BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 413
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 29, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 413 (Yamada) - As Amended: March 23, 2011
SUBJECT : Elections: all-mailed ballot elections.
SUMMARY : Creates a pilot program allowing Yolo County to
conduct not more than three local elections as all-mail ballot
elections. Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows elections held on no more than three different dates in
Yolo County to be conducted wholly by mail, subject to the
following conditions:
a) The governing body of the city, county, or district, by
resolution, authorizes the all-mailed ballot election and
notifies the Secretary of State (SOS) of its intent to
conduct an all-mailed ballot election at least 88 days
prior to the date of the election.
b) The election does not occur on the same date as a
statewide primary or general election or any other election
conducted in an overlapping jurisdiction that is not
consolidated and conducted as an all-mailed ballot
election.
c) The election is not a special election to fill a vacancy
in a state office, the Legislature, or Congress.
d) At least one ballot dropoff location is provided in each
city within the jurisdiction and is open during business
hours to receive voted ballots beginning 28 days before the
date of the election and until 8 p.m. on the day of the
election.
e) At least one polling place is provided per city where
voters can request a ballot between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on
the day of the election if they have not received their
ballots in the mail.
f) The elections official delivers to each voter all
supplies necessary for the use and return of the mail
ballot, including an envelope for the return of the voted
AB 413
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mail ballot with postage prepaid.
g) The elections official delivers to each voter, with
either the sample ballot or with the voter's ballot, a list
of the ballot dropoff locations and polling places provided
under this bill. The list of dropoff locations and polling
places must also be posted on the Internet Web site of the
county elections office.
h) The return of voted ballots is subject to the same
procedures for the return of vote by mail (VBM) ballots at
a regular election.
i) The ballot dropoff locations and polling places provided
pursuant to this bill are at accessible locations and are
equipped with voting units or systems that are accessible
to individuals with disabilities and that provide the same
opportunity for access and participation, including the
ability to vote privately and independently.
2)Requires, if Yolo County conducts an all-mailed ballot
election pursuant to the provisions of this bill, that the
county report to the Legislature and to the SOS regarding the
success of the election. Requires the report to include, but
not be limited to, any statistics on the cost to conduct the
election; the turnout of different populations, including, but
not limited to the population categories of race, ethnicity,
age, gender, disability, permanent VBM status, and political
party affiliation, to the extent possible; the number of
ballots that were not counted and the reasons why they were
rejected; voter fraud; and any other problems that became
known to the county during the election or canvass. Requires
the report, whenever possible, to compare the success of the
all-mailed ballot election to similar elections not conducted
wholly by mail in the same jurisdiction.
3)Requires the report to be submitted to the Legislature within
6 months after the date of an all-mailed ballot election or
prior to the date of any other all-mailed ballot election
conducted under this bill, whichever is sooner.
4)Contains a January 1, 2018, sunset date.
EXISTING LAW :
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1)Permits an election to be conducted wholly by mail if the
governing body authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the
election, the election occurs on an established mailed ballot
election date, and the election is one of the following:
a) An election in which no more than 1,000 registered
voters are eligible to participate;
b) An election in a city, county, or district with 5,000 or
fewer registered voters that is restricted to the
imposition of special taxes, expenditure limitation
overrides, or both;
c) An election on the issuance of a general obligation
water bond;
d) An election in one of four specifically enumerated water
districts; or,
e) An election or assessment ballot proceeding required or
authorized by the state constitution under Proposition 218.
2)Authorizes a city with a population of 100,000 or less or a
school district to conduct any special election held to fill a
vacancy as an all-mailed ballot election.
3)Authorizes a district to conduct any election as an all-mailed
ballot election on any date other than an established election
date.
FISCAL EFFECT : Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
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COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
The popularity of voting by mail in local and State
elections has steadily increased in California since the
state began permitting voters to register as permanent mail
ballot voters in 2001. Many voters prefer the convenience
of voting by mail, which traditionally costs County
Registrars less per vote than poll voting. Research
indicates that all-mail ballot elections tend to increase
turnout, decrease costs and do not result in voter fraud,
yet we do not have detailed reports that evaluate these
specific claims.
Several California counties have conducted all-mail ballot
elections. Monterey conducted one of the first vote-by-mail
elections ever held in the United States in 1977. Alpine
County conducted its first all-mail election in November
1993 for a countywide special election. San Diego used
all-mail balloting in May 1981 for a measure proposing to
build a convention center and Stanislaus County conducted
the 1993 Statewide Special election as all-mail. Although
many of these elections proved successful in reducing
election costs, the counties did not scientifically compile
information and report data to the state and therefore the
state could not properly analyze data to determine how
all-mail ballots affect voter turnout. . . .
AB 413 will allow Yolo County to conduct up to three (3)
local all vote-by-mail elections subject to prescribed
conditions to determine their effect on voters who
traditionally vote at the polls. These conditions include,
but are not limited to, requiring pre-paid return postage,
one polling place per city, a prescribed number of ballot
drop-off sites, and a process to ensure the timely mailing
of ballots and sample ballots. In addition, this bill
would require the Registrar of Voters to provide the state
with a detailed report on the effects of all vote-by-mail
elections, including a cost comparison to a traditional
election; data on the turnout for various types of voters
of varying demographics; and the reasons why the Registrar
did not count returned mail ballots. This bill would
sunset on December 31, 2017.
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2)Vote By Mail and Permanent Vote By Mail Voting : Under state
law, any voter can request a VBM ballot for any election, and
any voter can become a permanent VBM voter. Permanent VBM
voters automatically receive a ballot in the mail for every
election, without the need to re-apply for a VBM ballot. As
such, any voter who prefers to vote by mail has the ability to
do so under existing law.
Among the arguments that supporters of all-mailed ballot
elections frequently make in support of such elections is that
all-mailed ballot elections are more convenient for voters.
However, it is not clear whether this is the case. Any voter
who finds it more convenient to vote by mail has the option to
do so under existing law, and voters who want to vote by mail
at every election can sign up for permanent VBM status.
Unlike many of the previous bills that would have authorized
all-mailed ballot elections, whether on a permanent or on a
pilot project basis, this bill explicitly requires Yolo County
to report back to the Legislature on the impact that the
all-mailed ballot election had on the turnout of voters by
permanent VBM status. As a result, this pilot project may
provide the Legislature with more information about whether
all-mailed ballot elections may, in some circumstances, be
more convenient for voters than traditional elections, in
which voters may request to vote by mail, but are not
compelled to do so.
3)Monterey Pilot Project : AB 319 (Salinas), Chapter 385,
Statutes of 2001, allowed Monterey County to conduct any
election within the county wholly by mail, provided that the
election did not contain a state or federal office. AB 319
specified that it was to serve as a pilot project for mailed
ballot elections, and required Monterey County to report to
the Legislature and the SOS regarding the success of the
election, including, but not limited to, any statistics on the
increase of voter fraud. The pilot project ended on December
31, 2005. AB 591 (Salinas) of 2006, sought to extend the
pilot project until December 31, 2008, but that bill failed
after never being heard in the Senate Elections,
Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee.
Unfortunately, the report filed by Monterey County as part of
the pilot project lacked much of the information that is
necessary to evaluate the impacts of the pilot project.
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Although the report indicated that mailed ballot elections
increased turnout, decreased costs, and did not result in
voter fraud, the report lacked the detail necessary to
evaluate these claims.
4)Suggested Amendments : This bill requires, at an all mailed
ballot election conducted pursuant to this bill, that at least
one polling place be provided per city where voters can
request a ballot between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on the day of the
election if they have not received their ballots in the mail.
However, there are other reasons why a voter might need to
obtain a ballot in order to be able to vote, including that a
voter lost or spoiled his or her ballot. To clarify that the
polling places open on election day would make a ballot
available to any voter who might need one without regard to
the reason the voter needs a ballot, committee staff
recommends amending this bill as follows:
On page 2, line 17, after "mail" insert:
or if they need replacement ballots for any other reason
Additionally the operating hours for the polling places that are
required to be open on election day under the provisions of
this bill are different than the typical hours for polling
places. To avoid voter confusion and to ensure consistency in
polling place operations, the committee may wish to consider
amending this bill to require the polling places to be open
from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
5)Previous Legislation : AB 1681 (Yamada) of 2010, was similar
to this bill. AB 1681 was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger,
who expressed concern that "with limited options to vote
in-person citizens-especially poor, elderly, and disabled
voters-would not have sufficient opportunity to vote."
AB 1228 (Yamada) of 2009, was similar to AB 1681, except that AB
1228 would have allowed both Yolo and Santa Clara Counties to
participate in the all-mail ballot pilot project. AB 1228 was
vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
League of California Cities
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094