On May 10, the California Assembly Appropriations Committee passed AB 837. It requires that the Secretary of State furnish each polling place with large posters telling independent voters that certain political parties permit them to vote in their presidential primary. Under existing law, county election officials are supposed to inform independent voters of their choices on presidential primary day, but in fact different counties have different methods of doing this job.
The bill had already passed the Assembly Elections Committee. In the Appropriations Committee, the vote was 12-5. All the Democrats voted for the bill and all the Republicans voted against it. Republicans customarily do not let independent voters vote in the Republican presidential primary (although they did in 2004), whereas Democrats always allow it.
Where is it in current law that election officials inform voters of their choices on the presidential primary day?
Richard:
Assuming this bill becomes law, how will ALL the over 4 million voters who currently are vote-by-mail be informed AND provided with the ballots of the ballot qualified parties allowing them to vote in their primary? Especially, in view of the State’s current interest in severely reducing the number of voting precincts throughout California?
Jim, former Secretary of State Debra Bowen promulgated a regulation in 2010. I have the Secretary of State’s instructions for polling place operations that includes it. I know it’s still in effect because I was a polling place official in June 2016 and we were furnished with the signs to be placed on the sign-in table for voters.
Charles, the instructions for requesting a mail ballot in primaries includes this information and gives a postcard for mail voters to request the right kind of primary ballot.
I can’t find anything. The instructions to election officials say that a voter may request a party’s ballot, but nothing about an election official asking them.