BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 44|
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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,
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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
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