BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Ben Allen, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2911 Hearing Date: 6/8/16
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|Author: |Committee on Elections and Redistricting |
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|Version: |3/15/16 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant:|Frances Tibon Estoista |
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Subject: Voting: voter information guides.
DIGEST
Standardizes terms in the Elections Code used to refer to the
county and state voter information guides.
ANALYSIS
Existing law:
1)Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to mail to all
households in which voters are registered a state voter
information guide, as specified
2)Requires the guide to contain information including, but not
limited to, a complete copy of each state measure, arguments
and rebuttals for and against each state measure, and an
analysis of each state measure.
3)Requires county elections officials to mail a county voter
information guide to each voter in the jurisdiction, as
specified.
4)Requires the county voter information guide to contain, among
other things, a copy of the official ballot (sample ballot), a
notice of the polling place, a complete copy of each local
AB 2911 (Committee on Elections and Redistricting)
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measure, and an analysis of each measure.
This bill:
1) Deletes the terms "sample ballot," "ballot pamphlet,"
"voter's pamphlet," "voter pamphlet," "state ballot
pamphlet," and "statewide voter pamphlet," and replaces them
with "state voter information guide" or "county voter
information guide," as appropriate.
BACKGROUND
County and State Voter Information Guides: Existing law
requires the SOS to mail to all households in which voters are
registered a state voter information guide, as specified and
also requires the guide to contain information including, but
not limited to, a complete copy of each state measure, arguments
and rebuttals for and against each state measure, and an
analysis of each state measure. Existing law additionally,
requires county elections officials to mail a county voter
information guide to each voter in the jurisdiction, as
specified, and also requires the county voter information guide
to contain, among other things, a copy of the official ballot
(sample ballot), a notice of the polling place, a complete copy
of each local measure, and an analysis of each measure.
Throughout the Elections Code, however, there are a variety of
terms used to refer to state or county voter information guides.
For example, various Elections Code Sections use the terms
"ballot pamphlet," "state ballot pamphlet," and "statewide voter
pamphlet" when describing the state voter information guide.
Moreover, the terms "sample ballot" and "voter pamphlet" are
used throughout the Elections Code when referring to the county
voter information guide.
According to county elections officials, the use of different
terms throughout the Elections Code can be confusing when trying
to comply with existing law. This bill will clean-up the
Elections Code and standardize these terms.
COMMENTS
AB 2911 (Committee on Elections and Redistricting)
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1) This is one of the Assembly Elections & Redistricting
Committee's bills intended to clean up the Elections Code and
standardize terms that are used to refer to the county voter
information guide and the state voter information guide, as
specified. These provisions were requested by the California
Association of Clerks and Election Officials (CACEO).
PRIOR ACTION
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|Assembly Floor: |79 - 0 |
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|Assembly Elections and Redistricting | 7 - 0 |
|Committee: | |
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POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: California Association of Clerks and Elections
Officials
Oppose: None received
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