Californians for Electoral Reform is sponsoring two important pieces of legislation in the 2009-2010 legislative session.

The first of these is AB 1121, introduced by Assembly Member Mike Davis, which would allow a small number of general law 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.

This bill is important in that most local jurisdictions are not able to use ranked voting systems under current law, regardless of the wishes of the voters or the governing body of those jurisdictions. Today only charter jurisdictions 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 1121 would allow up to a maximum of 10 general law cities or counties to use these systems, subject to voter approval.

Our hope is that by narrowing the scope of our earlier legislation (AB 1294), we make it easier for the Governor to sign the bill. AB 1294 was passed by both houses of the Legislature in 2007 and sent to the Governor, who later vetoed it. The Governor’s stated objection was that AB 1294 was too broad in scope, and so this new bill directly addresses that concern.

On April 21st, the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee passed AB 1121, moving the bill forward in the legislative process. The next stop is the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

A variety of organizations and individuals have endorsed the bill, including, Secretary of State Debra Bowen, the League of California Cities, California Common Cause, FairVote, New America Foundation, CALPIRG, League of Women Voters of California, Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality, the City of Menlo Park, and Warren Slocum, Chief Elections Officer for San Mateo County.

Our second bill is AB 308, authored by Assembly Member Paul Cook, which would require that overseas voters —- including active members of the military -- be able to use ranked ballots when voting in elections that might lead to a runoff.

When the first and second rounds of a two-round runoff election occur close together, it can be difficult for absentee voters located overseas to receive their second-round ballots (which aren't printed until the first-round results are known) and return them in time to be counted.

The number of elections in California that would be affected by AB 308 is not large. On an annual basis we estimate six to eight contests and roughly 4,000 to 5,000 overseas voters. This includes both special elections to fill vacancies in Congress and the legislature, and local elec­tions in about ten charter cities. But the right to cast an effective vote is at stake, and this is a significant problem even if the numbers are small.

AB 308 passed the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee on March 31, and the Assembly Appropriations on April 29, both without any dissenting votes.

In addition to CfER, AB 308 is supported by the American Legion of California, the Veterans Caucus of the California Democratic Party, and the California Alliance of Retired Americans.