BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2686 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 2686 (Mullin and Gonzalez) As Amended June 16, 2016 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |57-20 |(May 23, 2016) |SENATE: |27-11 |(August 22, | | | | | | |2016) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: E. & R. SUMMARY: 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. Broadens the scope of an ongoing mailed ballot election pilot project in San Diego County. Specifically, 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: AB 2686 Page 2 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. 2)Allows a 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 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. 3)Makes corresponding and technical changes. The Senate amendments permit a county to conduct a mailed ballot special election in accordance with this bill only if the county has done all of the following: 1)Delivered not fewer than three separate notices, as specified, to each household in order to inform voters that an all-mailed AB 2686 Page 3 ballot election is being conducted. 2)Included information in its voter education and outreach plan about registration rates, participation rates, and ballot rejection rates for permanent VBM voters and in-person voters, and a discussion of how the elections official will address any significant disparities in accessibility or participation. 3)Established at least one advisory committee that includes members representing minority groups covered by the federal Voting Rights Act and voters with disabilities, and that committee has held at least one meeting in the year prior to the mailed ballot election. EXISTING LAW: 1)Permits a special election in San Diego County, held before January 1, 2021, to be conducted by mailed ballot subject to the following conditions: a) The special election is being held entirely in San Diego County, and is for the purpose of filling a vacancy in the Legislature or in Congress; filling a vacancy on the governing body of a local agency; or voting on a local measure, other than a recall. b) The election does not occur on the same date as a statewide primary or general election, or an election in an overlapping jurisdiction that is not also conducted by mail. c) Ballot drop-off locations and polling places are provided, as specified, and the elections official provides at least six hours of voting within the jurisdiction on at least one Saturday and Sunday after the ballots are delivered to voters. d) Each voter receives specified information about the AB 2686 Page 4 special election and all supplies necessary for the use and return of the mail ballot, including a return envelope for the voted ballot with postage prepaid. e) The elections official submits a voter education and outreach plan to the Secretary of State (SOS), as specified, and that plan is posted on the Web sites of the SOS and the elections official. 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 conditions. FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS: 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 and Congress. AB 2686 establishes a pilot program that a county may opt-in to conduct a special election to fill a vacancy in the Legislature or Congress via all-mail-ballot, providing that the county had a permanent vote-by-mail? adoption rate of at least 50% in the last general statewide election. By allowing the option to conduct these special elections by all-mailed-ballot, AB 2686 not only preserves the public's ability to choose their representative in the event of a vacancy, but also provides more flexibility for local jurisdictions in conducting special elections." Two years ago, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed AB 1873 (Gonzalez), 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 as a pilot project, as specified. That pilot project subsequently was modified to expand the types of elections that are allowed to be conducted as part of the pilot project. AB 2686 Page 5 In addition to the San Diego pilot project, there is another ongoing pilot project authorized by the Legislature and the Governor that allows Monterey, Sacramento, San Mateo, and Yolo Counties to conduct local elections as mailed ballot elections, subject to certain conditions. Yolo County conducted mailed ballot elections in March 2013 as a part of that pilot project, and submitted its report on those elections in December 2013. San Mateo County conducted an election under that pilot project in November 2015, but it has not yet submitted the report from that election. The Senate amendments to this bill impose additional conditions on counties that wish to conduct special vacancy elections as mailed ballot elections. This bill, as amended in the Senate, is consistent with Assembly actions. Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill. Analysis Prepared by: Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0003600