SB 594 (Glazer), which aligns the elections calendar for the
June 7, 2022 primary with the new statewide redistricting
deadline, was passed out of Assembly Elections Committee earlier
this week with unanimous support.
The California Citizens Redistricting Commission has previously
obtained from the court an extension of their time to finalize
new maps for Congress, the state Legislature, and Board of
Equalization districts. They recently petitioned the California
Supreme Court for an additional two-week extension, citing
concerns of minimal public comment during the end-of-year
holidays. If the California Supreme Court grants the Commission’s
request, the deadline for final maps will be January 14, 2022.
However, the later maps are allowed to be finished, the less time
county registrars will have to complete the work necessary to
re-precinct in time for the primary election.
SB 594 seeks to lessen the burden on election officials and
candidates by aligning the elections calendar for the 2022
primary with a later state redistricting deadline. The bill
reduces the time and number of signatures required for candidates
to collect signatures-in-lieu of a filing fee, and it adjusts the
timing of the start of the nomination process.
Importantly for county redistricting timelines, SB 594 was
amended to clarify that the requirement for counties to “adopt”
supervisorial district boundaries can be satisfied by either
ordinance or resolution. This clarification ensures that counties
can maximize the amount of time dedicated to the map-drawing
process. CSAC supports SB 594 based on this helpful
clarification.
SB 594 is currently on the Assembly Floor, where it will be
considered during these final two weeks of session. If it passes
the Assembly, it will move back to the Senate for concurrence.
