BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 101
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 22, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                 AB 101 (Anderson) - As Introduced:  January 8, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              ElectionsVote:7-0  
          (Consent)

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              Yes

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires all vote-by-mail (VBM) ballots to include a  
          notice that, in order to be counted, the ballot must be received  
          by the elections officials before the polls close on election  
          day. This notice may be included either as instructions to the  
          voter or on the VBM ballot return envelope.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor annual reimbursable costs for elections officials to  
          include the required instructions to VBM voters. Initially,  
          until their existing stock of VBM envelopes is depleted,  
          elections officials would probably provide notification using an  
          insert in the VBM envelope.  To the extent the notification is  
          printed on existing or new VBM envelopes, costs would be  
          negligible.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . The author intends to ensure that every VBM voter  
            receive "a fair warning," as part of their ballot materials,  
            that ballots must be received-rather than just mailed-by a  
            polling official by the time the polls close. This author  
            believes this bill "is a small step our government can take to  
            preserve and uphold the continuity and clarity the voters  
            expect and deserve."

           2)In support  , the California Association of Clerks and Election  
            Officials notes that most counties already provide a notice  
            similar to the one required by this bill, and "while there may  
            be some minor costs imposed on some counties, the information  








                                                                  AB 101
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            is vital to the vote by mail process. As more voters opt to  
            cast their ballots via the vote by mail process, it is  
            imperative that they understand the necessity of returning the  
            voted ballot in a timely manner."

           3)Prior Legislation  .  This bill is substantially similar to AB  
            1928 (Anderson) of 2008, which was one of numerous bills  
            summarily vetoed by the governor without a stated objection.   
            AB 1928 passed this committee 16-0 and passed the Assembly  
            floor 78-0.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081