BILL ANALYSIS
AB 257
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Date of Hearing: May 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 257 (Adams) - As Amended: May 6, 2009
Policy Committee: ElectionsVote:7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to establish a
uniform reporting format to collect information from county
elections officials relating to incidents and irregularities
occurring during regularly schedule statewide elections. This
bill also:
1)Provides that, for the purposes of the reports, "election
incidents and irregularities" includes documented complaints
or reports of: (a) voter fraud; (b) voter intimidation; (c)
failure, malfunction, or improper usage or operation of either
an electronic voting machine or a paper ballot; or (d)
incidents resulting in voter disenfranchisement.
2)Requires the SOS to make any county reports available on the
SOS website.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Minor reimbursable costs, less than $60,000 annually assuming
an average of $1,000 per county, for every county to provide
the required report to the SOS following a statewide election.
2)The SOS would incur ongoing GF costs of about $40,000 for
one-half position to develop the standard report format and to
receive, review, and respond to irregularities reported by the
counties.
COMMENTS
AB 257
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1)Purpose . According to the author, "During the February 5,
2008 Presidential Primary Election, several counties
throughout the state experienced problems conducting the
election. For example, in Los Angles County, there were
problems with the design of the ballot that resulted in
several ballots not being counted. In Riverside County, there
were issues with voters receiving unusable ballots which had
to be replaced by local election officials. Additionally, on
Election night, there were countless press reports of polls
being kept open past 8pm, polling places running out of
ballots, and several other instances of Election Day
inconsistencies and irregularities.
"This bill will ensure that the State Legislature and the
Secretary of State has the information needed to adequately
oversee the conduction of statewide election[s] and ensure
that all statewide elections are conducted in the most secure
and efficient manner possible."
2)Prior Legislation . In 2008, a similar bill AB 2628 (Adams),
was held on Suspense in Senate Appropriations.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081