A San Diego lawmaker’s bill to prompt localities to hold elections at the same time as statewide contests in hopes of improving voter turnout was signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Senate Bill 415 by Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, is designed to increase election turnouts in cities, counties and special districts where voter participation has plunged.
It will prohibit jurisdictions from holding elections that aren’t aligned with a state voting date if a previous non-concurrent vote has resulted in a 25 percent turnout decline from the average participation figures in the locality over the previous four statewide general elections.
The new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2018, provides an exception for special elections.
— City News Service