BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                         SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS 
                         AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
                           Senator Lou Correa, Chair


          BILL NO:   AB 413            HEARING DATE: 6/21/11
          AUTHOR:    YAMADA            ANALYSIS BY:  Frances Tibon 
          Estoista
          AMENDED:   5/24/11
          FISCAL:    NO
          
                                     SUBJECT

           Election: all-mailed ballot elections

                                   DESCRIPTION  
          
           Existing law  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:

                 An election in which no more than 1,000 registered 
               voters are eligible to participate;
                 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;
                 An election on the issuance of a general obligation 
               water bond;
                 An election in one of four specifically enumerated 
               water districts; or,
                 An election or assessment ballot proceeding 
               required or authorized by the state constitution under 
               Proposition 218.

           Existing law  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.

           Existing law  authorizes a district to conduct any election 
          as an all-mailed ballot election on any date other than an 
          established election date.










           This bill  allows elections held on no more than three 
          different dates in Yolo County to be conducted wholly by 
          mail, subject to the following conditions:

            1.  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.

            2.  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.

            3.  The election is not a special election to fill a 
              vacancy in a state office, the Legislature, or 
              Congress.

            4.  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.

            5.  At least one polling place is provided per city where 
              voters can request a ballot between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. 
              on the day of the election if they have not received 
              their ballots in the mail or if they need replacement 
              ballots for any other reason.

            6.  Upon request of the city, county, or district, the 
              elections official, at his or her discretion, may 
              provide additional ballot dropoff locations and polling 
              places.

            7.  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 mail ballot with postage prepaid.

            8.  The elections official delivers to each voter, with 
              either the sample ballot or with the voter's ballot, a 
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              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.

            9.  The return of voted ballots is subject to the same 
              procedures for the return of vote by mail (VBM) ballots 
              at a regular election.

            10. The 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.

            11. Requires that a ballot dropoff location consist of a 
              locked ballot box located in a secure public building 
              that meets the accessibility requirements for a polling 
              place.

           This bill  requires, if Yolo County conducts an all-mailed 
          ballot election on or before December 31, 2017, to 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.

           This bill  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.

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           This bill  contains a January 1, 2018, sunset date.

                                    BACKGROUND  
          
          Several California counties have conducted all-mail ballot 
          elections.  Monterey County 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.

                                     COMMENTS  
          
            1.  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.

            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 
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              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.

             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, 
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              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.  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.  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.

                                   PRIOR ACTION
           
          Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee:  5-2
          Assembly Floor:                            50-22
                                         
                                   POSITIONS  

          Sponsor: Yolo County Clerk/Recorder

           Support: City Clerks Association of California
                    Disability Rights California
                    League of California Cities
                    Progressive States Action
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                    Regional Council of Rural Counties

           Oppose:  None received







































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