BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 365
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Date of Hearing: July 1, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, Chair
SB
365 (Pavley) - As Amended May 4, 2015
SENATE VOTE: 26-12
SUBJECT: Vote by mail ballot drop-off locations.
SUMMARY: Authorizes county elections officials to establish
vote by mail (VBM) ballot drop-off locations, as specified.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Permits a VBM voter to return a VBM ballot to the elections
official from whom it came at a VBM drop-off location, if
provided in accordance with this bill.
2)Defines the following terms for the purposes of this bill:
a) "VBM ballot drop box" to mean 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.
b) "VBM drop-off location" to mean a location consisting of
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a secured VBM ballot drop box at which a voted VBM ballot
may be returned to the elections official from whom it was
obtained.
3)Requires the Secretary of State (SOS), on or before January 1,
2017, to promulgate regulations establishing best practices
for security measures and procedures, including, but not
limited to, chain of custody, pick-up times, proper labeling,
and security of the VBM drop boxes, that a county elections
official may use if the county elections official establishes
one or more VBM ballot drop-off locations.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires all VBM ballots to be voted on or before the day of
the election. Requires a VBM ballot voter, after marking the
ballot, to either return the ballot by mail or in person to
the elections official from whom it came or 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.
3)Prohibits a ballot from being counted if it is not delivered
in compliance with the aforementioned sections.
4)Requires an elections official to establish procedures to
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, approximately $55,000 in administrative expenses to
the General Fund. The SOS indicates costs of approximately
$55,000 to promulgate regulations.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose of the Bill: 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
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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. In addition, the measure ensures the safety of
these drop-off locations by directing the Secretary of
State to establish suggested best practices for counties
that choose to implement VBM drop-off locations. Voting by
mail has become a great asset for busy voters and a
potential means for increasing participation. This bill
will ensure that voters will continue to have the
opportunity to drop their ballot off closer to home.
2)Current Practice: As mentioned above, current law requires a
voted VBM ballot to be returned by mail or in person to the
elections official from whom it came from or returned in
person to a member of a precinct board at a polling place
within the jurisdiction in which the person is registered to
vote. Moreover, any voter who is unable to return a voted VBM
ballot by mail, or drop it off at the elections office or
polling place may designate his or her spouse, child, parent,
grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, or a person residing
in the same household to return the ballot on his or her
behalf. In addition, existing law 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 adds another option for returning a VBM ballot and
permits a voter to return a voted VBM ballot to a VBM ballot
drop-off location, as defined, to the elections official from
whom it came. In addition, in order to ensure security, this
bill requires the SOS to promulgate regulations establishing
best practices for security measures and procedures,
including, but not limited to, chain of custody, pick-up
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times, proper labeling, and security of the vote by mail drop
boxes, that a county elections official may use if the county
elections official establishes one or more VBM ballot drop-off
locations.
3)Existing VBM Ballot Drop-Off Sites: While existing law does
not specifically address VBM ballot drop-off locations, in
practice, an unknown number of counties currently establish
VBM drop-off sites. One of those counties, Sacramento County,
designates facilities throughout the county where voters can
drop-off their voted VBM ballot prior to election day. The
county requires that all facilities 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 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.
Moreover, a few counties, such as Kings County, utilize a ballot
drop-off van as well. According to the Kings County Elections
website, voters are encouraged to check the County's website
or the voter pamphlet for a list of drop box and van
locations. Information about hours and locations of ballot
drop boxes and vans are available approximately 30 days prior
to each election. To ensure ballots that are dropped off at
drop-off boxes are secure, in practice, Kings County elections
officials regularly collect the ballots from each drop box and
there are at least two official elections workers present at
the temporary locations serviced by a van. However,
regardless of location, two official elections workers use a
chain of custody process to transport all ballots.
4)VBM Data: Statistics show that voters are choosing to cast a
VBM ballot more and more each election. For instance, in the
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November 2004 general election approximately 32 percent of
voters cast a VBM ballot. In the November 2014 general
election over 60 percent of voters cast their VBM ballots.
However, studies have shown that not all VBM ballots are being
returned via the mail - many voters are instead choosing to
drop off their VBM ballot at a drop box on or close to
election day. For example, one study found that in the
November 2014 general election, over 26 percent of those that
voted by mail returned their ballot at a polling place instead
mailing or dropping it off at the counter in an elections
official's office.
This bill, which permits county elections officials to set up
VBM ballot drop off locations, as specified, will help ensure
there are more secure and convenient locations in which a
voter may drop off their voted VBM ballot.
5)Arguments in Support: In support, the California Voter
Foundation (CVF), writes:
Last August, CVF published a report on an in-depth study we
conducted on three counties' vote-by-mail [VBM] programs?
In our study, we found two counties (Sacramento and Santa
Cruz) used drop boxes located at other governmental
buildings throughout the county, such as city halls and
libraries and one (Orange) did not (other than a drop box
immediately outside the county election office). When the
drop box option is available, voters utilize it. In
November 2012, 17 percent of Santa Cruz County's VBM voters
and 9 percent of Sacramento County's VBM voters returned
their ballots at drop boxes. Overall, in the three
counties studies, CVF found that a growing number of VBM
voters prefer to return their ballots in person, at a drop
box or at a polling place on Election Day, thus eliminating
the need for postage and reducing the risk and time
involved when ballots are delivered by the U.S. Postal
Service. In Santa Cruz for example, the percentage of
voters returning their ballots in person rose from 40
percent in 2008 to 48 percent in 2012.
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6)Related Legislation: SB 450 (Allen), which is pending in this
committee, requires county elections officials, if they choose
to conduct an election as an all-mailed ballot election, to
have at least one ballot drop-off location within the
jurisdiction where the election is held, as specified, among
other provisions.
7)Previous Legislation: SB 240 (Yee) of 2013, which was
substantively similar to this bill, died in the Assembly Rules
Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California State Council of the Service Employees International
Union
California Voter Foundation
CALPIRG
Secretary of State Alex Padilla
Opposition
None on file.
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Analysis Prepared by:Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094