BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 44| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 44 Author: Mullin (D), et al. Amended: 8/31/15 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 4-0, 6/30/15 AYES: Allen, Anderson, Hertzberg, Liu NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 8/27/15 AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza NOES: Bates, Nielsen ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-4, 6/2/15 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Elections: statewide recounts SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill creates a new state-funded recount process, as specified. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1) Allows any voter, within five days following the completion of the official canvass and following the completion of any postcanvass risk-limiting audit conducted pursuant to existing law, to request in writing that the elections official responsible for conducting an election commence a recount of the votes cast for candidates for any office or AB 44 Page 2 for or against any measure, provided the office or measure is not voted on statewide. Allows a recount for an election that is conducted in more than one county to be conducted in any or all of the affected counties. 2) Allows any voter, following the completion of the official canvass and within five days beginning on the 29th day after a statewide election, to file with the Secretary of State (SOS) a written request for a recount of the votes cast for candidates for any statewide office or for or against any measure voted on statewide. Allows any voter, within five days following the completion of any postcanvass risk-limiting audit conducted pursuant to existing law, to file with the SOS a written request for a recount of the votes cast for candidates for any statewide office or for or against any measure voted on statewide. Requires a request filed to specify in which county or counties the recount is sought and specify on behalf of which candidate, slate of electors, or position on a measure it is filed. Permits a request to specify the order in which the precincts shall be recounted. 3) Permits any other voter, at any time during the conduct of a recount and for 24 hours thereafter, to request the recount of any precincts in an election for the same office, slate of presidential electors, or measure not recounted as a result of the original request. 4) Requires a voter seeking the recount, before the recount is commenced and at the beginning of each subsequent day, to deposit with the elections official the amount of money required by the elections official to cover the cost of the recount for that day. 5) Requires the recount to commence not more than seven days following the receipt by the elections official of the request for the recount and to continue daily, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excepted, for not less than six hours each day until completed. 6) Provides that if in the election which is to be recounted the votes were recorded by means of a punchcard voting system or AB 44 Page 3 by electronic or electromechanical vote tabulating devices, the voter who files the declaration requesting the recount may select whether the recount shall be conducted manually, or by means of the voting system used originally, or both. 7) Requires the recount to be conducted publicly. 8) Permits all ballots, whether voted or not, and any other relevant material, to be examined as part of any recount if the voter filing the declaration requesting the recount so requests. 9) Requires the SOS, within the SOS's existing budget, to adopt regulations no later than January 2008, for each voting system approved for use in the state and specify the procedures for recounting ballots, including vote-by-mail and provisional ballots, using those voting systems. This bill: 1) Provides that, within five days after the SOS files a statement of the vote, the Governor may order a state-funded manual recount of all votes cast for a statewide office or state ballot measure if any of the following occurs, except as provided in 3) below: a) The official canvass of returns in a statewide primary election shows that the difference in the number of votes received by the second and third place candidates for a statewide office is less than or equal to the lesser of 1,000 votes or 0.00015 of the number of all votes cast for that office; b) The official canvass of returns in a statewide general election shows that the difference in the number of votes received by the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes for a statewide office is less than or equal to the lesser of 1,000 votes or 0.00015 of the number of all votes cast for that office; or, c) The official canvass of returns in a statewide election shows that the difference in the number of votes AB 44 Page 4 cast for and against a state ballot measure is less than or equal to the lesser of 1,000 votes or 0.00015 of the number of all votes cast on the measure. 2) Prohibits the Governor from ordering a state-funded manual recount of all votes cast for the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction unless the official canvass of returns in a statewide primary election shows either of the following: a) The number of votes received by the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes was either of the following: i) Between 0.49985 and 0.50015, inclusive, of the number of all votes cast. ii) Within 1,000 votes of 50 percent of the number of all votes cast. b) No candidate for the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction received votes on a majority of all the ballots cast for candidates for that office and the difference in the number of votes received by the second and third place candidates for that office was less than or equal to the lesser of 1,000 votes or 0.00015 of the number of all votes cast for that office. 3) Provides that, if the conditions set forth above are satisfied with respect to the number of votes cast for the office of Governor, the Secretary of State, but not the Governor, may order a state-funded manual recount pursuant to this bill. 4) 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 States Senate. 5) Prohibits another recount from being conducted if a state-funded recount is conducted pursuant to the provisions of this bill. AB 44 Page 5 6) Requires the state to reimburse counties for costs resulting from conducting a manual recount, pursuant to this bill, in an expeditious manner upon the certification of those costs. 7) Requires the SOS, upon the Governor or the SOS ordering a recount, to notify the elections official of each county and direct the county elections official to recount all the votes cast for the office or for and against the state ballot measure. 8) Requires a county elections official, while conducting a recount, to also review ballots rejected in accordance with existing law to ensure that no ballots were improperly discarded during the initial canvass. Requires the process for reviewing rejected ballots to be open to members of the public, including persons associated with a campaign or measure. 9) Requires the elections official in each county to complete a state-funded recount as follows: a) In a primary election, by three business days before the SOS issues the certified list of candidates for the associated general election; or, b) In a general election, within 60 days of the Governor or the SOS ordering the recount. 10) Permits the SOS to adopt, amend, and repeal rules and regulations necessary for the administration of the provisions of this bill. 11) Specifies that a county elections official shall only be required to conduct a recount to the extent funds are appropriated for recount purposes in the annual Budget Act or other statute. 12) Requires the SOS, no later than January 1, 2018, to revise and adopt regulations specifying procedures for recounting AB 44 Page 6 ballots, including regulations establishing guidelines for charges a county elections official may impose when conducting a manual recount. 13) Changes the starting day on which a recount may be requested for a recount that is conducted in more than one county from the 29th day after the election to the 31st day after the election. 14) Requires a county elections official, if more than one voter requests a recount for the same office or measure, and at least one request is for a manual recount, to conduct only one manual recount of the ballots subject to recount, the result of which shall be controlling. 15) Repeals provisions of law that permitted a voter who files a declaration requesting a recount to select whether the recount is conducted manually, or by means of the voting system used originally, or both, and instead requires if the votes subject to recount were cast or tabulated by a voting system, the voter requesting the recount shall, for each set of ballots cast or tabulated by a type of voting system to only select whether the recount is conducted manually, or by means of the voting system used originally. Only one method of recount may be used for all ballots cast or tabulated by the same type of voting system. 16) Provides that if an office, slate of presidential electors, or measure are voted on statewide, the results of any recount will be declared null and void if each vote cast statewide for the office, slates, or measure is not recounted. 17) Prohibits the SOS from certifying or conditionally approving a voting system that cannot facilitate the conduct of a ballot level comparison risk-limiting audit. 18) Defines a voting system that is "noncompliant" as a voting system that cannot facilitate the conduct of a ballot level comparison risk-limiting audit. 19)Allows the SOS, until January 1, 2021, to approve a proposed change or modification to a noncompliant voting system even AB 44 Page 7 if the voting system will remain noncompliant after the change or modification. 20) Makes other technical and corresponding changes. Background Existing law permits any registered voter to request a recount within five days following the completion of the official canvass. The voter requesting the recount must specify on behalf of which candidate, slate of electors, or position on a measure it is filed. Additionally, at any time during the conduct of a recount and for 24 hours thereafter, current law allows any voter other than the original requestor to request a recount of additional precincts. The voter filing the request for the recount is required to deposit, before the recount commences and at the beginning of each day following, sums as required by the elections official to cover the cost of the recount for that day. If upon completion of the recount, the results are reversed, the deposit shall be returned. Comments 1) 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 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 AB 44 Page 8 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 at the discretion of the Governor, when the difference is below a threshold of 1,000 votes or 0.015 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. 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. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: Yes According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: 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 could potentially reach the low millions of dollars per recount. The SOS Office would incur a one-time cost of $55,000 (General Fund) to promulgate regulations. SUPPORT: (Verified8/28/15) Secretary of State Alex Padilla California Association of Clerks and Election Officials FairVote AB 44 Page 9 Los Angeles County Democratic Party Santa Clara Board of Supervisors VerifiedVoting.org Voting Rights Task Force Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club OPPOSITION: (Verified8/28/15) None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Secretary of State Alex Padilla states in support of this bill: AB 44 would make substantial improvements to election recount and audit laws for statewide candidates and ballot measures. AB 44 provides for efficient and cost effective recount practices; specifies the timeline for requesting a recount and authorizes voters to choose between a manual or system recount type - but not both. Given the cost concerns for recounts, this bill also tasks my office with crafting uniform guidelines for costs that a county may charge to those who request a recount. This bill also helps ensure that elections officials will have access to the most workable recount technology going forward. For new voting systems, AB 44 prohibits the Secretary of State from certifying or conditionally approving a system that cannot facilitate the conduct of a ballot level comparison risk-limiting audit. ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-4, 6/2/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, AB 44 Page 10 Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NOES: Travis Allen, Beth Gaines, Harper, Patterson NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Chávez Prepared by:Frances Tibon Estoista / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106 8/31/15 8:33:32 **** END ****