BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2467|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                         |
          |327-4478                          |                         |
           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
           
                                         
                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 2467
          Author:   Monning (D)
          Amended:  7/15/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE ELEC., REAP. & CONST. AMEND. COMM.  : 3-1, 6/29/10
          AYES:  Hancock, DeSaulnier, Liu
          NOES:  Strickland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Denham

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  71-0, 5/10/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Elections:  vote by mail (VBM)

           SOURCE  :     Secretary of State


           DIGEST  :    This bill deletes the requirement that an  
          electronic vote-by-mail (VBM) application include the date  
          the application must be received by the elections  
          officials, and requires an electronic application for a VBM  
          ballot to inform the voter that the application for the VBM  
          ballot must be received by the elections official not later  
          than seven days prior to the date of the election.

           Senate Floor Amendments  of 7/15/10 make a uniform wording  
          change within another Elections Code section dealing with  
          processing of VBM ballots.  This change was inadvertently  
          left out of the bill when it was last amended.  It  
          specifically provides that the specific statements related  
          to voting be substantially similar to those statements  
                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               AB 2467
                                                                Page  
          2

          currently found in the existing provisions.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law provides that a VBM ballot is available to any  
          registered voter.

          Existing law provides that a specific format be used on any  
          printed application that is to be distributed to voters for  
          requesting VBM ballots including, but not limited to the  
          following:

             A.   The printed name and residence address of the  
               voter as it appears on the affidavit of  
               registration.

             B.   The address to which the ballot is to be mailed.

             C.   The voter's signature.

             D.   The name and date of the election for which the  
               request is to be made.

             E.   The date the application must be received by the  
               elections official.

          Existing law requires that an elections official receive a  
          request in writing from a voter requesting a VBM  
          application between the 29th and the 7th day prior to the  
          election.

          Existing law requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to  
          prepare and distribute to appropriate elections officials a  
          uniform application format for a VBM ballot.

          This bill requires that a printed application that is to be  
          distributed to a voter requesting a VBM ballot shall inform  
          the voter that the application for the VBM ballot must be  
          received by the elections official not later than seven  
          days prior to the date of the election.

          This bill deletes the requirement that an electronic VBM  
          application include the date the application must be  
          received by the elections officials.







                                                               AB 2467
                                                                Page  
          3


          This bill requires an electronic application for a VBM  
          ballot to inform the voter that the application for the VBM  
          ballot must be received by the elections official not later  
          than seven days prior to the date of the election.

          This bill makes other clarifying changes to statements on  
          both the printed and the uniform electronic VBM  
          application.

           Background
           
          Current law requires the SOS to prepare and distribute to  
          elections officials a uniform electronic VBM application  
          that must include specific instructions.  For example, the  
          application must include spaces for the voter to fill in  
          their name and residence address, the address to which the  
          ballot is to be mailed, the date of birth of the registered  
          voter, the name and date of the election, as well as the  
          date the application must be received by the elections  
          official.  The SOS posts the required format for a  
          statewide vote-by-mail ballot application online.  County  
          election officials must follow this format when  
          distributing vote-by-mail ballot applications and by law,  
          the voter has to fill in the correct date of the election,  
          as well as the correct date for the last day the  
          application must be received.

          According to the author's office, this bill clarifies and  
          makes the process of filling out a VBM ballot application  
          more user friendly for voters by eliminating the  
          requirement that the voter know and fill in specific dates  
          when submitting the application.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/30/10)

          Secretary of State (source)


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,  







                                                               AB 2467
                                                                Page  
          4

            Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,  
            Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero,  
            Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis,  
            De Leon, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,  
            Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,  
            Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,  
            Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie  
            Lowenthal, Ma, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,  
            Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,  
            Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Audra Strickland, Swanson,  
            Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John  
            A. Perez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Coto, De La Torre, DeVore, Harkey,  
            Mendoza, Norby, Saldana, Solorio, Vacancy


          DLW:do  8/3/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                ****  END  ****