BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 362
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 25, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
SB 362 (Padilla) - As Amended: April 8, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 30-7
SUBJECT : Voting procedures: natural disasters.
SUMMARY : Authorizes an emergency worker, as defined, to cast a
ballot outside of his or her precinct upon the declaration of an
out-of-state emergency by the Governor and the issuance of an
executive order, as specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes the following findings and declarations:
a) Natural disasters outside California can affect a state
resident's ability to vote. Earthquakes, hurricanes, and
other disasters can destroy or damage election
infrastructure, including the electrical and
telecommunications grid and polling places, disrupt the
delivery of vote by mail (VBM) ballots by the United States
Postal Service, and displace election officials and
interrupt their duties.
b) California residents volunteer to help victims of
natural disasters, including their family members.
California voters, such as firefighters, police officers,
National Guardsmen, utility workers, and average citizens
travel to areas affected by disasters for extended periods
of time to help with recovery efforts that can include
other states and countries. Disasters and volunteer
efforts can occur close to an election and affect a
volunteer's ability to vote.
c) Currently, neither the Governor, the Secretary of State
(SOS), nor county elections officials have the authority to
establish procedures and guidelines to specifically allow
residents affected by an out-of-state disaster to vote.
2)Defines an emergency worker, for the purposes of this bill, to
mean a person who is officially engaged in responding to the
proclamation of an out-of-state emergency and whose vocation
has been identified in an executive order relating to the
SB 362
Page 2
state of emergency.
3)Requires an elections official, upon the declaration of an
out-of-state emergency by the Governor and the issuance of an
executive order authorizing an emergency worker, as defined,
to cast a ballot outside of his or her home precinct, to issue
a VBM ballot to an emergency worker upon request using a
process to be determined by the elections official.
4)Provides that in order to be counted, a VBM ballot cast
pursuant to this bill shall be received by the elections
official no later than three days after election day and
postmarked on or before election day or time-stamped or
date-stamped by a private mail delivery company on or before
election day.
5)Requires an elections official, upon receipt of the returned
ballot, to process the ballot in accordance with existing law.
6)Permits a VBM ballot to be sent to the emergency worker via
electronic mail or facsimile.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that, upon the declaration of a state of emergency by
the Governor and the issuance of an executive order
authorizing an emergency worker to cast a ballot outside of
his or her home precinct, elections officials in the counties
included in the executive order shall, upon demand, issue to
an emergency worker a provisional ballot that may be identical
to the provisional ballot offered to other voters in the
county, using a process to be determined by the elections
official.
2)Requires an elections official to transmit for processing any
ballot cast, including any materials necessary to process the
ballot, to the elections official in the county where the
voter is registered to vote.
3)Designates the SOS as the chief elections officer of
California.
4)Permits the Governor, during a state of war or a state of
emergency, to suspend any regulatory statute, or statute
SB 362
Page 3
prescribing the procedure for conduct of state business, or
the orders, rules, or regulations of any state agency.
5)Permits the Governor, during a state of war emergency or state
of emergency, to make, amend, and rescind orders and
regulations that have the force and effect of law. Requires
all orders, regulations, amendments, or rescissions be issued
in writing and take effect immediately upon their issuance.
Requires the orders and regulations to have no further force
or effect once the state of war emergency or state of
emergency has been terminated.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, unknown costs but likely less than $25,000 (General
Fund).
Actual costs are unknown and will depend on the extent and
frequency of the disaster, whether the disaster occurs during an
election period, and the number of personnel who are not already
registered as vote-by-mail voters. State-mandated local
program; contains reimbursement direction.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
Last November we saw how a natural disaster outside of
California can affect our voters. Hurricane Sandy made
landfall on the east coast a week before election the 2012
Presidential Election.
Immediately, volunteers from the California Utilities
Emergency Association were called in to help. The
association represents almost 90 cities, state agencies,
and public & private utilities. These volunteers had little
time to prepare special arrangements to vote. And many had
missed the deadline to apply for an absentee ballot.
Neither the Governor nor the Secretary of State nor County
Election Officials had the authority to allow the
volunteers to vote under special circumstances. Hundreds of
California disaster relief volunteers were unable to vote.
SB 362 will change that.
Under current law, the Governor can declare a state of
SB 362
Page 4
emergency and authorize certain voting benefits to
emergency workers assisting within California. Current law
does not provide any process for California emergency
workers helping outside the state. SB 362 will apply the
current process for instate disasters to out of state
disasters.
2)Out-of-State Emergencies : As mentioned above, Hurricane
Sandy, which occurred during the 2012 November general
election, was an eye opening experience that prompted many
states to question and consider whether they were ready and
prepared for the next emergency. In times of emergencies,
having clear direction on what is permitted and what is not
can be helpful. For instance, according to the background
material provided by the author, in the aftermath of Hurricane
Sandy, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, SoCal
Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, Pacific Gas & Electric, the
California Red Cross, and the California Emergency Management
Urban Search and Rescue Team, and many other California
residents went to New York and New Jersey to volunteer. Many
of the California volunteers had little time to prepare
special arrangements to vote and the deadline to apply for a
VBM ballot had already passed. Consequently, the California
Utilities Emergency Association (CUEA), which overseas
California's national relief efforts, found that several
hundred utility workers were unable to vote.
Current law provides that, upon the declaration of a state of
emergency by the Governor and the issuance of an executive
order authorizing an emergency worker to cast a ballot outside
of his or her home precinct, elections officials in the
counties included in the executive order shall, upon demand,
issue to an emergency worker a provisional ballot that may be
identical to the provisional ballot offered to other voters in
the county, using a process to be determined by the elections
official. However, the author's statement points out that
current law does not provide the Governor, the SOS, or county
elections officials with the authority to allow out-of-state
volunteers to vote under special circumstances. The
provisions of this bill will address this issue and require an
elections official, upon the declaration of an out-of-state
emergency by the Governor and the issuance of an executive
order authorizing an emergency worker, as defined, to issue a
VBM ballot, upon request, to an emergency worker using a
process determined by the elections official. In addition,
SB 362
Page 5
this bill allows the VBM ballot to be sent to the emergency
worker via electronic mail or facsimile. Providing county
elections official with the flexibility to send a VBM ballot
via email or fax and allowing emergency workers extra time for
their ballot to be received by the elections official will
ensure California volunteers are not disenfranchised.
3)Efforts on the Federal Level : To support state efforts aimed
at establishing sound administrative election practices in
emergency conditions, the members of the National Association
of Secretaries of State (NASS), earlier this year, created the
NASS Task Force on Emergency Preparedness for Elections. The
task force is a national initiative, formed in the wake of
Hurricane Sandy. The effort, which includes chief state
election officials from twenty-two states and the District of
Columbia, will focus on identifying laws and practices that
enhance the ability of state election officials to prepare
for, and respond to, emergency situations. The task force
also works closely with other stakeholder organizations,
including the National Emergency Management Association and
the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Secretary of State
Debra Bowen is a member of the newly formed task force.
According to the NASS website, the task force convened a
conference call in March of this year to determine the range
of issues that will be researched. Emergency planning and
response issues that arose due to Hurricane Sandy included
emergency voting/absentee ballot procedures,
state-local/municipal information sharing and emergency
communications, equipment shortages, emergency authority
issues, and continuity of elections. Additionally, the task
force is planning to release a white paper early next year.
4)Arguments in Support : VerifiedVoting.org writes in support:
SB 362 would facilitate the process of maintaining the
voting rights of emergency workers who leave the state
during an emergency in order to provide aid in an official
capacity. This bill would allow a vote by mail ballot to
be transmitted to an emergency worker by email or fax,
while the worker would return the ballot by mail. The
framework and procedures set up by this bill would preserve
the security of the worker's ballot while still ensuring
that he or she is able to vote and have his or her ballot
counted.
SB 362
Page 6
5)State Mandates : The last three state budgets have suspended
various state mandates as a mechanism for cost savings. Among
the mandates that were suspended were all six existing
elections-related mandates. Additionally, the 2013-2014 state
budget that was approved by the Legislature earlier this month
suspended three additional newly identified elections-related
mandates. This bill adds another mandate on local elections
officials. The Committee may wish to consider whether it is
desirable to create new election mandates when current
elections-related mandates are suspended.
6)Previous Legislation : AB 1440 (Swanson), Chapter 395,
Statutes of 2009, allows emergency personnel who are
officially engaged in responding to a state of emergency after
a disaster such as fire or an earthquake to vote in an
election by casting a provisional ballot within any county in
California.
7)Related Legislation : AB 214 (Skinner), which is pending in
the Senate Appropriations Committee, would require the SOS, by
December 31, 2014, in consultation with county elections
officials, to establish procedures and guidelines for voting
in the event of a natural disaster or other state of
emergency. AB 214 passed out of this committee on a 5-0 vote.
SB 362
Page 7
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Red Cross
California Professional Firefighters
California State Council of the Service Employees International
Union
National Council of Jewish Women, California
Pacific Gas and Electric
PowerPAC.org
Rock the Vote
Sacramento Municipal Utility District
San Diego Gas & Electric Company
Secretary of State Debra Bowen
Southern California Gas Company
VerifiedVoting.org
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094