BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 439 (Allen) - Election procedures: conditional voter
registration: ballot on demand systems
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|Version: April 15, 2015 |Policy Vote: E. & C.A. 4 - 1 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: May 11, 2015 |Consultant: Maureen Ortiz |
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This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 439 authorizes counties to offer conditional voter
registration and provisional voting at satellite offices during
the 14 days preceding an election, and establishes criteria for
the use of ballot on demand voting systems.
Fiscal
Impact:
Minor administrative costs to the Secretary of State (General
Fund)
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The Secretary of State will incur minor costs for revising
existing regulations for purposes of certifying ballot on demand
systems.
Background: Existing law allows individuals who are eligible
to vote to execute an affidavit of voter registration up to 15
days prior to an election. In order to be eligible to vote, an
individual must be a United States citizen, a resident of
California, not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a
felony, not deemed mentally incompetent, and at least 18 years
of age at the time of the next election. A properly executed
affidavit of voter registration is deemed effective upon receipt
by the elections official if postmarked or received on or before
the 15th day prior to an election to be held in the registrant's
precinct.
AB 1436 (Feuer), Chapter 497, Statutes of 2012, provides for
Election Day voter registration in California but not until
January 1 following the year the Secretary of State (SOS) has
certified a new statewide voter database (known as VoteCal) as
required by the Help America Vote Act. While AB 1436 requires
county elections officials to offer voter registration and
concurrent voting by provisional ballot at the official's
permanent office during the 14 days following the normal close
of registration through Election Day, that bill does not extend
the same authorization to electors at satellite office
locations.
Existing law also requires the SOS to adopt regulations
governing the manufacture, finishing, quality standards,
distribution, and inventory control of ballot cards and requires
the biennial inspection of the manufacturing, finishing, and
storage facilities involving ballot cards, and to also approve
each ballot card manufacturer or finisher before a manufacturer
or finisher provides ballot cards for use in California
elections.
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Proposed Law:
SB 439 does the following:
1) Authorizes counties to offer conditional voter
registration and provisional voting at satellite offices
during the 14 days preceding an election.
2) Requires the Secretary of State to certify ballot on
demand voting systems.
3) Requires the Secretary of State to promulgate
regulations for purposes of certifying ballot on demand
systems.
4) Defines "ballot on demand system" as a self-contained
system that allows users to do any of the following on an
as-needed basis:
a) manufacture or finish ballot sheets or unfinished ballot
cards,
b) manufacture and finish card stock, or,
c) finish unfinished ballot cards into ballot cards.
Staff
Comments: SB 439 will streamline the certification of ballot on
demand systems by allowing the Secretary of State to certify the
ballot on demands as systems instead of requiring each county to
seek individual approval.
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