Sen. Dodd’s Presidential Election Bill Becomes Law
SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, in partnership with Secretary of State Shirley Weber, to increase transparency in presidential elections, helping to ensure the integrity of the democratic process.
“Now more than ever, we must ensure our presidential elections are fair and transparent,” Sen. Dodd said. “With Gov. Newsom’s signing of my bill, we protect the free election process that has become a bulwark of democracy. In a time of rising polarization and division, it will bring additional safeguards to this important tradition.”
The California Elections Code specifies procedures for political parties to use when submitting the names of presidential and vice presidential candidates to the California secretary of state, who’s charged with generating ballots. However, current law does not provide a submission deadline. Also, the law lacks a provision for candidates to correct any mistakes to their names on the ballot. These issues could result in voter confusion.
Senate Bill 437 sets a clear deadline for submission of presidential and vice presidential names. Parties must submit the names to the secretary of state no later than 75 days before the general election. Additionally, the bill clarifies that candidates for the two offices can change their names if they appear incorrectly.
SB 437 was signed Thursday by Gov. Newsom after receiving overwhelming support in both the Assembly and Senate. It becomes the 101st law written by Sen. Dodd since he was elected to the Legislature in 2014.
“This bill would help ensure that political parties provide timely notice of nominee names and eliminate confusion about the candidate name change process,” said Secretary of State Weber. “I appreciate Sen. Dodd championing good governance for California’s role in presidential elections.”
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Senator Bill Dodd represents the 3rd Senate District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Yolo, Sonoma, Solano, Sacramento and Contra Costa counties. More information on Senator Bill Dodd can be found at www.senate.ca.gov/dodd.