BILL NUMBER: SB 29 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 618
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 26, 2014
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 26, 2014
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 26, 2014
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 25, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 20, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 11, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 10, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 6, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Correa
(Coauthor: Senator Steinberg)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Fong, Lowenthal, and Mullin)
DECEMBER 3, 2012
An act to amend Sections 3020, 3117, 4103, 15101, and 15372 of the
Elections Code, relating to elections.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 29, Correa. Vote by mail ballots and election result
statements.
(1) Existing law makes the vote by mail ballot available to any
registered voter, including military or overseas voters. Existing law
requires that those vote by mail ballots, including those vote by
mail ballots cast by military or overseas voters, be received by the
elections officials from whom they were obtained or by the precinct
boards before the polls close on election day in order to be counted.
Existing law authorizes certain local, special, or consolidated
elections to be conducted wholly by mail, so long as specified
conditions are satisfied. Existing law requires ballots cast in these
vote by mail elections to be returned to the elections official from
whom they were obtained no later than 8 p.m. on election day.
This bill would, notwithstanding the above provisions, provide
that any vote by mail ballot, including any vote by mail ballot cast
by a military or overseas voter, is timely cast if it is received by
the voter's elections official via the United States Postal Service
or a bona fide private mail delivery company no later than 3 days
after election day, and either 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 or, if the
ballot has no postmark, a postmark with no date, or an illegible
postmark, the vote by mail ballot identification envelope is date
stamped by the elections official upon receipt and is signed and
dated by the voter on or before election day.
Because the bill would expand the duties of local elections
officials, it would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law permits any jurisdiction in which vote by mail
ballots are cast to begin processing vote by mail ballot return
envelopes 29 days prior to election, and authorizes any jurisdiction
having the necessary computer capability to start processing vote by
mail ballots 7 business days prior to the election.
This bill would instead authorize any jurisdiction having the
necessary computer capability to start processing vote by mail
ballots 10 business days prior to the election.
(3) Existing law requires the elections official to prepare a
certified statement of the results of the election and submit it to
the governing body within 28 days of the election, except for
specified elections.
This bill would instead require the elections official to submit
the certified statement of the results of the election to the
governing body within 30 days of the election.
(4) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section
15101 of the Elections Code proposed by AB 2530, to be operative only
if AB 2530 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective
January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last.
(5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 3020 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
3020. (a) All vote by mail ballots cast under this division 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.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), any vote by mail ballot cast
under this division shall be timely cast if it is received by the
voter's elections official via the United States Postal Service or a
bona fide private mail delivery company no later than three days
after election day and either of the following is satisfied:
(1) 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.
(2) If the ballot has no postmark, a postmark with no date, or an
illegible postmark, the vote by mail ballot identification envelope
is date stamped by the elections official upon receipt of the vote by
mail ballot from the United States Postal Service or a bona fide
private mail delivery company, and is signed and dated pursuant to
Section 3011 on or before election day.
SEC. 2. Section 3117 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
3117. A valid ballot cast shall be counted if it is received by
the elections official in accordance with Section 3020.
SEC. 3. Section 4103 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
4103. (a) Notwithstanding Section 3020, ballots cast under this
chapter shall be returned to the elections official from whom they
were obtained no later than 8 p.m. on election day.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), any vote by mail ballot cast
under this chapter shall be timely cast if it is received by the
voter's elections official via the United States Postal Service or a
bona fide private mail delivery company no later than three days
after election day and either of the following is satisfied:
(1) 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.
(2) If the ballot has no postmark, a postmark with no date, or an
illegible postmark, the vote by mail ballot identification envelope
is date stamped by the elections official upon receipt of the vote by
mail ballot from the United States Postal Service or a bona fide
private mail delivery company, and is signed and dated pursuant to
Section 3011 on or before election day.
SEC. 4. Section 15101 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
15101. (a) Any jurisdiction in which vote by mail ballots are
cast may begin to 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.
(b) Any jurisdiction having 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 may 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.
(c) 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.
SEC. 4.5. Section 15101 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
15101. (a) Any jurisdiction in which vote by mail ballots are
cast may begin to 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 pursuant to Section 3019 and
updating voter history records.
(b) Any jurisdiction having 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 may 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.
(c) 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.
SEC. 5. Section 15372 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
15372. (a) The elections official shall prepare a certified
statement of the results of the election and submit it to the
governing body within 30 days of the election or, in the case of
school district, community college district, county board of
education, or special district elections conducted on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November of odd-numbered years, no
later than the last Monday before the last Friday of that month.
(b) The elections official shall post the certified statement of
the results of the election on his or her Internet Web site in a
downloadable spreadsheet format that may include, but is not limited
to, a comma-separated values file or a tab-separated values file and
that is compatible with a spreadsheet software application that is
widely used at the time of the posting. The certified statement of
the election results shall be posted and maintained on the elections
official's Internet Web site for a period of at least 10 years
following the election. This subdivision shall apply only to an
elections official who uses a computer system that has the capability
of producing the election results in a downloadable spreadsheet
format without requiring modification of the computer system.
SEC. 6. Counties may continue to use envelopes and other official
election materials that do not take into account the provisions of
this act until the supply of those envelopes and other official
election materials is exhausted.
SEC. 7. Section 4.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to
Section 15101 of the Elections Code proposed by both this bill and
Assembly Bill 2530. It shall only become operative if (1) both bills
are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, (2)
each bill amends Section 15101 of the Elections Code, and (3) this
bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 2530, in which case Section 4 of
this bill shall not become operative.
SEC. 8. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.