BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    






               SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS, REAPPORTIONMENT AND  
                           CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
                          Senator Loni Hancock, Chair


          BILL NO:  AB 2797            HEARING DATE: 6/29/10
          AUTHOR:   Assembly E&R Comm. ANALYSIS BY:  Frances Tibon  
          Estoista
          AMENDED:  5/10/10
          FISCAL:   NO
          
                                     SUBJECT
           
          Elections: ballot measures 

                                   DESCRIPTION  
          
           Existing law  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 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.

           Existing law  establishes a revolving fund for the purchase  
          of ballot paper and punch cards.

           Existing law  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.

           Existing law  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.

           Existing law  also sets forth specific procedures for  
          closing of the polls.  

           This bill  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.

           This bill  repeals an obsolete provision of law that  
          establishes a revolving fund for the purchase of ballot  
          paper.

           This bill  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, and instead  
          would require the precinct board to post only the total  
          number of people who voted at the precinct.

           This bill  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.  This bill provides instead that the  
          precinct board shall post only the total number of people  
          who voted on that machine.

           This bill  clarifies ambiguous language in the procedures  
          for closing of the polls and also adds language to protect  
          a person's right to cast a secret ballot in instances where  
          fewer than 10 voters cast ballots on any single machine on  
          which the results are tallied at the precinct, providing  
          consistency with other policy changes brought about by this  
          bill.  
           
           This bill  also makes a non-substantive corresponding  
          change.

                                    BACKGROUND  
          
          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.

                                     COMMENTS  
          
          AB 2797 (ASSEMBLY E&R)                                 Page  
          2  
           








            1. Ballot Paper Revolving Fund  :  Existing law 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.

            2. 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.

            3. Previous Legislation  .  Among other provisions, SB 541  
          AB 2797 (ASSEMBLY E&R)                                 Page  
          3  
           








             (Pavley) of 2009 proposed to repeal the provisions of  
             the Elections Code that establish the ballot paper  
             revolving fund, similar to a provision in this bill.  SB  
             541 was vetoed by the Governor for unrelated reasons.   
             SB 1404 (Pavley) from this year is a reintroduction of  
             SB 541, and similarly proposes to repeal the provisions  
             of the Elections Code that establish the ballot paper  
             revolving fund.  SB 1404 passed out of the Assembly  
             Elections and Redistricting Committee on June 22, 2010.

                                   PRIOR ACTION
           
          Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee:  7-0
          Assembly Floor:                           76-0

                                    POSITIONS  
          
          Sponsor: Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee

           Support: Secretary of State 
                    State Controller John Chiang

           Oppose:  None received



















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