BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 56|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 445-6614 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 56
Author: Shelley (D) & Hertzberg (D)
Amended: 9/13/01 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE ELECTIONS & REAP. COMMITTEE : 6-0, 7/11/01
AYES: Alpert, Burton, Murray, Ortiz, Perata, Polanco
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-0, 9/6/01
AYES: Alpert, Bowen, Escutia, Karnette, McPherson, Murray,
Perata, Speier
SENATE FLOOR : 29-8, 9/14/01
AYES: Alarcon, Alpert, Battin, Brulte, Burton, Chesbro,
Costa, Dunn, Escutia, Figueroa, Johannessen, Karnette,
Kuehl, Machado, McPherson, Monteith, Murray, O'Connell,
Ortiz, Peace, Perata, Polanco, Poochigian, Scott, Soto,
Speier, Torlakson, Vasconcellos, Vincent
NOES: Ackerman, Haynes, Johnson, Knight, Margett,
McClintock, Morrow, Oller
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 71-4, 6/6/01 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Ballot Protection Act of 2002
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill enacts the Voting Modernization Bond
Act of 2002 by placing a bond act on the March primary
ballot and authorizes counties to use bond funds for the
purchase of updated voting systems in the amount of $200
CONTINUED
AB 56
Page
2
million.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/13/01 (1) change the name of
the act from the Ballot Protection Act to the Voting
Modernization Act, (2) lowers the amount of bonds from $300
million to $200 million, and (3) changes the author.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to study and adopt
regulations governing the use of voting machines, voting
devices, and vote tabulating devices.
2.Provides that no voting system shall be used unless it
has received the approval of the SOS prior to any
election at which it is to be first used.
3.Provides that any person or corporation owning any voting
system may apply to the SOS to examine and report on its
accuracy and efficiency to fulfill its purpose.
4.Requires the SOS to hold a public hearing prior to the
approval or denial of any voting machine, voting device,
or vote tabulating device. Any decision of the SOS in
this regard shall be in writing and shall state the
findings of the SOS.
5.Provides that the governing board of any locality may
adopt for use at elections any kind of voting system
provided that its use has been approved by the SOS or
specifically authorized by law. The governing board of
any locality may, on an experimental basis, use a voting
system not previously authorized.
This bill:
1.Authorizes the placement of a $200 million General
Obligation bond act on the March 5, 2002 primary election
ballot. Requires bonds issued under this act be repaid
within 10 years.
2.Creates the Voter Modernization Finance Committee,
consisting of the State Controller, the Director of the
State Department of Finance and the State Treasurer, or
AB 56
Page
3
their designated representatives.
3.Limits eligibility for funding from the bonds to counties
that meet or adhere to the following requirements:
A. The county has purchased a new voting system after
January 1, 1999, and is continuing to make payments
on that system on the date that this bill becomes
effective.
B. The county provides matching funds to purchase the
updated voting system at a ratio of $1 of county
funds for every $3 of bond funds.
The funds will not be used to purchase a voting
system utilizing prescored punch card ballots.
C. The county has not previously requested fund money
for the purchase of a new voting system.
Applications for expansion of an existing system or
components related to a previously approved
application shall be accepted.
4.Specifies that, for purposes of this bill, "voting
system" includes any voting machine, voting device, or
vote-tabulating device that does not use prescored punch
card ballots.
5.Specifies that any voting system purchased using bond
funds after the date that this bill becomes effective
that does not require a voter to directly mark on the
ballot must produce, at the time the voter votes his or
her ballot or at the time the polls are closed, a paper
version or representation of the voted ballot or of all
the ballots cast on a unit of the voting system. The
paper version shall not be provided to the voter but
shall be retained by elections officials for use during
the one percent manual recount or other recount or
contest.
6.Creates a Voter Modernization Board and designates the
board for purposes of the State General Obligation Bond
Law and for purposes of administering the Voting
Modernization Fund. The board consists of five members,
AB 56
Page
4
three selected by the Governor and two selected by the
Secretary of State.
The board shall have the authority to reject the
application for fund money it deems inappropriate,
excessive, or that does not comply with the intent of
this article. A county whose application is rejected
shall be allowed to submit an amended application.
7.Allows the Legislature to amend subdivisions (c) and (d)
of Section 19234 and Section 19235 of the Election Code
by a statute, passed in each house of the Legislature by
roll call vote entered in the respective journals, by not
less than two-thirds of the membership in each house
concurring, if the statute is consistent with, and
furthers the purpose of this bill.
The Governor's proposed 2001-2002 Budget directed $40
million from the General Fund to the Office of Planning and
Research to establish a touch screen voting pilot project
in three counties. These funds are deleted in the May
Revise of the Governor's Budget.
According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, "[t]ouch
screen voting systems allow voters to push on screen
buttons to record their choice. The system is designed to
prevent voters from accidentally voting for multiple
candidates for an office for which there can be only one
winner. The SOS is responsible for testing and certifying
all voting systems used in California elections, including
touch screen systems. To date, SOS has certified three
different types of touch screen systems for counties to
use. In addition, six counties have used touch screen
systems to varying degrees in actual elections, and one
county has used touch screen voting for an entire general
election."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
Provides for a $200 million Bond Act.
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/13/01)
AB 56
Page
5
Office of the State Attorney General
Secretary of State
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
Congress of California Seniors
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
City Clerk Association of California
League of California Cities
California Association of Counties
The Urban Counties Caucus
California Public Interest Research Group
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
Kern County Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Napa County Board of Supervisors
Orange County Board of Supervisors
Riverside County Board of Supervisors
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors
Global Election Systems
San Joaquin County
San Jose/Silicon Valley NAAU
Compaq Computer System
ACLU
California Common Cause
City of Albany
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"[m]any of the voting systems in use in California, while
still functional, are technologically obsolete. There is a
critical need for the state to work with counties and
provide a financial partner to assure that voting systems
in California are the most accurate, reliable, and secure
in the nation."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Aroner, Ashburn, Bogh, Briggs,
Calderon, Bill Campbell, John Campbell, Canciamilla,
Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Chan, Chavez, Chu, Cogdill,
Cohn, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Diaz, Dickerson, Dutra,
Firebaugh, Florez, Frommer, Goldberg, Harman, Havice,
Horton, Jackson, Keeley, Kehoe, Kelley, Koretz, La Suer,
Leach, Leonard, Leslie, Liu, Longville, Lowenthal,
Maddox, Maldonado, Matthews, Migden, Nakano, Nation,
Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Robert Pacheco, Rod Pacheco,
AB 56
Page
6
Papan, Pavley, Pescetti, Richman, Runner, Salinas,
Shelley, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Strom-Martin,
Thomson, Vargas, Wayne, Wesson, Wiggins, Wyland,
Hertzberg
NOES: Daucher, Hollingsworth, Mountjoy, Wyman
DLW:cm 9/26/01 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****