A call to action for election integrity.

After every election, California election officials must conduct a hand counted audit of the ballots to check against flaws in the automated systems and to protect against misfeasance or malfeasance. I believe the current law does not require a large enough sampling to fully test the vote but it is the law. Some California election officials cut corners by not including all the ballots before selecting the required 1% sample. Citizens Oversight and I challenged that flawed practice in San Diego last year and won. We are now protecting that victory on appeal and hope a published opinion will catapult statewide compliance with the current law and grant me an opportunity to sponsor even more robust election laws in Sacramento should the voters send me there in 2018.

Now the California Senate is trying to undermine that win with a fast one. The authors of AB-840, Assemblymembers Quirk (D-20) and Obernolte (R-33), were somehow convinced to insert an amendment AFTER Assembly passage that undermines the entire audit process and allows these flawed practices to exist. These exemptions from California's audit law would send elections backwards in our state.

The Assembly Elections Committee can cut the section 15360 amendment from the bill and demand that the Senate consider only AB 840 as originally passed by their committee and the full Assembly.

Please write and/or call the members of the Assembly Elections Committee (below). Urge them to revert AB 840 to the original version passed by the Assembly April 20. Don't accept these sharp practices to undermine the protection we have for post election audits and to undermine our judicial process requiring election officials to follow the law.

Assembly Election Committee:

Marc Berman (Chair): (916) 319-2024

Mathew Harper (Vice Chair): (916) 319-2074

Ian C. Calderon: (916) 319-2057

Evan Low: (916) 319-2028

Kevin Mullin: (916) 319-2022

Jim Patterson: (916) 319-2023

Shirley Weber: (916) 319-2079

You should also write to the committee secretary: Lori.Barber@asm.ca.gov The subject line should read: AB 840: Cut section 15360

Reply with your actions, comments or questions.