BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Ben Allen, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2686 Hearing Date: 6/21/16
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|Author: |Mullin |
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|Version: |6/16/16 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant:|Frances Tibon Estoista |
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Subject: Elections: all-mailed ballot elections
DIGEST
This bill allows a county to conduct a legislative or
congressional vacancy election as a mailed ballot election as
part of a pilot project, subject to certain conditions, if more
than half the voters in the county are permanent vote by mail
(VBM) voters. Allows for an ongoing mailed ballot election
pilot project in San Diego County, and broadens the scope of
that pilot project until January 1, 2021.
ANALYSIS
Existing law:
1) Permits a special election in San Diego County, held before
January 1, 2021, to be conducted by mailed ballot subject to
all of the following conditions:
a) The special election is being held for any of the
following purposes:
i) To fill a vacancy in the Legislature or in
Congress, and the legislative or congressional district
lies wholly within San Diego County;
ii) To fill a vacancy on the governing body of San
Diego County, or of any city, school district,
community college district, special district, or other
district or political subdivision located wholly within
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San Diego County; or,
iii) To vote on a local
measure, other than a recall, for San Diego County, or
for any city, school district, community college
district, special district, or other district or
political subdivision located wholly within San Diego
County.
b) The governing body of the jurisdiction, or the San
Diego County Board of Supervisors in the case of a
special election to fill a vacancy in the Legislature or
in Congress, authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the
election.
c) The election does not occur on the same date as a
statewide primary or general election, or any other
election conducted in an overlapping jurisdiction that is
not consolidated and conducted wholly by mail.
d) Ballot drop-off locations, as specified, are provided
such that there is at least one location per city (if the
boundaries of the jurisdiction for which the election is
being held overlap with the boundaries of a city) and at
least one location for every 100,000 registered voters in
unincorporated areas, and such locations are open during
business hours to receive voted ballots beginning not
less than seven days before the election.
e) The elections official provides for at least six
hours of voting at a satellite location within the
jurisdiction on at least one Saturday and Sunday after
the ballots are delivered to voters.
f) At least one polling place is provided per
jurisdiction for which the election is being held, or the
polling places are fixed in a manner so that there is one
polling place for every 10,000 registered voters within
the district, as specified, whichever results in more
polling places. Provides that a polling place shall
allow voters to request a ballot between 7 a.m. and 8
p.m. on the day of the election if they need replacement
ballots for any reason.
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g) Polling places are established in accordance with
existing state and federal accessibility requirements,
and access to polling places is evenly distributed
throughout the jurisdiction for which the election is
being held.
h) The elections official does the following for polling
places that consolidate one or more precincts for which
the elections official has obligations to recruit or
attempt to recruit precinct board members who are fluent
in a language in addition to English:
i) In the case of precincts covered by language
requirements in federal law, the elections official
ensures that the polling place is staffed by precinct
board members who speak that language; and,
ii) In the case of precincts covered by language
requirements in state law, the elections official makes
reasonable efforts to ensure that the polling place is
staffed by precinct board members who speak that
language.
i) Each voter receives all supplies necessary for the use
and return of the mail ballot, including a return
envelope for the voted ballot with postage prepaid.
j) Each voter receives all of the following from the
elections official:
i) A notice, translated into all languages as
required by state and federal law, that informs voters
of the following:
(1) That the election is being conducted by
mail and that each eligible voter will receive a
ballot by mail;
(2) The voter may cast a ballot in person at a
satellite location; and,
(3) The voter may request the county elections
official to send a ballot in a language other than
English pursuant to state and federal law.
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ii) A list of the ballot drop-off, satellite, and
polling place locations, and that list is posted on the
Internet Web site of the county elections office; and,
iii) A postage-paid postcard that the voter may
return to the elections official for the purpose of
requesting a ballot in a language other than English.
k) The elections official submits a voter education and
outreach plan to the SOS that includes all of the
following:
i) Education and outreach meetings, and in-person
educational workshops, related to providing voting
materials and assistance in languages other than
English, and ensuring the accessibility of the election
process for individuals with disabilities.
ii) A toll-free voter assistance hotline, as
specified, that is operational between the date that
ballots are mailed to voters until 5 p.m. on the day
after the special election.
iii) Public service
announcements, as specified, informing voters of the
upcoming election and promoting the voter assistance
hotline.
iv) A voter education social media strategy, as
specified.
l) The voter education and outreach plan is posted on
the Web sites of the SOS and of the elections official.
m) Election results for the special election are
reported by precincts, and the elections official
maintains records of persons who voted in the election,
as specified, for a minimum of 10 years.
2) Allows local elections held on no more than three different
dates in Monterey, Sacramento, San Mateo, and Yolo counties
to be conducted wholly by mail, as part of a pilot project
lasting through January 1, 2018, subject to certain
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conditions.
3) Requires Monterey, Sacramento, San Diego, San Mateo, or
Yolo County, if it conducts an election by mailed ballot
pursuant to one of the pilot projects detailed above, to
report to the Legislature and to the SOS regarding the
success of the election, including, but not limited to, all
of the following:
a) Any statistics on the cost to conduct the election;
b) The turnout of different populations, including, but
not limited to and to the extent possible, the population
categories of race, ethnicity, language preference (for
the San Diego pilot project only), age, gender,
disability, permanent VBM status, and political party
preference;
c) The number of ballots that were not counted and the
reasons they were rejected;
d) Voter fraud; and,
e) Any other problems that became known to the county
during the election or canvass.
Requires the report, whenever possible, to compare the
election conducted under the pilot project to similar
elections not conducted as mailed ballot elections in the
same jurisdiction or comparable jurisdictions.
4) Permits an election to be conducted wholly by mail if the
governing body authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the
election, the election occurs on an established mailed
ballot election date, and the election is one of the
following:
a) An election in which no more than 1,000 registered
voters are eligible to participate;
b) An election in a city, county, or district with 5,000
or fewer registered voters that is restricted to the
imposition of special taxes, expenditure limitation
overrides, or both;
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c) An election on the issuance of a general obligation
water bond;
d) An election in one of four specifically enumerated
water districts; or,
e) An election or assessment ballot proceeding required
or authorized by the state constitution under
Proposition 218.
5) Authorizes a city with a population of 100,000 or less or a
school district to conduct any special election held to fill
a vacancy as a mailed ballot election.
6) Authorizes a district to conduct any election as a mailed
ballot election on any date other than an established
election date.
7) Permits every registered voter to request a VBM ballot for
an election, and permits every registered voter to become a
permanent VBM voter who automatically receives a VBM ballot
for every election in which he or she is eligible to vote.
This bill:
1) Expands a previously-authorized pilot project that allows
San Diego County to conduct special elections as mailed
ballot elections, subject to certain conditions, to allow
the following types of elections to be conducted under the
pilot project:
a) Elections that are occurring in local government
agencies that include territory outside of San Diego
County, provided that only the San Diego County-portion of
the election is conducted pursuant to the terms of the
pilot project; and,
b) Local recall elections.
1) Allows any county, until January 1, 2021, to conduct a
special election to fill a vacancy in Congress or the
Legislature as a mailed ballot election as part of a pilot
project that is subject to similar conditions as the San
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Diego pilot project, with the following key differences:
a) Permits a special election to be conducted under the
pilot project even if the congressional or legislative
district is not wholly contained within the county.
b) Permits a county to participate in the pilot program
only if at least 50% of the voters in the county are
permanent VBM voters.
c) Requires the county elections official to consider
proximity to public transportation when determining
polling place locations.
2) Requires the county elections official deliver to each
voter a notice, in addition to the notice required by
existing law, translated in all languages required under
subdivision Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of
1965, that informs voters that an all-mailed ballot election
is being conducted. Permits the county elections official
to send only one notice to a household if multiple
registered voters reside within that household.
3) Requires the county elections official report the
registration rates, participation rates, and rejection
rates, including the reasons for rejection, of permanent
vote by mail voters and in-person voters for the county. If
the information is readily available, the county elections
official shall include any statistics on the turnout of
different populations, including, but not limited to, the
population categories of race, ethnicity, language
preference, age, gender, and disability. If the data
reflects significant disparities in voter accessibility and
participation, the county elections official shall include a
statement of how he or she plans to address each disparity
in the voter education and outreach plan submitted to the
Legislature and SOS.
4) Requires the county elections official to establish a
community election advisory committee that consists of
community members representing minority groups covered under
the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 and existing law, and
voters with disabilities including, but not limited to,
mobility, sensory, physical, and mental disabilities.
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5) Permits the county elections official to establish, in
lieu of a community election advisory committee, both a
local voting accessibility advisory committee pursuant to
the guidelines promulgated by the SOS and a local language
accessibility advisory committee. Requires the local
language accessibility advisory committee to consist of
community members representing minority groups covered under
the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101
et seq.).
6) Requires the advisory committee or committees to hold at
least one meeting in the year prior to an all-mailed ballot
election conducted pursuant to this bill.
7) Makes corresponding and technical changes.
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BACKGROUND
Existing Mailed Ballot Pilot Projects : Two years ago, the
Legislature approved and the Governor signed AB 1873 (Gonzalez
and Mullin, Chapter 598, Statutes of 2014), which allowed
special elections in San Diego County to fill vacancies in the
Legislature and Congress to be conducted by mailed ballot until
2020, subject to certain conditions. Last year, the Legislature
approved and the Governor signed AB 547 (Gonzalez, Chapter 727,
Statutes of 2015), which modified some of the conditions in the
San Diego pilot project, extended the sunset date by a year, and
significantly expanded the types of elections that are allowed
to be conducted as mailed ballot elections pursuant to the pilot
project.
In addition to the San Diego pilot project that was authorized
by AB 1873, there is another ongoing pilot project authorized by
the Legislature and the Governor to examine the use of mailed
ballot elections for local elections. That pilot project was
originally authorized by AB 413 (Yamada, Chapter 187, Statutes
of 2011), which allows Yolo County to conduct local elections on
not more than three dates as mailed ballot elections. AB 413
was intended to serve as a pilot project to evaluate the
desirability of further expanding the circumstances under which
elections are permitted to be conducted as mailed ballot
elections. Yolo County conducted mailed ballot elections in
March 2013 in the City of Davis and the Washington Unified
School District as permitted by AB 413, and submitted its report
on those elections in December 2013. Yolo County is permitted
to conduct local elections as mailed ballot elections on two
additional dates before the conclusion of the pilot project.
In 2014, legislation was enacted to allow San Mateo County to
join Yolo County in participating in that ongoing pilot project
(AB 2028 (Mullin, Chapter 209, Statutes of 2014), and last year,
the pilot project was further expanded to include Monterey and
Sacramento Counties (AB 1504 (Alejo, Chapter 730, Statutes of
2015). San Mateo County conducted an election under that pilot
project in November 2015, but it has not yet submitted the
required report from that election.
COMMENTS
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1) According to the author : California consistently faces a
combination of low turnout and high cost when special
elections are called due to a vacancy in the Legislature or
Congress. In the last 5 years, including 27 special
elections for a vacancy (excluding recalls and those
consolidated with a statewide election), the average overall
turnout was 15.57%. In some instances, turnout was as low as
5.55%. While California struggles with a voter turnout
crisis even in general elections, special elections are even
more likely to result in vast underrepresentation due to low
turnout.
Aside from low turnout, special elections are extremely
costly, and local jurisdictions are not reimbursed by the
state, meaning local taxpayers pick up the tab for these
expensive elections. Costs vary from county to county, but
special elections can cost anywhere from $500,000 to $1
million or more, and due to the unexpected nature of special
elections the cost is not usually built into the local
budget.
AB 2686 will allow counties more flexibility in conducting
costly special elections by allowing them to conduct them via
all-mailed ballot.
2) Counties Eligible to Participate : This bill creates a new
pilot project under which a county could conduct a special
election to fill a vacancy in the Legislature or Congress as
a mailed ballot election, but only if at least 50% of the
voters in the county were signed-up as permanent VBM voters
as of the most recent statewide general election. According
to information from the SOS, at least 50% of the voters in
the following counties were signed-up as permanent VBM voters
at the November 2014 Statewide General Election: Alameda,
Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El
Dorado, Inyo, Lake, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Monterey,
Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San
Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis
Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Shasta,
Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, and Yuba.
In addition, Sierra County already conducts all its elections
by mailed ballot, as state law allows any precinct that has
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250 or fewer registered voters to be designated as a mailed
ballot precinct, and all precincts in Sierra County have 250
or fewer registered voters. Finally, just fewer than 50% of
voters were signed-up as permanent VBM voters in Tuolumne
(48.71%) and Yolo (49.28%) counties as of the most recent
statewide general election, so those counties may exceed the
threshold for being able to participate in the pilot project
by this November's general election.
RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION
SB 49 (Runner) permits the Governor to declare a candidate for
legislative office elected at a special primary election to fill
a legislative vacancy, as specified. The bill is currently on
the Assembly Floor.
SB 450 (Allen) permits counties, beginning in 2018, to conduct
elections in which every voter is mailed a ballot and vote
centers and ballot drop-off locations are available prior to and
on election day, in lieu of operating polling places for the
election, subject to certain conditions. SB 450 is currently in
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee.
SB 967 (Vidak) requires the State to reimburse counties for the
costs of special elections held between January 1, 2008 and
December 31, 2016. The bill was held in Senate Appropriations
Committee.
AB 1504 (Alejo, Ch. 730, Statutes of 2015) authorizes Monterey
and Sacramento Counties to join a pilot program currently
underway in San Mateo and Yolo Counties, under which the
participating counties are permitted to conduct all-mailed
ballot elections on up to three different dates, subject to
certain conditions and reporting requirements.
AB 547 (Gonzalez, Ch. 727, Statutes of 2015) expands a
previously authorized mailed ballot election pilot project in
San Diego County to allow certain local elections held in San
Diego County to be conducted pursuant to the provisions of that
project, and extended the pilot project by one year.
AB 2028 (Mullin, Ch. 209, Statutes of 2014) authorizes San Mateo
County to participate in an ongoing pilot project that allows
certain elections to be conducted entirely by mailed ballot.
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PRIOR ACTION
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|Assembly Floor: |57 - 20 |
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|Assembly Elections and Redistricting | 5 - 2 |
|Committee: | |
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POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: California Association of Clerks and Election
Officials
California State Association of Counties
County of San Bernardino
County of San Diego
Rural County Representatives of California
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Urban Counties of California
Oppose: None received
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