BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                           SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS 
                            AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
                             Senator Alex Padilla, Chair


          BILL NO:   AB 1873              HEARING DATE: 6/24/14
          AUTHOR:    GONZALEZ             ANALYSIS BY:  Darren Chesin
          AMENDED:   5/28/14
          FISCAL:    NO
          
                                        SUBJECT
           
          Mail ballot elections

                                      DESCRIPTION  
          
           Existing law   permits an election to be conducted wholly by mail  
          if the governing body authorizes the use of mailed ballots for  
          the election, the election occurs on an established mailed  
          ballot election date, and the election is one of the following:

          a.An election in which no more than 1,000 registered voters are  
            eligible to participate;

          b.An election in a city, county, or district with 5,000 or fewer  
            registered voters that is restricted to the imposition of  
            special taxes, expenditure limitation overrides, or both;

          c.An election on the issuance of a general obligation water  
            bond;

          d.An election in one of four specifically enumerated water  
            districts; or,

          e.An election or assessment ballot proceeding required or  
            authorized by the state constitution under Proposition 218.

           Existing law  authorizes a school district or city with a  
          population of 100,000 or less to conduct an all-mail ballot  
          election to fill a vacancy in a special election.

           Existing law  authorizes a district to conduct any election as an  
          all-mailed ballot election on any date other than an established  
          election date.

           Existing law  provides that whenever there are 250 or fewer  









          people registered to vote in any precinct, the elections  
          official may deem the precinct as an all-mail ballot precinct,  
          and provides that no precinct may be divided solely in order to  
          create an all-mail precinct.

           Existing law  provides that once a legislative or congressional  
          vacancy occurs, the Governor has 14 days to issue a proclamation  
          declaring the date of the special election.  Requires the  
          special run-off election to occur between 126 and 140 days after  
          the date of the proclamation with the special primary election  
          occurring the ninth Tuesday preceding the special run-off,  
          except as specified.  Permits the special runoff election to be  
          held up to 180 days after the date of the Governor's  
          proclamation if it will allow either the special runoff or  
          special primary to coincide with an existing state or local  
          election involving at least half the voters in the affected  
          jurisdiction.

           Existing law  permits Yolo County, as part of a pilot program  
          lasting through January 1, 2018, to conduct elections on up to  
          three dates as all-mailed ballot elections, subject to certain  
          conditions and reporting requirements.

           Existing law  provides that a vote by mail (VBM) ballot must be  
          received by the elections official from whom it was obtained, or  
          by a precinct board in that jurisdiction, no later than the  
          close of polls on Election Day in order for that ballot to be  
          counted.

           This bill  permits a special election held to fill a vacancy in  
          the Legislature or in Congress to be conducted entirely by  
          mailed ballot subject to all of the following conditions:

          a.The board of supervisors of each affected county authorizes  
            the use of mailed ballots.

          b.The election does not occur on the same date as a statewide  
            primary or general election, or any other election conducted  
            in an overlapping jurisdiction that is not consolidated and  
            conducted wholly by mail.

          c.At least one ballot drop-off location is provided per city,  
            and at least one drop-off location is provided in  
            unincorporated areas for every 100,000 registered voters, and  
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            such locations are open during business hours to receive voted  
            ballots beginning not less than seven days before the  
            election.

          d.The elections official provides for at least six hours of  
            voting at a satellite location within the congressional or  
            legislative district on at least one Saturday and Sunday after  
            the ballots are delivered to voters.

          e.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 10,000 registered voters within the district,  
            as specified, whichever results in more polling places.   
            Provides that a polling place shall allow voters to request a  
            ballot between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the day of the election if  
            they need replacement ballots for any reason.

          f.Polling places are established in accordance with existing  
            state and federal accessibility requirements, and are evenly  
            distributed throughout the congressional or legislative  
            district.

          g.Each voter receives all supplies necessary for the use and  
            return of the mail ballot, including a return envelope for the  
            voted ballot with postage prepaid.

          h.Each voter receives all of the following from the elections  
            official:

                 A notice indicating that the election is being conducted  
               wholly by mail and that each eligible voter will received a  
               ballot by mail;

                 A list of the ballot drop-off and polling place  
               locations, and that list is posted on the Internet Web site  
               of the county elections office; and,

                 A statement informing voters that the voting materials,  
               including the official ballot and the facsimile ballot, are  
               available in all languages required by state and federal  
               law.

           This bill  provides that a ballot for these elections is timely  
          cast if it is received by the voter's elections official no  
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          later than three days after election day and either of the  
          following is satisfied:

           The ballot is postmarked or is time stamped or date stamped by  
            a bona fide private mail delivery company on or before  
            election day; or,

           If the ballot has no postmark, a postmark with no date, or an  
            illegible postmark, the ballot identification envelope is  
            signed and dated on or before Election Day.

           This bill  permits jurisdictions that have the necessary computer  
          capability to begin processing vote by mail (VBM) ballots on the  
          10th business day prior to the election, instead of the seventh  
          business day prior to the election.

           This bill  contains a January 1, 2020 sunset date.

                                      BACKGROUND  
          
           A Little All-Mail History  . Several California counties have  
          conducted all-mail ballot elections.  Monterey conducted one of  
          the first vote-by-mail elections ever held in the United States  
          in 1977 on a flood control measure.  Alpine County conducted its  
          first all-mail election in November, 1993 for a countywide  
          special election.  San Diego used all-mail balloting in May 1981  
          for a measure proposing to build a $224 million convention  
          center.  Stanislaus County conducted its first all-mail ballot  
          election in 1987 for the Modesto City Charter. 

          In 1992, the Legislature approved a pilot project in Stanislaus  
          and Placer counties.  The counties were allowed to conduct  
          all-mail ballot elections.  Placer County did not utilize this  
          pilot project but Stanislaus County conducted the 1993 Statewide  
          Special Election as an all-mail ballot election. 

          All-mail ballot elections conducted in California as well as  
          other states have generally shown increases in voter turnout and  
          significant decreases in the cost of conducting elections.   
          During Stanislaus County's all-mail ballot pilot project, the  
          County saved almost half of its usual election expenditures.   
          Stanislaus County generally reported turnout levels at six to  
          eight percentage points below the state's average.  During the  
          1993 Statewide Special Election, the County's turnout was 6.8  
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          percent higher than the statewide average during that election.   
          It should be noted however, that with few exceptions, prior  
          all-mail elections have been limited to local elections only. 

          Oregon has been conducting all-mail ballot elections for  
          non-partisan and ballot measure elections for 20 years.  In 1998  
          the voters passed an initiative expanding vote-by-mail to  
          primary and general elections.  The state of Washington has also  
          recently adopted statewide all-mail ballot elections.  
           
           Yolo County Pilot Project  :  In 2011, the Legislature approved  
          and the Governor signed AB 413 (Yamada), Ch. 187, Statutes of  
          2011, which created a pilot program allowing Yolo County to  
          conduct local elections on not more than three dates as  
          all-mailed ballot elections.  AB 413 was intended to serve as a  
          pilot project to evaluate the desirability of further expanding  
          the circumstances under which elections are permitted to be  
          conducted as all-mailed ballot elections.  Yolo County conducted  
          all-mailed ballot elections last March in the City of Davis and  
          the Washington Unified School District as permitted by AB 413,  
          and submitted its report on those elections last December.  The  
          pilot project in Yolo County was authorized following a prior  
          pilot project in Monterey County that failed to provide useful  
          information about the impacts of all-mailed ballot elections  
          because the report filed by Monterey County as part of the pilot  
          project lacked much of the information that was necessary to  
          evaluate the impacts of the pilot project. 

          The report prepared in connection with the first two elections  
          conducted in Yolo County under the pilot project found that  
          turnout at the all-mailed ballot elections conducted as part of  
          the pilot project was not significantly different than similar  
          polling place elections held in the two jurisdictions in prior  
          years.  The study also found that turnout rates broken down by  
          age, ethnic background, party preference, and permanent VBM  
          status was consistent and similar between the polling place and  
          the all-mailed ballot elections.  The study found that data  
          provided on the cost to conduct all-mailed ballot elections was  
          inconclusive in determining whether there are significant  
          savings to moving to all-mailed ballot elections.  However, the  
          study also cautioned that Davis-one of the jurisdictions in  
          which the pilot was conducted-"is a relatively affluent,  
          homogenous community with a higher level of educational  
          achievement than most other areas of the state" and so the  
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          results "are not necessarily applicable to other, dissimilar  
          communities."  The report also noted that the effects of  
          all-mailed ballot elections on turnout would not necessarily be  
          similar in general elections.  

          Yolo County is permitted to conduct local elections as  
          all-mailed ballot elections on two additional dates before the  
          conclusion of the pilot project.

           Vote by Mail and Permanent Vote by Mail Voting  :  Under state  
          law, any voter can request a VBM ballot for any election, and  
          any voter can become a permanent VBM voter.  Permanent VBM  
          voters automatically receive a ballot in the mail for every  
          election, without the need to re-apply for a VBM ballot.  As  
          such, any voter who prefers to vote by mail has the ability to  
          do so under existing law.

          Among the arguments that supporters of all-mailed ballot  
          elections frequently make in support of such elections is that  
          all-mailed ballot elections are more convenient for voters.   
          However, it is not clear whether this is the case.  Any voter  
          who finds it more convenient to vote by mail has the option to  
          do so under existing law, and voters who want to vote by mail at  
          every election can sign up for permanent VBM status.  Some  
          voters, due to physical disability or language issues, may  
          prefer to vote at the polls in order to take advantage of access  
          or help provided by electronic voting machines or bilingual poll  
          workers.

                                       COMMENTS
                                           
           1.According to the Author  :  Assembly Bill 1873, known as the  
            Voting Ought To be Easy (VOTE) Act for Special Elections,  
            seeks to improve two major shortcomings with special elections  
            in California - the widespread non-participation by voters in  
            these low-profile electoral contests and the costliness of  
            operating a special election on taxpayers. Together, the  
            apparent inefficiency of the special election status quo has  
            invited well-meaning but risky alternatives that undermine the  
            public's right to an election and our State government's  
            system of checks and balances. 

          AB 1873 allows county and local governments the opportunity to  
            avoid the low participation and high costs involved in special  
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            elections by conducting these special elections predominantly  
            by mail ballot, a process which has been shown in practice and  
            academic studies to majorly reduce costs and increase access  
            to democracy.  In exchange, the county or local government  
            opting in to the predominantly mail special election process  
            agrees to several measures that further expands voter access.   
            These conditions include providing postage-paid envelopes for  
            return ballots and honoring any ballot received with a  
            postmark by Election Day, similar to tax forms postmarked by  
            April 15 are still "on time."  They also include making  
            available a limited number of in-person voting locations for  
            early weekend voting as well as voting on Election Day,  
            ensuring access for those with disabilities or limited English  
            proficiency, and developing and conducting plans for voter  
            outreach and education about electoral participation in these  
            elections. 

          Our democracy flourishes when more eligible voters participate  
            and AB 1873 helps move our state in that direction for special  
            elections.

          Special elections in California notoriously have abysmal voter  
            turnout levels, sometimes dropping below 10% of registered  
            voters.  For instance, in recent special elections to fill  
            Assembly seats, AD 52 saw a turnout of only 8.61%, and AD 54  
            saw a turnout of only 8.47%.  This can be attributed to  
            special elections often covering fewer issues than regularly  
            scheduled elections, and generally being less competitive than  
            statewide general elections, thus generating less media  
            coverage and voter attention.  Special elections are also  
            typically held on days which voters may be unable to take off  
            of work or are less publicized.  Severely low turnout in  
            special elections undercuts our principles of democracy and  
            participation, as elections are decided by a small amount of  
            voters.

          Furthermore, these special elections are extremely costly for  
            jurisdictions to hold.  A state Assembly special election can  
            cost over a million dollars to conduct, with only a small  
            handful of people showing up at each polling place to vote.   
            In many special elections, the vast majority of voters already  
            utilize mail ballots through permanent absentee registration. 

          With AB 1873, all registered voters in a county or city opting  
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            to use mail balloting for a special election would receive a  
            ballot in the mail.  Voters would be able to cast their ballot  
            by mail in those 29 days preceding the special election date,  
            at an early voting location on a weekend day before the  
            election, or on Election Day at a polling place. 

           2.Jumping the Gun  ?  The committee may wish to consider whether  
            it is desirable to expand the circumstances under which  
            elections can be conducted entirely by mail prior to the  
            completion of the Yolo County pilot project (see discussion in  
            the Background section above) that the Legislature authorized  
            in an effort to get better information about the impacts of  
            such elections.  

           3.Special Vacancy Elections  :  In order to promptly fill  
            vacancies in the Legislature and in Congress, special  
            elections to fill such vacancies typically are conducted in a  
            shortened time period, and elections officials have less time  
            to prepare than they do for regularly scheduled elections.   
            Furthermore, because vacancies in the Legislature or in  
            Congress can occur due to the death of an officeholder or an  
            unexpected resignation, special vacancy elections often cannot  
            be anticipated in advance, so elections officials may not be  
            able to prepare in advance for these elections.

          While certain elections may be conducted as all-mailed ballot  
            elections under existing law, most elections -- particularly  
            for the Legislature and Congress -- are still conducted as  
            traditional elections, where voters have the ability to vote  
            at a polling place on election day.  As a result, many voters  
            who are accustomed to voting at a polling place may expect  
            that there will be a neighborhood polling place at which they  
            will be able to vote in a special election for the Legislature  
            or Congress.  If such polling places are not going to be  
            provided, voter education and outreach efforts may be  
            necessary to ensure that voters who traditionally would vote  
            at a polling place are not negatively affected by this change  
            in election procedure.  Given the unpredictable need and  
            expedited time frame for special elections, however, the  
            ability of elections officials to do effective voter education  
            and outreach may be limited.  

            The committee may wish to consider whether it is desirable to  
            allow the use of a balloting method-all-mailed ballot  
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            elections-with which many voters are not familiar for special  
            vacancy elections, given that the abbreviated schedule for  
            such elections limits the ability to do education and  
            outreach.

           4.United States Postal Service Facility Closures and Mail  
            Delays  :  In 2012, this committee and the Assembly  Elections  
            and  Committee held a joint oversight hearing to discuss  
            United States Postal Service (USPS) facility closures and the  
            impact on voters and upcoming elections.  During the hearing,  
            state and county elections officials testified about the  
            impact that recent post office and processing facility  
            closures had on their jurisdictions and on local elections, as  
            well as the anticipated challenges with more closures  
            expected.

          According to testimony from elections officials, one of the most  
            significant impacts those closures had on the election process  
            is that there had been significant delays in mail delivery in  
            some circumstances.  Elections officials from counties that  
            were previously served by closed facilities indicated that  
            some first class mail took five to seven days to arrive after  
            closures of USPS facilities, compared to the usual delivery  
            time of one to three days.  Since that hearing, the USPS has  
            announced further plans for changes in mail delivery  
            procedures that also have the potential to delay mail  
            delivery.  Finally, the USPS and Congress have discussed  
            proposals to end Saturday mail delivery as a way to cut costs.

          The committee may wish to consider whether it is appropriate to  
            permit all-mail ballot elections to be used in a broader range  
            of circumstances when closures and operational changes by the  
            USPS may result in further mail delivery delays, and otherwise  
            make mail delivery less reliable.  

          5.Arguments in Opposition  :  Asian Americans Advancing  
            Justice-Los Angeles (Advancing Justice-LA), which has an  
            oppose unless amended position, writes, in part:

          Advancing Justice-LA supports both legislative and grassroots  
            efforts to make it easier for voters to vote by mail (VBM). We  
            are aware that across the state, the proportion of voters  
            signing up for permanent VBM status has trended upward over  
            the past decade. However, we believe it is premature for the  
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            state to authorize jurisdictions to make VBM the primary  
            balloting option for voters in the absence of information  
            explaining why California ranks poorly relative to other  
            states with respect to VBM rejection rates and VBM return  
            rates...

          Additionally, although the overall proportion of VBM voters in  
            the state has increased over time, available data highlight  
            sizable age, racial and ethnic, and other disparities between  
            VBM voters and polling place voters, as well as significant  
            variations by region. For example, a report by the California  
            Civic Engagement Project at the UC Davis Center for Regional  
            Change found that in the 2012 general election, the proportion  
            of youth voters (defined as ages 18-23) who voted by mail was  
            25 percentage points lower than the proportion of voters 64  
            years or older who voted by mail.

          Among racial and ethnic lines, the report found that statewide,  
            the rate of VBM usage among Latino voters was 14 percentage  
            points lower than the rate for all voters as a whole, and that  
            this gap was larger in regions such as Southern California  
            (encompassing Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino,  
            and Ventura Counties). The report found that the rate of VBM  
            usage among Asian American voters was above that of the  
            general population; however, from voter research that  
            Advancing Justice-LA has conducted, we know that the rate of  
            VBM usage varies by Asian American ethnic group. For example,  
            among Los Angeles County voters during the 2008 general  
            election, Asian Indian (22%), Cambodian (27%), and Filipino  
            American (26%) voters used the VBM balloting process at rates  
            near or below the countywide average (24%). 

          Advancing Justice-LA's belief is that policymakers should first  
            consider the potential challenges and disparities in VBM usage  
                                                              noted above before enacting legislation that permits  
            jurisdictions to make VBM balloting the primary option for  
            voters, whether in regularly scheduled elections or special  
            vacancy elections?

          Even accepting the notion that all-mail ballot elections may  
            create increased turnout, we believe that the unintended  
            consequences of making VBM the primary option for diverse  
            electorates will impede the achievement of increased turnout  
            unless adequate mitigation measures are taken. These  
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            unintended consequences pertain to accessibility and education  
            and include the following: 

                 Reduction in availability of language assistance  
               available at polling places under federal law, and  
               availability of in-person assistance in general?

                 Reduction in availability of language assistance  
               available at polling places under state law?

                 Large amount of voter education required to switch to  
               all-mail system?

           1.Related Legislation  :  AB 2028 (Mullin), which is also being  
            heard in this committee today, would authorize San Mateo  
            County to participate in the ongoing all-mailed ballot pilot  
            project that is being conducted in Yolo County, as described  
            above. 

          SCA 16 (Steinberg), which is pending in the Senate  
            Appropriations Committee, would permit the Governor to fill a  
            legislative vacancy by appointment, as specified.

          AB 2273 (Ridley-Thomas), which is pending in the Assembly  
            Appropriations Committee, would require the state to reimburse  
            counties for the costs of special elections held to fill  
            vacancies in Congress and the Legislature, for all elections  
            held on or after January 1, 2013.  AB 2273 was approved by  
            this committee on a 7-0 vote.

          SB 942 (Vidak) would require the state to reimburse counties for  
            the costs of special elections held to fill vacancies in  
            Congress and the Legislature, for all elections held between  
            January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2014.  SB 963 (Torres) is  
            identical to AB 2273.  Both bills are pending in the Senate  
            Appropriations Committee.

           2.Previous Legislation  :  SB 109 (Gaines) of 2011 would have  
            would authorized a county with a population of 400,000 or less  
            to conduct a special election called by the Governor to be  
            conducted wholly as an all-mail ballot election, as specified.  
             SB 109 failed passage in this committee.

          SB 304 (Kehoe) of 2011 would have authorized elections in San  
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            Diego County to be conducted wholly by mail until January 1,  
            2016, if specified conditions were satisfied.  SB 304 was  
            never heard in committee.

          SB 1102 (Liu) of 2010 would have permitted a special primary or  
            run-off election to fill a legislative or congressional  
            vacancy to be conducted wholly by mail provided that the board  
            of supervisors of each county within the affected jurisdiction  
            authorized the all-mail ballot election.  SB 1102 was never  
            brought up for vote on the Senate Floor.

          AB 1681 (Yamada) of 2010 was similar to AB 413.  AB 1681 was  
            vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, who expressed concern that  
            "with limited options to vote in-person citizens-especially  
            poor, elderly, and disabled voters-would not have sufficient  
            opportunity to vote."

          AB 1228 (Yamada) of 2009 was similar to AB 1681, except that AB  
            1228 would have allowed both Yolo and Santa Clara Counties to  
            participate in the all-mail ballot pilot project.  AB 1228 was  
            vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger for the same reasons stated  
            in his veto message of AB 1681 above.

                                     PRIOR ACTION
           
          Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee:  4-2
          Assembly Floor:                         44-32
                                           
                                      POSITIONS  

          Sponsor: County of San Diego

          Support:    California State Association of Counties
                       California State Association of Letter Carriers
                       County of San Bernardino
                   Rural County Representatives of California 
                   San Mateo County Board of Supervisors 
                   Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
                       Urban Counties Caucus
                       
          Oppose:    American Civil Liberties Union of California 
                   Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles 
                   Disability Rights California 
                       Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San  
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          Francisco Bay Area
                       Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund









































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