THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. Findings and Declarations.

The Legislature of the State of California finds and declares the following:

(a)  The combination of simple plurality voting, a single-round election with
no primary or runoff, and a short campaign time makes the replacement election
for a recalled officer potentially undemocratic and chaotic.  With many
candidates in an election, it is possible that a relatively unpopular or
unknown candidate could win with a very small fraction of the vote - and
perhaps be subject to another recall.

(b)  Instant runoff voting would solve this problem efficiently by sequentially
eliminating last-place candidates and developing a strong mandate for the
winner.  Voters would rank their candidates according to preference, and votes
would count toward one's highest-ranked candidate not yet eliminated.

(c)  To implement this act fully, it is necessary to for all counties to
acquire adequate voting systems.

SECTION 2. A new Section 363 is added to the Elections Code, 
to read:

363. 'Instant runoff voting' or 'IRV' means the following procedure:

(a)  On the ballot, voters rank the candidates they support in order of
preference.

(b)  Ballots are counted in rounds.  In each round, each ballot counts as one
vote for the candidate ranked highest on the ballot and who has not been
eliminated in a previous round, or toward "no remaining candidate" if all
candidates on the ballot have been eliminated.

(c)  If more than two candidates remain, the candidate with the fewest votes is
eliminated, and another round of ballot counting occurs.  Otherwise, the winner
is the remaining candidate with a plurality of votes counting toward remaining
candidates.

(e)  More than one candidate may be eliminated in a given round, as long as the
total number of votes cast for candidates eliminated in that round is less than
the number of votes cast for the remaining candidate with the fewest votes, and
at least two candidates remain.

(d)  If two or more candidates are given the same ranking on a ballot, that
duplicate ranking is ignored.

(e)  Any ties that could affect the outcome of the election are resolved by the
procedures specified in Chapter 10 of Division 15 of the Elections Code.

(f)  Further procedural specifications may be issued by the Secretary of State.

SECTION 3.  Section 11385 of the Elections Code is amended, to read:

11385.  If at a recall election an officer is recalled, the candidate receiving
the highest number of votes for the office shall be declared elected for the
unexpired term of the recalled officer.  If all voting systems to be used in
the election have been certified as compatible with instant runoff voting, the
election of the new officer shall use instant runoff voting. The Secretary of
State may provide or specify compatible voting systems for use in the election.

SECTION 4.  Section 11328 of the Elections Code is amended, to read:

11328.  A recall election shall be conducted, canvassed, and the
results declared in substantially the manner provided by law for a
regular election for the office, in accordance with Section 11385.

SECTION 5.  A new Section 19214 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

19214.  No new voting equipment may be purchased for use in an election for a
state officer unless it is certified by the Secretary of State as being
compatible with Instant Runoff Voting.  A voting system is compatible with
Instant Runoff Voting if it allows voters to clearly and easily indicate a
ranking for each candidate in an election, allowing for easy comparison of
rankings to avoid duplicate rankings, and if it allows for counting by methods
of comparable efficiency to other election methods counted with the voting
system.