On April 12, the California Assembly Elections Committee passed AB 459. This is the National Popular Vote Plan bill. It also gained some Republican co-sponsors. Thanks to Pete Martineau for this news. The vote was 5-1.
The Committee also passed two bills that legalize write-in votes when the voter forgot, or didn’t know, to “X” the box next to the name written in. These votes would only be counted, however, if the election involving the write-in candidate is very close, and there is a possibility that the write-in candidate might have won, if these votes were counted. These bills are AB 461 and AB 503.
Ironically, both the National Popular Vote Plan bill, and the write-ins bills, had been passed by previous sessions of the legislature, but both ideas had been vetoed by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The committee also passed AB 481, which requires people who are circulating an initiative, referendum or recall petition to wear badges, telling if they are being paid or if they are volunteers.