BILL NUMBER: AB 714 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 9, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 6, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2003
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Leno
FEBRUARY 19, 2003
An act to amend Sections 12223 and 18403 of, to amend and
renumber Section 22000 of, to add Division 22 (commencing with
Section 22000) to, and to repeal Article 3 (commencing with Section
2050) of Chapter 1 of Division 2, Sections 12280, 13304, and 14282,
and Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 19225) of Chapter 2 of
Division 19 of, the Elections Code, relating to voting.
An act to amend Sections 14299, 15210, and 15211 of, and to add
Sections 14299.5, 14299.7, and 14299.9 to, the Elections Code,
relating to election day procedures.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 714, as amended, Leno. Accessible voting
Elections: election day procedures .
Existing law requires an elections official to deliver additional
ballots to a precinct that has an insufficient number of ballots.
This bill would require the elections official to additionally
deliver provisional ballot envelopes, as necessary. The bill would
require a precinct board that is unable to provide ballots to all
voters on election day who are eligible to vote to authorize use of
sample ballots in place of a ballot, and, in the event that the
precinct board is unable to comply, would require the precinct board
to ensure access to a sample ballot for reference and authorize votes
to be cast in writing, as specified. The bill would set forth
requirements for counting votes cast by sample ballot and in writing.
The bill would further require every county utilizing a direct
recording electronic voting system as the primary precinct voting
system to establish and implement an alternative voting procedure for
use in the event that the direct recording electronic voting system
fails. A county would be required to submit the alternative voting
procedure to the Secretary of State for approval as part of the
existing approval process for any direct recording electronic voting
system. A county implementing an alternative voting procedure would
be permitted to make changes to the procedure so long as the changes
were approved by the Secretary of State at least 60 days before an
election to which the procedure would apply.
By placing these additional requirements on elections officials
and precinct boards, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
The bill would require, in the event that a precinct runs out of
ballots, that an investigation be conducted by the Secretary of State
and would require the Secretary of State to report the findings of
the investigation, as specified.
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.
Under existing law, the Visually Impaired Voter Assistance Act of
1989, the Visually Impaired Voter Assistance Advisory Board is
established to assist the Secretary of State in improving voter
accessibility to visually impaired voters.
This bill would eliminate the Visually Impaired Voter Assistance
Advisory Board and, instead, require the Secretary of State to
establish a new advisory board to counsel the secretary on issues
related to improving access for disabled voters.
This bill would amend, and amend and renumber, certain provisions
of the Elections Code to correct internal cross-references.
Existing law requires election precinct boards to assist voters
who declare under oath that they are unable to mark a ballot.
This bill would require that precinct boards ensure that voters
receiving assistance are afforded privacy while voting equivalent to
that provided to other voters and, by so doing, would impose a
state-mandated local program.
Existing law requires the Secretary of State to adopt rules and
regulations governing voting technology and systems used to provide
access to blind and visually impaired voters.
This bill would require the Secretary of State to adopt rules and
regulations governing voting technology and systems used to provide
access to mobility impaired individuals as well. This bill would
impose a state-mandated local program by requiring each local agency
to report to the secretary on its expenditure of funds, activities,
and progress toward improving access to polling places for persons
who are blind, visually impaired, or mobility impaired.
Existing law requires that each polling place have at least one
voting unit, approved by the Secretary of State, to provide access to
individuals who are blind or visually impaired.
This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by requiring
that at least one voting unit provide access to the blind, visually
impaired, or mobility impaired, and would delay imposition of the
requirement until January 1, 2006.
Existing law permits a person who is injured by the failure of a
local agency to comply with specified statutes concerning voter
access for the blind and visually impaired to sue for injunctive
relief.
This bill would extend the right to sue to the mobility impaired.
This bill would further preclude actions against the state or its
political subdivisions that are based on information contained in the
plans, reports, or applications for funding required by specified
statutes requiring voter access for the blind, visually impaired, or
mobility impaired, except for actions arising from a criminal act or
omission.
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. This act shall be known as the California Access
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1) There are occasions when, either due to human error or other
circumstances, precincts utilizing punchcard, optical scan, or other
types of paper ballots for voting purposes can run out of ballots.
(2) Although existing law requires additional ballots be supplied
as soon as possible and that polling places stay open later, eligible
voters, through no fault of their own, can still be disenfranchised
when a precinct runs out of ballots.
(3) Allowing an eligible voter to use a sample ballot to cast his
or her ballot, or, if necessary, to write his or her choices on a
piece of paper, is an option of last resort intended to ensure that
no eligible voter is deliberately or inadvertently disenfranchised
should a precinct run out of ballots.
(b) The Legislature further finds and declares:
(1) Counties are increasingly purchasing or considering the
purchase of direct electronic voting systems for precinct use.
(2) In addition to the extensive national and state testing these
systems undergo during their certification for use in California, it
is prudent that counties develop alternative voting procedures for
use in the unforeseen and unanticipated event that all of the
machines in a precinct fail.
SEC. 2. Section 14299 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
14299. If a precinct board is unable to furnish a ballot to a
qualified voter, because there is an insufficient number of ballots
at the precinct, the elections official shall deliver to the precinct
additional ballots and provisional ballot envelopes as
necessary to ensure that all eligible voters can cast their
ballots by 10 p.m. on election day.
SEC. 3. Section 14299.5 is added to the Elections Code, to read:
14299.5. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 14102 and 14299, in the
event that the precinct board is unable to provide a ballot to any
voter entitled to vote who comes to the polls to exercise his or her
right to vote on election day, the precinct board shall authorize
official sample ballots, whether supplied by the precinct board or a
voter, to be marked by the voter and used in the place of a ballot.
(b) If the precinct board is unable to comply with the requirement
set forth in subdivision (a), the precinct board shall ensure that
an eligible voter has access to a sample ballot for reference, paper,
and pen, and shall allow the voter to cast his or her vote in
writing.
(c) If the precinct board is unable to comply with the
requirements set forth in subdivisions (a) or (b), the precinct board
shall ensure that an eligible voter has access to a sample ballot
for reference and shall allow the voter to supply paper and a pen to
cast his or her vote in writing. A slate mailer, as defined by
Section 82048.3 of the Government Code, or any preprinted paper other
than a sample ballot with the names of candidates or ballot measures
which is not supplied by the precinct board, shall not be used in
place of a ballot.
(d) A ballot cast pursuant to this section shall be cast in a
polling place and placed in a provisional ballot envelope to be
completed and signed by the voter.
(e) A ballot cast pursuant to this section shall be processed and
counted in accordance with Sections 15210 and 15211.
(f) In the event that a voter is casting his or her ballot in
writing, the precinct board shall direct the voter to write as
clearly as possible, and shall inform the voter that if the elections
official cannot determine the voter's intention during the canvass
process, the vote shall not be counted.
SEC. 4. Section 14299.7 is added to the Elections Code, to read:
14299.7. Every county utilizing a direct recording electronic
voting system as the primary precinct voting system shall establish
and implement an alternative voting procedure to be used in the event
that the direct recording electronic voting system fails. The
alternative voting procedure shall be submitted to the Secretary of
State for approval pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
19200) of Division 19 as part of the approval process for any direct
recording electronic voting system. A county implementing an
alternative voting procedure may make changes to an approved
alternative voting procedure so long as the changes are approved by
the Secretary of State at least 60 days before an election to which
the procedure applies.
SEC. 5. Section 14299.9 is added to the Elections Code, to read:
14299.9. (a) If a precinct runs out of ballots and requires a
voter to cast his or her vote pursuant to an alternative voting
method as set forth in Section 14299.5, the Secretary of State shall
investigate and report as follows:
(1) The investigation shall at a minimum determine all of the
following:
(A) The circumstances that resulted in the precinct running out of
ballots.
(B) Whether or not any voters were disenfranchised.
(C) Changes that can be made to prevent reoccurrence, including,
but not limited to, procedural and statutory changes.
(2) The report of the Secretary of State shall be forwarded to the
Assembly Committee on Elections, Redistricting and Constitutional
Amendments, or its successor, the Senate Committee on Elections and
Reapportionment, or its successor, and to the elections official for
each county.
(b) In conducting the investigation, the Secretary of State shall
confer, as necessary to prepare the report, with elections officials
from other jurisdictions who possess experience in the day-to-day
operations of conducting elections. The Secretary of State may
confer with the county district attorney or city district attorney,
the Attorney General, or any other appropriate office, agency, or
resource.
SEC. 6. Section 15210 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
15210. In preparing the voted ballots for processing, any ballot
that is torn, bent, or otherwise defective shall be corrected so that
every vote cast by the voter shall be counted by the automatic
tabulating equipment. If necessary, a true duplicate copy of the
defective ballot or any sample ballot or handwritten ballot cast
pursuant to Section 14299.5 shall be made and substituted
therefor, following the intention of the voter insofar as it can be
ascertained from the defective ballot. All duplicate ballots shall
be clearly labeled "duplicate," and shall bear a serial number that
shall be recorded on the damaged or defective ballot , the
sample ballot, or the handwritten ballot .
SEC. 7. Section 15211 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
15211. If paper ballots are used for absentee voting or
pursuant to Section 14299.5 , the canvass may be conducted in
accordance with Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 15000), or the
elections official may have a true duplicate copy of absentee voter
paper ballots or ballots cast pursuant to Section 14299.5
made on punchcard ballots , following the intention of the voter
insofar as it can be ascertained from the paper ballot or ballot
cast pursuant to Section 14299.5, and that shall be verified in
the presence of witnesses. After verification the punchcard ballots
shall be counted in the same manner as other punchcard ballots.
SEC. 8. 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.
_____________________________________ All matter omitted in
this version of the bill appears in the bill as amended in the
Senate January 6, 2004 (JR 11) ____________________________________