Memo: Green Party Elections Code, April 2015

 

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This is draft text for a Green Party of California (GPCA) section of the California Elections Code. The GPCA is seeking the following actions by the Senate Elections Committee: (1) forward the draft text for review and comment to the Legislative Analyst Office; (2) sponsor the reviewed text for approval by the legislature in the 2015 legislative session.

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: When a political party qualifies for the ballot in California, by state law it must choose to operate under the Elections Code of another ballot qualified party, until it can get its own passed by the legislature. The Code primarily addresses two topics: Presidential Primaries and Party structure.

 

When the Green Party of California (GPCA) qualified for the ballot in January 1992, it chose the elections code of the Peace & Freedom Party. At the same time it also won the right in the courts to have None of the Above (NOTA) in its party primaries, along other electoral reforms that sought to embody Green values in the electoral process and the party's structure (http://www.cagreens.org/history/election-rules-1992-1995). However the GPCA lost NOTA upon appeal in 1995 in Green Party v. Jones (http://www.cagreens.org/history/nota/gpca-v-jones).

 

The following draft GPCA elections code grew out of a internal GPCA drafting process between 1999 and 2006 (http://www.cagreens.org/elections-code). Afterwards the GPCA was not able to find a legislative sponsor for the bill, because the draft text contained sections mandating the use of ranked choice voting and none of the above in party primary and central committee elections. These the GPCA eventually learned would be unlikely for a legislator to sponsor, because if it were allowed for the Green Party it could be allowed for the other ballot qualified parties, and that was a controversy no legislator was interested in initiating. In 2012 after consultations with staff from the State Assembly Elections Committee and Speaker's Office of Member Services, a draft text without controversial context was created.  The result is the text below, with the primary differences compared to the Peace and Freedom Party's section explained first.

 

 

1) (6960.5) The process for designating delegates to the Green Party national presidential convention would not be placed in the Elections Code (as it is for Peace & Freedom). Instead the Code would reference GPCA's Bylaws and Rules and Procedures as the source. This would give the GPCA greater future freedom to make amendments without having to return to the legislature.

 

 

2) (7901) Use 'County Council' instead of 'County Central Committee.'

 

3) (7929) Powers to appoint County Councils in some circumstances that are assigned to the State Central Committee in the Peace and Freedom Party are assigned to the Coordinating Committee within the GPCA.

 

4) (7918) Use this text "Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, a person may obtain and circulate nomination papers both for nomination to a public office and for election as a member of a county council." instead of this Peace and Freedom Party text "Each person receiving a Peace and Freedom Party nomination for any partisan public office at the preceding direct primary election or at any special election subsequent thereto shall be declared elected as a member of central committees. Any members elected pursuant to this section shall be in addition to the number a county is entitled to elect pursuant to Section 7752."

 

In its text, the GPCA would make it clear one can run for both types of office at the same time, but not that necessarily running for public office automatically elections someone to the County Council.

 

 

 

6) (7903) The manner in which the number of seats per County Council district would be determined is placed in the GPCA Bylaws, except a minimum and maximum would be placed in the code to guarantee that the GPCA could not decide to place a large, unreasonable number of seats on the ballot. Additionally a date by which this information would need to be communicated to the Secretary of State would be established, and this text is left blank on that date, with the request that the Secretary of State's office make a recommendation.

 

7) (7908) The manner in which an elected County Council member could be removed for cause would be placed in the GPCA bylaws.

 

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DRAFT GPCA ELECTIONS CODE 

April 2012, approved by GPCA General Assembly, May 2012 (http://www.cagreens.org/ga/2012-05/elections-code)

 

DIVISION 6. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

 

PART 1. PARTISAN PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES

 

CHAPTER 5. GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY

 

Article 1 General Provisions

 

Article 2. Qualification of Candidates for Presidential Preference Portion of Primary Ballot

 

Article 4. Preparation, Circulation, and Filing of Nominating Papers

 

Article 5. Green Party Presidential Primary Ballot

 

Article 6. Certification of National Convention Delegates Election and Post election Proceedings

 

Article 7. Presidential Electors

 

DIVISION 7. POLITICAL PARTY ORGANIZATION AND CENTRAL COMMITTEE ELECTIONS

 

PART 6. GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA

 

CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

CHAPTER 2. MEMBERS OF COUNTY COUNCILS

 

CHAPTER 3. ELECTION OF COUNTY COUNCILS

 

CHAPTER 4. STATE COORDINATING COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 

Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6960) is added to Part 1 of Division 6 of the Elections Code, to read:

 

 

 

6960 This chapter is applicable to the presidential primary ballot of the Green Party only. As used in this chapter, "Green Party" means the Green Party of California.

 

6960.5 The Green Party presidential primary ballot shall express the presidential preference of California voters who vote in the Green Party primary. National convention delegates shall be selected as provided for in the Bylaws and the Rules and Procedures of the Green Party and pursuant to the rules of the national political party with which the Green Party has affiliated.

 

6960.7 A filing fee shall not be required from any person to be voted for in any Green Party presidential primary.

 

 

6961 The Secretary of State shall place the name of a candidate upon the Green Party presidential preference ballot when the Secretary of State has determined that the candidate is generally advocated for or recognized throughout the United States or California as actively seeking the presidential nomination of the Green Party or the national political party with which the Green Party has affiliated.

 

6961.5 On or before the 150th day preceding a presidential primary election, the Secretary of State shall send a letter by first-class mail to the Green Party Liaison to the Secretary of State informing her or him that, while a response is not required, any information they wish to submit will be considered by the Secretary of State in the determination of candidates to be placed on the Green Party presidential preference primary ballot pursuant to Section 6961.

 

6962 On or before the 120th day preceding a presidential primary election, the Secretary of State shall publicly announce and distribute to the news media for publication a list of the candidates she or he intends to place on the ballot at the following presidential primary election. Following this announcement, the Secretary of State may add to her or his selection, but she or he may not delete any candidate whose name appears on the announced list. The Secretary of State shall mail a copy of the list and any subsequent additions thereto to the Green Party's Liaison to the Secretary of State.

 

6962.5 When the Secretary of State decides to place the name of a candidate on the ballot pursuant to Sections 6961 and 6962, the Secretary of State shall notify the candidate that her or his name will appear on the Green Party presidential preference primary ballot of this state.

 

6963 If a selected candidate or an unselected candidate files with the Secretary of State, no later than the 68th day before the presidential primary, an affidavit stating without qualification that she or he is not a candidate for the office of President of the United States at the forthcoming presidential primary election, the name of that candidate shall be omitted from the list of names certified by the Secretary of State to the elections official for the ballot and the name of that candidate shall not appear on the presidential preference portion of the primary ballot.

 

6963.5 Any unselected candidate desiring to have her or his name placed on the presidential preference primary ballot shall have nomination papers circulated on her or his behalf. In order to qualify the name of that candidate for placement on the presidential preference primary ballot, the nomination papers of the candidate shall be signed by voters registered as affiliated with the Green Party equal in number to not less than 1 percent of the number of persons registered as members of the Green Party as reflected in the report of registration issued by the Secretary of State on the 135th day preceding the presidential primary election.

 

 

6966 This article applies to the nomination of a Green Party candidate for the presidential primary ballot.

 

6966.5 Nomination papers properly prepared, circulated, signed, and verified shall be left for examination with the elections official of the county in which they are circulated, at least 74 days prior to the presidential primary.

 

6967 Each signer of a nomination paper for the presidential primary ballot may sign only one paper. The signer shall add his or her printed name and place of residence indicating city and giving the street and number, if any.

 

6967.5 Any nomination paper may be presented in sections. Each section shall contain the name of the presidential preference candidate. Each section shall bear the name of the county in which it is circulated. Only voters of the county registered as affiliated with the Green Party are competent to sign.

 

6968 Each section shall be prepared with the lines for signatures numbered, and shall have attached the declaration of the circulator who obtained signatures to it, stating, under penalty of perjury, that he or she is a voter registered as affiliated with the Green Party, that all the signatures to the attached section were made in his or her presence, and that to the best of his or her knowledge and belief each signature to the section is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be. No other declaration is required to be made.

 

6968.5 A verified nomination paper is prima facie evidence that the signatures are genuine and that the persons signing it are voters registered as affiliated with the Green Party until it is otherwise proven by comparison of the signatures with the affidavits of registration in the office of the elections official.

 

6969 The nomination paper for a candidate for the presidential preference ballot shall be in substantially the following form:

 

SECTION OF NOMINATION PAPER SIGNED BY VOTER ON BEHALF OF PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE PRIMARY CANDIDATE

 

Section _____ Page _____

 

County of __________

 

Nomination paper of a presidential preference candidate for the Green Party presidential primary ballot.

 

State of California )

 

) ss.

 

County of ______ )

 

SIGNER'S STATEMENT

 

I, the undersigned, am a voter of the County of _________, State of California, and am registered as affiliated with the Green Party. I hereby nominate _________ for the presidential primary ballot of the Green Party, to be voted for at the presidential primary to be held on the ___ day of _______ 20__. I have not signed the nomination paper of any other candidate for the same office.

 

Number Signature Printed Name Residence Street Address City

 

1.

 

2.

 

3.

 

Etc.

 

CIRCULATOR'S DECLARATION

 

I, __________, affirm that I am a voter registered as affiliated with the Green Party in _________ County, that I secured signatures in the County of _________ to the nomination paper of a candidate in the presidential preference primary of the Green Party, that all the signatures on this section of the nomination paper numbered from 1 to ___, inclusive, were made in my presence, that the signatures were obtained between _______, 20__ and _________, 20__, and that to the best of my knowledge and belief each signature is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be.

 

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

 

Executed at ________, California, this ____ day of ____, 20__.

 

[Signed] ______________________________

 

Circulator

 

[Printed Name] _____________________________

 

6969.5 Prior to filing, the sections of a nomination paper for any candidate shall be numbered in order.

 

6970 Nomination papers, properly assembled, may be consolidated and fastened together by counties, but nomination papers signed by voters in different counties shall not be fastened together.

 

6970.5 The elections official shall examine all nomination papers left with him or her for examination and shall disregard and mark "not sufficient" the name of any voter of that county that does not appear in the same handwriting on an affidavit of registration in the office of the elections official. The elections official shall also disregard and mark "not sufficient" the name of any voter of the county who is not registered as affiliated with the Green Party.

 

6971 Within five days after any nomination papers are left with the elections official for examination, the elections official shall do both of the following:

 

(a) Examine and affix to them a certificate reciting that he or she has examined them and stating the number of names that have not been marked "not sufficient."

 

(b) Transmit the papers with the certificate of examination to the Secretary of State, who shall file the papers.

 

6971.5 The certificate of the elections official to nomination papers of a candidate shall be in substantially the following form:

 

CERTIFICATE OF ELECTIONS OFFICIAL TO NOMINATION PAPERS OF CANDIDATE OR GROUP OF CANDIDATES

 

To the Secretary of State:

 

I, County Elections Official of the County of ________, hereby certify that I have examined the nomination papers to which this certificate is attached, of the presidential candidate at the ensuing presidential primary, and that the number of names which have not marked "not sufficient" is _____. The candidate or group of candidates named in the nomination papers comprise the following (state names of candidates):

 

____________ ___________ ______________

 

____________ ___________ ______________

 

____________ ___________ ______________

 

Etc. Etc. Etc.

 

Dated this ___ day of _________, 20__.

 

__________________________

 

(SEAL) County Elections Official

 

By _______________________

 

Deputy

 

6972 Upon receipt of a sufficient number of signatures for the nomination of a candidate for the presidential preference primary ballot, the Secretary of State shall notify the candidate or his or her duly authorized representative of that fact.

 

 

6973 Following the filing of nomination papers, the presidential preference primary candidates shall be printed upon the ballot.

 

6973.5 For the presidential primary election, the format of the Green Party ballot shall be governed by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 13100) of Division 13, with the following exceptions:

 

(a) The heading "Presidential or No Candidate Preference" shall be included.

 

(b) Selected and unselected presidential candidates shall be listed below the heading specified in subdivision (a).

 

(c) The instruction to voters shall begin with the words "Vote for a candidate.” The instruction to voters shall also include the statement that "Delegates to the national convention will be selected after the primary election." See Article 3 of this Chapter for reference regarding instructions to the voters.

 

6974 Any person who believes his or her name may be used as a write-in candidate for President of the United States shall, not later than 21 days before the primary election, file an endorsement of his or her write-in candidacy with the Secretary of State, or no votes shall be counted for that write-in candidate.

 

 

6975 The number of delegates to be selected following the presidential preference primary shall be the number established by the national political party with which the Green Party has affiliated.

 

6975.5 National convention delegates shall be selected as provided for in the Bylaws and Procedures of the Green Party and pursuant to the rules of the national political party with which the Green Party has affiliated.

 

6975.6 The Secretary of State shall, not later than the 30th day after the election, file in his of her office a statement of the canvassed returns for the Green Party presidential preferential primary, including votes for write-in candidates.

 

6975.7 SEC. 2. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if the Commission of State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000), reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.

 

 

6975.8 In each year of the general election at which electors of President and Vice President of the United States are to be chosen, the Green Party of California also shall nominate as the candidates of its party as many electors of President and Vice President of the United States as the state is then entitled, 50 percent of whom shall be women and 50 percent men, unless an odd number of electors is to be chosen, in which case the difference between the number of women and men shall be not more than one. The Liaison to the Secretary of State of the Green Party of California shall certify the name of each elector nominated, and the elector's residence address to the Secretary of State.

 

 

Part 6 (commencing with Section 7900) is added to Division 7 of the Elections Code, to read:

 

 

 

7900 This part applies to the organization, operations, and functions of the party known as the Green Party . As used in this part, “Green Party" means the Green Party of California.

 

 

7901 At each direct primary election, members of central committees, which shall be termed “county councils,” shall be elected in each county.

 

7902 For the purposes of this chapter, the registration figures used shall be those taken from the statement of voters and their political affiliations transmitted by the elections officials to the Secretary of State on the 135th day prior to the next direct primary election.

 

7903 The number of members of the county council to be elected in a county shall be a minimum of three and a maximum of fifty and the process in which each county's number shall be calculated shall be defined in the Green Party's bylaws and to be effective, shall be communicated to the Secretary of State by the Green Party Liaison to the Secretary of State no later than HOW MANY days prior to the next direct primary election.

 

7904 At its first meeting following the direct primary election and at subsequent meetings, a county council may appoint additional members to the county council to fill any vacancy.

 

7905 No person shall be appointed to membership on a county council who is registered with another party or registered as "Decline to State." Appointment of other persons who cannot register to vote shall be allowed under certain circumstances as described in state Green Party bylaws and any applicable county Green Party bylaws.

 

7906 The removal of residence by an elected or appointed member of a county council from the applicable county shall constitute automatic resignation from the county council.

 

7907 Any member of a county council who changes her or his voter registration to be no longer affiliated with the Green Party shall automatically be removed from office upon such registration.

 

7908 County Council members additionally may be removed for cause by procedures established in the Bylaws of the Green Party.

 

7909 Whenever any person is appointed to a county council, the county council shall file notices of the appointment with the county elections official and the Coordinating Committee of the Green Party of California within 30 days after it is made. The notices shall contain the name and address of the person appointed and shall indicate the date of the appointment.

 

7910 The Department of General Services shall permit any county council that desires to do so to hold meetings in a state building within the county, and a minimum of one meeting each month shall be without charge.

 

 

7911 Members of County Councils shall be elected from one or more multi-member districts. Multi-member districts shall conform to the county boundaries or recognized jurisdictional boundaries of Congressional, State Assembly, State Senate or Supervisorial districts within that county, in accordance with Green Party bylaws and Green Party county organization bylaws.

 

7912 The Secretary of State, no later than the 125th day before the direct primary election, shall compute the number of members of county councils to be elected in each county and shall mail a certificate to that effect to the elections official of each county and to the Liaison to the Secretary of State of the Green Party.

 

7913 The elections official, no later than the 115th day before the direct primary election, shall compute the number of members of county councils to be elected in each district if the election of the members is to be by district pursuant to this chapter.

 

7914 In each county, the name of each candidate for member of county councils shall appear on the ballot only if she or he is registered in the Green Party and has filed a nomination paper pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 6700) of Division 6 signed in the candidate‘s behalf by Green Party voters of the county council election district in which she or he is a candidate.

 

7916 In counties where members of county councils are to be elected by district, a person seeking election as a member of a county council may seek election only in the district in which she or he resides.

 

7918 Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, a person may obtain and circulate nomination papers both for nomination to a public office and for election as a member of a county council.

 

7919 Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the number of sponsors which shall be required of a person to be a candidate for member of a county council shall be either: (a) Not less than 20; or (b) Not less than 2 percent of the number of voters registered as affiliated with the Green Party in the county council election district -- whichever is less.

 

7920 Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, each sponsor is entitled to sponsor as many candidates as there are seats in the district. Candidate names listed on a single sponsor's certificate, and the signatures thereon shall be counted toward the sponsor requirement of each and every candidate whose name is listed on the certificate. However, in no case shall the number of candidates having their names on a sponsor's certificate exceed the number of members of a county council to be elected in the district.

 

7921 The elections official of each county shall include the office of member of county council and the candidates therefore in a place and manner similar to that for the office of county central committee of other political parties and the candidates therefore on the applicable official lists.

 

7922 The order of appearance of the names of the candidates for member of county council on the ballot shall be determined by a public drawing held at the time, place, and manner prescribed for determining the order of names of county central committee members pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 13100) of Division 13.

 

7924 The office of member of county council shall be placed on the direct primary ballot under the heading "Party County Council” in the place and manner designated for the office of county central committee pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 13100) of Division 13. The subheading printed under party central committees on the direct primary ballot shall be in substantially the following form: Member of Green Party County Council, ___the __________ District or Member of the Green Party County Council, _______ County.

 

7925 Except as hereinafter otherwise provided, the votes cast for each candidate for member of county shall be included in the canvass and statement of results in a manner similar to the vote for each candidate for county central committees pursuant to Division 15 (commencing with Section 15000), and specifically:

 

(a) The final total of votes cast for each candidate for member of county council, including the name, address and ballot designation of each such candidate, and a specification as to which candidates were declared elected shall be certified to the Secretary of State forthwith upon completion of the official canvass. The county clerk shall simultaneously send one copy of this final certification to the Green Party Liaison to the Secretary of State.

 

(b) As soon as practicable after the direct primary election, the Secretary of State shall prepare a certified list by county of all elected Green Party members of county councils, including their addresses and primary election ballot designations. The Secretary of State shall send copies of the list to the registrar of voters in each county no later than 45 days following the direct primary election. This list shall be maintained for public inspection by said registrars of voters until a subsequent such list is received.

 

(c) The Secretary of State, no later than 45 days following the direct primary election, shall send a notice by mail to each of the elected members of county councils which shall inform that person that he or she has been elected as a member of the county council. The Secretary of State shall send a copy of the certified list of all elected members of all county councils to the Green Party of California Liaison to the Secretary of State.

 

7926. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, no write-in candidate for member of county council shall be declared elected unless that candidate has received a number of first choice votes equal to or greater than 2 percent of the number of party members voting in the county council election district at the direct primary or 20 votes, whichever is less.

 

 

7926 The members of the state Coordinating Committee shall be elected as provided in the bylaws of the Green Party and shall have the responsibilities described in those bylaws.

 

7927 No person shall be a member of the state Coordinating Committee unless she or he is registered as a voter affiliated with the Green Party.

 

7928 The state Coordinating Committee shall hold meetings not less than once during each year.

 

7929 The state Coordinating Committee shall have the authority to certify, as provided by Green Party bylaws, county council members in the following counties:

 

(a) Counties in which no county council candidates qualified for the ballot in the preceding direct primary election;

 

(b) Counties in which all members of the county council have become disqualified from holding office.

 

County council members pursuant to this section shall meet the qualifications otherwise required for county council members. County council members confirmed under this section shall be reported by the state Coordinating Committee to the applicable county elections officials. County council members confirmed under this section shall have all the powers and privileges otherwise afforded to county councils.

 

7930 The state Coordinating Committee shall communicate in writing to the Secretary of State, the identify of the Green Party of California Liaison to the Secretary of State.