BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 29|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 29
Author: Correa (D), et al.
Amended: 3/6/13
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 3-1, 3/19/13
AYES: Correa, Hancock, Yee
NOES: Anderson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Padilla
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/23/13
AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
SUBJECT : Vote by mail ballots and election result statements
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows vote by mail (VBM) ballots to be
counted if they are postmarked on or before Election Day, and
received by the county elections office no later than three days
after the election. This bill also extends the period of time
counties have to finish canvassing the election results by three
additional days.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides that a VBM ballot must be received by the elections
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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.
2. Requires a VBM ballot identification envelope (return
envelope) to include specified information, including the
signature of the voter and the date of signing.
3. Requires elections officials to prepare a certified statement
of the results of an election and to submit that statement to
the appropriate governing body within 28 days of the
election.
This bill:
1. Provides that any VBM ballot is timely cast if it is received
by the voter's elections official no later than three 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 VBM ballot identification
envelope is signed and dated on or before Election Day.
2. Extends the deadline for elections officials to prepare a
certified statement of the results of an election from 28
days after the election to 31 days after the election.
Background
VBM ballot deadlines in other states . Each state has its own
deadlines for the return of mail ballots. In some states, the
deadline varies depending on whether the individual submitting
the ballot is a civilian living in the United States, or a
military or overseas voter covered under the Uniformed and
Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).
According to information from the National Association of
Secretaries of State, three states require mail ballots from
civilians living in the U.S. to be returned prior to Election
Day in order to be counted, while 36 states (including
California) require such ballots to be received by Election Day.
11 states and the District of Columbia allow mail ballots from
civilians living in the U.S. to arrive after Election Day and
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still be counted as long as the ballot is postmarked (or in some
cases, signed and dated) by Election Day.
For active duty military and overseas citizens who are covered
under UOCAVA, one state requires mail ballots to be returned
prior to Election Day in order to be counted, and 32 states
(including California) require ballots to be received by
Election Day. 17 states and the District of Columbia allow mail
ballots from voters who are covered under UOCAVA to arrive after
Election Day and still be counted. Most of those states require
the ballot to be postmarked (or in some cases, signed and dated)
by Election Day.
2010 Primary Election Ballots in Riverside County : In Riverside
County, 12,563 VBM ballots were discovered at a local post
office the day after the June 8, 2010 Statewide Primary
Election. These ballots were eventually accepted by the county
elections official, but only after a superior court judge ruled
that they should be counted. In this instance, the voters had
mailed their ballots in time for normal delivery but county
elections officials, who previously and routinely visited
certain post offices to collect VBM ballots, did not visit the
post office that actually had these ballots. While a plain
reading of the applicable statute would have resulted in these
ballots being rejected, the presiding judge ordered that the
ballots be counted based on a provision of the California
Constitution which reads "A voter who casts a vote in an
election in accordance with the laws of this State shall have
that vote counted."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, there will be
unknown, potentially significant reimbursable mandate costs.
(General)
County election officials will likely incur additional costs to
manually check the postmark on all ballots that arrive after the
close of the polls through the following third day. An
unofficial count indicates that more than 20,000 ballots arrived
too late to be counted at the last statewide general election.
However, exact costs will be dependent on the change in voter
behavior - that is, how many VBM voters who currently mail their
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ballots a week or more before the election, will then wait until
closer to Election Day once they learn about the three day grace
period. This could result in tens of thousands of ballots
arriving at the county offices after Election Day and therefore
necessitating a manual inspection of the postmark, resulting in
substantial overtime costs for county election officials. Staff
estimates that reimbursable state costs could be approximately
$150,000 per election.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/13)
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
California Common Cause
CALPIRG
Rural County Representatives of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, last
year, the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee and the
Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee held a
joint oversight hearing to discuss recent and forthcoming United
States Postal Service (USPS) facility closures and the impact on
voters. 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.
One of the most significant impacts the USPS actions have had on
the election process is that there have 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.
Existing law requires a voted VBM ballot to be received by
either the elections official who issued the ballot or a polling
place in the county before the closing of the polls on Election
Day. Due to the USPS actions however, voters who mail their
ballots within a reasonable timeframe could, through no fault of
their own, find themselves disenfranchised due to delays in mail
delivery.
This bill seeks to mitigate the negative impacts of USPS
decisions and to protect voters' right to vote by allowing
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ballots that are postmarked or signed and dated by Election Day
to be counted, as long as those ballots are received by the
elections official by the third day after the election.
RM:nk 5/23/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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