BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1970 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair AB 1970 (Low) - As Introduced February 16, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Elections and Redistricting |Vote:|6 - 1 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to promulgate regulations to establish guidelines for county elections officials relating to the processing of vote-by-mail (VBM) and provisional ballots. FISCAL EFFECT: AB 1970 Page 2 Minor one-time GF cost (around $50,000) for the SOS to promulgate the regulations. COMMENTS: Background and Purpose. The number of voters choosing to vote by mail has significantly increased in recent elections. In 2012, for the first time in a statewide general election, over 50% of voters cast their votes using a VBM ballot. This has concurrently resulted in an increase in the number of VBM ballots that go uncounted, with one of the principal reasons being a mismatch between the signature on the voter's VBM ballot identification envelop and the voter's affidavit of registration. The nonpartisan California Voter Foundation conducted a three county (Sacramento, Orange, and Santa Cruz) study, focusing on each county's VBM process. Among its findings, the study points out that one of the reasons why counties may have varying signature mismatch rejection rates is because there are very few uniform standards for signature verification. The study indicates that current state law is limited regarding what criteria should be used to compare signatures. Moreover, according to the study, all three counties have written signature verification guidelines with slightly difference processes for handling situations when a voter's signature may not compare. In an effort to address this issue, this bill requires the SOS to develop regulations related to the processing of VBM and provisional ballots. Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) AB 1970 Page 3 319-2081