BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2797
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Date of Hearing: May 4, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 2797 (Elections & Redistricting Committee) - As Introduced:
March 25, 2010
SUBJECT : Elections: voter registration and ballots.
SUMMARY : Makes various minor and technical changes to existing
law governing elections. Specifically, this bill :
1)Moves back the deadline for a county to submit claims for
reimbursement for costs incurred by the county in complying
with various voter registration laws from October 31 to
February 15 in the year following the fiscal year in which the
costs were incurred.
2)Repeals an obsolete provision of law that establishes a
revolving fund for the purchase of ballot paper.
3)Provides that in cases where a precinct board would be
required to post the results of ballots cast at the precinct,
the precinct board shall not do so if fewer than 10 voters
cast ballots in the precinct in order to protect the secrecy
of those voters' ballots. Provides instead that the precinct
board shall post only the total number of people who voted at
the precinct.
4)Provides that in cases where a precinct board would be
required to post the results of ballots cast on a voting
machine at the precinct, the precinct board shall not do so
with respect to any machine on which fewer than 10 voters cast
ballots, in order to protect the secrecy of those voters'
ballots. Provides instead that the precinct board shall post
only the total number of people who voted on that machine.
5)Makes a non-substantive corresponding change.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the State Controller to reimburse counties for the
costs incurred by them in complying with various voter
registration provisions of state law, including provisions
authorizing voter registration by mail and requiring voter
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outreach programs. Requires the counties to submit claims for
reimbursement for such costs to the Controller by October 31
in the year following the fiscal year in which the costs were
incurred.
2)Establishes a revolving fund for the purchase of ballot paper
and punchcards.
3)Requires, in elections where ballots are counted by hand at
the polling place, the precinct board to post conspicuously on
the outside of the polling place a copy of the results of
votes cast in that precinct.
4)Requires, in elections where ballots are cast on voting
machines that are provided with a recording device, the
precinct board to post one copy of the results of votes cast
on each machine on the outside wall of the precinct.
FISCAL EFFECT : Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS :
1)Proposed Amendments : To clarify ambiguous language in this
bill, committee staff recommends the following amendments:
Amend page 3, lines 33 to 40 and page 4, lines 1 and 2 as
follows:
15281. The precinct board shall sign and post conspicuously on
the outside of the polling place a copy of the result of the
votes cast. The copy shall remain posted for at least 48 hours
after the official time fixed for the closing of the polls.
To protect a person's right to cast a secret ballot under
Section 7 of Article II of the California Constitution, in In
cases where fewer than 10 voters cast ballots and the precinct
board tallies the results at the precinct, on machines on
which the results are tallied at the precinct and posting the
results may violate a person's right to cast a secret ballot
under Section 7 of Article II of the California Constitution,
the precinct board shall post only the total number of people
who voted at the precinct on machines that keep vote tallies .
Amend page 4, lines 15 to 31 as follows:
If the machine is provided with a recording device, in lieu of
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opening the counter compartment the precinct board shall
proceed to operate the mechanism to produce the statement of
return of votes cast record in a minimum of three copies,
remove the irregular ballot, if any, record on the statement
of return of votes cast record. The irregular ballot shall be
attached to the statement of result record of votes cast for
the machine and become a part thereof. One copy of the
statement of return of votes cast for each machine shall be
posted upon the outside wall of the precinct for all to see.
To protect a person's right to cast a secret ballot under
Section 7 of Article II of the California Constitution, in In
cases where fewer than 10 voters cast ballots on any single
machine machines on which the results are tallied at the
precinct and posting the results may violate a person's right
to cast a secret ballot under Section 7 of Article II of the
California Constitution , the precinct board shall post only
the total number of people who voted at that precinct on that
machine machines that keeps keep vote tallies. The statement
of return of votes cast for each machine for the precinct
shall constitute the precinct statement of result of votes
cast.
Amend page 4, lines 34-40 and page 5, lines 1 and 2, as follows:
19384. The precinct board shall, before it adjourns, post
conspicuously on the outside of the polling place a copy of
the result of the votes cast at the polling place. The copy of
the result shall be signed by the members of the precinct
board. To protect a person's right to cast a secret ballot
under Section 7 of Article II of the California Constitution,
in In cases where fewer than 10 voters cast ballots on any
single machine machines on which the results are tallied at
the precinct and posting the results may violate a person's
right to cast a secret ballot under Section 7 of Article II of
the California Constitution , the precinct board shall post
only the total number of people who voted at that precinct on
that machine machines that keeps keep vote tallies.
Additionally, consistent with other policy changes that are made
by this bill to ensure that the announcement of election
results does not compromise the secrecy of any voter's ballot,
committee staff also recommends that this bill be amended to
make the following changes to Section 19380 of the Elections
Code, which were requested by the Secretary of State:
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Section 19380 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
19380. During the reading of the result of votes cast, any
candidate or watcher who may desire to be present shall be
admitted to the polling place. The proclamation of the result
of the votes cast shall be distinctly announced by the
precinct board who shall read the name of each candidate, or
the designating number and letter of his or her counter, and
the vote registered on the counter. The board shall also read
the vote cast for and against each measure submitted. The
board shall not count votes cast for write-in candidates, but
shall have these counted by the elections official. During the
proclamation ample opportunity shall be given to any person
lawfully present to compare the result so announced with the
counter dials of the machine, and any necessary corrections
shall then and there be made by the precinct board, after
which the doors of the voting machine shall be closed and
locked.
To protect a person's right to cast a secret ballot under
Section 7 of Article II of the California Constitution, in
cases where fewer than 10 votes are cast on any single machine
on which the results are tallied at the precinct the precinct
board shall read only the total number of people who voted at
that precinct on that machine that keeps vote tallies.
If the machine is provided with a recording device, only the
alternate procedures in Section 19370 may shall be used.
2)Purpose of the Bill : This is one of the Assembly Elections
and Redistricting Committee's annual omnibus bills, containing
various minor and technical changes to provisions of state law
governing elections.
3)County Reimbursement for Voter Registration Costs : Under
existing law, counties are reimbursed by the state for net
costs incurred by them in complying with various state voter
registration laws and for conducting certain voter outreach
programs. State law requires counties to submit claims for
those costs to the Controller by October 31 in the year
following the fiscal year in which the costs were incurred.
According to the State Controller's office, however, all other
claims are due on February 15, so in practice, they have
allowed counties to file claims for these costs until February
15.
This bill conforms state law to existing practice by extending
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the deadline for counties to file claims for voter
registration and outreach costs from October 31 to February 15
in the year following the fiscal year in which the costs were
incurred. This provision was requested to be included in an
omnibus bill by the State Controller's office.
4)Ballot Paper Revolving Fund : Elections Code Section 13007
establishes a continuously-appropriated revolving fund in the
state treasury for the purchase of ballot paper and
punchcards. However, according to the office of the Secretary
of State, that provision of law is obsolete, and the revolving
fund is not used for the purchase of ballot paper.
This bill repeals the provisions of existing law that establish
the revolving fund, and makes a corresponding change.
5)Posting of Election Results : Existing law requires the
results of votes cast on voting machines at a polling place to
be posted outside the polling place after the polls close on
election day. However, because of changes in technology and
restrictions on the use of certain types of voting machines,
most counties have only one voting machine per polling place,
which is used to comply with state and federal laws that
require that voters with disabilities be given the opportunity
to cast a vote without assistance. As a result, it is often
the case that few ballots are cast on a voting machine at a
polling place, so posting the results of votes cast on those
machines could compromise the secrecy of the ballot of those
voters who used that machine.
This proposal provides that in cases where fewer than 10 voters
cast ballots on machines on which the results are tallied at
the precinct and posting the results may violate a person's
right to cast a secret ballot, the precinct board shall post
only the total number of people who voted at the precinct on
machines that keep vote tallies. Additionally, this bill
provides that if a precinct board tallies votes manually at
the polling place and fewer than 10 voters cast ballots at
that polling place, the precinct board shall post only the
total number of people who voted at the precinct instead of
posting the results of ballots cast at that precinct. These
provisions were requested to be included in an omnibus bill by
the Secretary of State's office.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
AB 2797
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Support
State Controller John Chiang
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094