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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