Asm. Kristin Olsen

This measure would acknowledge the month of May 2016 as Foster Care Awareness Month.

The California Constitution requires the Legislature to provide for partisan elections for presidential candidates, including an open presidential primary where the candidates on the ballot are those found by the Secretary of State to be recognized candidates throughout the nation or throughout California for the office of President of the United States, and those whose names are placed on the ballot by petition, but excluding any candidate who has withdrawn by filing an affidavit of noncandidacy. Existing statutory law provides for a presidential primary election at which delegations to the national conventions of political parties are chosen. Existing law requires a voter who is registered as preferring a political party participating in a presidential primary election to be furnished a ballot for the political party that he or she prefers, on which the presidential candidates for that political party are listed. Existing law prohibits a voter who is not registered as disclosing a preference for any one of the political parties participating in the election from voting the ballot of a political party unless the political party, by party rule duly noticed to the Secretary of State, authorizes a person who has declined to disclose a party preference to vote its ballot. Existing law does not provide for a candidate who is not seeking the nomination of a political party to participate in the presidential primary election. However, existing law permits such a presidential candidate to be nominated, and have his or her name printed on the general election ballot, by filing independent nomination papers signed by a specified percentage of voters. Existing law also provides for write-in candidates at the presidential general election. This measure would, instead, require the Legislature to provide for a presidential primary election at which every ballot contains the names of all candidates for the office of President of the United States recognized by the Secretary of State in accordance with applicable statutes, including candidates who are not seeking the nomination of a political party for that office. This measure would authorize a voter to vote for any candidate at the presidential primary election without regard to the political party preference, or lack of political party preference, of the voter. This measure would require the Legislature to enact statutes requiring the Secretary of State to report to each political party the number of votes cast at the presidential primary election for each candidate seeking the nomination of that party in a manner that segregates the votes by the political party preference, or lack of political party preference, of the voters. This measure would authorize a political party to count the votes from the presidential primary election according to the rules of the party and would authorize the party to place a candidate of its choice on the general election ballot. This measure would require the Legislature to provide for a presidential general election at which every ballot contains the names of the candidates selected by each political party that participated in the preceding presidential primary election and the name of the candidate who received the highest number of voters at the preceding presidential primary election among candidates not seeking the nomination of a political party.

This measure would proclaim that Monday, January 18, 2016, be observed as the official memorial of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth and his work in the Civil Rights Movement.

This measure would recognize May 2016 as Celiac Disease Awareness Month.

This measure would recognize the Lunar New Year Celebration on February 8, 2016.

This measure would commend the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on the celebration of its 150th anniversary and for the myriad contributions it has made to the health and well-being of animals nationwide and would extend best wishes for continued success in the future.

This measure would recognize May 2016 as Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month.

This measure would designate the month of May 2016 as Health Care District Month.

This measure would designate May 29, 2016, as 529 College Savings Day, to raise awareness about the importance of saving for college with the help of 529 college savings plans.

This measure would proclaim May 16, 2016, as California Holocaust Memorial Day and would urge all Californians to observe this day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust in an appropriate manner.