Amended in Assembly March 24, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 683

Introduced by Assembly Member Low

February 25, 2015

An act to amend begin delete Section 19271 end delete begin insert Sections 2053, 9082.7, and 13300.7 end insert of the Elections Code, relating to begin delete voting systems. end delete begin insert ballot materials. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 683, as amended, Low. begin delete Direct recording electronic voting systems. end delete begin insert Online ballot materials: accessibility. end insert

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Under existing law, the Visually Impaired Voter Assistance Act of 1989, the Secretary of State is required to establish a Visually Impaired Voter Assistance Board to, among other things, make recommendations to the Secretary of State for improving the availability and accessibility of ballot pamphlet audio recordings and their delivery to visually impaired voters. Existing law also requires the Secretary of State to make available the complete state ballot pamphlet over the Internet, which is required to include specified information. Existing law further authorizes county and city elections officials to establish procedures designed to permit a voter to opt out of receiving his or her sample ballot, voter pamphlet, notice of polling place, and associated materials by mail, and instead obtain them electronically via email or by accessing them on the county’s or city’s Internet Web site, as specified.

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This bill would require the Visually Impaired Voter Assistance Board to make additional recommendations to the Secretary of State for improving the accessibility of election materials made available over the Internet, as specified. The bill would also require the elections materials made available over the Internet to conform to certain standards and guidelines, as specified.

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Existing law prohibits the Secretary of State from approving, and prohibits a city or county from contracting for or purchasing, a direct recording electronic voting system, defined as a voting system that records a vote electronically and does not require or permit the voter to record his or her vote directly onto a tangible ballot. Existing law defines the term “voter verified paper audit trail” as a component of a direct recording electronic voting system that prints a contemporaneous paper record copy of each electronic ballot and allows each voter to confirm his or her selections before the voter casts his or her ballot.

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This bill would revise the definition of “voter verified paper audit trail” to instead mean a component of a direct recording electronic voting system that prints a synchronous paper record facsimile of each electronic ballot and allows each voter to confirm his or her selections before the voter casts his or her ballot.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 2053 of the end insert begin insert Elections Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

2053.  

(a) The Secretary of State shall establish a Visually
Impaired Voter Assistance Advisory Board. begin delete This end delete begin insert The end insert board shall
consist of the Secretary of State begin insert , end insert or his or her designee begin insert , end insert and the
following membership, appointed by the Secretary of State:

(1) A representative from the State Advisory Council on
Libraries.

(2) One member from each of three private organizations. Two
of the organizations shall be representative of organizations for
blind persons in the state.

(b) The board shall do all of the following:

(1) Establish guidelines for reaching as many visually impaired
persons as practical.

(2) Make recommendations to the Secretary of State for
improving the availability and accessibility of ballot pamphlet
audio recordings and their delivery to visually impaired voters.
The Secretary of State may implement the recommendations made
by the board.

(3) Increase the distribution of public service announcements
identifying the availability of ballot pamphlet audio recordings at
least 45 days before any federal, state, and local election.

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(4) Make recommendations to the Secretary of State for
improving the accessibility of election materials made available
over the Internet, including the state ballot pamphlet pursuant to
Section 9082.7, the sample ballot and notice of polling place
pursuant to Section 13303, the voter pamphlet pursuant to Section
13307, and any associated materials. In making recommendations
pursuant to this paragraph, the board shall consider the following:

end insert begin insert

(A) Nonvisual accessibility for the blind and visually impaired,
in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access as
provided to other voters who are not disabled.

end insert begin insert

(B) Recommendations from representatives of blind consumer
organizations, experts in accessible software and hardware design,
and any other individual or organization the Secretary of State or
board determines to be appropriate.

end insert begin delete

(4)

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begin insert (5) end insert  Promote the Secretary of State’s toll-free voter registration
telephone line for citizens needing voter registration information,
including information for those who are visually handicapped, and
the toll-free telephone service regarding the California State Library
and regional library service for the visually impaired.

(c)  begin delete No end delete begin insert A end insert member shall begin insert not end insert receive compensation, but each
member shall be reimbursed for his or her reasonable and necessary
expenses in connection with service on the board.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 9082.7 of the end insert begin insert Elections Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

9082.7.  

(a) The Secretary of State shall make available the
complete state ballot pamphlet over the Internet. The online version
of the state ballot pamphlet shall contain all of the following:

(1) For each candidate listed in the pamphlet, a means to access
campaign contribution disclosure reports for the candidate that are
available online.

(2) For each state ballot measure listed in the pamphlet, a means
to access the consolidated information specified in subdivision
(b).

(b) The Secretary of State shall create an Internet Web site, or
use other available technology, to consolidate information about
each state ballot measure in a manner that is easy for voters to
access and understand. The information shall include all of the
following:

(1) A summary of the ballot measure’s content.

(2) The total amount of reported contributions made in support
of and opposition to the ballot measure, calculated and updated as
follows:

(A) (i) The total amount of contributions in support of the ballot
measure shall be calculated by adding together the total amounts
of contributions made in support of the ballot measure and reported
in semiannual statements required by Section 84200 of the
Government Code, preelection statements required by Section
84200.5 of the Government Code, campaign statements required
by Section 84202.3 of the Government Code, and late contribution
reports required by Section 84203 of the Government Code that
are reported within 16 days of the election at which the measure
will appear on the ballot.

(ii) The total amount of contributions in opposition to the ballot
measure shall be calculated by adding together the total amounts
of contributions made in opposition to the ballot measure and
reported in semiannual statements required by Section 84200 of
the Government Code, preelection statements required by Section
84200.5 of the Government Code, campaign statements required
by Section 84202.3 of the Government Code, and late contribution
reports required by Section 84203 of the Government Code that
are reported within 16 days of the election at which the measure
will appear on the ballot.

(iii) For purposes of determining the total amount of reported
contributions pursuant to this subparagraph, the Secretary of State
shall, to the extent practicable with respect to committees primarily
formed to support or oppose a ballot measure, do both of the
following:

(I) Ensure that transfers of funds between primarily formed
committees are not counted twice.

(II) Treat a contribution made to a primarily formed committee
that supports or opposes more than one state ballot measure as if
the total amount of that contribution was made for each state ballot
measure that the committee supports or opposes.

(B) The total amount of reported contributions calculated under
this paragraph for each state ballot measure shall be updated not
later than five business days after receipt of a semiannual statement,
campaign statement, or preelection statement and not later than
two business days after receipt of a late contribution report within
16 days of the election at which the measure will appear on the
ballot.

(C) The total amount of reported contributions calculated under
this paragraph for each state ballot measure shall be accompanied
by an explanation that the contribution totals may be overstated
due to the inclusion of contributions made to committees
supporting or opposing more than one state ballot measure, as
required by subclause (II) of clause (iii) of subparagraph (A).

(3) A current list of the top 10 contributors supporting and
opposing the ballot measure, if compiled by the Fair Political
Practices Commission pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 84223
of the Government Code.

(4) (A) A list of each committee primarily formed to support
or oppose the ballot measure, as described in Section 82047.5 of
the Government Code, and a means to access information about
the sources of funding reported for each committee.

(B) Information about the sources of contributions shall be
updated as new information becomes available to the public
pursuant to the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Title 9 (commencing
with Section 81000) of the Government Code).

(C) If a committee identified in subparagraph (A) receives one
million dollars ($1,000,000) or more in contributions for an
election, the Secretary of State shall provide a means to access
online information about the committee’s top 10 contributors
reported to the Fair Political Practices Commission pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 84223 of the Government Code.

(D) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section
84223 of the Government Code, the Fair Political Practices
Commission shall automatically provide any list of top 10
contributors created pursuant to Section 84223 of the Government
Code, and any subsequent updates to that list, to the Secretary of
State for purposes of compliance with this section.

(5) Any other information deemed relevant by the Secretary of
State.

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(c) Information made available over the Internet pursuant to
this section shall conform to the most current, ratified standards
under Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. Sec. 794d), as amended, and the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines 2.0 adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium for
accessibility. The Secretary of State may also implement
recommendations of the Visually Impaired Voter Assistance
Advisory Board made pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision
(b) of Section 2053.

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begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 13300.7 of the end insert begin insert Elections Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

13300.7.  

Notwithstanding any other begin delete provision of end delete law, county
and city elections officials may establish procedures designed to
permit a voter to opt out of receiving his or her sample ballot, voter
pamphlet, notice of polling place, and associated materials by mail,
and instead obtain them electronically via begin delete e-mail end delete begin insert email end insert or by
accessing them on the county’s or city’s Internet Web site, provided
that all of the following conditions are met:

(a) The procedures establish a method of providing notice of
and an opportunity by which a voter can notify elections officials
of his or her desire to obtain ballot materials electronically in lieu
of receiving them by mail.

(b) The voter begin delete e-mail end delete begin insert email end insert address or any other information
provided by the voter under this section remains confidential
pursuant to Section 6254.4 of the Government Code and Section
2194 of this code.

(c) The procedures provide notice and opportunity for a voter
who has opted out of receiving a sample ballot and other materials
by mail to opt back into receiving them by mail.

(d) The procedures establish a process by which a voter can
apply electronically to become a vote by mail voter.

(e) A voter may only opt out of, or opt back into, receiving his
or her sample ballot and other ballot materials by mail if the
elections official receives the request and can process it prior to
the statutory deadline for the mailing of those materials for the
next election, pursuant to Section 13303. If a voter misses this
deadline, the request shall take effect the following election.

(f) The procedures begin delete must end delete begin insert shall end insert include a verification process to
confirm the voter’s identity, either in writing with a signature card
that can be matched to the one on file with begin insert the end insert elections begin delete officials, end delete
begin insert official, end insert or if the request is submitted electronically, it shall contain
the voter’s California driver’s license number, California
identification number, or a partial social security number.

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(g) Information made available over the Internet pursuant to
this section shall conform to the most current, ratified standards
under Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. Sec. 794d), as amended, and the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines 2.0 adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium for
accessibility. Election officials may also implement
recommendations of the Visually Impaired Voter Assistance
Advisory Board made pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision
(b) of Section 2053, and of any Voting Accessibility Advisory
Committee created pursuant to the guidelines promulgated by the
Secretary of State related to the accessibility of polling places by
the physically handicapped.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 19271 of the Elections Code is amended
to read:

19271.  

As used in this article:

(a) “Accessible” means that the information provided on the
paper record copy from the voter verified paper audit trail
mechanism is provided or conveyed to voters via both a visual and
a nonvisual method, such as through an audio component.

(b) “Direct recording electronic voting system” means a voting
system that records a vote electronically and does not require or
permit the voter to record his or her vote directly onto a tangible
ballot.

(c) “Voter verified paper audit trail” means a component of a
direct recording electronic voting system that prints a synchronous
paper record facsimile of each electronic ballot and allows each
voter to confirm his or her selections before the voter casts his or
her ballot.

(d) “Federal qualification” means the system has been certified,
if applicable, by means of qualification testing by a nationally
recognized test laboratory and has met or exceeded the minimum
requirements set forth in the Performance and Text Standards for
Punch Card, Mark Sense, and Direct Recording Electronic Voting
Systems, or in any successor voluntary standard document,
developed and promulgated by the Federal Election Commission,
the Election Assistance Commission, or the National Institute of
Standards and Technology.

(e) “Paper record copy” means an auditable document printed
by a voter verified paper audit trail component that corresponds
to the voter’s electronic vote and lists the contests on the ballot
and the voter’s selections for those contests. A paper record copy
is not a ballot.

(f) “Parallel monitoring” means the testing of a randomly
selected sampling of voting equipment on election day designed
to simulate actual election conditions to confirm that the system
is registering votes accurately.

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