BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1921
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1921 (Gonzalez)
As Amended April 11, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Elections |5-2 |Weber, Gordon, Low, |Harper, Travis |
| | |Mullin, Nazarian |Allen |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Permits a vote by mail (VBM) voter to who is unable to
return his or her ballot to designate any person to return the
ballot, as specified. Prohibits a designated person from
receiving any form of compensation based on the number ballots
that person returns, as specified. Specifically, this bill:
1)Deletes provisions of law that allow a VBM voter who is unable
to return his or her ballot to designate his or her spouse,
child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, or a
person residing in the same household as the VBM voter to
return the ballot, and instead permits the VBM voter to
designate any person to return the ballot.
AB 1921
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2)Prohibits a person designated to return a VBM ballot from
receiving any form of compensation based on the number of
ballots that the person has returned and prohibits an
individual, group, or organization from providing compensation
on this basis.
3)Defines "compensation" to mean any form of monetary payment,
goods, services, benefits, promises or offers of employment,
or any other form of consideration offered to another person
in exchange for returning another voter's VBM ballot.
4)Provides that any person in charge of a VBM ballot who
knowingly and willingly engages in criminal acts related to
that ballot as described under current law, including, but not
limited to, fraud, bribery, intimidation, and tampering with
or failing to deliver the ballot in a timely fashion, is
subject to the appropriate punishment pursuant to existing
law.
5)Repeals provisions of law that prohibit a VBM voter's ballot
from being returned by a paid or volunteer worker of a general
purpose committee, controlled committee, independent
expenditure committee, political party, candidate's campaign
committee, or any other group or organization at whose behest
the individual designated to return the ballot is performing a
service.
FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: According to the author,
AB 1921
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AB 1921 will allow voters to designate a person of their
own choosing to return a completed mail ballot to the
proper drop-off location or post office. Currently in
code, voters are only allowed to designate a person from
the arbitrary list of 'spouse, child, parent,
grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, or a person
residing in the same household as the vote by mail voter'
to return a mail ballot. While perhaps a well-meaning
attempt at defining those who would be trusted by the
voter, these restrictions simply provide yet another
obstacle for individuals attempting to vote, without any
evidence based justification against voter fraud?
In order to further protect every vote, this bill would
prohibit individual canvassers or volunteers from
engaging in any sort of paid-per ballot or
performance-based compensation schemes based on the
number of ballots deposited or collected by that person.
The practical effect of this bill is that a VBM voter may
designate any person such as a co-worker, friend,
neighbor, or even a campaign worker to drop off his or
her VBM ballot.
Other states allow a voter to designate any person to
drop off his or her mail ballot. For example, Colorado
permits a person to drop off up to 10 mail ballots, as
specified. Oregon state law permits a person who returns
a ballot for an elector to return the ballot no later
than two days after receiving the ballot in accordance
with existing law. Moreover, Texas state law permits a
voter who is eligible to vote by mail to designate any
person to drop off his or her ballot, however, the
designated person is required to put his or her name and
address on the carrier envelope as a witness or
AB 1921
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assistant, as specified. The Texas Secretary of State's
web site also recommends a VBM voter to decline
assistance from a political organization and to instead
select a trusted relative or friend to return the mail
ballot.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by:
Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN:
0002810