Elections: tie votes.

Senator Cervantes's elections reform measure modifies California's procedures for resolving tied votes by allowing candidates to appear at any Secretary of State office location, rather than solely at the State Capitol. The legislation maintains the existing practice of determining winners by lot while introducing new options for local jurisdictions.

Under the proposed changes, county, city and special district legislative bodies gain the authority to resolve tied elections through special runoff elections instead of by lot. Local bodies choosing this option must adopt the runoff procedure before any election that could result in a tie. Once implemented, all future tied elections in that jurisdiction would be decided by runoff unless the legislative body explicitly repeals this authority. These runoff elections would occur on a Tuesday between 40 and 125 days after the tied election is certified, with provisions to consolidate the runoff with any regularly scheduled election during that timeframe.

The measure retains the Secretary of State's role in administering tie resolutions for offices spanning multiple counties, while providing greater flexibility in where these proceedings take place. The existing exemptions for gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial elections remain unchanged, as do the provisions allowing local bodies to maintain their current tie-breaking procedures.