Article 1. Members of California Elections Code >> Division 7. >> Part 4. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 1.

In each county containing less than five Assembly districts or portions thereof, except the City and County of San Francisco, a county central committee of at least 25 members shall be elected by supervisor districts, and the number elected from each supervisor district shall be determined as follows: The number of voters registered as members of the American Independent Party, as reflected in the statement of voters and their political affiliations transmitted to the Secretary of State on or before the 135th day before any primary election, shall be divided by 25. The number thus derived shall be divided into the number of American Independent Party voters registered in each supervisor district, and the integer nearest the resulting quotient shall be the number of central committee members to be elected to represent that supervisor district.

In each county containing more than four Assembly districts or portions thereof, and the City and County of San Francisco, a county central committee shall be elected by Assembly districts, and the number elected shall be that number derived by multiplying 7 times the number of Assembly districts in whole or in part within the county. The number elected from each Assembly district shall be determined as follows: The number of voters registered as members of the American Independent Party, as reflected in the statement of voters and their political affiliations transmitted to the Secretary of State on or before the 135th day before any primary election, shall be divided by the total number of members to be elected in the county. The number thus derived shall be divided into the number of American Independent Party voters registered in each Assembly district or portion thereof, and the integer nearest the resulting quotient shall be the number of central committee members to be elected to represent that Assembly district or portion thereof.

The incumbent or nominee of 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) Secretary of State.
  (d) Controller.
  (e) Treasurer.
  (f) Attorney General.
  (g) Member of the State Board of Equalization.
  (h) United States Senator from California.
  (i) Representative in Congress from California.
  (j) All Members of the Legislature.
  (k) Any person nominated to a partisan office at a special election to fill a vacancy in that office. 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 presidential primary.

A committee may authorize any member of that committee, whether elected or ex officio, to appoint an alternate if a member desires to appoint an alternate. An incumbent of an elected partisan office 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 county central 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.

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.

In the event that the candidates elected to a committee from a district do not equal the number of party committeepersons to which that district is entitled to be represented under this chapter, 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 7657.

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 7658 or 7660.

Any member, other than an ex officio member, of a committee who misses more than three consecutive regularly called meetings may be removed by a vote of the committee concerned, unless his or her absence is caused by illness or temporary absence from the county on the date of the meeting.

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.

A committee may remove any member who during his or her term of membership affiliates with, or registers as a member of another party. A committee may remove any member, other than an ex officio member, 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 who is opposed to a candidate nominated by this party.

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.