CALIFORNIA STATUTES AND CODES
SECTIONS 7400-7414
ELECTIONS CODE
SECTION 7400-7414
7400. In each county containing less than five Assembly districts,
a county central committee shall be elected by supervisor districts,
and the number to be elected from any supervisor district shall be
determined as follows: There shall be taken the number of votes cast
in the supervisor district at the last gubernatorial election for
that party's candidate for Governor, or, if the party had no
candidate for Governor, for the candidate of the party voted on
throughout the state who received the greatest number of votes and
who was the candidate of that party alone. This number shall be
divided by one-twentieth of the number of votes cast in that county
for Governor or, where the party had no candidate for Governor, for
the candidate mentioned above. The integer next larger than the
quotient obtained by such division shall constitute the number of
members of the committee to be elected by that party in that
supervisor district.
The committees in counties containing less than five Assembly
districts shall be composed of not less than 21 members. If the
procedure outlined above would result in less than 21 members being
elected for any committee, the number of votes cast for this party's
candidate in each supervisor district shall be divided by an amount
sufficiently smaller than one-twentieth of the votes cast for
Governor in that county as to give a membership in the committee
equal to or the nearest amount which is greater than 21 members.
7400.1. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 7400 and 7401, in the County
of Sacramento, the county central committee shall be elected by
supervisor districts, and the number to be elected from any
supervisor district shall be determined as follows: There shall be
taken the number of votes cast in the supervisor district at the last
gubernatorial election for that party's candidate for Governor, or,
if the party did not have a candidate for Governor, for the candidate
of the party voted on throughout the state who received the greatest
number of votes and who was the candidate of that party alone. This
number shall be divided by one-thirtieth of the number of votes cast
in Sacramento County for Governor or, where the party did not have a
candidate for Governor, for the candidate mentioned above. The
integer next larger than the quotient obtained by that division shall
constitute the number of members of the committee to be elected by
that party in that supervisor district.
(b) The Sacramento County Central Committee shall be composed of
not less than 31 members. If the procedure outlined above would
result in less than 31 members being elected for any committee, the
number of votes cast for this party's candidate in each supervisor
district shall be divided by an amount sufficiently smaller than
one-thirtieth of the votes cast for Governor in Sacramento County as
to give a membership on the committee equal to or the nearest amount
that is greater than 31 members.
7400.3. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 7400 and 7401, in the County
of Santa Clara, the county central committee shall be elected by
supervisor districts, and the number to be elected from any
supervisor district shall be determined as follows:
(1) There shall be taken the number of votes cast in the
supervisor district at the last gubernatorial election for that party'
s candidate for Governor, or, if the party did not have a candidate
for Governor, for the candidate of the party voted on throughout the
state who received the greatest number of votes and who was the
candidate of that party alone.
(2) This number shall be divided by one-twenty-second of the
number of votes cast in Santa Clara County for Governor or, where the
party did not have a candidate for Governor, for the candidate
mentioned above. The integer next larger than the quotient obtained
by that division shall constitute the number of members of the
committee to be elected by that party in that supervisor district.
(b) The Santa Clara County Central Committee shall be composed of
not less than 23 members. If the procedure outlined above would
result in less than 23 members being elected to the committee, the
number of votes cast for this party's candidate in each supervisor
district shall be divided by an amount sufficiently smaller than
one-twenty-second of the votes cast for Governor in Santa Clara
County as to give a membership on the committee equal to or the
nearest amount that is greater than 23 members.
7400.5. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 7400 and 7401, in the County
of San Bernardino, the county central committee shall be elected by
supervisor districts, and the number to be elected from any
supervisor district shall be determined as follows:
(1) There shall be taken the number of votes cast in the
supervisor district at the last gubernatorial election for that party'
s candidate for Governor, or, if the party did not have a candidate
for Governor, for the candidate of the party voted on throughout the
state who received the greatest number of votes and who was the
candidate of that party alone.
(2) This number shall be divided by one-thirtieth of the number of
votes cast in San Bernardino County for Governor or, where the party
did not have a candidate for Governor, for the candidate mentioned
above. The integer next larger than the quotient obtained by that
division shall constitute the number of members of the committee to
be elected by that party in that supervisor district.
(b) The San Bernardino County Central Committee shall be composed
of not fewer than 30 members. If the procedure outlined above would
result in fewer than 30 members being elected to the committee, the
number of votes cast for this party's candidate in each supervisor
district shall be divided by an amount sufficiently smaller than
one-thirtieth of the votes cast for Governor in San Bernardino County
as to give a membership on the committee equal to or the nearest
amount that is greater than 30 members.
7401. In each county containing more than four and less than 20
Assembly districts, a county central committee shall be elected from
Assembly districts and shall consist of six members elected from each
Assembly district.
7402. In each county containing 20 or more Assembly districts a
county central committee shall consist of seven members elected from
each Assembly district contained either wholly or partially within
the county. In an Assembly district that lies only partially within a
county containing 20 or more Assembly districts, the seven members
shall be elected from that portion of the Assembly district contained
within the county.
7403. In each city and county, a county central committee shall be
elected by Assembly districts and shall consist of 13 members elected
from Assembly District 12 and 12 members elected from Assembly
District 13.
7404. (a) In each county, the nominee of the party for State
Senator, the nominees of the party for the Assembly, and any person
nominated to either the Senate or Assembly at a special election to
fill a vacancy in the house, and the nominee of the party for
Representative in Congress shall be ex officio members of this
committee. If the person most recently nominated or elected from one
party at the special election for an Assembly or Senate seat, or for
the House of Representatives shall be other than the nominee of that
party for the same office at the earlier election, the ex officio
membership of the latter nominee shall expire immediately upon
certification by the Secretary of State of the nomination or, if
there is no runoff, the election of the person most recently
nominated or elected. Ex officio members shall be entitled to all the
rights and privileges, including the right to vote, and shall have
the same standing in every way as other members of this committee,
except they shall not be entitled to a ballot designation of
incumbent upon seeking election to this committee in the next direct
primary. A person shall be entitled to ex officio membership upon
receiving a certificate of nomination from the Secretary of State
pursuant to Section 8147, at which time the term of the former
nominee shall expire.
(b) If the person most recently nominated to the Senate, Assembly,
or House of Representatives received less votes for the particular
office at the ensuing general election than a write-in candidate for
the same office, and the write-in candidate is elected to that office
the write-in candidate shall, for purposes of this part, be
considered the ex officio member of each affected county, provided
that the write-in candidate's affidavit of registration reflects that
that candidate has been affiliated with the party for at least six
months prior to the general election.
(c) If a write-in candidate is entitled to ex officio membership
on each affected county central committee pursuant to subdivision
(b), each affected county central committee shall, designate the
party nominee described in subdivision (b) as an additional ex
officio member to its committee. Any person designated as an ex
officio member under this subdivision shall be entitled to all the
rights and privileges as other ex officio members of the committee.
7405. The nominee for each of the following offices shall be an ex
officio member of the committee in the county in which he or she
resides:
(a) Governor.
(b) Lieutenant Governor.
(c) Treasurer.
(d) Controller.
(e) Attorney General.
(f) Secretary of State.
(g) Member of the State Board of Equalization.
(h) United States Senator from California. His or her rights and
privileges, including the right to membership, shall be the same as
those prescribed for other ex officio members in Section 7404.
7406. A committee may authorize each elected member and each ex
officio member of that committee to appoint an alternate member. An
ex officio member who is also an incumbent officeholder of any of the
offices listed in Sections 7404 and 7405 at the time of the meeting
of the committee may appoint an alternate member without
authorization from that committee, if the member desires to appoint
an alternate.
The alternate member shall have the right to vote only with the
written authorization of the member who appointed him or her. An
alternate member of a committee shall be subject to the rules and
regulations of the committee.
An alternate member must meet the same qualifications as the
regular member, and may vote only in the absence of the member who
appointed him or her, except that an alternate member appointed by an
incumbent Senator, Member of the Assembly, or Representative in
Congress need not reside in the district of the appointing power but
need only reside in the county of jurisdiction of the committee.
7407. A person shall not be eligible for appointment or election to
a committee who is not registered as affiliated with this party at
the time of his or her appointment or election.
7408. Each member of a committee, whether elected to the committee
or appointed to fill a vacancy, before he or she enters upon the
duties of his or her office, shall take and subscribe the oath or
affirmation set forth in Section 3 of Article XX of the Constitution.
The oath or affirmation required by this section may be taken
before any officer authorized to administer oaths and no fee shall be
charged by any person before whom the oath is taken or subscribed.
7409. In the event that the candidates elected to a committee from
a district do not equal the number of party committeemembers to which
that district is entitled to be represented, a vacancy or vacancies
exist to the extent of the difference between the number of elected
committeemembers and the number of committeemembers by which the
district is entitled to be represented. When a vacancy or vacancies
exist they shall be filled by the committee to which insufficient
members were elected, in the manner provided for in Section 7410.
7410. In the event of the appointment or election to a committee of
an ineligible person, or whenever any member of the committee dies,
resigns or becomes incapacitated to act, or removes from the
jurisdiction of the committee, or ceases to be a member of this
party, a vacancy exists which shall be filled by appointment by the
committee in which the ineligibility or vacancy occurs. A vacancy
shall also exist on a committee when a member is removed from the
committee pursuant to Section 7411 or 7413.
7411. (a) Any member of a committee, other than an ex officio
member, who misses four regularly called meetings within one 12-month
period shall be removed from the committee concerned, unless his or
her absence is caused by illness or temporary absence from the county
on the date of the meeting.
(b) A committee may, in its sole discretion and in accordance with
its bylaws, remove a member who misses four or more regularly called
meetings within one 12-month period, regardless of the reasons for
the absences.
7412. The removal of residence by an elected or appointed member of
a committee from the Assembly district or supervisor district from
which he or she has been elected or appointed a member of that
committee shall constitute his or her automatic resignation from the
committee.
7413. A committee may remove any member, other than an ex officio
member, who during his or her term of membership affiliates with, or
registers as a member of another party, who publicly advocates that
the voters should not vote for the nominee of this party for any
office, or who gives support or avows a preference for a candidate of
another party or candidate who is opposed to a candidate nominated
by this party.
7414. Whenever any person is appointed to fill a vacancy on a
committee, the chairperson of the committee shall file notices of the
appointment with the elections official and the chairperson of the
state central committee within 30 days after it is made. The notices
shall contain the name and address of the person appointed and the
name of the person replaced, and shall indicate the date of the
appointment.