BILL NUMBER: AB 714 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2003
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Leno
FEBRUARY 19, 2003
An act to amend Sections 19225, 19226, 19227, 19227.5, and 19229
of the Elections Code, relating to voting.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 714, as amended, Leno. Accessible voting.
Under existing law, a county is required to provide at least one
voting unit at each polling place, to provide access to persons who
are visually impaired, so long as sufficient funds from specified
federal sources are available.
This bill would include within this requirement persons who are
mobility impaired, so long as funds are available from the federal
sources identified under existing law. The bill would add a federal
source for this purpose, namely the Help America Vote Act (P.L.
107-252) and would require that at least one accessible voting
unit be available at each polling place commencing no later than
January 1, 2006 .
Under existing law, county election officials are not required to
make polling places accessible to persons with physical disabilities,
except for voting machines used in federal elections.
This bill would provide that for all elections, county election
officials plan for and provide information about
accessibility to persons with physical disabilities using polling
places, to do outreach and train poll workers about the availability
of accessible polling places, and to shall
report to the Secretary of State their efforts to
the Secretary of State make polling places accessible
to individuals with disabilities and impairments . By
increasing the duties of local elections officials, the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 19225 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
19225. The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) Microchip and digital technologies are increasingly changing
the way Americans vote.
(b) State and political subdivisions are replacing antiquated
voting methods and machines with computer and electronic-based voting
systems, but nonvisual access, whether by speech, braille, or other
appropriate means, is often overlooked in certifying and purchasing
the latest voting technology.
(c) Voting technology and systems that allow the voter to access
and select information solely through a visual means are a barrier to
access by individuals who are blind or visually impaired, thereby
discouraging them from exercising the right to vote, the most
fundamental right of citizenship in a free and democratic society.
(d) Software and hardware adaptations have been created so that
voters can interact with voting technology and systems through both
visual and nonvisual means allowing blind and visually impaired
people to cast a secret ballot and independently verify their vote.
(e) In promoting full participation in the electoral process, the
goals of the state and its political subdivisions must recognize the
incontrovertible right of all citizens regardless of blindness or
visual impairment to vote.
(f) This right must include the opportunity for individuals who
are blind or visually impaired to cast and verify their ballots
independently.
(g) As voting technology advances and as the state and its
political subdivisions employ new voting equipment to address the
needs of voters, innovative solutions must be applied in a
comprehensive way that improves and increases access for all those
who have heretofore been unable to cast a ballot independently and
privately.
(h) It is vital for the state as soon as practicable to extend to
all its citizens full access to the ballot regardless of visual or
mobility impairment.
SEC. 2. Section 19226 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
19226. As used in this article:
(a) "Access" means the ability of an individual independently and
without assistance to receive, use, select, and manipulate data and
operate controls included in voting technology and systems.
(b) "Nonvisual" means synthesized speech, braille, and other
output methods not requiring sight.
SEC. 3. Section 19227 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
19227. (a) The Secretary of State shall adopt rules and
regulations governing any voting technology and systems used by the
state or any political subdivision that provide blind and visually
impaired individuals and individuals with mobility impairment or who
achieve mobility in an assisted fashion such as a wheelchair with
access that is equivalent to that provided to individuals who are not
blind, visually impaired, or mobility impaired, including the
ability for the voter to cast and verify all selections made by both
visual and nonvisual means.
(b) At Commencing no later than January 1,
2006, at each polling place, at least one voting unit approved
pursuant to subdivision (a) by the Secretary of State shall provide
access to individuals who are blind, visually impaired, or mobility
impaired.
(c) Each county elections official shall develop a plan for making
polling places, including paths of travel, entrances, exits, and
voting areas of each polling place, accessible to persons with
physical disabilities in a manner that provides the same opportunity
for access and participation, including privacy and independence, as
other voters enjoy.
(d) Each county elections official shall provide individuals with
physical disabilities and others with information about the
accessibility of polling places, develop outreach programs to inform
individuals about the availability of accessible polling places, and
train election officials, poll workers, and election volunteers on
how best to promote the access and participation of individuals with
disabilities in elections.
(e) Plans developed pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d) shall
describe the activities undertaken to address the goal of achieving
access and shall be used for the purposes of securing federal funding
pursuant to Section 261, et seq., of the Help America Vote Act of
2002 (P.L. 107-252).
(f)
(c) Each county shall report in ways and at times deemed
appropriate by the Secretary of State on expenditure of funds,
activities, and progress toward improving access to polling places
for persons with visual impairment, mobility impairment, and physical
disabilities.
(g)
(d) A local agency is not required to comply with
subdivision (b) unless sufficient funds are available to implement
that provision. Funds received from the proceeds of the Voting
Modernization Bond Act of 2002 (Article 3 (commencing with Section
19230), from federal funds made available to purchase new voting
systems, from federal funds provided pursuant to the Help America
Vote Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-252), or from any other source except the
General Fund, shall be used for that purpose.
SEC. 4. Section 19227.5 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
19227.5. In requiring nonvisual access and access by those with
any mobility impairment pursuant to this article, the Secretary of
State shall obtain recommendations from representatives of blind
consumer organizations, representatives of disabled groups, experts
in accessible software and hardware design, and any other individual
or organization the Secretary of State determines to be appropriate.
SEC. 5. Section 19229 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
19229. (a) A person injured by a violation of this article may
maintain an action for injunctive relief to enforce this article.
(b) An action for injunctive relief shall be commenced within four
years after the cause of action accrues.
(c) For the purposes of this section, a cause of action for a
continuing violation accrues at the time of the latest violation.
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, no action may be brought
against the state or any of its political subdivisions on the basis
of information contained in plans, reports, or applications for
funding required under subdivision (c), (d), (e), or (f) of Section
19227, except in cases of liability resulting from criminal acts or
omissions.
SEC. 6. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.