BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1724
                                                                  Page  1

          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 1724 (Fong) 
          As Amended  May 10, 2012
          Majority vote 

           ELECTIONS           5-1                                         
           
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          |Ayes:|Fong, Bonilla, Hall,      |     |                          |
          |     |Mendoza, Swanson          |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Logue                     |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           
          SUMMARY  :   Resolves a conflict in existing law that governs the 
          amount of time that a voter can spend in the voting booth, and 
          permits a voter to receive additional time to mark his or her 
          ballot when necessary.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Repeals a provision of law that prohibits voters from 
            remaining in or occupying voting booths or compartments longer 
            than five minutes, except under certain circumstances.  This 
            provision conflicts with another portion of existing law that 
            prohibits voters from remaining in or occupying voting booths 
            or compartments longer than 10 minutes.

          2)Permits any voter who needs more than 10 minutes to complete 
            his or her ballot to inform a precinct board member of that 
            fact and to receive additional time to complete the ballot.  
            Repeals a provision of law that provides that a voter may only 
            be permitted additional time to mark his or her ballot when no 
            other voter would be inconvenienced.  Provides that if a 
            precinct board member determines that a voter is attempting to 
            interfere with the conduct of the election and does not 
            require additional time to mark his or her ballot, that 
            precinct board member may contact the elections official, who 
            may order that the voter not be provided with additional time 
            to mark his or her ballot.

           EXISTING LAW  :  

          1)Prohibits voting booths or compartments from being occupied by 
            more than one person at a time, unless the voter is eligible 








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            to receive assistance in casting his or her ballot.

          2)Prohibits voters from remaining in or occupying the booths or 
            compartments for longer than either five or 10 minutes unless 
            a longer time period will not inconvenience other voters. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   Unknown.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the 
          Legislative Counsel.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "Existing law contains two 
          conflicting provisions that set a limit on the amount of time 
          that a voter can remain in a voting booth or compartment. 
          Section 14224 of the Elections Code provides that a voter may 
          not remain in the voting booth longer than necessary to mark his 
          or her ballot, but the total amount of time shall not exceed ten 
          minutes.  Section 19363 of the Elections Code, however, provides 
          that a voter may not remain in the voting booth longer than 
          necessary to mark his or her ballot, but the total amount of 
          time shall not exceed five minutes.  These conflicting standards 
          can cause confusion for voters and for poll workers.  
          Furthermore, since Section 19363 is in an area of the Elections 
          Code that governs the use of lever voting machines (machines 
          that are no longer used in this state), that section is obsolete 
          and should be repealed.

          "Finally, the two existing code sections that establish a limit 
          on how long a person can spend in the voting booth both allow 
          voters to have additional time in the booth, but only if 'no 
          other voter would be inconvenienced.'  While many voters are 
          able to complete their ballots in ten minutes, some voters need 
          additional time to make their selections, especially at 
          elections where there are a large number of offices and measures 
          on the ballot.  Those voters should be given the opportunity and 
          time that they need to complete their ballots."

          This bill is similar to AB 686 (Ruskin) of 2009, which was 
          vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.  In his veto message, the 
          Governor argued that there was "no evidence that the discrepancy 
          in current law has resulted in a significant problem for 
          voters."

          In addition, this bill is similar to AB 3014 (Mullin) of 2008, 
          which was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, though the Governor 
          did not express any policy objections to that bill.  AB 3014 was 
          one of the 136 bills that received the same veto message.  That 








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          veto message is as follows, "The historic delay in passing the 
          2008-2009 State Budget has forced me to prioritize the bills 
          sent to my desk at the end of the year's legislative session.  
          Given the delay, I am only signing bills that are the highest 
          priority for California.  This bill does not meet that standard 
          and I cannot sign it at this time."


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


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