BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      AB 44


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          Date of Hearing:  May 6, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          AB  
          44 (Mullin) - As Amended April 27, 2015


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          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:








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          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'  








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            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  








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          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  








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          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