BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1494
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Date of Hearing: January 21, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
1494 (Levine) - As Amended January 14, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill:
1)Provides an exemption to current law, which prohibits a voter
AB 1494
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from showing his or her completed ballot to another person, by
allowing a voter to take a photograph or digital image of his
or her marked ballot and distribute or share the photograph or
image using social media or by any other means.
2)Stipulates that the activity allowed in (1) shall not be used
to coerce or intimidate a voter, impede a voter's ability to
vote, cause voter delay in a polling place, disrupt a polling
place, or result in a monetary or tangible benefit for any
purpose.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Negligible fiscal impact.
COMMENTS:
1)Background and Purpose. The California Elections Code contains
a number of provisions that are intended to protect the
secrecy of voting. Perhaps most relevant for the purposes of
this bill, state law (first enacted in 1891) prohibits a voter
from showing his or her ballot to any person in such a way as
to reveal the ballot's contents after it has been marked.
This provision can protect a voter from being coerced or
intimidated into showing his or her marked ballot, thereby
safeguarding the voter's right to cast a secret ballot. This
provision also protects against vote buying schemes by
prohibiting a voter from providing proof of his or her vote
selections. The Secretary of State's office indicates that
they have no records of a voter ever having been prosecuted in
the state for showing his or her marked ballot to another
person.
AB 1494
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This bill would expressly provide that the existing law
prohibiting a voter from showing his or her completed ballot
to another person does not prohibit a person from taking a
photograph of his or her completed ballot and sharing that
photograph. According to the author, "Social media is a great
tool for voters to share their civic participation. California
law should encourage voter pride, political speech, and civic
engagement through social media."
2)Opposition. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association states,
"Any process that has the potential to alter the integrity of
the ballot should be refrained from. Current law on this
subject is unambiguous and there is no compelling reason to
diminish that clarity at the potential risk of one's privacy."
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081