BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 44
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
44 (Mullin)
As Amended August 31, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |74-4 |(June 2, 2015) |SENATE: |35-4 |(September 3, |
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Original Committee Reference: E. & R.
SUMMARY: Creates a new state-funded recount process, as
specified. Specifically, this bill:
1)Permits the Governor to order a state-funded manual recount of
all votes cast for a statewide office or state ballot measure,
as specified, if any of the following occurs:
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;
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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 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 another recount from being conducted if a
state-funded recount is conducted pursuant to the provisions
of this bill.
3)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.
4)Requires a county elections official, while conducting a
recount pursuant to the provisions of this bill, to also
review ballots rejected in accordance with existing law to
ensure that no ballots were improperly discarded during the
initial canvass.
5)Requires the Secretary of State (SOS), no later than January
1, 2018, to revise and adopt regulations specifying procedures
for recounting ballots, including regulations establishing
guidelines for charges a county elections official may impose
when conducting a manual recount.
6)Requires a county elections official, if more than one voter
requests a recount for the same office, slate of presidential
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electors, 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.
7)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.
8)Prohibits the SOS from certifying or conditionally approving a
voting system that cannot facilitate the conduct of a ballot
level comparison risk-limiting audit, as specified.
The Senate amendments:
1)Delete provisions of the bill that permitted any voter to
request a state-funded manual recount and instead authorizes
the Governor to order a state-funded manual recount, as
specified.
2)Prohibit the Governor from ordering a state-funded manual
recount of all votes cast for the office of Superintendent of
Public Instruction (SPI) pursuant to the provisions of this
bill 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; or,
ii) Within 1,000 votes of 50% of the number of all votes
cast.
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b) No candidate for the office of SPI 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)Permit the SOS, not the Governor, to order a state-funded
manual recount of all votes cast for the office of the
Governor, as specified.
4)Provide that a county elections official shall only be
required to conduct a state-funded manual recount pursuant to
the provisions of this bill to the extent that funds are
appropriated for the purposes of a state-funded manual recount
in the annual Budget Act or other statute.
5)Delete provisions of the bill that required the state-funded
manual recount provisions to sunset on January 1, 2023.
6)Make other technical conforming changes.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)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 and whether or not a recount is
ordered, but could potentially reach the low millions of
dollars per recount.
2)The SOS would incur a one-time cost of $55,000 (General Fund)
to promulgate regulations.
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COMMENTS: According to the author, "In the June 2014 primary,
former Assembly Speaker John Pérez 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?"
The Senate amendments make substantive and technical changes to
the bill. First, the Senate amendments delete provisions of the
bill that permitted any voter to request a state-funded manual
recount and instead permit the Governor to order a state-funded
manual recount, as specified. Second, the amendments permit the
SOS, instead of the Governor, to order a state-funded manual
recount of all votes cast for the office of the Governor.
Third, the amendments clarify when a state-funded manual recount
for the office of SPI may be ordered by the Governor. Fourth,
the amendments delete provisions of the bill that required the
state-funded manual recount provisions to sunset on January 1,
2023. In addition, the amendments provide that a county
elections official shall only be required to conduct a
state-funded manual recount pursuant to the provisions of this
bill to the extent that funds are appropriated for the purposes
of a state-funded manual recount in the annual Budget Act or
other statute. Finally, the amendments make other technical
conforming changes.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by:
Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN:
0001800
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