BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 589
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Date of Hearing: July 3, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 589 (Hill) - As Amended: June 4, 2013
Policy Committee: ElectionsVote:6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill:
1)Requires election officials to establish a free access system
that allows a vote-by-mail (VBM) voter to confirm whether
their VBM ballot was counted and, if not, the reason it was
not counted. This system is to be available for at least 30
days after completion of the official canvas following an
election.
2)Permits an elections official not to mail a sample ballot to a
permanent VBM voter if the elections official mails to every
voter a voter information guide, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Given that similar notifications are already required for
provisional ballots and that VBM voters may already obtain
information regarding whether their ballot was received (see
Comments #2d and #2e), any additional reimbursable costs to
inform a VBM voter should be minor.
2)Potential minor savings to counties in printing and mailing
costs from omitting sample ballot language from the voter
information guide sent to permanent VBM voters.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . Under current law, there are a number of reasons why
a VBM ballot that was completed and returned to the elections
official may not be counted. Two of the most common reasons
are (a) ballots arriving after election day, and (b) the
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signature on the identification envelope does not match the
one on the original affidavit of registration. (Illness and
age can be factors that contribute to a signature changing
over time.)
By providing VBM voters an opportunity to verify if their
ballot has been counted, and a reason if it was not counted,
voters whose ballots were unable to be counted can take
appropriate steps to ensure that their VBM ballots are counted
in the future. VBM balloting has increased significantly, and
reached 51% of all ballots cast in the November 2012 election.
Almost 60,000 of the 6.7 million VBM ballots cast in that
election were rejected, however.
In addition, SB 589 allows county registrars to omit the
sample ballot language when mailing the voter information
guide to permanent VBM voters. This cost-saving option is
reasonable since these voters will receive their actual ballot
shortly after they receive the voter information guide.
Instead of receiving the ballot language twice, VBM voters
will receive it once, when they receive their ballot.
2)Prior Legislation .
a) AB 294 (Hill), which contained the free access
provisions of this bill, was vetoed, with Governor Brown
expressing concern over establishing a new reimbursable
state mandate.
b) AB 84 (Hill) of 2009, another similar bill, was vetoed
by Governor Schwarzenegger over concerns about adding a
cost burden to counties. A substantially similar bill, AB
2964 (Levine) of 2008, was one of numerous bills summarily
vetoed by the governor without a stated objection.
c) AB 2616 (Hill) of 2010, which would have allowed VBM
voters to check their status on the Secretary of State's
website upon implementation of the statewide voter
registration database, was vetoed over cost concerns.
d) SB 1725 (Bowen)/Chapter 687 of 2006, requires election
officials to establish procedures to track and confirm the
receipt of VBM ballots and to make this information
available by means of online access using the county's
elections division web site, or if none is available, by
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means of a toll-free telephone number.
e) SB 613 (Perata)/Chapter 613 of 2003, in part required
establishment of a free access system allowing a voter
casting a provisional ballot to confirm whether the ballot
was counted and, if not, the reason it was not counted.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081