BILL NUMBER: AB 2369 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 18, 2010
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Block
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Section 3103.5 of, and to amend and repeal
Sections 3102 and 3103 of, the Elections Code, relating to elections.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2369, Block. Elections: ballots.
Existing law permits a voter to return a vote by mail ballot
either by mail to the elections official from whom it came or by
personal delivery to the elections official or to a precinct board
member at any polling place within the jurisdiction.
Existing law also permits until January 1, 2011, a voter who is
temporarily living outside of the territorial limits of the United
States, the District of Columbia, or is called to military service,
to return his or her vote by mail ballot by facsimile transmission to
the elections official. The ballot has to be received by the closing
of the election day polls and accompanied by an identification
envelope and an oath of voter declaration in a prescribed form.
Existing law requires a special absentee voter who returns a
ballot by facsimile transmission to agree under penalty of perjury to
waive his or her right to a secret ballot and that he or she has not
applied for a vote by mail ballot from any other jurisdiction for
the election. The elections official is required to determine the
voter's eligibility to vote by comparing the voter's signature from
the materials returned by facsimile transmission to the signature on
the voter's affidavit of registration.
This bill would extend these provisions permanently. Because the
bill requires elections officials to provide a higher level of
service and extends the crime of perjury on a permanent basis, it
would impose a state-mandated local program.
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.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 3102 of the Elections Code, as amended by
Section 1 of Chapter 252 of the Statutes of 2008, is amended to read:
3102. Applications for the ballots of special absentee voters
shall be received and, except as provided in Section 3103.5, the
ballots shall be received and canvassed, at the same time and under
the same procedure as vote by mail ballots, insofar as that procedure
is not inconsistent with this chapter.
SEC. 2. Section 3102 of the Elections Code, as amended by Section
2 of Chapter 252 of the Statutes of 2008, is repealed.
SEC. 3. Section 3103 of the Elections Code, as amended by Section
3 of Chapter 252 of the Statutes of 2008, is amended to read:
3103. (a) Any application made pursuant to this chapter that is
received by the elections official prior to the 60th day before the
election shall be kept and processed on or after the 60th day before
the election.
(b) The elections official shall immediately send the voter a
ballot in a form prescribed and provided by the Secretary of State.
The elections official shall send with the ballot a list of all
candidates who have qualified for the ballot by the 60th day before
the election and a list of all measures that are to be submitted to
the voters and on which the voter is qualified to vote. The voter
shall be entitled to write in the name of any specific candidate
seeking nomination or election to any office listed on the ballot.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 15341 or any other provision of law,
any name written upon a ballot for a particular office pursuant to
subdivision (b) shall be counted for the office or nomination,
providing the candidate whose name has been written on the ballot
has, as of the date of the election, qualified to have his or her
name placed on the ballot for the office, or has qualified as a
write-in candidate for the office.
(d) Except as provided in Section 3103.5, the elections official
shall receive and canvass special absentee voter ballots described in
this section under the same procedure as vote by mail ballots,
insofar as that procedure is not inconsistent with this section.
(e) In the event that a voter executes a special absentee ballot
pursuant to this section and an application for a vote by mail ballot
pursuant to Section 3101, the elections official shall cancel the
voter's permanent vote by mail status, and process the application in
accordance with Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 3000).
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a special absentee
voter who qualifies pursuant to this section may, by facsimile
transmission, register to vote and apply for a special absentee
ballot or a vote by mail ballot. Upon request, the elections official
may send to the qualified special absentee voter either by mail,
facsimile, or electronic transmission the special absentee ballot or,
if available, a vote by mail ballot pursuant to Chapter 1
(commencing with Section 3000).
SEC. 4. Section 3103 of the Elections Code, as amended by Section
4 of Chapter 252 of the Statutes of 2008, is repealed.
SEC. 5. Section 3103.5 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
3103.5. (a) A special absentee voter who is temporarily living
outside of the territorial limits of the United States or the
District of Columbia, or is called for military service within the
United States on or after the final date to make application for a
vote by absent voter ballot, may return his or her ballot by
facsimile transmission. To be counted, the ballot returned by
facsimile transmission must be received by the voter's elections
official no later than the closing of the polls on election day and
must be accompanied by an identification envelope containing all of
the information required by Section 3011 and an oath of voter
declaration in substantially the following form:
OATH OF VOTER
I,_______, acknowledge that by returning my voted
ballot by facsimile transmission I have waived
my right to have my ballot
kept secret. Nevertheless, I understand that, as
with any vote by mail
voter, my signature, whether on this oath of
voter form or my identification
envelope, will be permanently separated from my
voted ballot to maintain
its secrecy at the outset of the tabulation
process and thereafter.
My residence address is________
(Street
____________________________.
Address) (City) (ZIP Code)
My current mailing address is________
(Street
___________________________.
Address) (City) (ZIP Code)
My e-mail address is _________________. My
facsimile
transmission
number is _________________.
I am a resident of __________ County, State of
California, and I have
not
applied, nor intend to apply, for a vote by mail
ballot from any other jurisdiction for the same
election.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the
laws of the State of California that the
foregoing is true and correct.
Dated this __________ day of ______, 20_____.
(Signature)______________________________________
voter (power of attorney cannot be
accepted)
YOUR BALLOT CANNOT BE COUNTED UNLESS YOU SIGN
THE
ABOVE OATH AND INCLUDE IT WITH YOUR BALLOT
AND
IDENTIFICATION ENVELOPE, ALL OF WHICH ARE
RETURNED
BY FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION.
(b) Notwithstanding the voter's waiver of the right to a secret
ballot, each elections official shall adopt appropriate procedures to
protect the secrecy of ballots returned by facsimile transmission.
(c) Upon receipt of a ballot returned by facsimile transmission,
the elections official shall determine the voter's eligibility to
vote by comparing the signature on the return information with the
signature on the voter's affidavit of registration. The ballot shall
be duplicated and all materials preserved according to procedures set
forth in this code.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a special absentee voter who
is permitted to return his or her ballot by facsimile transmission
is, nonetheless, encouraged to return his or her ballot by mail or in
person if possible. A special absentee voter should return a ballot
by facsimile transmission only if doing so is necessary for the
ballot to be received before the close of polls on election day.
SEC. 6. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other 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.