Amended in Senate June 10, 2013

Amended in Senate May 28, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 1, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1135

Introduced by Assembly Member Mullin

February 22, 2013

An act to amend Section 3106 of, and to repeal and add Section 3019 of, the Elections Code, relating to elections.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1135, as amended, Mullin. Vote by mail ballots: signature verification.

Existing law sets forth procedures for processing vote by mail ballots and requires that a county elections official, upon receiving a vote by mail ballot, compare the signature on the vote by mail ballot’s identification envelope with the signature on the voter’s affidavit of registration or the signature on the voter’s application for a vote by mail ballot, as specified.

This bill would revise and recast these provisions and would provide that a county elections official would also be permitted to compare the signature on the identification envelope with the signature appearing on begin delete any specified supporting document that contains the voter’s signature and is part of the voter’s registration record end delete begin insert a form issued by an elections official that contains the voter’s signature, that is part of the voter’s registration record, and that the elections official has determined meets specified criteria end insert .

Existing law sets forth procedures for voting by military or overseas voters, as defined, and permits a military or overseas voter to return his or her ballot by facsimile transmission, accompanied by an oath of voter declaration that includes the voter’s signature. Existing law requires that a county elections official, upon receiving the ballot of a military or overseas voter returned by facsimile transmission, compare the signature on the oath of voter declaration with the signature on the voter’s affidavit of registration.

This bill would provide that a county elections official would also be permitted to compare the signature on the oath of voter declaration with the signature appearing on begin delete any specified supporting document that contains the voter’s signature and is part of the voter’s registration record end delete begin insert the form issued by the elections official that is described above end insert .

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 3019 of the Elections Code is repealed.

SEC. 2.  

Section 3019 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

3019.  

(a) Upon receipt of a vote by mail ballot, the elections
official shall compare the signature on the identification envelope
with any of the following to determine whether the signatures
compare:

(1) The signature appearing on the voter’s affidavit of
registration begin insert or any previous affidavit of registration of the voter end insert .

begin delete

(2) The signature appearing on the voter’s vote by mail ballot
application, provided the elections official has compared the
signature on the voter’s vote by mail ballot application with the
signature on the voter’s affidavit of registration pursuant to Section
3009.

(3) The signature appearing on any one of the following
supporting documents that contains the voter’s signature and is
part of the voter’s registration record:

(A) A form for use by a military or overseas voter pertaining
to the voter’s identity, eligibility to vote, and status as a military
or overseas voter, as specified in Section 3101.

(B) A form designed to permit a voter to opt out of receiving
election materials, as specified in Section 13300.7.

(C) A form designed to indicate a voter’s preference for ballot
materials in a language other than English.

(D) A form containing corrected voter information and submitted
at a polling place.

(E) A form confirming a voter’s change of address or residency
information.

end delete begin insert

(2) The signature appearing on a form issued by an elections
official that contains the voter’s signature, that is part of the voter’s
registration record, and that the elections official has determined
compares with the signature on the voter’s affidavit of registration
or any previous affidavit of registration of the voter.

end insert begin insert

(3) The signature appearing on a form issued by an elections
official that contains the voter’s signature, that is part of the voter’s
registration record, and that the elections official has determined
compares with the signature on the voter’s affidavit of registration
or any previous affidavit of registration of the voter through a
series of signatures in the voter’s registration record that have
been determined to compare.

end insert

(b) In comparing signatures pursuant to subdivision (a), the
elections official may use the duplicate file of affidavits of
registered voters or facsimiles of voters’ signatures, provided that
the method of preparing and displaying the facsimiles complies
with the law.

(c) (1) If upon conducting the comparison of signatures pursuant
to subdivision (a) the elections official determines that the
signatures compare, he or she shall deposit the ballot, still in the
identification envelope, in a ballot container in his or her office.

(2) If upon conducting the comparison of signatures pursuant
to subdivision (a) the elections official determines that the
signatures do not compare, the identification envelope shall not
be opened and the ballot shall not be counted. The cause of the
rejection shall be written on the face of the identification envelope.

(d) The variation of a signature caused by the substitution of
initials for the first or middle name, or both, shall not be grounds
for the elections official to determine that the signatures do not
compare.

(e) A ballot shall not be removed from its identification envelope
until the time for processing ballots. A ballot shall not be rejected
for cause after the identification envelope has been opened.

SEC. 3.  

Section 3106 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

3106.  

(a) A military or overseas voter who is living outside
of the territorial limits of the United States or the District of
Columbia, or is called for military service within the United States
on or after the final date to make application for a vote by mail
ballot, may return his or her ballot by facsimile transmission. To
be counted, the ballot returned by facsimile transmission shall be
received by the voter’s elections official no later than the closing
of the polls on election day and shall be accompanied by an
identification envelope containing all of the information required
by Section 3011 and an oath of voter declaration in substantially
the following form:

 

“OATH OF VOTER

I,   , acknowledge that by returning my voted

ballot by facsimile transmission I have waived my right to have my ballot

kept secret. Nevertheless, I understand that, as with any vote by mail

voter, my signature, whether on this oath of voter form or my identification

envelope, will be permanently separated from my voted ballot to maintain

its secrecy at the outset of the tabulation process and thereafter.

My residence address is   .  (Street Address)(City)(ZIP Code)

My current mailing address is   .  (Street Address)(City)(ZIP Code)

My email address is _________________. My facsimile transmission number is _________________.

I am a resident of __________ County, State of California, or am qualified as an elector pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 321 of the Elections Code and I have not applied, nor intend to apply, for a vote by mail ballot from any other jurisdiction for the same election.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.

Dated this __________ day of ______, 20_____.

(Signature)

(voter)  (power of attorney cannot be accepted)

YOUR BALLOT CANNOT BE COUNTED UNLESS YOU SIGN THE ABOVE OATH AND INCLUDE IT WITH YOUR BALLOT AND IDENTIFICATION ENVELOPE, ALL OF WHICH ARE RETURNED BY FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION.”

 

(b) Notwithstanding the voter’s waiver of the right to a secret
ballot, each elections official shall adopt appropriate procedures
to protect the secrecy of ballots returned by facsimile transmission.

(c) Upon receipt of a ballot returned by facsimile transmission,
the elections official shall determine the voter’s eligibility to vote
by comparing the signature on the return information with the
signature on the voter’s affidavit of registration or any begin delete supporting
document that contains the voter’s signature and is part of the
voter’s registration record, in accordance with end delete begin insert signature permitted
for comparison under end insert Section 3019. The ballot shall be duplicated
and all materials preserved according to procedures set forth in
this code.

(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a military or overseas voter
who is permitted to return his or her ballot by facsimile
transmission is, nonetheless, encouraged to return his or her ballot
by mail or in person if possible. A military or overseas voter should
return a ballot by facsimile transmission only if doing so is
necessary for the ballot to be received before the close of polls on
election day.