BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Ben Allen, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2071 Hearing Date: 6/21/16
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|Author: |Harper |
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|Version: |4/19/16 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant:|Darren Chesin |
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Subject: Vote by mail ballots
DIGEST
This bill defines the term "bona fide private mail delivery
company" for the purposes of a vote by mail (VBM) ballot
received after Election Day, as specified.
ANALYSIS
Existing law:
1)Provides that a VBM ballot is timely cast if it is received by
the voter's elections official via the United States Postal
Service (USPS) or a bona fide private mail delivery company no
later than three days after election day and either of the
following is satisfied:
a) The ballot is postmarked or is time stamped or date
stamped by a bona fide private mail delivery company on or
before election day; or,
b) If the ballot has no postmark, a postmark with no date,
or an illegible postmark, the VBM ballot identification
envelope is date stamped by the elections official upon
receipt of the VBM ballot from the USPS or a bona fide
private mail delivery company, and is signed and dated by
the voter on or before election day.
1)Requires a VBM ballot identification envelope to include
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specified information, including the following:
a) A declaration, under penalty of perjury, stating that
the voter resides within the precinct in which he or she is
voting and is the person whose name appears on the
envelope;
b) The signature of the voter; and,
c) The date of signing.
1)Permits a VBM voter who is unable to return his or her ballot
to designate his or her spouse, child, parent, grandparent,
brother, sister, or a person residing in the same household as
the VBM voter to return the ballot to the elections official
from whom it came or to a precinct board before the close of
the polls on election day.
2)Prohibits a VBM 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. Provides this
prohibition does not apply to a candidate or a candidate's
spouse.
This bill:
1)Defines a "bona fide private mail delivery company" as a
for-profit courier service that is in the regular business of
accepting a mail item, package, or parcel for the purpose of
delivery, at a cost, to a person or entity whose address is
specified on the item. A bona fide private mail delivery
company includes, but is not limited to, DHL, Federal Express
Corporation, and United Parcel Service.
BACKGROUND
"Postmark Plus Three" and Previous Legislation . In 2014, the
Legislature approved and the Governor signed SB 29 (Correa,
Chapter 618, Statutes of 2014), which allowed VBM ballots to be
counted if they were cast by election day and received by the
elections official by mail no later than three days after the
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election. Specifically, SB 29 provides that any VBM ballot is
timely cast if it is received by the voter's elections official
via the USPS or a bona fide delivery company not later than
three days after Election Day, as specified. Prior to the
enactment of SB 29, VBM ballots in California could be counted
only if they were received by the elections official by Election
Day.
SB 29 was introduced in response to the fact that an increasing
number of VBM ballots that were returned to elections officials
were arriving too late to be counted. Furthermore, given a
number of recently enacted and planned USPS facility closures,
there was a fear that the number of ballots arriving too late to
be counted would continue to rise. According to a September
2014 report by the California Civic Engagement Project at the
University of California at Davis Center for Regional Change,
nearly 69,000 VBM ballots that were received by county election
offices in California for the November 2012 General Election
were rejected during ballot processing, with 47.8 percent of
uncounted ballots being rejected because they arrived too late.
Arriving late was the most common reason why a VBM ballot was
rejected.
COMMENTS
1)According to the author : AB 2071 will protect the integrity
of California's election system by providing that only
legitimate courier services that are in regular business or
delivering parcels may handle and deliver VBM ballots on
behalf of voters after Election Day. This includes well-known
services such as DHL, FedEx, and UPS. As such, it will ensure
that only legitimate votes are counted, and that no California
voter is disenfranchised by the counting of ballots that have
been illegally harvested or tampered with in the days
following an election. AB 2071 seeks to define a "bona fide
private mail delivery company." The bill defines it as a
for-profit courier service
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that is in the regular business of accepting a mail item,
package, or parcel for the purpose of delivery, at a cost, to
a person or entity whose address is specified on the item.
2)Suggested Amendments . Staff suggests amending the definition
provided in the bill as follows:
For purposes of this section, "bona fide private mail delivery
company" means a for-profit courier service that is in the
regular business of accepting a mail item, package, or parcel
for the purpose of delivery , at a cost, to a person or entity
whose address is specified on the item. A bona fide private
mail delivery company includes, but is not limited to, DHL,
Federal Express Corporation, and United Parcel Service.
Staff is not aware of any non-profit delivery or courier
services but if one existed the law should not prohibit their
use. It is also unclear why the law should mandate that the
delivery be at a cost. This statute should not prohibit a
courier service from offering to deliver VBM ballots for free
nor should it prohibit a governmental jurisdiction from
contracting with a courier service so voters won't have to pay
for postage. Lastly, there is no reason to name specific
companies in the code - it implies that the state is
recommending or promoting these particular businesses over
their current or future competitors.
RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION
AB 1921 (Gonzalez), which is also before this committee, permits
a VBM voter who is unable to return his or her ballot to
designate any person to return the ballot, as specified.
AB 1271 (Grove of 2015), would have required the
disqualification of VBM ballots that are received after Election
Day if those ballots are delivered by a bona fide private mail
delivery company or if those ballots have no postmark, a
postmark with no date, or an illegible postmark. AB 1271 failed
passage in the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee.
SB 29 (Correa, Chapter 618, Statutes of 2014), provided that a
VBM ballot is timely cast if it is received by the voter's
elections official via the USPS or a bona fide private mail
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delivery company no later than three days after election day, as
specified.
PRIOR ACTION
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|Assembly Floor: |77 - 0 |
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|Assembly Elections and Redistricting | 7 - 0 |
|Committee: | |
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POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Oppose: None received
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