AB 1294 goes to Governor Schwarzenegger

Update September 12, 2007 -- Late last night the Assembly concurred in minor amendments made in the Senate, and sent AB 1294 to the Governor for his signature.

Please watch CfER's action page for updates on how you can help pass AB 1294.

The vote was 47-30, along party lines, with two members absent.

Update September 10, 2007 -- AB 1294 passed the California Senate today, 22-18.

CfER's bill to allow all cities and counties to adopt ranked voting now returns to the Assembly for concurrence with minor amendments made in the Senate. Then it will go to Governor Schwarzenegger for his signature.

Democrats voted 21 for and 4 against the bill. Republicans vote 1 for and 14 against.

Update August 27, 2007 -- The Senate Appropriations Committee passed AB 1294 today on a 9-8 vote. CfER's bill to allow all cities and counties to adopt ranked voting now moves to the Senate Floor.

Update August 20, 2007 -- The battle over the state budget has thoroughly disrupted the activities of the Legislature. In today's episode of the saga, a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing was cancelled. The two ranked voting bills sponsored by Californians for Electoral Reform, AB 1294 and AB 1662, were among the 255 or so Assembly bills scheduled for this hearing.

There is no word on when our bills will be heard by the Appropriations Committee. Deadlines are looming -- August 31 for committees to report bills to the floor, and September 14 for their passage. These deadlines are in the Joint Rules rather than a statute or the Constitution, so they can be changed at any time by a two-thirds vote of both Houses. (There are some statuatory deadlines, but they pertain only to the second year of the session.)

Presumably, the rules will be suspended or changed if need be once the budget crisis is resolved. But nothing is guaranteed right now, and there is a small (but greater than zero) chance that either or both bills will not reach the Senate floor until next year.

Update July 24, 2007 -- AB 1662 and AB 1294 have both been scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday, August 20. Appropriations hearings are in Room 4203 of the State Capitol and begin at 10:00am.

Update July 10, 2007 -- Today the Senate Elections Committee approved AB 1294 and AB 1662, both sponsored by Californians for Electoral Reform. Both bills now advance to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The vote on AB 1294 was 3-2 along party lines. The bipartisan vote on AB 1662 was 4-0, with committee chair Ron Calderon (D-30) abstaining.

Update June 6, 2007AB 1294, which would allow all cities and counties -- not just those with home rule charters -- to use ranked voting methods, passed the California Assembly today. The vote was 47-31, with one abstention and one absence.

Later the same day, AB 1662, which would let overseas voters use ranked ballots when the time between first round and runoff is short, also passed. The vote was 77-0.

An audio transcript of the AB 1294 debate is posted here. Details will follow soon.

Update May 31, 2007 -- Today AB 1662 (see CfER action page) passed the Assembly Committe on Appropriations. The vote was 17-0.

Update May 10, 2007 -- AB 1294 (see CfER action page) passed the Assembly Committee on Appropriations yesterday and is headed to the Assembly floor. The party line vote was 11-5.

During the same hearing AB 1662 was placed on the Appropriations Committee's "suspense file", due in part to a committee staff analysis based on a misreading of the bill that dramatically inflated the expected cost. Bills in the "suspense file" are reviewed at a later hearing in which the committee decides which ones to approve based on the costs and perceived benefits of all the bills in the file.

April 18, 2007 -- Yesterday the Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting approved both of the ranked voting bills before it.

AB 1294 would give all cities and counties the option to use IRV or choice voting in their local elections, and would facilitate the development of compatible voting systems by establishing standards for ranked voting elections. The vote was 5-2.

Marin's representative in the Assembly, Jared Huffman, is among several co-authors of AB 1294.

AB 1662 would help overcome the frequent disenfranchisement of overseas absentee voters by providing them with a special ranked ballot whenever a runoff election might have to be conducted within 90 days of the preliminary round. The 6-0 vote showed bipartisan support for reporting this bill out of committee.

This is exciting news, but it's also just one step. As these bills -- especially AB 1294 -- progress through the Committee on Appropriations and to the floor of the Assembly, they will need steadily growing support from communities and organizations around the state.

Here is a partial list of endorsements of AB 1294: