BILL ANALYSIS
AB 84
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Date of Hearing: March 31, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 84 (Hill) - As Introduced: December 23, 2008
SUBJECT : Vote by mail ballots.
SUMMARY : Requires elections officials to establish procedures
that allows a vote by mail (VBM) voter to find out whether his
or her VBM was counted, and, if not, the reason why it was not
counted.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Outlines procedures for voting by mail and establishes
requirements for elections officials to compare the signature
on VBM ballots with that appearing on the affidavit of
registration. If the ballot is rejected because the
signatures do not compare, the envelope shall not be opened
and the ballot shall not be counted. The cause of the
rejection shall be written on the face of the identification
envelope.
2)Provides that on or before March 1, 2008, the elections
official shall establish procedures to track and confirm the
receipt of VBM ballots and to make this information available
by means of online access using the county's elections
division Internet website. If the county does not have an
elections division Internet website, the elections official
shall establish a toll-free telephone number that may be used
to confirm the date a voted VBM was received.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to an Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis of a substantially similar bill from last
session, any additional reimbursable costs to comply with this
bill's provision should be minor because similar notifications
are already required for provisional ballots and VBM voters may
already obtain information regarding whether their ballot was
received.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
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Voting by mail has increased significantly over the past
few years as a convenient method of voting. Safeguards
built into the method of voting included requiring
elections officials to verify the signature on a vote by
mail (VBM) ballot envelope with the signature on the
voter's registration card. In some cases, a voter's
signature may have changed over time from the signature on
file as a result of age or illness. During the signature
verification process, if the signature on the ballot
envelope does not match the signature on file, the
elections official will not count the ballot.
AB 84 gives VBM voters the same rights afforded to
provisional voters to find out whether their ballot was
counted, by requiring local elections officials to inform
voters whose ballots are not counted the reason why, thus
giving voters the ability to take corrective action to
ensure that VBM ballots will be counted in future
elections. For instance, San Mateo County implemented a
process for VBM voters to confirm if their ballot was
received at the county elections office. VBM voters can
log into the San Mateo County Elections office website by
entering three unique identifiers and find out when the
elections office received their ballot. According to San
Mateo County, the cost of doing this was minimal since
county elections officials already log in VBM ballots into
their computerized elections management systems.
2)Reasons Why a VBM Ballot Might Not be Counted : Under current
law, there are a number of reasons why a VBM ballot that was
completed and returned to the elections officials may not be
counted. One of the most common reasons is that many ballots
are received by the elections office after election day, and
state law requires that VBM ballots be received by the close
of polls on election day in order to be counted. A voter who
was under the impression that his or her ballot would be
counted as long as the envelope was postmarked by election day
could repeatedly have his or her ballot not counted if that
voter regularly waited until election day to put their VBM
ballot in the mail.
The other primary reason why a VBM ballot might not be counted
is that the signature on the identification envelope does not
match the one on the original affidavit of registration.
Illness and age can be factors that contribute to a signature
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changing over time. For example, many older voters do not
realize that the signature on file with the registrar of
voters no longer matches their current signature and as a
result their VBM ballot may not be counted. By requiring
elections officials to provide a way for VBM voters to verify
if their ballot has been counted and a reason if it was not
counted, voters whose ballots were unable to be counted can
take appropriate steps to ensure that their VBM ballots are
counted in the future.
3)VBM Voting in California : In the past few elections, the
number of voters choosing to vote using a VBM ballot has
increased significantly, particularly since the enactment of
AB 1520 (Shelley), Chapter 922, Statutes of 2001, which
allowed any voter to become a permanent VBM voter. Whereas
just over 25% of voters who participated in the 1998 statewide
primary election voted by VBM ballot, more than 41% of voters
who participated in the last five statewide elections voted by
mail. These trends suggest that the number of voters opting
to vote by VBM ballot will continue to increase.
4)Arguments in Support : According to Secretary of State, Debra
Bowen:
The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) requires counties to allow
voters who cast a provisional ballot to find out whether
their vote was counted. Counties can use the existing
system they already have in place as of March 1, 2008, to
let VBM voters know if their ballot was received by the
elections officials. AB 84 allows voters whose ballots are
not counted to find out the reason why, thus giving voters
the ability to take corrective action to ensure their VBM
ballots will be counted in future elections. This is
important to ensure these voters are not disenfranchised in
future elections.
California Common Cause states that they have "long supported
measures to broaden voter access voter access and
participation in the state, and we believe that this bill will
take a significant step towards improving California's vote by
mail system. Given the complexities of obtaining and
submitting a vote by mail ballot in California, we believe
that voters should be able to track the status of their
ballots to ensure that voting is verifiable and accountable."
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5)Previous Legislation : This bill is substantially similar to
AB 2964 (Levine) of 2008. AB 2964 was vetoed by the Governor,
though the Governor did not express any policy objections to
the bill. Instead, AB 2964 was one of the 136 bills that
received the same veto message. That veto message is as
follows:
The historic delay in passing the 2008-2009 State Budget
has forced me to prioritize the bills sent to my desk at
the end of the year's legislative session. Given the
delay, I am only signing bills that are the highest
priority for California. This bill does not meet that
standard and I cannot sign it at this time.
SB 1725 (Bowen), Chapter 687, Statutes of 2006, requires
elections officials to establish procedures by March 1, 2008,
to track and confirm the receipt of voted VBM ballots and to
make this information available by online access using the
county's elections division website, or if none is available,
by means of a toll-free telephone number.
SB 613 (Perata), Chapter 809, Statutes of 2003, in part
requires the establishment of a free access system allowing a
voter casting a provisional ballot to confirm whether their
ballot was counted and, if not, the reason it was not counted.
AB 1520 (Shelley), Chapter 922, Statutes of 2001, allows any
voter to become a permanent VBM voter.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Secretary of State Debra Bowen (sponsor)
Asian Americans For Civil Rights & Equality
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
California Common Cause
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Opposition
None on file.
AB 84
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Analysis Prepared by : Qiana Charles / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094