BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       AB 2089|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 2089
          Author:   Quirk (D) 
          Amended:  8/19/16 in Senate
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE:  4-1, 6/21/16
           AYES:  Allen, Hancock, Hertzberg, Liu
           NOES:  Anderson

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  5-2, 8/11/16
           AYES:  Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
           NOES: Bates, Nielsen

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  69-3, 5/5/16 - See last page for vote

           SUBJECT:   Vote by mail ballots:  voter notification


          SOURCE:    Author
          
          DIGEST:   This bill requires a county elections official to  
          notify a vote by mail (VBM) voter if his or ballot was not  
          counted, and the reason it was not counted.

          Senate Floor Amendments of 8/19/16 add double-jointing language  
          to prevent chaptering out with AB 2911 (Assembly Elections and  
          Redistricting Committee).

          ANALYSIS:  
          
          Existing law:

           1) Provides that a VBM ballot must be received by the elections  
             official from whom it was obtained, or by a precinct board in  
             that jurisdiction, no later than the close of polls on  








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             Election Day in order for that ballot to be counted.

           2) Provides that any VBM ballot is timely cast if it is  
             received by the voter's elections official via the United  
             States Postal Service or a bona fide delivery company not  
             later than three days after Election Day, as specified.

           3) Requires a VBM ballot identification envelope to include  
             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; 

              c)    The residence address of the voter as shown on the  
                affidavit of registration; and,

              d)    The date of signing.

           4) Requires a county elections official, upon receiving a VBM  
             ballot, to compare the signatures on the envelope with either  
             of the following:

              a)    The signature appearing on the voter's affidavit of  
                registration or any previous affidavit of registration of  
                the voter; or,

              b)    The signature appearing on a form issued by an  
                elections official that contains the voter's signature and  
                that is part of the voter's registration record. 

           5) Permits a county elections official to use facsimiles of  
             voters' signatures when determining if the signatures match  
             provided that the method of preparing and displaying the  
             facsimiles complies with existing law. 

           6) Requires the elections official, if it is determined that  
             the signatures compare, to deposit the ballot, still in the  
             identification envelope, in a ballot container.  








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           7) Provides that if the ballot is rejected because the  
             signatures do not compare, the envelope shall not be opened  
             and the ballot shall not be counted, and requires the cause  
             of the rejection to be written on the face of the  
             identification envelope.

           8) Prohibits a variation of a signature caused by the  
             substitution of initials for the first or middle name, or  
             both, to be grounds for the elections official to determine  
             that the signatures do not compare.

           9) Authorizes an elections official, in comparing signatures,  
             to use signature verification technology.  Prohibits an  
             elections official, if the signature verification technology  
             determines the signatures do not compare, from rejecting the  
             ballot unless he or she visually examines the signatures and  
             verifies that the signatures do not compare. 

           10)         Allows VBM ballots to be counted if they are cast  
             by Election Day and received by the elections official by  
             mail no later than three days after the election, as  
             specified.

           11)         Requires the county elections official to establish  
             a free access system that allows a VBM voter to learn whether  
             his or her VBM ballot was counted and, if not, the reason why  
             the ballot was not counted.  Requires the elections official  
             to make the free access system available to a VBM voter upon  
             the completion of the official canvass and for 30 days  
             thereafter.

          This bill:

           1) Requires a county elections official to notify a VBM voter  
             within 30 days after completion of the official canvass, if  
             his or her ballot was not counted and include the reason the  
             ballot was not counted.

           2) Includes double-jointing language to avoid chaptering out  
             issues with AB 2911 (Assembly Elections and Redistricting  
             Committee).








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          Background


          Existing law requires county elections officials to establish a  
          free access system to allow a voter to learn if his or her VBM  
          ballot was counted, and if not, the reason why the ballot was  
          not counted.  This system is required to be available to VBM  
          voters upon the completion of the official canvass and for 30  
          days thereafter, with responsibility on the voter to determine  
          the VBM ballot status by either phoning into a toll-free number  
          or visiting the county elections officials Internet Web site and  
          answering a few questions.  

          Dude, where's my vote?  In its 2014 report, "Improving  
          California's Vote-by-Mail Process:  A Three-County Study," the  
          California Voter Foundation explored VBM voting in California in  
          elections taking place in Orange, Sacramento, and Santa Cruz  
          counties from 2008-2012.  The study cited three primary reasons  
          that VBM ballots went uncounted in California elections: 

           1) 61 percent of the uncounted ballots arrived late; 
           2) 20 percent were lacking a signature; and,
           3) 18 percent arrived with a signature on the envelope that did  
             not match the one on the voter's affidavit of registration.


          Comments


           1) According to the author, in California, a majority of voters  
             in a general election cast their ballots by mail.  Fifty-one  
             percent of Californians who voted in the November 2012  
             election, voted by mail.  Unfortunately, 59,370 VBM ballots  
             were not counted by county registrars throughout the state  
             during the November 2012 election.

           AB 2089 requires election officials to notify VBM voters when  
             their ballot was not counted in the last election cycle.  The  
             local election officials will be permitted to come up with  
             the best notification process that would be the best fit for  








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             their area.

           In California, we have a reputation for setting the right  
             precedent for the nation; AB 2089 will continue this legacy.

           2) Would you like that in a postcard, voicemail, or text?   
             Although this bill requires local election officials to  
             notify a VBM voter that their ballot was not counted, it is  
             unclear how that notification would be accomplished.  The  
             author's office has advised Elections Committee staff that  
             the method of notification would be left up to each of the  
             individual election officials.  As such, is this an issue  
             area that might benefit from Secretary of State regulation?
              
           Related/Prior Legislation
          
          SB 589 (Hill, Chapter 280, Statutes of 2013) required elections  
          officials to establish a free access system by which a VBM voter  
          may learn whether his or her ballot was counted and, if not, the  
          reason why it was not counted.

          SB 1725 (Bowen, Chapter 687, Statutes of 2006) required  
          elections officials to establish procedures to ensure the  
          security, confidentiality, and integrity of any personal  
          information collected stored or otherwise used in tracking VBM  
          ballots.


          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   Yes

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill  
          could result in unknown General Fund reimbursable costs,  
          potentially in excess of $50,000 each election cycle, to  
          reimburse counties.


          SUPPORT:   (Verified8/12/16)


          None received









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          OPPOSITION:   (Verified8/12/16)


          None received

          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  69-3, 5/5/16
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bloom,  
            Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau,  
            Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,  
            Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo  
            Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gray, Grove, Hadley,  
            Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,  
            Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, McCarty,  
            Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,  
            Olsen, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,  
            Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Wilk, Williams,  
            Wood, Rendon
          NOES:  Travis Allen, Brough, Wagner
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Bigelow, Beth Gaines, Gordon, Harper, Jones,  
            Mayes, Patterson, Waldron

          Prepared by:Frances Tibon Estoista / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106
          8/22/16 22:41:46


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