BILL NUMBER: SB 7 CHAPTERED 10/14/01 CHAPTER 925 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 14, 2001 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 14, 2001 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JULY 2, 2001 PASSED THE SENATE MAY 7, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 29, 2001 INTRODUCED BY Senators Peace and Perata DECEMBER 4, 2000 An act to amend Sections 3006, 3205, and 13102 of the Elections Code, relating to voting, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 7, Peace. Voting. Existing law requires that a printed absent voter application form inform the voter, among other things, that if the voter is unaffiliated with a political party, the voter may request an absentee ballot for a particular political party if that party has adopted a party rule, duly noted to the Secretary of State, authorizing that vote. It requires the application to contain a telephone number that the voter may call to inquire which political parties have adopted such a rule. This bill would require that the telephone number be a toll-free telephone number established by the Secretary of State that the voter may call to access information regarding which parties have adopted the voting rule in question. Existing law allows voters meeting certain conditions to be given permanent absent voter status. Absentee ballots from permanent absent voters are subject to the same deadlines and are processed and counted the same as all other absent voter ballots. This bill would require county elections officials, before primary elections, to mail to each voter on the permanent absent voter list who is unaffiliated with a political party a notice and application regarding voting in the primary elections. The bill would require the notice to advise the voter that he or she may request an absentee ballot for a political party, if the particular political party adopted a party rule as specified authorizing voters to vote in their primary election. This bill would also require that the notice contain a toll-free telephone number established by the Secretary of State as to which political parties have adopted rules permitting absentee votes and a preprinted statement for the voter to check indicating that the voter is unaffiliated with any party but, for that primary election only, requests an absentee ballot for a specified party. Existing law requires the chairman of a political party to provide written notice of the adoption of a rule as described above to the Secretary of State not later than the 60th day prior to the partisan primary election at which the vote is authorized. This bill would require that the written notice of the adoption of the rule be provided to the Secretary of State not later than the 135th day prior to the partisan primary election at which the vote is authorized. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed $1,000,000. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 3006 of the Elections Code is amended to read: 3006. (a) Any printed application that is to be distributed to voters for requesting absent voter ballots shall contain spaces for the following: (1) The printed name and residence address of the voter as it appears on the affidavit of registration. (2) The address to which the ballot is to be mailed. (3) The voter's signature. (4) The name and date of the election for which the request is to be made. (5) The date the application must be received by the elections official. (b) (1) The information required by paragraphs (1), (4), and (5) of subdivision (a) may be preprinted on the application. The information required by paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a) shall be personally affixed by the voter. (2) An address, as required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), may not be the address of any political party, a political campaign headquarters, or a candidate's residence. However, a candidate, his or her spouse, immediate family members, and any other voter who shares the same residence address as the candidate may request that an absentee ballot be mailed to the candidate's residence address. (3) Any application that contains preprinted information shall contain a conspicuously printed statement, as follows: "You have the legal right to mail or deliver this application directly to the local elections official of the county where you reside." (c) The application shall inform the voter that if he or she is not affiliated with a political party, the voter may request an absentee ballot for a particular political party for the primary election, if that political party has adopted a party rule, duly noticed to the Secretary of State, authorizing that vote. The application shall contain a toll-free telephone number, established by the Secretary of State, that the voter may call to access information regarding which political parties have adopted such a rule. The application shall contain a check-off box with a conspicuously printed statement that reads, as follows: "I am not presently affiliated with any political party. However, for this primary election only, I request an absentee ballot for the _________ Party." The name of the political party shall be personally affixed by the voter. (d) The application shall provide the voters with information concerning the procedure for establishing permanent absentee voter status, and the basis upon which permanent absentee voter status is claimed. (e) The application shall be attested to by the voter as to the truth and correctness of its content, and shall be signed under penalty of perjury. SEC. 2. Section 3205 of the Elections Code is amended to read: 3205. (a) Absent voter ballots mailed to, and received from, voters on the permanent absent voter list are subject to the same deadlines and shall be processed and counted in the same manner as all other absent voter ballots. (b) Prior to each primary election, county elections officials shall mail to every voter not affiliated with a political party whose name appears on the permanent absent voter list a notice and application regarding voting in the primary election. The notice shall inform the voter that he or she may request an absentee ballot for a particular political party for the primary election, if that political party adopted a party rule, duly noticed to the Secretary of State, authorizing these voters to vote in their primary. The notice shall also contain a toll-free telephone number, established by the Secretary of State, that the voter may call to access information regarding which political parties have adopted such a rule. The application shall contain a check-off box with a conspicuously printed statement that reads as follows: "I am not presently affiliated with any political party. However, for this primary election only, I request an absentee ballot for the ____ Party." The name of the political party shall be personally affixed by the voter. SEC. 3. Section 13102 of the Elections Code is amended to read: 13102. (a) All voting shall be by ballot. There shall be provided, at each polling place, at each election at which public officers are to be voted for, but one form of ballot for all candidates for public office, except that, for partisan primary elections, one form of ballot shall be provided for each qualified political party as well as one form of nonpartisan ballot, in accordance with subdivision (b). (b) At partisan primary elections, each voter not registered as intending to affiliate with any one of the political parties participating in the election shall be furnished only a nonpartisan ballot, unless he or she requests a ballot of a political party and that political party, by party rule duly noticed to the Secretary of State, authorizes a person who has declined to state a party affiliation to vote the ballot of that political party. The nonpartisan ballot shall contain only the names of all candidates for nonpartisan offices and measures to be voted for at the primary election. Each voter registered as intending to affiliate with a political party participating in the election shall be furnished only a ballot of the political party with which he or she is registered and the nonpartisan ballot, both of which shall be printed together as one ballot in the form prescribed by Section 13207. (c) A political party may adopt a party rule in accordance with subdivision (b) that authorizes a person who has declined to state a party affiliation to vote the ballot of that political party at the next ensuing partisan primary election. The political party shall notify the party chairman immediately upon adoption of that party rule. The party chairman shall provide written notice of the adoption of that rule to the Secretary of State not later than the 135th day prior to the partisan primary election at which the vote is authorized. SEC. 4. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000), reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund. SEC. 5. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order to ensure that the adjustments to voting procedures made by this act are applicable to the next election cycle, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.