(a) In the case of an election of candidates in a special district, school district, charter city (whose charter does not provide to the contrary), or other local government body, occurring on other than one of the election dates specified in subdivision (b) of Section 13112, the official responsible for conducting the election shall, at the same time that the election is called, notify the Secretary of State by registered mail of the date of the election, the date of the close of filing, and the last possible date for filing in the event there is an extension of filing due to an incumbent failing to file. The Secretary of State shall conduct a randomized alphabet drawing pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 13112 on the first weekday following the last possible day of filing in the event there is an extension for the election.
(b) Except as provided for runoff elections in subdivision (d), if two or more drawings for local government elections would occur on the same date, the Secretary of State may use a single randomized alphabet drawing for all of these elections. The Secretary of State shall communicate the results of the drawing by registered mail to each respective official responsible for conducting the election who shall use it to determine the order on the ballot of all candidates’ names.
(c) All drawings held pursuant to this section shall be open to the public.
(d) If a charter city conducts a runoff election, it shall use the results of a randomized alphabet drawing separate from the results of the randomized alphabet drawing used for the initial election for that runoff election. The city shall, within three days following the initial election, notify the Secretary of State by registered mail of the date of the election and request that he or she conduct a randomized alphabet drawing for the runoff election. The Secretary of State shall immediately conduct a randomized alphabet drawing for the runoff election and communicate the results of the drawing to the elections official responsible for conducting the runoff election who shall use the results to determine the order of all the candidates’ names on the ballot. The results of the randomized alphabet drawing shall be clearly labeled “FOR USE IN A RUNOFF ELECTION ONLY.”
(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 508, Sec. 8. Effective January 1, 2007.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018