BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Ben Allen, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 365 Hearing Date: 4/7/15
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|Author: |Pavley |
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|Version: |2/24/15 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Frances Tibon Estoista |
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Subject: Vote by mail ballot drop boxes
DIGEST
This bill permits a vote by mail (VBM) voter to return his or
her voted VBM ballot to the elections official from whom it came
at a VBM ballot drop-off location, as defined. This bill
requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to promulgate regulations
establishing best practices for security measures and procedures
that a county elections official may use if the county elections
official establishes one or more vote by mail ballot drop-off
locations and VBM ballot drop boxes.
ANALYSIS
Existing law:
1. Provides that all VBM ballots shall be voted on or before
the day of the election. After marking the ballot, the VBM
voter must either (1) return the ballot by mail or in person
to the elections official from whom it came or (2) return the
ballot in person to a member of a precinct board at a polling
place within the jurisdiction.
2. Permits a VBM voter who is unable to return the ballot to
designate his or her spouse, child, parent, grandparent,
grandchild, brother, sister, or a person residing in the same
household as the VBM voter to return the ballot to the
elections official from whom it came or to the precinct board
at a polling place within the jurisdiction.
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3. Provides that a ballot shall not be counted if it is not
delivered in compliance with the aforementioned sections.
4. Requires elections officials to establish procedures to
ensure the secrecy of a VBM ballot returned to a precinct
polling place and the security, confidentiality, and
integrity of any related personal information collected,
stored, or otherwise used.
This bill:
1. Allows a VBM voter to return their ballot to the elections
official from whom it came at a VBM ballot drop-off location,
if provided.
2. Defines a VBM ballot drop box as a secure receptacle
established by a county or city and county elections official
whereby a voted VBM ballot may be returned to the elections
official from whom it was obtained.
3. Defines a VBM ballot drop-off location as a location
consisting of a secured VBM ballot drop box at which a voted
VBM ballot may be returned to the elections official from
whom it was obtained.
4. Require SOS to promulgate regulations establishing best
practices for security measures and procedures that a county
elections official may use if the county elections official
establishes one or more VBM ballot drop-off locations.
BACKGROUND
Existing VBM Ballot Drop-Off Sites . An unknown number of
counties currently establish VBM drop-off sites although
existing law does not specifically address them. One of those
counties, Sacramento County, designates facilities throughout
the county where voters can drop-off their ballots prior to
Election Day. The county requires that all facilities must be
accessible to voters with disabilities and have at least one
person monitor the station. Sites include facilities such as
city halls, county departments, assisted living facilities,
local businesses, non-profit and community organizations, and
facilities that already serve as polling places on Election Day.
A list of the VBM drop-off sites is included in Sacramento
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County's sample ballot booklets. The Sacramento County system
is designed so that a voter or someone designated by the voter
must hand their voted VBM ballot to the person monitoring the
drop-off site.
As the state's voter rolls increase, many voters are also taking
advantage of its VBM system, where a ballot is mailed to a
voter. In the 2014 Primary Election, over 69% of voters and in
the 2014 General Election, over 60.5% of voters took advantage
of the VBM system and either mailed or dropped off their
completed ballots.
COMMENTS
1. According to the Author : California law has actively
evolved to facilitate vote by mail. Since 1990, vote-by-mail
use has grown from approximately 18 percent of the total
votes cast, to over 60 percent of the votes in the last
general election in November 2014. In an effort to further
motivate VBM voters, some counties have begun to provide
additional drop-off locations. These additional drop-off
locations (e.g., public libraries, city government offices,
senior centers) allow busy voters to drop off their ballots
much closer to home.
SB 365 continues California's policy of decreasing barriers to
vote-by-mail adoption. The measure will make voting more
convenient for the public, help increase voter turn-out, and
ensure drop-off locations are secure. Presently, there is an
ambiguity in current law around additional drop-off locations
that may be creating a potential barrier to counties seeking
to expand this service.
For example, in the November 2014 election, Los Angeles County,
which has a population of more than 10 million people and is
over 4,700 square miles in size, had one drop-off location.
This may have contributed to the fact that only 38 percent of
voters in Los Angeles County used VBM-nearly 20 percent lower
than any other county in the state.
SB 365 will clarify that additional drop off locations are
valid methods of delivering VBM ballots to the elections
official.
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RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION
SB 240 (Yee) of 2013 (as last amended), was substantively
similar to this bill but died in the Assembly.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: California State Council of the Service Employees
International Union
Oppose: None received
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