BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       AB 1135|
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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1135
          Author:   Mullin (D)
          Amended:  6/25/13 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMMITTEE  :  4-1, 7/2/13
          AYES:  Torres, Hancock, Padilla, Yee
          NOES:  Anderson
           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  52-25, 4/15/13 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Vote by mail ballots:  signature verification

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill revises and recasts current procedures for  
          processing vote by mail (VBM) ballots and provides that a county  
          elections official is also 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.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

           1. Requires a county elections official, upon receiving a VBM  
             ballot, to compare the signatures on the envelope with the  
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             signature appearing on the affidavit of registration.  If the  
             signatures compare, the elections official shall deposit the  
             ballot, still in its identification envelope, into a ballot  
             container in his/her office.

           2. Provides that if the ballot is rejected because the  
             signatures do not compare, the envelope shall not be opened  
             and the ballot shall not be counted, and requires the cause  
             of the rejection be written on the face of the identification  
             envelope.

           3. Permits a county elections official to use the signature on  
             the voter's VBM application for the signature comparison, if  
             the elections official compared the signature on the voter's  
             VBM ballot application with the signature on the voter's  
             affidavit of registration.

           4. Permits a county elections official to use the duplicate  
             file of affidavits of registered voters or the facsimiles of  
             voters' signatures when determining from the records of  
             registration if the signature and residence address compare.

          This bill:

          1. Requires an elections official upon receipt of a VBM ballot,  
             to compare the signature on the identification envelope with  
             either of the following to determine whether the signatures  
             compare:

             A.    The signature appearing on the voter's affidavit of  
                registration or any previous affidavit of registration of  
                the voter.

             B.    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.

          2. Allows the elections official to make this verification  
             determination by reviewing a series of signatures appearing  
             on official forms in the voter's registration record that  
             have been determined to compare, that demonstrates the  

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             progression of the voter's signature, and makes evident that  
             the signature on the identification envelope is that of the  
             voter.

          3. Permits a county elections official, upon receipt of a  
             military or overseas ballot returned by facsimile  
             transmission, to determine the voter's eligibility by  
             comparing the signature on the return information with the  
             signature on the voter's affidavit of registration or any  
             signature permitted for comparison as set forth by this bill.

           Background
           
           Contra Costa County Report  .  Over the years, Contra Costa  
          County, similar to many other counties, has collected data  
          concerning VBM ballots.  The collection and analysis of this  
          data has helped counties take proactive steps to improve the  
          success rate for VBM voters.  According to a November 6, 2012  
          General Presidential Election Report prepared by the Contra  
          Costa County Clerk-Recorder, at the November 2010 election, the  
          county saw an increase in signatures being rejected for "no  
          match."  Upon further investigation, they found that voters less  
          than 50 years of age and clustered in the 20-39 age groups  
          represented a disproportionately high number of rejected ballots  
          for no signature match.

          According to the Report, in an effort to help mitigate this  
          problem, Contra Costa County changed their "Make Your Vote  
          Count" insert that is placed in their outgoing VBM packets to  
          highlight the problem.  The insert alerted voters that how they  
          sign their name matters when they sign their ballot envelope and  
          reminded voters that if their signature changed to immediately  
          re-register so their current registration would be on file.   
          According to the Report, the outreach efforts had a positive  
          effect and the county saw a reduction in rejected signatures by  
          over 40% between the November 2010 and November 2012 elections.   
          However, despite that reduction, younger voters remain well  
          above the average for rejected signatures.  Consequently, Contra  
          Costa County plans to do more outreach via the social networks  
          in hopes to educate voters and reduce the number of ballots  
          rejected.

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

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           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  7/8/13)

          Secretary of State 
          California Association of Clerks and Election Officials 
          California Common Cause
          California Forward Action Fund


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office, in  
          the November 2012 election, more voters voted by mail than in  
          person.  Since 1980, the percent of votes cast by mail in  
          general elections has increased from about 6% to just over 50%.   
          Because voting by mail is quickly becoming the preferred voting  
          method, it is critical we do everything we can to ensure voters'  
          ballots are counted.

          Last November, nearly 60,000 VBM ballots were rejected.  About  
          one-third were not counted because the signatures on the VBM  
          envelopes did not match the signatures on the voters' original  
          registration affidavits.  The requirement that the signature on  
          a VBM envelope matches the voter's original registration  
          affidavit is unique to absentee ballots.  Signature matching is  
          not required when a person shows up to vote at a polling place.

          Given the nature of voting by mail, this verification system is  
          important-but it also has pitfalls.  One major drawback is that  
          voters' signatures change over time.  Let's consider young  
          voters, who are often in the process of developing a permanent  
          signature.  Among VBM ballots rejected because the signatures  
          did not match, 20-29 year-old voters accounted for a  
          disproportionate number of rejections.  These voters submitted  
          just 6% of VBM ballots, but were accountable for 30% of  
          rejections due to mismatching signatures.  On the other end of  
          the spectrum are older voters, whose signatures can change  
          considerably as they age.  Their original registration  
          affidavits have often been on file for decades. 

          This bill allows county registrars to compare the signature on a  
          VBM envelope with the signature appearing on the voter's  
          affidavit of registration or any previous affidavit of  
          registration of the voter; the signature on an official form  
          issued by an elections official that contains the voter's  
          signature that is part of the voter's registration record and  

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          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 showing a  
          progression of the voter's signatures.  This bill is a critical  
          measure to ensure all Californians have the best chance possible  
          to have their votes counted.



           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  52-25, 4/15/13
          AYES:  Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra,  
            Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,  
            Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong,  
            Fox, Frazier, Garcia, Gomez, Gordon, Gray, Hall, Roger  
            Hernández, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Medina, Mitchell,  
            Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,  
            Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,  
            Torres, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NOES:  Achadjian, Allen, Bigelow, Chávez, Conway, Dahle,  
            Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Gatto, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Jones,  
            Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez, Morrell,  
            Nestande, Olsen, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Harkey, Lowenthal, Vacancy


          RM:k  7/8/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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