BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Ben Allen, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 683 Hearing Date: 6/30/15
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|Author: |Low |
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|Version: |6/23/15 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Frances Tibon Estoista |
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Subject: Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee
DIGEST
This bill, among other things, requires the Secretary of State
(SOS) to establish a Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee
(Committee) and requires the SOS to consult with, and consider
the Committee's recommendations related to improving the
accessibility of elections for voters with disabilities.
ANALYSIS
Existing law :
1) Provides that it is the intent of the Legislature to promote
the fundamental right to vote of visually impaired
individuals, and to make efforts to improve public awareness
of the availability of ballot pamphlet audio recordings and
improve their delivery to these voters.
2) Requires the SOS to establish the Visually Impaired Voter
Assistance Advisory Board (Board). Requires the Board to
consist of the SOS or his or her designee and the following
membership, appointed by the SOS:
a) A representative from the State Advisory Council in
Libraries; and,
b) One member from each of three private organizations.
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Requires two of the
organizations to be representative of organizations
for blind persons in the state.
3) Requires the Board to do all of the following:
a) Establish guidelines for reaching as many visually
impaired persons as practical;
b) Make recommendations to the SOS for improving the
availability and accessibility of ballot pamphlet audio
recordings and their delivery to visually impaired
voters;
c) Increase the distribution of public service
announcements identifying the availability of ballot
pamphlet audio recordings at least 45 days before any
federal, state, or local election; and,
d) Promote the SOS'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.
4) Prohibits a member of the Board from receiving compensation.
Provides that each member shall be reimbursed for his or her
reasonable and necessary expenses in connection with service
on the Board.
5) Requires the SOS to produce an audio recorded version of the
state ballot pamphlet. Requires the audio recorded version
to be made available in quantities to be determined by the
SOS and contain information concerning each statewide
measure, as specified.
6) Requires the SOS to make available the complete state ballot
pamphlet over the Internet. Requires the online version of
the state ballot pamphlet to contain certain voter
information, as specified.
This bill :
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1)Requires the SOS to establish the Voting Accessibility
Advisory Committee (Committee) and requires the SOS to consult
with, and consider the Committee's recommendations related to
improving the accessibility of elections for voters with
disabilities, and permits the SOS to implement the Committee's
recommendations as he or she deems appropriate. Specifically,
this bill:
a) Provides that the Committee consist of the SOS, his or
her designees, and additional members appointed by the SOS.
The appointees shall have demonstrated experience with
accessibility requirements for voters with disabilities or
be a county elections official.
b) The Committee shall serve in an advisory capacity to the
SOS and is required to do all of the following:
i) Establish guidelines for reaching as many voters
with disabilities as practical.
ii) Make recommendations for improving the
availability and accessibility of election materials,
including but not limited to sample ballots, voter
information pamphlets, and vote-by-mail ballots, and
their delivery to voters with disabilities, either in
print or alternate formats.
iii) Make recommendations for improving the
accessibility of election materials made available on
Internet Web sites that are in compliance with 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.
iv) Promote the SOS's toll-free voter registration
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telephone line for citizens needing voter registration
information, including information for individuals with
disabilities, and the California State Library and
regional library services for individuals who are unable
to read conventional print due to a visual, intellectual,
learning, physical, or any other disability.
v) Make recommendations for providing voters with
disabilities the same access and participation as is
provided to other voters who are not disabled, including
the ability to vote privately and independently.
vi) Establish subcommittees to further the scope
and purposes of the committee as they relate to improving
voter services and access for individuals with
disabilities, including, but not limited to, visually
impaired voters and deaf or hard of hearing voters.
vii) Promote the use of plain language and
alternative formats for election materials.
viii) Make recommendations for materials used to
train poll workers on issues related to serving voters
with disabilities and providing accessible voting
locations.
ix) Establish subcommittees on, including but not
limited to, visually impaired voters and deaf or hard of
hearing voters.
2)Requires information made available by the SOS over the
Internet meet or exceed 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 (WCAG) 2.0 adopted by the World Wide
Web Consortium for accessibility. Permits the SOS to
implement recommendations of the Committee.
3)Requires county and city elections officials that make the
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sample ballot, voter pamphlet, notice of polling place and
associated materials accessible on the county's or city's
Internet Web site to meet or exceed 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 WCAG 2.0
adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium for accessibility.
Permits election officials to implement recommendations of the
Committee made pursuant to the guidelines promulgated by the
SOS related to the accessibility of polling places by the
physically handicapped.
4)Makes other technical changes.
BACKGROUND
Visually Impaired Voter Assistance Act of 1989 : Existing law
required the SOS to establish the Board in 1989. One of the
main purposes of the Board is to establish guidelines for
reaching as many visually impaired individuals as practical and
make recommendations to the SOS for improving the availability
and accessibility of ballot pamphlet audio recordings and their
delivery to visually impaired voters. However, according to the
SOS's office, the Board is not currently functioning and has
been incorporated into the SOS's Statewide Voting Accessibility
Advisory Committee (Committee).
Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee : On the state level,
the SOS has established the statewide Committee, which is
designed to advise, assist, and provide recommendations to the
SOS's office on how voters with disabilities can vote
independently and privately. For instance, Committee members
have been influential in assisting with numerous projects,
including the polling place accessibility guidelines. Committee
members have also helped raise awareness of disability issues
through their involvement in the development of the voter
accessibility survey and production of the polling place
accessibility surveyor training video.
On the local level, some county elections officials have
established local voting accessibility advisory committees to
help advise and assist on local election issues. For example,
Los Angeles County established a local VAAC Committee in 2006 to
assist the registrar-recorder/county clerk in implementing
innovative strategies and improving accessibility and
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participation in the election process for individuals within the
full spectrum of disabilities.
Voter Materials Online : On the state level, existing law
requires the SOS to make the state ballot pamphlet available
over the Internet and also requires the SOS to establish
processes that enable a voter to opt out of receiving by mail
the state ballot pamphlet and instead receive it in an
electronic format or an electronic notification making the
pamphlet available by means of online access. This requirement,
however, is not effective until the SOS certifies that the
statewide voter database known as VoteCal is operational.
According to the SOS, the VoteCal database is expected to be
fully deployed by the end of June 2016.
On the local level, existing law permits county elections
officials to provide voter materials online. Specifically,
existing law permits county 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
Internet Web site.
COMMENTS
1) According to the author , In 2010, legislation was passed to
allow county and city officials to provide election
information in an electronic format via email or by making
them accessible on their internet web site. While some
counties and cities have adopted this process, election
information provided electronically is not always accessible
for voters with disabilities. Audio recordings of voter
pamphlets or sample ballots are sometimes available but there
is little, if any, candidate information available in an
accessible format. This is particularly true for local
elections where candidate information or ballot issues are
not always accessible.
AB 683 will require the Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee
(VAAC) to provide the Secretary of State with recommendations
on making election information and the election process more
accessible for voters with disabilities. The bill further
allows the VAAC to establish subcommittees to improve
services and accessibility for voters with disabilities,
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including but not limited to, visually impaired and deaf or
hard of hearing voters.
By making information available in accessible formats people
with disabilities can use their own accessible technologies
to research candidates and issues that appear on their
ballot. AB 683 will allow all voters to be better
participants in our democracy.
2) New Electronic and Information Technology Requirement . This
bill requires information made available over the Internet to
comply with standards under Section 508 of the federal
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794d) and the WCAG
2.0 adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium for
accessibility.
Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act requires federal
agencies' electronic and information technology be accessible
to people with disabilities, including employees and members
of the public. Specifically, Section 508 establishes
requirements for any electronic and information technology
developed, maintained, procured, or used by the federal
government.
The WCAG 2.0 covers a wide range of recommendations for making
web content more accessible. The objective of the guidelines
is to make content accessible to a wider range of people with
disabilities, including blindness and low vision, deafness
and hearing loss, learning disabilities, cognitive
limitations, limited movement, speech disabilities,
photosensitivity and combinations of these. WCAG 2.0 was
developed in cooperation with individuals and organizations
around the world, with a goal of providing a shared standard
for web content accessibility that meets the needs of
individuals, organizations, and governments internationally.
WCAG 2.0 builds on WCAG 1.0 and is designed to apply broadly
to different web technologies now and in the future, and to
be testable with a combination of automated testing and human
evaluation.
According to the SOS's office, the SOS's Internet Web site
mostly complies with Section 508 of the federal
Rehabilitation Act, however, it is unclear whether the SOS's
Internet Web site currently complies with the WCAG 2.0
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standard adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium for
accessibility.
PRIOR ACTION
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|Assembly Floor: |76 - 0 |
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|Assembly Appropriations Committee: |15 - 0 |
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|Assembly Elections and Redistricting | 7 - 0 |
|Committee: | |
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POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: None received
Oppose: California Council of the Blind
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