hold plurality winner elections (i.e. most votes wins, even if the winner has less than majority support). Charter cities, on the other hand, are given more flexibility in selecting voting systems under constitutional home rule protections within the state Constitution. Under current law, general law cities are prohibited from using the majoritarian voting systems commonly used by charter cities and counties in California, for example the traditional runoff or Ranked Choice Voting (RCV).
While all voting systems have trade-offs, restricting general law cities to plurality elections locks them into a voting system that does an especially poor job of reflecting voter preferences. Plurality voting has a number of well-recognized drawbacks:
First, it is not clear that a candidate elected by plurality is a true “representative” of that area, as a majority of the electorate voted for another candidate. Plurality voting can even enable a candidate who is least liked by the majority of voters to get elected due to vote-splitting, commonly referred to as the “spoiler effect.” Non-majority winners happen frequently under plurality voting. In fact, from 2006-2014, a candidate for a single-seat local office was elected with less than a majority 13% of the time; when looking only at races with 3 or more candidates, the winner is elected by a mere plurality 42% of the time.
Second, candidates who are elected by plurality may enter office with a weak mandate, harming their ability to govern.
Finally, plurality voting encourages insincere voting – due to fears of “wasting their vote” or flipping an election to the candidate they least like, plurality election systems actively discourage voters from casting their ballot for the candidate that best represents their preferences.
This bill would give local governments (cities, counties, school districts, community colleges) the ability to adopt a voting system that best matches the needs of their community. It does not impose any new voting system, but simply gives local jurisdictions additional options which ensure that candidates are elected with majority support. In particular, this bill would authorize local governments to adopt, in addition to plurality voting:
Traditional two-round runoff: if no candidate receives over 50% of the vote, a second election is held between the top two vote-getters to determine who wins. Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento, and many counties use this system.
Ranked Choice Voting: voters rank the candidates on their ballots. Votes are counted in runoff elimination rounds until only two candidates remain, eliminating the need for a second election. This bill would also authorize local governments to use the multi-seat version of RCV. Several cities, including San Francisco and Oakland use RCV.
Numerous other general law cities and counties are exploring using ranked choice voting, and the Legislature should allow these cities the flexibility they need to serve their voters. Cities and counties deserve the opportunity to use the electoral systems that best address their unique needs.
- Sounds Complicated – Or is It? While the formulas for determining winners and transfer values, etc. under this bill may appear complicated, that will not be evident to the voters. Voters will merely have to rank the candidates on the ballot according to their preference.
RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION
Since 2006 there have been numerous prior bills intended to permit local jurisdictions to use ranked choice voting for either regular or special elections. All of these bills either failed passage in the Legislature or were vetoed by the Governor, including all of the following: SB 596 (Bowen of 2006), AB 1294 (Mullin and Leno of 2007), AB 1121 (Davis of 2009), SB 2732 (Eng of 2010), and SB 1346 (Hancock of 2010).
POSITIONS
Sponsor: California Common Cause
Californians for Electoral Reform (Co-sponsor)
Support: Asian American Action Fund
FairVote
League of California Cities
League of Women Voters of California
Los Angeles Voters for Instant Runoff Elections
Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
Oppose: None received
-- END --
Bill Author
