BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1417|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1417
Author: Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee
Amended: 9/3/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMENDMENTS COMM. : 4-0, 6/18/13
AYES: Hancock, Padilla, Yee, Torres
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/9/13 (Consent) - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Elections
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill conforms state law to federal law by
requiring elections officials to send ballots and ballot
materials to all military and overseas voters by the 45th day
before the election if they have made a request for a ballot by
that day, regardless of whether the 45th day before the election
is a weekend or holiday and makes various minor and technical
changes to the Elections Code.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/3/13 delete the following: (1) the
model language referencing a size/weight requirement for the
ballot and/or envelope; (2) the model language referencing a
notarization requirement for the ballot; and (3) a drafting
error. In addition, the amendments make several other technical
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(clean-up) changes to several related code sections.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Requires an elections official, not sooner than 60 days but
not later than 45 days before the election or, if the 45th
day before the election is a weekend or holiday, not later
than the business day preceding the 45th day, to transmit a
military or overseas ballot and ballot material to each
military or overseas voter who by that date submits a valid
ballot application in accordance with existing law.
2. Requires the Secretary of State (SOS), not less than five
days prior to sending the county elections official the
certified list of candidates for each partisan and
voter-nominated office at the primary election, to notify
each candidate for partisan and voter-nominated office of the
names, addresses, offices, occupations, and party preferences
of all other persons who have filed for the same office.
3. Requires a county elections official to prepare and post a
list of the names of candidates for presidential delegates
for each political party prior to each presidential primary
election.
4. Permits the SOS, for the purpose of assistance in examining a
voting system, to employ not more than three expert
electronic technicians at a cost to be set by the SOS.
This bill:
1. Updates and replaces the term "special absentee voter" with
"military and overseas voter."
2. Conforms state law to federal law by requiring elections
officials to send ballots and ballot materials to all
military and overseas voters by the 45th day before the
election if they have made a request for a ballot by that
day, regardless of whether the 45th day before the election
is a weekend or holiday.
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3. Requires the SOS, not less than 73 days, and not more than 90
days before a general election, to notify each candidate for
partisan and voter nominated office of the names, addresses,
offices, ballot designations, and party preferences of all
other persons whose names are to appear on the ballot for the
same office at the general election.
4. Repeals a requirement that county elections officials prepare
and post a list of names of candidates for delegates for each
political party prior to each presidential primary.
5. Repeals a limitation that the SOS, for the purpose of
assistance in examining a voting system, may employ not more
than three expert electronic technicians at a cost to be set
by the SOS, and instead specifies that the SOS may employ
expert electronic technicians or technician firms. This
provision becomes inoperative if SB 360 (Padilla) and this
bill are both chaptered and becomes effective January 1,
2014.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/4/13)
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, this
is one of the Assembly Elections & Redistricting Committee's
omnibus bills, containing various minor and technical changes to
provisions of the Elections Code. All of the provisions of this
bill are either changes requested by the California Association
of Clerks and Election Officials or the SOS, or technical
changes identified and suggested by committee staff.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/9/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
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Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Torres, Wagner, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Donnelly, Holden, Logue, Waldron, Vacancy
RM:d 9/4/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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