BILL NUMBER: AB 1873 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 28, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Gonzalez and Mullin
FEBRUARY 19, 2014
An act to amend Sections 4004 and Section
10703 of, and to add Section 4000.5 to, the Elections Code,
relating to elections.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1873, as amended, Gonzalez. Mail ballot elections.
(1) Existing law provides
for the calling of a special election to fill a congressional or
legislative vacancy. Under existing law, the governing body of a
local agency is authorized to conduct a local, special, or
consolidated election wholly by mail under specified conditions.
This bill would , until January 1, 2020, authorize a
board of supervisors of a county to conduct a special election or
special consolidated election to fill a congressional or legislative
vacancy wholly by mail under specified conditions. The bill would
also authorize any jurisdiction conducting a special election wholly
by mail to process vote by mail ballot return envelopes beginning 29
days before the election, and would authorize any jurisdiction in
possession of the necessary computer capability to process vote by
mail ballots on the 10th business day before the election, as
specified.
(2) Existing law authorizes an election in a small city, defined
as a city with a population of 100,000 or less, or in a school
district or special district, to be conducted wholly as an all-mail
ballot election, subject to certain conditions, including that the
election is a special election to fill a vacancy in the legislative
body or governing body and that the election not be consolidated with
any other election.
This bill would remove the requirement that an all-mail ballot
election be conducted only in a city with a population of 100,000 or
less. The bill would also delete the provision prohibiting a
consolidated election from being conducted wholly by mail, and would
instead provide that in order to conduct an all-mail ballot election
in a consolidated election in which boundaries overlap, all
jurisdictions of the overlapping boundaries would be required to
agree to conduct the election as an all-mail ballot election. The
bill would additionally authorize a municipal election, as specified,
to be conducted as an all-mail ballot election.
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 4000.5 is added to the Elections Code, to read:
4000.5. (a) Notwithstanding Section 4000,
4000 or any other law, a special election or special
consolidated election may be conducted wholly by mail to fill a
vacancy in a congressional or legislative office if all of the
following apply:
(1) The board of supervisors of each county that lies in whole or
in part within the congressional or legislative district, by
resolution, authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the election.
(2) The election does not occur on the same date as a statewide
direct primary or election,
statewide general election election,
or any other election conducted in an overlapping jurisdiction
that is not consolidated and conducted wholly by mail pursuant to
this section.
(3) (A) At least one ballot dropoff location is provided per city
and is open during business hours to receive voted ballots beginning
21 days not less than seven days
before the date of the election.
(B) The number of dropoff locations in unincorporated areas shall
be based on the number of unincorporated registered voters divided by
100,000 (rounded to the next whole number) with no less than one
location to be selected.
(C) On at least one Saturday and Sunday on or after the date an
elections official first delivers ballots to voters, the elections
official shall allow any voter to vote the ballot at the
office of the elections official a satellite location
within the congressional or legislative district pursuant to
Section 3018. The elections official shall determine the hours of
operation for each Saturday and Sunday, provided that the
office of the elections official satellite location
shall be open to voters for a minimum of six hours on each
designated Saturday and Sunday.
(D) At least one polling place is provided per city or the polling
places are fixed in a manner so that there is one polling place for
every 100,000 residents 10,000 registered
voters within the congressional or legislative district, as
determined by the annual city total population rankings by
the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance,
on the 88th day prior to the day of the election, whichever results
in more polling places. A polling place shall allow voters
a voter to request and vot e
a ballot between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the day of the
election if election. they have not
received their ballots in the mail or if they need replacement
ballots for any other reason.
(E) Upon the request of the city, county, or district, the
(E) The polling places provided under this section shall be
established in accordance with the accessibility requirements
described in Article 5 (commencing with Section 12280) of Chapter 3
of Division 12 and in the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42
U.S.C. Sec. 1971 et seq.), and shall be evenly distributed throughout
the congressional or legislative district.
(F) Precinct boards shall be appointed and established in
accordance with Article 1 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter
4 of Division 12.
(G) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the election day
procedures shall be conducted in accordance with Division 14
(commencing with Section 14000).
(H) The elections official may
provide, at his or her discretion, additional ballot dropoff
locations and polling places.
(4) The elections official delivers to each voter all supplies
necessary for the use and return of the mail ballot, including an
envelope for the return of the voted mail ballot with postage
prepaid.
(5) The elections official delivers to each voter, with either the
sample ballot sent pursuant to Section 13303 or with the voter's
ballot, a list of the ballot dropoff locations pursuant to
paragraph (3), and posts that list on the Internet Web site of the
county elections office. all of the following:
(A) A notice informing voters that the election is being conducted
wholly by mail and that each eligible voter will receive a ballot by
mail.
(B) A list of the ballot dropoff locations and polling places
established pursuant to paragraph (3). The list shall also be posted
on the Internet Web site of the county elections official.
(C) A statement informing voters that the voting materials,
including the official ballot and the facsimile ballot, are available
in all languages required by subdivision (c) of Section 14201 or the
federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1971 et seq.).
(b) If the congressional or legislative district includes more
than one county, the board of supervisors of every county within the
district shall enter into an agreement to conduct the special
election wholly by mail pursuant to this section.
(c) The return of voted mail ballots is subject to subdivision (d)
and Section 3017.
(d) (1) All vote by mail ballots cast under this section shall be
received by the elections official from whom they were obtained or by
the precinct board no later than the close of the polls on election
day.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), any vote by mail ballot cast
under this section shall be timely cast if it is received by the
voter's elections official no later than three days after election
day and either of the following is satisfied:
(A) The ballot is postmarked on or before election day or is time
stamped or date stamped by a bona fide private mail delivery company
on or before election day.
(B) If the ballot has no postmark, a postmark with no date, or an
illegible postmark, the vote by mail ballot identification envelope
is signed and dated pursuant to Section 3011 on or before election
day.
(e) (1) Any jurisdiction conducting a special election under this
section may process vote by mail ballot return envelopes beginning 29
days before the election. Processing vote by mail ballot return
envelopes may include verifying the voter's signature on the vote by
mail ballot return envelope and updating voter history records.
(2) Any jurisdiction conducting a special election under this
section and in possession of the necessary computer capability may
start to process vote by mail ballots on the 10th business day before
the election. Processing vote by mail ballots includes opening vote
by mail ballot return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating any
damaged ballots, and preparing the ballots to be machine read, or
machine reading them, but under no circumstances shall a vote count
be accessed or released until 8 p.m. on the day of the election. All
other jurisdictions shall start to process vote by mail ballots at 5
p.m. on the day before the election.
(f) Results of any vote by mail ballot tabulation or count shall
not be released before the close of the polls on the day of the
election.
(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 2. Section 4004 of the Elections Code is
amended to read:
4004. Notwithstanding Sections 1500 and 4000, an election in a
county, city, school district, or special district may be conducted
wholly as an all-mail ballot election, subject to the following
conditions:
(a) The legislative body of the county or city or the governing
body of the school district or special district, by resolution,
authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the election.
(b) The election is a special election to fill a vacancy in the
legislative body or governing body, or is a special election
conducted pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9200) of
Division 9.
(c) The election is not held on the same date as a statewide
primary or general election.
(d) In a consolidated election in which boundaries overlap, all of
the jurisdictions within the overlapping boundaries agree to conduct
the election as an all-mail ballot election.
(e) The return of voted mail ballots is subject to Section 3017.
SEC. 3. SEC. 2. Section 10703 of the
Elections Code is amended to read:
10703. (a) A special election to fill a
vacancy in the office of Representative in Congress, State Senator,
or Member of the Assembly shall be conducted on a Tuesday at least
126 days, but not more than 140 days, following the issuance of an
election proclamation by the Governor pursuant to Section 1773 of the
Government Code, except that the special election may be conducted
within 180 days following the proclamation in order that the election
or the primary election may be consolidated with the next regularly
scheduled statewide election or local election occurring wholly or
partially within the same territory in which the vacancy exists,
provided that the voters eligible to vote in the local election
comprise at least 50 percent of all the voters eligible to vote on
the vacancy.
(a)
(b) Except as provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 10730), a special election or a primary election may not be
conducted on the day after a state holiday.
(b)
(c) (1) A special election
described in this section may be conducted wholly by mail pursuant to
Section 4000.5.
(2) This subdivision shall remain in
effect only until January 1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed,
unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1,
2020, deletes or extends that date.