BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 365 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 365 (Pavley) As Amended May 4, 2015 Majority vote SENATE VOTE: 26-12 ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Elections |5-1 |Ridley-Thomas, Gatto, |Grove | | | |Gordon, Mullin, Perea | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Appropriations |10-4 |Gomez, Bloom, Bonta, |Bigelow, Chang, | | | |Calderon, Eggman, |Gallagher, Jones | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Eduardo Garcia, | | | | |Quirk, Rendon, Weber, | | | | |Wood | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY: Authorizes county elections officials to establish SB 365 Page 2 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 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 official establishes one or more VBM ballot drop-off locations. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, minor one-time General Fund costs (around $55,000) for the SOS to promulgate the regulations. COMMENTS: 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% of the total votes cast, to over 60% 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, SB 365 Page 3 city government offices, senior centers) allow busy voters to drop off their ballots much closer to home? "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% of voters in Los Angeles County used VBM - nearly 20% 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..." 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. SB 365 Page 4 Statistics show that voters are choosing to cast a VBM ballot more and more each election. For instance, in the November 2004 general election approximately 32% of voters cast a VBM ballot. In the November 2014 general election over 60% of voters cast 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% of those that voted using a VBM ballot 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. Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill. Analysis Prepared by: Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0001160 SB 365 Page 5