BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1494 Page 1 Date of Hearing: January 21, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 1494 (Levine) - As Amended January 14, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Elections and Redistricting |Vote:|4 - 3 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill: 1)Provides an exemption to current law, which prohibits a voter AB 1494 Page 2 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 Page 3 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