If this were a Republican bill in Washington, you know they'd try to overturn the governor's race with it now. Not sure whether this bill can be applied retroactively for Donna Frye now, but at least now there's a chance to get a law in place to govern future "abortions" like this last election. Hope the legislature passes it.
Also interesting on how a vote came very close to California's winner take all voting system in the electoral college getting voted on to be dismantled. Fortunately, it didn't get out of committee, but shows we can't take much for granted now!
From:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20050315-1736-ca-xgr-electionlaw.html------------------
San Diego mayoral race fallout promotes election change By Don Thompson
ASSOCIATED PRESS
5:36 p.m. March 15, 2005
SACRAMENTO – About 5,500 San Diego write-in votes were tossed out in November's tight mayoral election because the voters forgot to color in a little bubble on their ballot.
State lawmakers took the first step Tuesday to change election law to require that voters' intent be honored where possible.
The bill by Assemblyman Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, was approved by the Assembly elections committee, 4-1, after election officials rejected 5,551 write-in votes for San Diego mayoral candidate Donna Frye. His bill would require officials to count write-in votes if it is clear a voter intended to vote for a particular candidate but didn't fully comply with voting instructions.
Frye lost because too many voters wrote in her name but neglected to also darken an optical-scan bubble next to the write-in blank on the ballot.
Meanwhile, a bill that would link the nation's four most populous states in a pact to change the way electoral votes are counted in presidential elections fell a single vote short in the same committee.
The author, Assemblyman Bill Maze, R-Visalia, plans to try again at a future committee hearing.
His bill would eliminate California's winner-take-all system of distributing Electoral College votes, dividing them instead among presidential candidates based on their share of the popular vote.
He agreed to an amendment that would require the next three most populous states – New York, Florida and Texas – to go along before California's law would take effect.
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