BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 439 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 439 (Allen) As Amended June 11, 2015 Majority vote SENATE VOTE: 23-12 ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Elections |5-2 |Ridley-Thomas, Gatto, |Grove, Travis Allen | | | |Low, Mullin, Perea | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Appropriations |12-4 |Gomez, Bloom, Bonta, |Bigelow, Gallagher, | | | |Calderon, Daly, |Jones, Wagner | | | |Eggman, Eduardo | | | | |Garcia, Holden, | | | | |Quirk, Rendon, Weber, | | | | |Wood | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY: Permits elections officials to offer conditional voter registration at satellite offices prior to Election Day, as SB 439 Page 2 specified. Establishes processes and procedures for the review and approval of ballot on demand systems and electronic poll books, as defined, for use in California elections. Specifically, this bill: 1)Permits a county elections official to offer conditional voter registration and provisional voting at satellite offices on days prior to Election Day, in addition to Election Day. 2)Defines a "ballot on demand system" to mean 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 or finish card stock; or, c) Finish unfinished ballot cards into ballot cards. 3)Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to adopt regulations governing the manufacture, finishing, quality standards, distribution, and inventory control of ballot on demand systems. Requires the SOS to approve each ballot on demand system before deploying the system for use in California elections. 4)Requires the SOS to promulgate regulations for the purpose of certifying ballot on demand systems. 5)Defines an "electronic poll book" to mean an electronic list of registered voters that may be transported to the polling location. Requires an electronic poll book to contain the same information that is required on the paper roster pursuant to existing law. 6)Prohibits an electronic poll book from being used unless it has been certified by the SOS. SB 439 Page 3 7)Requires the SOS to adopt and publish electronic poll book standards and regulations governing the certification and use of electronic poll books. Prohibits the SOS from certifying an electronic poll book unless it fulfills the requirements of this bill and the SOS's standards and regulations. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, the SOS would incur ongoing General Fund costs of about $90,000 for one position related to promulgating the regulations and testing and certification of ballot on demand systems and electronic poll books. COMMENTS: According to the author, "SB 439 would allow a county elections official to offer voter registration and voting at satellite offices during the entire 14 days immediately preceding Election Day and establish criteria for the use of ballot on-demand (BOD) printing systems and electronic poll books to facilitate this process as well as other early voting efforts..." In 2012, the Legislature approved and Governor signed AB 1436 (Feuer), Chapter 497, Statutes of 2012, which established conditional voter registration, also known as "same-day" registration, in California. Specifically, current law authorizes a person who is otherwise qualified to register to vote to complete a conditional voter registration and cast a provisional ballot at the elections official's permanent office during the 14 days immediately preceding an election or on election day. In addition, current law permits conditional voter registration at elections official's satellite office on Election Day only. This bill authorizes a county elections official to offer conditional voter registration and provisional SB 439 Page 4 voting at satellites offices on other days instead of only on Election Day. A ballot on demand system is a device that can print ballots on demand for use in elections. In practice, ballot on demand systems are used in elections officials' offices and other locations in order to provide any voter with his or her proper ballot regardless of the precinct to which the voter is assigned. Current law requires a ballot on demand system to be approved using the same approval process that is in place for commercial ballot printing operations. Consequently, a ballot on demand system's approval process must be conducted on a county by county (and location by location) basis. For instance, if a single county wants to use a ballot on demand system, that county would have to seek separate approval for each location where they anticipate usage. This bill redefines what it means to be a ballot on demand system. In addition, instead of requiring ballot on demand systems to be approved similar to ballot printing operations, this bill creates a new certification and approval process for ballot on demand systems, as specified. An electronic poll book is an electronic version of the traditional paper poll book which contains a list of the registered voters in each precinct or district. An electronic poll book typically looks like a tablet or laptop computer and is used to more quickly and accurately check in a voter at his or her precinct or voting sites. Many electronic poll books have a variety of other functionalities. For example, many electronic poll books have the capability to allow a poll worker to look up voters from the entire county or state, connect to a county or state voter registration database, notify a poll worker if a voter has already voted, allow a voter to sign in electronically, produce turnout numbers and lists of those who have voted, and receive immediate updates on who has voted in other voting jurisdictions. In California, however, electronic poll books are in their infancy and simply serve as an SB 439 Page 5 electronic list of registered voters in the precinct or district. This bill breaks new ground and creates a new election-related policy that permits a county elections official to use new technology to assist in checking voters in at polling places and other voting sites and sets up processes and procedures for the review and approval of electronic poll books for use in California elections, as specified. Analysis Prepared by: Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0001391