SECTION 1. Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6960) is added to part 1 of Division 6 of the Election Code, to read:

CHAPTER 5. GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY

Article 1. General Provisions

6960. This chapter is applicable to the presidential primary ballot of the Green Party only. As used in this chapter, "Green Party" means the Green Party of California.

6960.5. The Green Party presidential primary ballot shall express the presidential preference of California voters who are registered as members of the Green Party. National convention delegates shall be selected immediately following each presidential primary election as provided for in the bylaws of the party and consistent with the numbers of delegates and alternates allocated to the Green Party pursuant to the rules of the Green Party of the United States.

6960.7. A filing fee may not be required from any person to be voted for at any Green Party presidential primary.

Article 2. Qualification of Candidates for Presidential Preference Portion of Primary Ballot

6961. The Secretary of State shall place the name of a candidate upon the Green Party presidential preference ballot when the Secretary of State has determined that the candidate is generally advocated for or recognized throughout the United States or California as actively seeking the presidential nomination of the Green Party or the Green Party of the United States.

6961.5 On or before the 150th day preceding a presidential primary election, the Secretary of State shall send a letter by first-class mail to the Green Party liaison to the Secretary of State informing him or her that, while a response is not required, any information they wish to submit will be considered by the Secretary of State in the determination of candidates to be placed on the Green Party presidential preference primary ballot pursuant to Section 6961.

6962. On or before the 120th day preceding a presidential primary election, the Secretary of State shall publicly announce and distribute to the news media for publication a list of the candidates he or she intends to place on the ballot at the following presidential primary election. Following this announcement, the Secretary of State may add to his or her selection, but he or she may not delete any candidate whose name appears on the announced list. The Secretary of State shall mail a copy of the list and any subsequent additions thereto to the Green Party's liaison to the Secretary of State and to county council contacts.

6962.5 When the Secretary of State decides to place the name of a candidate on the ballot pursuant to Sections 6961 and 6962, the Secretary of State shall notify the candidate that his or her name will appear on the Green Party presidential preference primary ballot of this state.

6963. If a selected candidate or an unselected candidate files with the Secretary of State, no later than the 68th day before the presidential primary, an affidavit stating without qualification that he or she is not a candidate for the office of President of the United States at the forthcoming presidential primary election, the name of that candidate shall be omitted from the list of names certified by the Secretary of State to the elections official for the ballot and the name of that candidate shall not appear on the presidential preference portion of the primary ballot.

6963.5. Any unselected candidate desiring to have his or her name placed on the presidential preference primary ballot shall have nomination papers circulated on his or her behalf. In order to qualify the name of that candidate for placement on the presidential preference primary ballot, the nomination papers of the candidate shall be signed by voters registered as affiliated with the Green Party equal in number to not less than 1 percent of the number of persons registered as members of the Green Party as reflected in the report of registration issued by the Secretary of State on the 135th day preceding the presidential primary election.

6964. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the Secretary of State receives a written communication from the Green Party Liaison to the Secretary of State stating that, by decision of the Green Party, certain individuals have been approved to appear on the ballot, those persons shall be placed on the Green Party presidential preference primary ballot.

6964.5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in addition to the name or names of a candidate or candidates designated to appear on the ballot of the Green Party presidential primary election, there shall also be listed as an alternative voting selection the statement "None of the Above," which shall be placed as the last voting option following the names of the other candidate or candidates. Every vote for "None of the Above" shall be processed, tabulated, and reported in the same manner as the votes for all other candidates who appear on the ballot.

Article 3. Instant Runoff Voting and Proportional Representation

6965. [Insert several parts from the IRV and PR notes in the PF Party election style section ]

Article 4. Preparation, Circulation, and Filing of Nominating Papers

6966. This article applies to the nomination of a Green Party candidate for the presidential primary ballot.

6966.5. Nomination papers properly prepared, circulated, signed, and verified shall be left for examination with the elections official of the county in which they are circulated, at least 74 days prior to the presidential primary.

6967. Each signer of a nomination paper for the presidential primary ballot may sign only one paper. The signer shall add his or her printed name and place of residence indicating city and giving the street and number, if any.

6967.5. Any nomination paper may be presented in sections. Each section shall contain the name of the presidential preference candidate. Each section shall bear the name of the county in which it is circulated. Only voters of the county registered as affiliated with the Green Party are competent to sign.

6968. Each section shall be prepared with the lines, for signatures numbered, and shall have attached the declaration of the circulator who obtained signatures to it, stating, under penalty of perjury, that he or she is a voter registered as affiliated with the Green Party, that all the signatures to the attached section were made in his or her presence, and that to the best of his or her knowledge and belief each signature to the section is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be. No other declaration is required to be made.

6968.5. A verified nomination paper is prima facie evidence that the signatures are genuine and that the persons signing it are voters registered as affiliated with the Green Party until it is otherwise proven by comparison of the signatures with the affidavits of registration in the office of the elections official.

6969. The nomination paper for a candidate for the presidential preference ballot shall be in substantially the following form: [Include a copy of: SECTION OF NOMINATION PAPER SIGNED BY VOTER ON BEHALF OF PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE PRIMARY CANDIDATE]

6969.5. Prior to filing, the sections of a nomination paper for any candidate shall be numbered in order.

6970. Nomination papers, properly assembled, may be consolidated and fastened together by counties, but nomination papers signed by voters in different counties shall not be fastened together.

6970.5. The elections official shall examine all nomination papers left with him or her for examination and shall disregard and mark "not sufficient" the name of any voter of that county that does not appear in the same handwriting on an affidavit of registration in the office of the elections official. The elections official shall also disregard and mark "not sufficient" the name of any voter of the county who is not registered as affiliated with the Green Party.

6971. Within five days after any nomination papers are left with the elections official for examination, the elections official shall do both of the following:

(a) Examine and affix to them a certificate reciting that he or she has examined them and stating the number of names that have not been marked "not sufficient."

(b) Transmit the papers with the certificate of examination to the Secretary of State, who shall file the papers.

6971.5. The certificate of the elections official to nomination papers of a candidate shall be in substantially the following form: [Include a copy of: CERTIFICATE OF ELECTIONS OFFICIAL TO NOMINATION PAPERS OF CANDIDATE OR GROUP OF CANDIDATES]

6972. Upon receipt of a sufficient number of signatures for the nomination of a candidate for the presidential preference primary ballot, the Secretary of State shall notify the candidate or his or her duly authorized representative of that fact.

Article 5. Green Party Presidential Primary Ballot

6973. Upon the filing of nomination papers, the presidential preference primary candidates as well as the "None of the Above" alternative shall be printed upon the ballot.

6973.5. For the presidential primary election, the format of the Green Party ballot shall be governed by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 13100) of Division 13, with the following exceptions:

(a) The heading "Presidential Preference Ranking-designate the order of preference for instant runoff voting" shall be included.

(b) Selected and unselected presidential candidates and the "None of the Above" alternative shall be listed below the heading specified in subdivision (a).

(c) The instruction to voters shall be the same as provided for in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 13100) of Division 13, except that they shall begin with the words: "Rank the candidate options, including 'None of the Above', by indicating '1' for your first choice, '2' for your second choice, and so on. Delegates to the national convention will be selected after the primary election."

6974. Any person who believes his or her name may be used as a write-in candidate for President of the United States shall, not later than 21 days before the primary election, file an endorsement of his or her write-in candidacy with the Secretary of State, or no votes shall be counted for that write-in candidate.

Article 6. Certification of National Convention Delegates Election and Postelection Proceedings

6975. The number of delegates to be selected following the presidential preference primary shall be the number established by the Green Party of the United States for the Green Party of California. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the General Assembly may delegate its authority to the Coordinating Committee to fill any delegate or alternative vacancies that may remain at the close of the General Assembly.

6975.5. The Secretary of State shall, not later than the 60th day after the election, file in his of her office a statement of the canvassed returns for the Green Party presidential preferential primary, including each round of instant runoff voting (as applicable), compiled from the returns filed with the Secretary of State by the county elections officials, The compiled statement shall show for each candidate and the "None of the Above" alternative (as applicable under the instant runoff voting procedures) the total votes received statewide and the total votes received in each county.

SEC. 2. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if the Commission of State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000), reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.

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