BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2686
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2686 (Mullin and Gonzalez)
As Amended June 16, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |57-20 |(May 23, 2016) |SENATE: |27-11 |(August 22, |
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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:
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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
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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
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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.
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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