BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 101|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 101
Author: Anderson (R)
Amended: 9/1/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SEN. ELECTIONS, REAP. & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 5-0, 6/16/09
AYES: Hancock, Walters, DeSaulnier, Liu, Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 12-0, 8/27/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Denham, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza,
Price, Runner, Walters, Wolk, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 5/4/09 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Elections: vote by mail ballots
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires county elections officials to
inform vote by mail voters that their ballot must be
actually received by elections officials before the polls
close on elections day in order to be counted. This bill
allows the notice to be either on the identification
envelope or in the ballot material, and allows counties to
exhaust their existing supplies of envelopes before having
to comply with the notification requirement.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires all VBM ballots to be
CONTINUED
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received by the elections official from whom they are
obtained or by the precinct board no later than the close
of polls on Elections Day in order to be counted.
This bill requires elections officials to deliver a notice
to each VBM voter that a VBM ballot must actually be
received by the elections official before the polls close
on Election Day in order for the ballot to be counted and
that an envelope postmarked by the day of the election is
not sufficient. The bill requires this notice to be
included on the VBM ballot identification envelope or in
instructions to the voter provided by the elections
official. This bill also allows counties to exhaust their
existing supplies of envelopes before having to comply with
the notification requirement.
Prior Legislation
This bill is substantially similar to AB 1928 (Anderson) of
the 2007-08 Session. AB 1928 was vetoed by the Governor,
though the Governor did not express any policy objections
to the bill. Instead, AB 1928 was one of 136 bills that
received the same veto message. That veto message read as
follows:
"The historic delay in passing the 2008-09 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 re the highest
priority for California. This bill does not meet that
standard and I cannot sign it at this time."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/1/09)
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
Secretary of State
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
Assemblymember Anderson authored this bill "?.to ensure
that every voter who votes by mail will be given fair
notice that ballots must be received by a polling official
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by the time the polls close. State law currently requires
other standard warnings, and this bill will guarantee a
fundamental one. In the words of AB 101, it would be a
disclosure 'that the vote by mail ballot must actually be
received by elections officials before the polls close on
Election Day in order for the ballot to be counted and that
an envelope postmarked by the day of the election is not
sufficient." This is a small step our government can take
to preserve and uphold the community and clarity the voters
expect and deserve.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A.
Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Huffman
DLW:cm 9/1/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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