California Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday vetoed a bill by the late Sen. Sharon Runner (R-Lancaster) that would have allowed him to cancel an election to fill a vacancy in the Legislature if only one candidate makes the ballot. That candidate would have been declared the elected legislator, under the bill. Runner, who died earlier this month after complications from lung disease, was seeking to streamline the process for filling a legislative vacancy to save taxpayers money. She noted it cost counties $1.6 million to hold one recent special election. Runner was elected to the Senate in 2015 in a special election in which she was the only candidate on the ballot.
“Elections are a vital part of our democratic process, but it is not always necessary to spend taxpayer dollars on an election when a single name appears on the ballot,” she said in a statement when the Legislature first approved the bill earlier this year.
However, Brown said the change could disenfranchise some potential candidates.
“In the situation envisioned by this bill, the potential write-in candidates would be excluded from participation in the election,” Brown wrote in his veto message. “This doesn’t seem consistent with democratic principles that call for choice and robust debate.”
Full Article: California Gov. Brown vetoes measure that would have allowed cancellation of uncontested elections – LA Times.