BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: AB 477 HEARING DATE:
6/7/11
AUTHOR: VALADAO ANALYSIS BY:
Darren Chesin
AMENDED: 4/5/11
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Vote by mail ballots
DESCRIPTION
Existing law defines "special absentee voter" as an elector
who is any of the following:
A member of the armed forces of the United States or any
auxiliary branch thereof;
A citizen of the United States temporarily living outside
the territorial limits of the United States or the
District of Columbia;
Serving on a merchant vessel documented under the laws of
the United States; or,
A spouse or dependent of a member of the armed forces or
any auxiliary branch thereof.
Existing law permits a special absentee voter who is
temporarily living outside of the United States to return
his or her ballot by facsimile transmission. Special
absentee ballots can be requested and provided as early as
60 days prior to an election. Normal vote by mail (VBM)
ballots cannot be requested or provided until 29 days prior
to an election.
Existing law requires all VBM ballots, including special
absentee voter ballots, to be received by the elections
official no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Existing law provides that an application for a VBM ballot
by a special absentee voter or by an overseas voter shall
be deemed an affidavit of registration and an application
for permanent VBM voter status.
Existing law permits a special absentee voter to register
to vote and apply for a VBM ballot by facsimile
transmission, permits an elections official to send a VBM
ballot by mail or facsimile transmission, and permits a
special absentee voter to return his or her voted ballot by
facsimile transmission.
This bill permits a ballot from a special absentee voter,
as defined, who is temporarily living outside the United
States, to arrive up to 10 days after the election and
still be counted, provided that the ballot is postmarked by
the United States Postal Service or the Military Postal
Service Agency on or before Election Day.
BACKGROUND
Facilitating Voting by Overseas Voters . Over the last six
years, the Legislature has made a number of changes to
state law to facilitate voting by military voters and other
California residents who are outside of the United States.
AB 188 (Maze), Chapter 347, Statutes of 2003, streamlined a
number of provisions of state law to make it easier for
overseas voters to receive their ballots and cast a vote.
Among other provisions, AB 188 did the following:
Specified that an application for a VBM ballot by an
overseas voter was deemed to be a request for voter
registration (if the voter was not already registered to
vote) and an application for permanent VBM voter status.
While California law previously allowed an application
for a VBM ballot made by federal post card application to
serve as an affidavit for registration, such an
application would register the voter for that election
only. AB 188 allowed any VBM ballot request received
from an overseas voter to be considered a request for
voter registration, and the voter's registration was
permanent.
Made all overseas voters permanent VBM voters, thereby
eliminating the need for overseas military voters and
other overseas voters to request a VBM ballot for each
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separate election.
Required that all overseas voters be mailed a VBM ballot
60 days before the election, to ensure that the voter has
sufficient time to receive, complete, and return his or
her ballot. Also repealed a requirement that these
overseas voters provide certain written declarations in
order to be eligible to receive their VBM ballot 60 days
before the election.
Allowed the elections official to send an overseas voter
his or her ballot by electronic transmission.
In 2004, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed
AB 2941 (Bates), Chapter 821, Statutes of 2004, which
permits special absentee voters who are temporarily living
outside the United States to return their ballots by
facsimile transmission. AB 2941 was modeled after the
procedures adopted by the Secretary of State (SOS) for the
2003 Recall Election, when the SOS had first ordered
ballots returned from overseas voters by fax to be counted.
AB 2941 was intended to accommodate voters who, due to
potential delays in international mail delivery and
structural barriers present in combat areas, may not be
able to receive, vote, and return a ballot in the 60-day
period provided for overseas voters. Last year, the
Legislature approved and the Governor signed AB 2786
(Salas), Chapter 252, Statutes of 2008, which extended the
sunset date on the provisions of AB 2941.
VBM Ballot Deadlines in Other States . According to the
National Association of Secretaries of State, each state
has its own deadlines for the return of mail-in absentee
ballots. Dates may vary according to whether the
individual submitting the absentee ballot is a civilian
living in the United States, or a military or overseas
voter covered under the Uniformed and Overseas Civilian
Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). For civilians residing
within the U.S., the following information applies:
In three states, absentee ballots must be returned
prior to Election Day.
In 36 states, absentee ballots must be returned by
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Election Day.
In 11 states and the District of Columbia, additional
time for the arrival of absentee ballots is provided
after Election Day, as long as the absentee ballot is
postmarked by Election Day.
For active duty military and overseas citizens covered
under UOCAVA, the following information applies:
In 30 states, absentee ballots of individuals covered
under UOCAVA must be returned by Election Day.
Twenty states and the District of Columbia provide
additional time after Election Day for the absentee
ballots of UOCAVA voters to arrive. Most of these
states require the absentee ballot to be postmarked by a
certain date (usually by Election Day).
COMMENTS
1. According to the author : According to the Pew Center
on the States Overseas Military Voters report, U.S.
citizens living overseas face special challenges in
exercising their right to vote. Those working abroad,
studying abroad, and military personnel are often
disenfranchised by slow mail delivery. The report
underscores that their ability to cast a ballot and to
have it counted depends on their home state. California
requires all vote by mail ballots to be received by
close of polls on Election Day, yet 18 states and the
District of Columbia allow such ballots to be counted if
they are received between 3-21 days after Election Day,
as long as they are postmarked on or before the date of
the election. Among military personnel who reported not
voting in 2004, 30% said they were not able to vote
because their ballots never arrived or arrived too late
(Pew Center on the States). AB 477 would allow all
parties residing abroad the much needed extra time to
ensure their vote is counted.
2. Pew Center Report . According to No Time to Vote:
Challenges Facing America's Overseas Military Voters, a
January, 2009 report from the Pew Center on the States,
"California already allows blank ballots to be faxed to
overseas military voters so that they get their election
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materials much faster. Since these voters may not have
easy access to fax machines, the state could consider
sending blank ballots by e-mail or other electronic
means (such as through a Web site). To enable these
voters to return completed ballots by postal mail,
rather than fax, in time to have their votes count,
California would need to send out its ballots earlier,
extend the deadline by which completed ballots must be
received to be counted or a combination of the two steps
that will add at least three days to the process."
�Emphasis added.]
3. Why Just Overseas Voters ? Under this bill, a special
absentee ballot that is postmarked by Election Day may
be counted if it is received by the elections official
up to 10 days after the election but a regular
(domestic) VBM ballot that is postmarked by election day
must be received by the elections official by 8 p.m. on
election day in order to be counted. Is this equitable?
The author and committee may wish to consider amending
this bill to include all ballots cast by mail thereby
ensuring that all ballots postmarked by Election Day
will have the same opportunity to be counted.
4. The June, 2010 Riverside County Near Debacle . In
Riverside County, 12,563 VBM ballots were discovered at
a local post office the day after the June, 2010
Statewide Primary Election. These ballots were
eventually accepted by the registrar of voters but only
after a superior court judge ruled that they should be
counted. In this instance, the voters had mailed their
ballots in time for normal delivery but county elections
officials, who previously and routinely visited certain
post offices to collect VBM ballots, did not visit the
post office that actually had these ballots. While a
plain reading of the applicable statute would have
resulted in these ballots being rejected, the presiding
judge relied on a provision of the California
Constitution which states that, "A voter who casts a
vote in an election in accordance with the laws of this
State shall have that vote counted." As currently
drafted however, this bill would not have permitted
these ballots to be counted without court intervention
as it only applies to mailed ballots cast overseas.
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5. Illegible, Missing or Private Postmarks . It is not
uncommon for a postmark to be smudged or otherwise
illegible. Occasionally, mail does not receive a
postmark at all or is self-metered using a private mail
meter or an Internet-based vendor such as Stamps.com
which do not require a postmark. Under existing law,
this is not an issue in California, as all VBM ballots
are required to be received by the close of polls on
Election Day. Under this bill, an illegible or missing
postmark could result in a voter's ballot being
discarded. However, it should be noted that under
existing law any such late ballots would be rejected,
with or without a legible postmark.
6. Related and Prior Legislation . SB 348 (Correa) which
was approved by this committee but held on the Senate
Appropriations Committee suspense file, would have
permitted any VBM ballot (domestic or overseas) that was
postmarked on or before Election Day to be accepted if
received by elections officials no later than six days
following the election.
SB 908 (Runner), which was approved by this committee and
is now pending in the Assembly, would permit a member of
the U.S. Armed Forces or any auxiliary branch thereof,
or his or her spouse or dependent, who is temporarily
living outside of the territorial limits of the U.S. or
the District of Columbia, or is called for military
services within the U.S. on or after the final date to
make application for a vote by absent voter ballot, to
return his or her ballot by electronic mail.
Last year, AB 1340 (Lowenthal), SB 582 (Dutton) and a
portion of SB 370 (Runner) also permitted late special
absentee or military ballots to be accepted after
election day; all failed passage in either this
committee or the Senate Appropriations Committee. Two
other similar bills, AB 1367 (Fletcher) and AB 1415
(Adams), also failed passage in the Assembly Committee
on Elections and Redistricting last year.
PRIOR ACTION
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Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 7-0
Assembly Appropriations Committee: 15-0
Assembly Floor: 73-0
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: American Legion - Department of California
California Association of Veterans Service
Officers
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Vietnam Veterans of America - California State
Council
Military Voting Rights Project of the East Bay Tea
Party
Oppose: None received
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