BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1342
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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 1342 (Simitian)
          As Introduced  February 19, 2010
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :29-4  
           
           ELECTIONS           6-1                                         
           
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          |Ayes:|Fong, Adams, Gatto,       |     |                          |
          |     |Mendoza, Saldana, Swanson |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Bill Berryhill            |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :   Permits an elections official to subtract the number  
          of permanent vote by mail voters (PVBMVs) from the total number  
          of voters when creating precincts provided that the number of  
          voters in the precinct does not exceed the percentage of  
          non-PVBMVs in the jurisdiction on the 88th day prior to the  
          election multiplied by 1,000.

           EXISTING LAW  requires, whenever a jurisdiction is divided into  
          election precincts or whenever the boundary of an established  
          precinct is changed or a new precinct is created, the precinct  
          boundary to be fixed in a manner so that the number of voters in  
          the precinct does not exceed 1,000 on the 88th day prior to the  
          election.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "Current law caps the number  
          of registered voters in a precinct at 1,000 without regard to  
          the number of [PVBMVs] in the precinct. SB 1342 allows local  
          election officials to adjust precinct sizes to reflect the fact  
          that some areas of a county have high concentrations of [PVBMVs]  
          and relatively few "election day" polling place voters, while  
          other areas of the county have low concentrations of [PVBMVs]  
          and relatively more "election day" polling place voters.  This  
          is a good government measure that aims to allocate election day  
          resources equitably and efficiently. . . . SB 1342 does not  
          impose a mandate; it simply provides counties with the  








                                                                  SB 1342
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          flexibility to take into account the rising numbers of [PVBMVs]  
          in California when determining polling place locations.   
          Specifically, SB 1342 allows local elections officials to  
          consider the number of [PVBMVs] on a precinct by precinct basis  
          when establishing election precincts, and then adjust the  
          precincts to better serve areas with a higher concentration of  
          voters who actually go to the polls and vote in person."

          In the last decade, the number of voters who are PVBMVs has  
          increased significantly, particularly since the enactment of AB  
          1520 (Shelley), Chapter 922, Statutes of 2001, which allowed any  
          voter to become a PVBMV.  Whereas there were fewer than 300,000  
          PVBMVs in November 2000 according to a report from the Secretary  
          of State, there are nearly 6 million PVBMVs now, about one-third  
          of all registered voters statewide. 

          While the total number of PVBMVs has increased significantly in  
          the last 10 years, the percentage of voters registered as PVBMVs  
          varies widely from county to county.  In eight counties, more  
          than half of all registered voters are PVBMVs, including two  
          counties where more than 60 percent of registered voters are  
          PVBMVs.  On the other hand, in two counties, fewer than 15  
          percent of registered voters are PVBMVs.

          Unlike some previous legislation dealing with precinct size, the  
          primary effect of this bill will not be to reduce the number of  
          precincts, but to shift precincts within a county from areas  
          with high concentrations of PVBMVs to areas with lower  
          concentrations of PVBMVs, and thus to roughly equalize the  
          number of polling place voters that are served by each polling  
          place within a county.  By allowing counties to balance the  
          number of voters that are expected to be served by each  
          individual polling place, this bill could help ensure that  
          voters in one part of a county are not waiting in long lines to  
          vote while other polling places in the county remain relatively  
          empty.

          This bill is identical to SB 967 (Simitian) of 2008, which was  
          vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, though the Governor did not  
          express any policy objections to the bill.  Instead, the  
          Governor stated in his veto message that due to the "historic  
          delay in passing the 2008-2009 State Budget," he was "only  
          signing bills that are the highest priority for California," and  
          that SB 967 "[did] not meet that standard."








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           Analysis Prepared by  :    Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 


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