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 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.
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 the form issued by the elections official that is described above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 3019 of the Elections Code is repealed.
Section 3019 is added to the Elections Code, to read:
(a) Upon receipt of a vote by mail ballot, the elections
4official shall compare the signature on the identification envelope
5withbegin delete anyend deletebegin insert eitherend insert of the following to determine whether the signatures
6compare:
7(1) The signature appearing on the voter’s affidavit of
8registration or any previous affidavit of registration of the voter.
9(2) The signature appearing on a form issued by an elections
10official that contains the voter’s signature, that is part of the voter’s
11registration record, and that the
elections official has determined
12compares with the signature on the voter’s affidavit of registration
13or any previous affidavit of registration of the voter.begin insert end insertbegin insertThe elections
14official may make this determination by reviewing a series of
15signatures appearing on official forms in the voter’s registration
16record that have been determined to compare, that demonstrates
17the progression of the voter’s signature, and makes evident that
18the signature on the identification envelope is that of the voter.end insert
19(3) The signature appearing on a form issued by an elections
20official that contains the voter’s signature, that is part of the voter’s
21registration record, and that the elections official has determined
22compares with the signature on the voter’s affidavit of registration
23or any previous affidavit of registration of the voter through a
P3 1series of signatures in the voter’s registration record that have been
2determined to compare.
3(b) In comparing signatures pursuant to subdivision (a), the
4elections official may use the duplicate file of affidavits of
5registered voters or facsimiles of voters’ signatures, provided that
6the method of preparing and displaying the facsimiles complies
7with the law.
8(c) (1) If upon conducting the comparison of signatures pursuant
9to subdivision (a) the elections official determines that the
10signatures compare, he or she shall deposit the ballot, still in the
11identification envelope, in a ballot container in his or her office.
12(2) If upon conducting the comparison of signatures pursuant
13to subdivision (a) the elections official determines that the
14signatures do not compare, the identification envelope shall not
15be opened and the ballot shall not be counted. The cause of the
16rejection shall be written on the face of
the identification envelope.
17(d) The variation of a signature caused by the substitution of
18initials for the first or middle name, or both, shall not be grounds
19for the elections official to determine that the signatures do not
20compare.
21(e) A ballot shall not be removed from its identification envelope
22until the time for processing ballots. A ballot shall not be rejected
23for cause after the identification envelope has been opened.
Section 3106 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
(a) A military or overseas voter who is living outside
“OATH OF VOTER
I, , acknowledge that by returning my voted
(voter) (power of attorney cannot be accepted)
26of the territorial limits of the United States or the District of
27Columbia, or is called for military service within the United States
28on or after the final date to make application for a vote by mail
29ballot, may return his or her ballot by facsimile transmission. To
30be counted, the ballot returned by facsimile transmission shall be
31received by the voter’s elections official no later than the closing
32of the polls on election day and shall be accompanied by an
33identification envelope containing all of the information required
34by Section 3011 and an oath of voter declaration in substantially
35the following form:
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)
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.”
P4 32(b) Notwithstanding the voter’s waiver of the right to a secret
33ballot, each elections official shall adopt appropriate procedures
34to protect the secrecy of ballots returned by facsimile transmission.
35(c) Upon receipt of a ballot returned by facsimile transmission,
36the elections official shall determine the voter’s eligibility to vote
37by comparing the signature on the return information with the
38signature on the voter’s affidavit of registration or any signature
39permitted for comparison under Section 3019. The ballot shall be
P5 1duplicated and all materials preserved according to procedures set
2forth in this code.
3(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a military or overseas voter
4who is permitted to return his or her ballot by facsimile
5transmission is, nonetheless, encouraged to return his or her ballot
6by mail or in person if possible. A military or overseas voter should
7return a ballot by facsimile transmission only if doing so is
8necessary for the ballot to be received before the close of polls on
9election day.
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