AB 1921, as amended, 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 wouldbegin insert remove those
restrictions andend insert instead authorizebegin insert the designation ofend insert any person to returnbegin delete theend deletebegin insert aend insert vote by mailbegin delete 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 mailend delete 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.begin insert The bill would state that any person in charge of a vote by mail ballotend insertbegin insert who knowingly and willingly engages in criminal acts related to that ballot is subject to the appropriate punishment pursuant to existing law.end insert
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 designate
any person to return the ballot to
13the elections official from whom it came or to the precinct board
14at a polling place within the jurisdiction. The ballot must, however,
15be received by either the elections official from whom it came or
16the precinct board before the close of the polls on election day.
17(b) The elections official shall establish procedures to ensure
18the secrecy of a ballot returned to a precinct polling place and the
19security, confidentiality, and integrity of any personal information
20collected, stored, or otherwise used pursuant to this section.
21(c) On or before March 1, 2008, the elections official shall
22establish procedures to track and confirm the receipt of voted vote
23by mail ballots and to make this information available by means
24of online
access using the county’s elections division Internet Web
25site. If the county does not have an elections division Internet Web
26site, the elections official shall establish a toll-free telephone
27number that may be used to confirm the date a voted vote by mail
28ballot was received.
P3 1(d) The provisions of this section are mandatory, not directory,
2and a ballot shall not be counted if it is not delivered in compliance
3with this section.
4(e) (1) A vote by mail voter’s ballot may be returned by a paid
5or volunteer worker of a
general purpose committee, controlled
6committee, independent expenditure committee, political party,
7candidate’s campaign committee, or any other group or
8organization at whose behest the individual designated to return
9the ballot is performing a service.
10(2) (A)
end delete
11begin insert(e)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insert(1)end insert A person designated to return a vote by mail ballot shall
12not receive any form of compensation based on the number of
13ballots that the person has returned and no individual, group, or
14organization shall provide compensation on this basis.
15(B)
end delete
16begin insert(2)end insert For purposes of this paragraph, “compensation” means any
17form of monetary payment, goods, services, benefits, promises or
18offers of employment, or any other form of consideration offered
19to another person in exchange for returning another voter’s vote
20by mail ballot.
21
(3) Any person in charge of a vote by mail ballot and who
22knowingly and willingly engages in criminal acts related to that
23ballot as described in Division 18 (commencing with Section
2418000), including, but not limited to, fraud, bribery, intimidation,
25and tampering with or failing to deliver the ballot in a timely
26fashion, is subject to the appropriate punishment specified in that
27division.
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