BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 530
          Author:   Quirk-Silva (D)
          Amended:  5/29/13 in Assembly
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE ELECTIONS & CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS COMM.  :  4-1, 7/2/13
          AYES:  Torres, Hancock, Padilla, Yee
          NOES:  Anderson

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  51-26, 5/30/13 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Vote-by-mail ballots:  telephone applications

           SOURCE  :     Secretary of State


           DIGEST  :    This bill permits a local elections official to allow  
          a voter to apply for a vote-by-mail (VBM) ballot by telephone.   
          Allows local election officials to offer voters the ability to  
          apply for a VBM ballot by telephone subject to specified  
          provisions.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law provides that an application for a VBM  
          voter's ballot shall be made in writing to the elections  
          official having jurisdiction over the election between the 29th  
          and the seventh day prior to the election.  The application  
          shall be signed by the applicant and show his/her place of  
          residence.

          This bill:

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          1. Requires that in order to apply for VBM ballot by telephone,  
             the applicant must provide to the elections official personal  
             identifying information that matches the information  
             contained on the applicant's affidavit of registration,  
             including first and last name, home address, and date of  
             birth.  The applicant's signature is not required for  
             applications received by telephone.

          2. Provides that except as otherwise noted, all provisions  
             governing written applications for VBM ballots apply to  
             applications for VBM ballots made by telephone.

          3. Specifies that a person shall not apply for a VBM ballot  
             using the name of, or on behalf of, another person.

          4. Requires the elections official to advise any voter who  
             applies for a VBM ballot by telephone as follows, "Only the  
             registered voter himself/herself may apply for a VBM ballot.   
             An application for a VBM ballot that is made by any person  
             other than the registered voter is a criminal offense."

           Background

           In 1998, 25% of voters who participated in the California  
          Primary Election chose to participate through a VBM ballot.  The  
          number of voters choosing to vote using this method has  
          increased significantly, particularly since the enactment of AB  
          1520 (Shelley, Chapter 922, Statutes of 2001) which allowed any  
          voter to apply to become a permanent VBM voter.

          Since then, the portion of the electorate VBM has reached as  
          high as 65% during the Primary Election and 51% in the General  
          Election.  This trend indicates that the number of people who  
          choose to VBM will continue to increase.
           
           Existing law allows voters to request a VBM ballot by mailing in  
          a request, filling out an application provided to them by their  
          local elections official, filling out an application provided to  
          them by the Secretary of State (SOS), or by applying online with  
          their county elections official if their county has established  
          such a system.

          When a voter goes online to request a VBM ballot, they don't  
          have to provide a signature.  Instead, the signature  

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          verification required by law takes place when the elections  
          official receives the completed VBM ballot during an election  
          and the signature on the VBM envelope is matched against the  
          voter's signature on their voter registration application.  If  
          the signatures match the ballot is eligible to be counted.

           Prior Legislation
           
          AB 2154 (Solorio of 2010) was substantially similar to this  
          bill.  AB 2154 was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, who  
          expressed concern that it could open the VBM ballot application  
          process to fraud. 

          AB 2277 (Keeley, Chapter 753, Statutes of 2002) requires the SOS  
          to provide local elections officials with a uniform electronic  
          application format for VBM ballots and gives local elections  
          officials the option of allowing voters to apply for VBM ballots  
          electronically.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   Local:  
           No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  7/8/13)

          Secretary of State (source)
          American Nurses Association, California
          California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
          California Common Cause
          California Profession Firefighters
          California Teachers Association
          Disability Rights California
          League of Women Voters
          Service Employees International Union

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author, "California  
          law currently allows a voter to request a vote by mail (VBM)  
          ballot by completing an application provided by the local  
          elections official, using a uniform electronic application  
          provided through the Secretary of State's website, or by  
          applying through the local election official's website.   
          However, application by telephone is not permitted.

          "Increasing participation and accessibility to voting is an  
          imperative for any democratic society. Polls consistently  

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          indicate that the largest stated reason for not voting is an  
          inability to find the time.  By not allowing applications for  
          VBM ballots by telephone, voters without internet access either  
          [must] go to the local elections office or call to request that  
          a paper application be mailed to them.  These extra steps take  
          more time than other methods, cost more money to administer, and  
          are barriers to VBM voting.  

          "AB 530 removes barriers to vote by mail application for those  
          without internet access by allowing citizens to apply using a  
          more ubiquitous technology, the telephone.  The bill also  
          maintains our current standards of protection against voter  
          fraud by placing the same requirements for telephone applicants  
          that currently exist for those who apply online through a local  
          election official's secure website.  AB 530 also may save money  
          for local election officials by allowing them to accept  
          applications directly over the telephone instead of using the  
          more costly method of mailing an application and receiving it by  
          return mail before entering the information into their election  
          management system."

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  51-26, 5/30/13
          AYES:  Alejo, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla,  
            Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau,  
            Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,  
            Garcia, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hall, Roger Hernández,  
            Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin,  
            Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk,  
            Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber,  
            Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NOES:  Achadjian, Allen, Bigelow, Chávez, Conway, Dahle,  
            Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Gatto, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Harkey,  
            Jones, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez, Morrell,  
            Nestande, Olsen, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Ammiano, Holden, Vacancy


          RM:d  7/9/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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