BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 44 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 6, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 44 (Mullin) - As Amended April 27, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Elections and Redistricting |Vote:|6 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable: Yes SUMMARY: This bill, until January 1, 2023, establishes a state-funded recount process for elections involving statewide elective offices and state ballot measures. Specifically, this bill: AB 44 Page 2 1)Permits any voter, within five days after the Secretary of State (SOS) files a statement of the vote, to request a state-funded manual recount of all votes cast for a statewide office or state ballot measure if the difference in votes received is less than or equal to the lesser of 1,000 votes or 0.015 of one percent of the number of all votes cast for a state ballot measure or: a) For the second and third place candidates for a statewide office in a statewide primary election, or b) For the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes for a statewide office in a statewide general election. 2)Defines "statewide office," for the purposes of this bill, to mean the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Controller, Insurance Commissioner, SOS, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Treasurer, or Member of the United State Senate. 3)Permits any voter, within five days after the SOS files a statement of the vote for a statewide general election, to request a state-funded manual recount of all votes cast for the office President of the United States if the difference in votes received by the two candidates receiving the most votes is the same as the parameters in (1) above. 4)Stipulates that the state shall expeditiously reimburse counties for the costs of the recount upon certification of those costs, and requires the SOS to adopt regulations, by January 1, 2018, establishing uniform guidelines for counties' AB 44 Page 3 charges for a recount, 5)Requires county elections officials, while conducting a recount, to also review ballots previously rejected during the initial canvas and to complete the recounts: a) Following a primary election, by three days before the ballot-printing deadline. b) Following a general election, within 60 days of the voter's request for a recount. FISCAL EFFECT: State costs to reimburse counties for a state-funded recount would depend in part on the number of votes cast for the particular office or measure, but would likely be from a few million dollars to several million dollars per recount. COMMENTS: Purpose. According to the author, "In the June 2014 primary, former Assembly Speaker John Perez trailed Board of Equalization Member Betty Yee by only 481 votes out of roughly four million. This very narrow margin prompted him to request a recount, which current law permits. When he did so, deep flaws in California's AB 44 Page 4 existing recount process were revealed: it allows statewide results to be overturned by a partial recount and it favors candidates who can afford to pay. "Current law allows candidates to specify the counties they want to recount, and if they make up the vote difference in those counties, the entire outcome of the election changes. In response, their opponent can take a turn in selecting counties in an effort to recover the lost votes. This inefficient back and forth could continue until every vote is counted or until a candidate runs out of money. It raises the question of fairness: Should the person with the deepest pockets be able to "out-recount" his opponent? "The obvious answer is "no." In statewide elections, where millions of ballots are cast, the state should be responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the vote, not a candidate or voter. Above all, our system of governance demands that the election process is fair and transparent for all voters and candidates. "AB 44 creates a more equitable elections process by authorizing a state-funded option for recounts, available at or below a threshold of 1,000 votes or 0.015 [of one] percent, whichever is smaller. When this option is utilized, the state will fund a full hand recount of all ballots cast, while also re-examining any rejected ballots. When the state-funded threshold is not met, the bill permits candidates to fund their own statewide AB 44 Page 5 recounts, reimbursing them if the original results are overturned. Ensuring accurate election outcomes should be a priority for the state, and by creating a state-funded option for very close contests, AB 44 accomplishes this important goal." Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081