CfER-sponsored 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.

AB 1662 must pass the Senate Appropriations Committee by August 15 at the latest, and may be heard by the committee sooner than that. Please take action to support the bill immediately after reviewing this action page.

AB 1662 Action Page Index and Links

• Introduction - what the bill would do (and why it matters)
• Call to action - contact your state senator now
• Talking points
• Downloadable fact sheet - everything on one page
• Downloadable co-author letter - please ask your state senator to sign
• Bill text and legislative staff analyses on the Legislature's website
• Correcting some misunderstandings - letter to California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
• Chronology
• AB 1662 Wins Broad Support in the Legislature - Voice for Democracy, Summer 2007
• Meanwhile, Back at CfER's Military Overseas Voting Bill - Voice for Democracy, Spring 2008
• More details
• Timing of California Runoff Elections

Call To Action

Urge your state Senator to support and co-author AB 1662

AB 1662 is CfER's bill to use ranked ballots to improve access to the ballot box for overseas absentee voters. It would apply to general elections held within 90 days of the primary. These include all special elections to fill vacancies in the Legislature and Congress and elections in at least 10 charter cities. Overseas absentee voters would be able to return a special ballot ranking all of the candidates on the first-round ballot. If they are unable to return their second-round ballot in time, this ranked ballot would be used to determine their second-round vote.

As detailed in this chronology , AB 1662 passed the Assembly last year and has been approved by the Senate Elections Committee. It is now in the Senate Appropriations Committee, which must approve it by August 15 at the latest. We estimate that the cost of implementation would be at most $100,000, but this year the annual summer budget crisis is more severe than usual. We need to keep the momentum going and build additional support for the bill if it is to be enacted.

We will need your help to get AB 1662 through the Senate and signed by the Governor. We need you to make two contacts today in the state Senate.

(1) Please contact Senator Tom Torlakson, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and urge him to support the bill when it is heard in committee soon. The hearing must be held by August 15 at the absolute latest.

Senator Tom Torlakson
Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee
Postal: State Capitol, Room 5050, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4007
Fax: (916) 445-2527
Email: Senator.Torlakson@senate.ca.gov

(2) Please contact your state Senator today and urge their support for the bill. In particular, please ask that they co-author the bill and send them

You can call, fax, email, or send a postal letter to them. Written comments, especially handwritten letters, have the greatest impact, but do whatever works for you. For contact information for your Senator, please view the Senate roster available here. You can also find out who your Senator is using your address or a map here.

If your senator is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee -- Senators Torlakson (Chair), Cox (Vice Chair), Aanestad, Ashburn, Cedillo, Corbett, Dutton, Florez, Kuehl, Oropeza, Ridley-Thomas, Runner, Simitian, Wyland, and Yee -- be sure to ask them to support the bill when it is heard in committee.

CONDENSED TALKING POINTS

1. About 20 percent of overseas voters who attempt to vote don't have their votes counted, and the tight deadlines for runoff elections make this problem worse.
2. The federal government urges states to mail overseas ballots by 45 days before election, a deadline that cannot be met in some California runoff elections.
3. Ranked ballots offer a very low cost way for voters who cannot return their runoff ballots in time to participate in runoff elections.
4. The special ranked ballot will be counted only if a regular runoff ballot is not received from the same voter.
5. This process already has a track record and enthusiastic support in Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolinia and Illinois.

For more detailed talking points, see here.

Page last revised July 30, 2008

AB 1294 will allow all cities and counties to use ranked voting systems, incluing instant runoff voting and choice voting. It passed the Legislature on September 12 and is now on Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk.

Please contact the Governor today and urge him to sign AB 1294. You can call, email, fax, or send a postal note. The most important thing is to do it immediately.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: 916-445-4633
Phone: 916-445-2841
Email: visit gov.ca.gov/interact

A sample letter appears below. For more information, see our AB 1294 Fact Sheet and the abbreviated talking points below. For additional background, detailed talking points, and the list of organizations and public officials supporting AB 1294, please visit CfER's AB 1294 action page.

As a rule of thumb, legible handwritten letters are better than typed or computer printed ones. Letters (as long as they’re legible) are better than faxes. Faxes are better than emails. Emails are better than phone messages. Phone messages are better than illegible handwritten letters. And all of these options are much better than doing nothing and then regretting it later. The most important thing is to take action immediately.

Ballot Access News has these useful tips on surviving your encounter with the Governor's telephone system.

Brevity is the soul of wit, and also the heart of an effective constituent letter.

Brief Talking Points on AB 1294

• AB 1294 is about local control. It provides an option, not a mandate. It makes it possible for general law municipalities and counties to consider election reforms that can increase voter participation and save our municipalities money. Currently, charter cities and counties can adopt electoral systems that best meet their unique needs. The same opportunity should be extended to all cities and counties. The bill requires voter approval in order to adopt a change to ranked voting, so it will only be implemented where there is strong public support for the change.
• Cost savings for local government. There is no fiscal impact on the state, while it gives local governments an opportunity to save money, in some cases a considerable amount. San Francisco alone saves about $1.6 million per election. Los Angeles recently spent $5 million on a runoff election for local offices, which only had 6% voter turnout.
• Instant runoff voting has worked extremely well for voters where it has been implemented. Research in San Francisco shows that 87% of voters understand ranked voting; voters prefer it, three-to-one, to their old system; and think it is more fair by a margin of two-to-one. Voter approval of IRV holds up across every demographic: neighborhood, race, age, sex, party and political philosophy.
• AB 1294 contains uniform election code support for ranked voting, which will help both charter and general law jurisdictions that want to use them. City and county officials and/or local Registrars are not put in the difficult positions of having to make up such procedures themselves
• AB 1294 has broad support. Endorsements include the League of California Cities, the California League of Women Voters, California Common Cause, and the City Clerks Association of California.

Sample Letter to the Governor

Letters to public officials are always more effective when they are in your own words. The example below is best used as exactly that -- an example. Please see the talking points above for other useful ideas.

[Date]

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,

I urge you to sign AB 1294, giving all cities and counties the option to use Instant Runoff Voting and Choice Voting. These ranked voting systems have proven themselves to be both good for local governments and good for voters.

Local governments can save a lot of money by being able to elect their representatives in a single election, without the need for a costly runoff election. San Francisco alone saves over $1.6 million per election. Los Angeles just recently held a set of runoff elections that cost around $5 million and only had a 6% voter turnout. That money could be better spent elsewhere, and democracy would be better served by involving more citizens in the process.

Instant Runoff Voting works well, and voters understand it, use it effectively, and like it. Voters in San Francisco preferred IRV by a three to one margin over their previous system, and two to one thought it more fair.

This bill would give general law cities and counties the same opportunity to use ranked voting methods that charter cities and counties have now. These methods can be advantageous in many situations and cities and counties should have the right to make the decision to implement them based on their own specific circumstances and the will of their electorates, rather than being constrained as under current law.

Sincerely,

[YourNameHere]

Last revised September 27, 2007

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.

By Bob Richard

August 30, 2007 -- This afternoon AB 1662 joined roughly 200 other bills for an extended sojourn in the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file. It will be considered again next year.

Take Action Today:

Support Key Electoral Reform Legislation in California

AB 1294 —
Mullin and Leno — Local Option for Ranked Voting

Please contact members of the California Senate Elections Committee to urge support for AB 1294

Your help is needed now to move key electoral reform legislation in the California Senate. In June, the California Assembly passed AB 1294, legislation by Assembly Members Mullin and Leno to give local governments (i.e. cities and counties) the option to use Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) and Choice Voting to elect their representatives. Choice Voting is a similar ranked system as Instant Runoff Voting, only designed to work when electing multiple winners, such as for a city council. Charter jurisdictions already have the opportunity to use these improved electoral systems, but three-fourths of all California cities and counties are "general law" jurisdictions and are not able to use these systems. AB 1294 would level the playing field and give all cities and counties this option.

Please contact members of the California Senate Elections Committee to urge support for AB 1294

We need your help to move this legislation in the Senate. We need you to contact the members of the Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments committee, and urge their support AB 1294 when the bill is heard in committee on July 10th. You can call, fax, email, or send a postal letter. Written comments, especially handwritten letters, have the greatest impact, but do whatever works for you. But do it soon, as the hearing is on July 10th. For more information, see Background or Talking Points or Supporters below.

California Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional
Amendments Committee

Senator Ron Calderon
Chair, Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments
Postal: California State Capitol, Room 4088, Sacramento, CA 95814
Email: Senator.Calderon@senate.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 445-3090
Fax: (916) 327-8755

Senator Alex Padilla
Postal: California State Capitol, Room 4032, Sacramento, CA 95814
Email: Senator.Padilla@senate.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 445-7928
Fax: (916) 324-6645

Senator Carole Migden
Postal: California State Capitol, Room 2059, Sacramento, CA 95814
Email: Senator.Migden@senate.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 445-1412
Fax: (916) 445-4722

Senator Jim Battin
Postal: California State Capitol, Room 3056, Sacramento, CA 95814
Email: Jim.Battin@sen.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 445-5581
Fax: (916) 327-2187

Senator David Cogdill
Postal: California State Capitol, Room 3048, Sacramento, CA 95814
Email: Senator.Cogdill@senate.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 445-9600
Fax: (916) 327-3523

Optional 6th contact:

Senator Don Perata
Senate President pro Tempore
Postal: California State Capitol, Room 205, Sacramento, CA 95814
Email: Senator.Perata@sen.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 445-6577
Fax: (916) 327-1997

If you can only write one letter, please write to Senator Calderon, the Chair of Senate Elections. If you can write three letters, write to the three Democrats on the committee. Better still, contact all five members of the committee AND send a separate note to Senate President pro Tem Don Perata urging his support for the bill.

BACKGROUND

AB 1294, introduced by Assembly Members Mullin (D-19) and Leno (D-13), would allow all cities and counties to use ranked voting systems to elect their representatives. The bill would allow these jurisdictions to use Instant Runoff Voting for single-winner elections or Choice Voting (a ranked voting system similar to IRV) for multiple-winner elections. It would also add to the state Elections Code the guidelines and procedures that registrars and equipment vendors need to count and report ranked voting elections.

AB 1294 passed in the Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting on April 17th and passed through the Committee on Appropriations on May 9th. The bill passed in the full Assembly on June 6th.

In addition to the successful votes above, we are also very pleased that a number of other legislators have signed on as co-authors of the bill, including Assembly Members Mike Davis, Loni Hancock, Jared Huffman, Betty Karnette, John Laird, Fiona Ma, and Lois Wolk, in addition to the principle authors Gene Mullin and Mark Leno.

This bill is important in that most local jurisdictions are not able to use ranked voting systems under current law, and this bill would permit them to do so. Today only charter counties or charter cities can use IRV, but over three-fourths of cities and counties are general law jurisdictions and don't have these options. Over half of Californians live in a general law city, a general law county,
or both. AB 1294 would give these jurisdictions these additional options, but would not mandate that any jurisdictions use these systems. In other words, it is simply permissive and gives local governments the tools they need to respond to the wishes of their voters.

Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) ensures that the winner of a single-winner election has the support of the majority of voters in a single election. By eliminating the need for a costly runoff election it saves local governments a lot of money -- about $1.6M per election in San Francisco alone. IRV also eliminates vote-splitting and spoiler effects, both of which undermine the public's confidence in the political process. Finally, IRV helps promote positive, issue-based campaigns with less negative campaigning because candidates will seek 2nd and 3rd choice votes in addition to 1st choice votes.

San Francisco has used Instant Runoff Voting extremely successfully for three consecutive elections, and all academic and survey research shows that the results have been excellent. San Francisco voters understood IRV extremely well, used it effectively, and overwhelmingly prefer it to the old two-round runoff system that they had used for decades.

Given the momentum for ranked voting building around the country -- shown last November in Oakland, Davis, Minneapolis (MN) and Pierce County (WA) -- this bill comes at an excellent time.

TALKING POINTS FOR AB 1294:

1) IRV has an extremely successful track record in its usage in San Francisco

All of the available research and surveys of the usage of IRV in San Francisco support the fact that every single demographic in the city -- defined by where they live and their race, age, gender, party and political philosophy -- preferred IRV to the old runoff system. In fact, voters prefer IRV by a three-to-one margin over the old system. Over 87% of voters said that they understood IRV perfectly well or fairly well, and voters two-to-one perceived the instant runoff voting system as more fair than the prior two-round runoff system. So from the standpoint of voter acceptance, ranked voting has proven exceptional in the last three elections in San Francisco. And in addition to this local usage, over 25 million people worldwide use IRV and have done so for many decades, showing that this is not something on the bleeding edge, but rather a proven system gaining acceptance in California and other states.

2) IRV can lead to dramatic improvements in voter participation

One of the arguments that legislators are finding particularly compelling about the bill is the potential for dramatic improvement in voter turnout as a result of using ranked voting, especially among minority communities. San Francisco saw an estimated effective tripling of voter participation overall as a result of using ranked voting (and being able to combine two elections into a single election), and as much as a quadrupling of turnout among minority and low-income neighborhoods. Significant improvements seem likely in other jurisdictions as well, and also for local elections which coincide with the statewide primary and general elections. For an analysis of how IRV led to significant improvements in voter turnout in San Francisco, see: http://www.sfrcv.org/reports/turnout.pdf

3) IRV can save local governments considerable money

There is a significant potential for cost savings by eliminating the need for expensive runoff elections, often elections with single-digit voter turnout. San Francisco alone saves around $1.6 million per election, which is real money when we are talking about local government budgets. In Los Angeles County, they had a recent runoff election for local government offices that cost $5 million dollars and only had 6% voter turnout.

4) Cities and counties deserve the opportunity to use the electoral systems that best address their unique needs.

Currently, only charter cities have this opportunity, and it should be extended to all local governments. Giving general law jurisdictions the right to improve their election procedures would open up valuable new opportunities for them to achieve more representative democracy and better government. Allowing local jurisdictions to demonstrate improvements to their electoral processes allows the whole state to benefit and see what works best.

5) Our current voting systems suffer from a variety of deficits, including vote splitting and spoiler effects, and unequal representation.

Spoiler and vote splitting effects can allow a candidate to be elected where the majority of people would prefer a different candidate. Our winner-take-all electoral systems ensure that a significant percentage of the population is denied representation, and this ultimately undermines the political system. In particular, minority communities suffer the most, and the Choice Voting system allowed by this legislation provides for much greater opportunities for representation than are afforded under our current at-large winner-take-all systems.

6) The lack of uniform election code support for these improved electoral systems is a significant obstacle to cities and counties and other jurisdictions that want to use these systems

AB 1294 addresses this need. In addition, City and County officials and/or local Registrars are not put in the difficult positions of having to make up such procedures themselves.

7) AB 1294 is broadly supported.

See the partial list below of organizations and individuals supporting AB 1294.

SUPPORTERS OF AB 1294 INCLUDE:

• Californians for Electoral Reform (sponsor)
• Secretary of State Debra Bowen
• Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality
• Asian Pacific American Legal Center
• California Common Cause
• California League of Women Voters
• California Peace and Freedom Party
• California Public Interest Research Group
• City Clerks Association of California
• City of Davis, CA
• City of Fort Bragg
• Community Development Institute of East Palo Alto
• Davis Choice Voting
• Democracy for America
• FairVote – the Center for Voting and Democracy
• Greenlining Institute
• Kevin McKeown, Councilmember, City of Santa Monica
• Latinos for America
• League of California Cities
• Los Angeles Voters for Instant Runoff Elections
• Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF)
• New America Foundation
• San Mateo County Democracy for America
• Warren Slocum, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-Clerk-Recorder, San Mateo County
• Yolo County Registrar of Voters Freddie Oakley

If you have questions, please contact:

Rob Dickinson
Executive Vice President
Californians for Electoral Reform
Email:

Web: www.cfer.org
Phone: 650-365-6025
Mobile: 650-544-5925

By Rob Dickinson

February 25, 2007 -- AB 1294, introduced on February 23 by Assemblymembers Gene Mullin (D-19) and Mark Leno (D-13), would allow all local jurisdictions (cities, counties, and districts) to use ranked voting systems to elect their representatives.