BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 363
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
363 (Steinorth)
As Amended August 17, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(June 2, 2015) |SENATE: |40-0 |(September 2, |
| | | | | |2015) |
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Original Committee Reference: E. & R.
SUMMARY: Authorizes county elections officials, on election
day, to begin accounting and processing polling place ballots
during the day, instead of waiting until the closing of the
polls, as specified. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes a precinct board, when accounting for ballots at
the closing of the polls, as specified, to either account for
the ballots at a polling place or to be performed by the
elections official at a central counting place, instead of
only allowing a precinct board to account for ballots at a
polling place.
2)Permits a county elections official, before the closing of the
polls instead of at the close of the polls, to direct a
precinct board to seal the ballot container and record on
forms prescribed by the elections official the information
AB 363
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needed for the reconciliation of ballots, as specified.
3)Allows a county elections official to direct a precinct board
to seal the ballot container prior to the closing of the polls
in accordance with existing law. Permits a county elections
official, as soon as the container is sealed, to direct at
least two elections officials to remove the sealed ballot
container of voted untallied ballots from the polling place
and, in the presence of any bystanders, to deliver the
container to a receiving center or central counting place as
directed. Allows a county elections official, upon receipt of
a container at a receiving center or central counting place,
to process the voted untallied ballots. Prohibits the tally
of ballots or release of any results prior to the closing of
the polls.
4)Requires the elections officials to notify the public 48 hours
before election day of the dates, times and places where
ballot containers will be delivered.
5)Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to adopt regulations
addressing the secure delivery and transfer of ballots to a
receiving center or central counting place.
6)Makes other technical changes.
The Senate amendments make non-substantive technical changes.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill was substantially similar
to the version approved by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, the SOS indicates that it would incur a one-time
General Fund cost of $55,000 to promulgate regulations resulting
from this bill.
AB 363
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COMMENTS: According to the author, "AB 363 will improve
election efficiency by allowing for ballots to be picked up from
Election Day polling places and processed at a central counting
location before the polls are closed. In doing so, election
results will be reported much sooner on election night, and
counties will save taxpayer dollars by reducing overtime costs.
Further, this bill will give election officials the option to
modify current ballot reconciliation procedures in an attempt to
make them more effective and secure.
"Existing law allows for [vote by mail] ballots which have been
dropped off at polling places to be transported prior to the
close of polls, but inconsistently, the law does not allow for
early pick-up of ballots which had been cast at the polling
place. Allowing for early pick-up of all ballots will make a
critical difference in geographically expansive counties, within
which it may take hours to transport ballots from a remote
polling location to the counting location."
Existing law establishes procedures for processing ballots
following the closing of the polls on election day.
Specifically, once the polls close, current law requires members
of the precinct board to account for ballots delivered to them
whether voted, unused, spoiled, or canceled. This process is
commonly known as ballot reconciliation. Existing law prohibits
a ballot container from being opened until after the polls are
closed and further prohibits the removal of a ballot container
from a polling place until all ballots are counted. Once
reconciliation is completed, ballot containers are allowed to be
delivered to their assigned receiving center or central counting
location for processing.
This bill authorizes county elections officials to use an
additional reconciliation procedure. First, this bill permits
the ballot reconciliation process to begin before the polls
close, instead of after the polls close. Second, this bill
allows ballot containers to be transported to a receiving center
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or central counting place for ballot reconciliation and
processing before the polls close. These are significant
departures from current practice which prohibits the removal of
a ballot container from a polling place until all ballots are
counted and further prohibits a ballot container from being
opened until after the polls are closed. According to the
author and the proponents of this bill, this new procedure is a
much needed option for county elections officials, especially
those counties that are geographically expansive. Proponents
contend that the new ballot reconciliation process outlined in
this bill will expedite ballot processing by allowing ballots to
be processed and transported to counting locations prior to the
closing of the polls as well as provide for more timely results,
reduce election administrative costs, and increase overall
election efficiency.
The Senate amendments make non-substantive technical changes.
This bill, as amended in the Senate, is consistent with Assembly
actions.
Analysis Prepared by:
Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN:
0001681