California 2011-2012 Regular Session Status: Enacted

AB 461 — Write-in candidates.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 189, Statutes of 2011.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 15, 2011. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 70% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 4 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Existing law regulates the processing of write-in votes, including requiring that a ballot for a qualified write-in candidate be counted if, on specified voting systems, the candidate's name is written on the ballot in the blank space provided and the voting space next to the write-in space, if provided, is marked according to voting instructions. It further requires that, for other voting systems, a ballot for a write-in candidate, if otherwise qualified, be counted if the name is written in the manner described in the voting instructions. This bill would require a liberal construction of these write-in vote processing provisions in the event of a manual recount conducted under specified circumstances to ensure that a ballot is counted if the voter's intent can be determined, regardless of whether the voter has complied with the voting instructions.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 189, Statutes of 2011.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 1:30 p.m.

  4. In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling.

  5. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 24. Noes 14. Page 1847.).

  6. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  7. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 3. Noes 2.) (June 8).

  8. In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

  9. Referred to Com. on E. & C.A.

  10. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  11. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 51. Noes 21. Page 1232.)

  12. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  13. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (April 12).

  14. Re-referred to Com. on E. & R.

  15. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on E. & R. Read second time and amended.

  16. In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

  17. Re-referred to Com. on E. & R.

  18. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on E. & R. Read second time and amended.

  19. Referred to Com. on E. & R.

  20. From printer. May be heard in committee March 18.

  21. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

  • Bonilla · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on · 5 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Bonilla

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 121 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

3rd Reading AB461 Bonilla By Correa

Passed 24 Yea · 14 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 221302
Democratic 2000
Republican 0100
Total 241402
% of votes cast 60%35%0%5%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Yee — Yea
Wyland — Nay
Fuller — Nay
Hancock — Yea
Lowenthal — Yea
De León — Yea
Harman — Not Voting
Negrete McLeod — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Rubio — Yea
Huff — Nay
Kehoe — Yea
Runner — Nay
Blakeslee — Nay
Cannella — Nay
Corbett — Yea
Correa — Yea
Dutton — Nay
Leno — Yea
Lieu — Yea
Liu — Yea
Pavley — Yea
Simitian — Yea
Steinberg — Yea
Vargas — Yea
Walters — Nay
Wolk — Yea
Wright — Yea
Alquist — Yea
Anderson — Nay
Price — Yea
Emmerson — Nay
Evans — Not Voting
DeSaulnier — Yea
Beth Gaines — Nay
Bill Berryhill — Nay
La Malfa — Nay
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Yea
Strickland, Tony Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 3 Yea · 2 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 3200
Total 3200
% of votes cast 60%40%0%0%
How each member voted (5)
Member Party Vote
Correa — Yea
De León — Yea
Lieu — Yea
Beth Gaines — Nay
La Malfa — Nay

Official roll call →

AB 461 BONILLA Assembly Third Reading

Passed 51 Yea · 21 Nay · 7 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 482006
Democratic 3000
Republican 0101
Total 512107
% of votes cast 65%27%0%9%
How each member voted (79)
Member Party Vote
Gordon — Yea
Gorell — Not Voting
Hall — Yea
Feuer — Yea
Butler — Yea
Carter — Yea
Cedillo — Yea
Huber — Yea
Swanson — Yea
Williams — Yea
Yamada — Yea
Campos — Yea
Portantino — Yea
John A. Pérez — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Fuentes — Yea
Fletcher — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Garrick — Not Voting
Chesbro — Yea
Gatto — Nay
Bonilla — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Conway — Nay
Hagman — Nay
Halderman — Nay
Harkey — Not Voting
Hayashi — Yea
Ammiano — Yea
Block — Yea
Cook — Nay
Davis — Yea
Donnelly — Nay
Hueso — Yea
Jeffries — Nay
Knight — Nay
Logue — Nay
Mendoza — Yea
Miller — Nay
Monning — Yea
Morrell — Nay
Nestande — Nay
Norby — Yea
Olsen — Nay
Perea — Yea
Silva — Nay
Smyth — Nay
Solorio — Yea
Valadao — Nay
Wieckowski — Yea
Achadjian — Nay
Alejo — Yea
Beall — Yea
Blumenfield — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Brownley — Yea
Buchanan — Not Voting
Hill — Yea
Huffman — Yea
Lara — Yea
Ma — Yea
Mansoor — Nay
Nielsen — Not Voting
Pan — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Torres — Yea
Wagner — Nay
Eng — Yea
Dickinson — Yea
Furutani — Not Voting
Bill Berryhill — Nay
Bonnie Lowenthal — Yea
Roger Hernández — Yea
V. Manuel Pérez — Yea
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 5 Yea · 2 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 4200
Democratic 1000
Total 5200
% of votes cast 71%29%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Hall — Yea
Bonilla — Yea
Logue — Nay
Mendoza — Yea
Swanson — Yea
Valadao — Nay
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

elections
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does AB 461 do?
Existing law regulates the processing of write-in votes, including requiring that a ballot for a qualified write-in candidate be counted if, on specified voting systems, the candidate's name is written on the ballot in the blank space provided and the voting space next to the write-in space, if provided, is marked according to voting instructions. It further requires that, for other voting systems, a ballot for a write-in candidate, if otherwise qualified, be counted if the name is written in the manner described in the voting instructions. This bill would require a liberal construction of these write-in vote processing provisions in the event of a manual recount conducted under specified circumstances to ensure that a ballot is counted if the voter's intent can be determined, regardless of whether the voter has complied with the voting instructions.
Who sponsors AB 461?
AB 461 is sponsored by Bonilla.
What is the current status of AB 461?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 15, 2011. Enacted.
Where can I track AB 461?
Track AB 461 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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