BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 269
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 269 (Grove and Patterson)
As Amended April 16, 2013
Majority vote
ELECTIONS 7-0 VETERANS AFFAIRS 8-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Fong, Jones, Bocanegra, |Ayes:|Muratsuchi, Ch�vez, |
| |Bonta, Hall, Logue, Perea | |Atkins, Brown, Eggman, |
| | | |Fox, Salas, Yamada |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, | | |
| |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian | | |
| |Calderon, Campos, | | |
| |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, | | |
| |Hall, Ammiano, Linder, | | |
| |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Allows the vote by mail (VBM) ballot of a military or
overseas voter to arrive up to three 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.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines a "military or overseas voter" as an elector absent
from the county in which he or she is otherwise eligible to
vote who is any of the following:
a) A Member of the active or reserve components of the
United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast
Guard, Merchant Marine, a member of the United States
Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, a member of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Commissioned Corps of the United States, or a member on
activated status of the National Guard or state militia;
AB 269
Page 2
b) A United States citizen living outside of the
territorial limits of the United States or the District of
Columbia; or,
c) A spouse or dependent of a person described above in
subdivision a) above.
2)Requires all VBM ballots to be received by the elections
official from whom they were obtained or by the precinct board
no later than the close of polls on election day in order to
be counted.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor reimbursable General Fund costs for counties to
sort through ballots arriving too late and determine which ones
are eligible to be counted pursuant to this bill. According to
the Secretary of State (SOS), for the November 2012 election,
about 2,600 (4%) of the 63,200 overseas ballots returned were
rejected for arriving after election day. Assuming two-thirds
of these late-arriving ballots would have met the three-day
window, an additional 1,750 ballots would be processed and
counted under this bill. The availability of this three day
window would probably increase somewhat the number of ballots
arriving after election day, but before the new deadline.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Californians in our
nation's military serve and sacrifice much to ensure that their
family, friends, and neighbors maintain the right to free and
open elections. These selfless men and women deserve every
benefit and opportunity to ensure that their voices are also
heard at the ballot box, making it as convenient as reasonably
possible for them to cast their vote.
"The same should be done for the many Californians living
abroad, whether they are working for American companies in other
countries, serving on religious missions, or performing
humanitarian efforts.
"With provisional ballot counting in most California counties
already extending well beyond ten days after Election Day, the
passage of this bill will require few logistical changes, thus
resulting in a very small fiscal impact to counties - one that
is dwarfed by the benefit of ensuring that the voices of these
patriots and overseas Californians are heard."
AB 269
Page 3
SB 29 (Correa), which is pending in the Senate, would allow any
VBM ballot to be counted if it was received by the elections
official from whom it was obtained no later than three days
after election day if the ballot is postmarked on or before
election day, or if the ballot has no postmark or an illegible
postmark, the VBM ballot identification envelope is signed and
date on or before election day.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094
FN: 0000740