AB 1921, as introduced, Gonzalez. Elections: vote by mail ballots.
Existing law requires that the vote by mail ballot be available to any registered voter. Under existing law, a voter who is unable to return his or her vote by mail ballot may designate his or her spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, or person residing in the same household as the vote by mail voter to return the vote by mail ballot. Except in the case of a candidate or the spouse of a candidate, existing law prohibits the return of a voter’s vote by mail ballot by one of those designees who is also a paid or volunteer worker of a general purpose committee, controlled committee, or any other group or organization at whose behest the individual designated to return the ballot is performing a service.
This bill would instead authorize any person to return the vote by mail ballot and would specifically authorize a paid or volunteer worker of a general purpose committee, controlled committee, or any other group or organization at whose behest the designee is performing a service to return an individual’s vote by mail ballot. The bill would prohibit a person designated to return a vote by mail ballot from receiving any form of compensation, as defined, based on the number of ballots that the person has returned and would prohibit an individual, group, or organization from providing compensation on this basis.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 3017 of the Elections Code is amended
2to read:
(a) All vote by mail ballots cast under this division shall
4be voted on or before the day of the election. After marking the
5ballot, the vote by mail voter shall do any of the following: (1)
6return the ballot by mail or in person to the elections official from
7whom it came, (2) return the ballot in person to a member of a
8precinct board at a polling place within the jurisdiction, or (3)
9return the ballot to the elections official from whom it came at a
10vote by mail ballot drop-off location, if provided pursuant to
11Section 3025. However, a vote by mail voter who is unable to
12return the ballot may designatebegin delete his or her spouse, child, parent, begin insert
any personend insert to return the
13grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, or a person residing in the
14same household as the vote by mail voterend delete
15ballot to the elections official from whom it came or to the precinct
16board at a polling place within the jurisdiction. The ballot must,
17however, be received by either the elections official from whom
18it came or the precinct board before the close of the polls on
19election day.
20(b) The elections official shall establish procedures to ensure
21the secrecy of a ballot returned to a precinct polling place and the
22security, confidentiality, and integrity of any personal information
23collected, stored, or otherwise used pursuant to this section.
24(c) On or before March 1, 2008, the elections official shall
25establish procedures to track and confirm the receipt of voted vote
26by mail ballots and to make this information available by means
27of online access using the county’s elections division Internet Web
28site. If the county does
not have an elections division Internet Web
29site, the elections official shall establish a toll-free telephone
30number that may be used to confirm the date a voted vote by mail
31ballot was received.
32(d) The provisions of this section are mandatory, not directory,
33and a ballot shall not be counted if it is not delivered in compliance
34with this section.
P3 1(e) begin deleteNotwithstanding subdivision (a), a end deletebegin insert(1)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insertA end insertvote by mail voter’s
2ballotbegin delete shall notend deletebegin insert mayend insert be returned by a paid or volunteer worker of
3a
general purpose committee, controlled committee, independent
4expenditure committee, political party, candidate’s campaign
5committee, or any other group or organization at whose behest the
6individual designated to return the ballot is performing a service.begin delete7 However, this
subdivision does not apply to a candidate or a
8candidate’s spouse.end delete
9(2) (A) A person designated to return a vote by mail ballot shall
10not receive any form of compensation based on the number of
11ballots that the person has returned and no individual, group, or
12organization shall provide compensation on this basis.
13(B) For purposes of this paragraph, “compensation” means
14any form of monetary payment, goods, services, benefits, promises
15or offers of
employment, or any other form of consideration offered
16to another person in exchange for returning another voter’s vote
17by mail ballot.
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