BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 269
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 29, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                    AB 269 (Silva) - As Amended:  April 13, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              ElectionsVote:7-0  
          (Consent)

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

           SUMMARY  

          This bill makes it a misdemeanor for a member of the public who  
          is observing the processing of vote-by-mail (VBM) ballots, the  
          semi-official canvas, the official canvas, or a recount from  
          willfully doing any of the following:

          1)Attempting to ascertain the identity and ballot choices of a  
            voter, or having observed or learned the identity of a voter,  
            attempting to ascertain the ballot choices of that voter;

          2)Opening a provisional or VBM ballot envelope containing a  
            voted ballot in order to ascertain the voter's ballot choices;  
            or,

          3)Making or placing a mark or device on any ballot or secrecy  
            envelope in an attempt to ascertain the voter's ballot  
            choices.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Probably minor nonreimbursable costs to local governments for  
          enforcement and prosecution, offset to some extent by fine  
          revenues.

           COMMENTS  

           Purpose  .  While the processing of ballots is open to the public  
          to observe, existing law also explicitly prohibits observers  
          from touching official ballots or other official elections  
          materials while they are observing.  This bill provides  
          additional protections, designed to ensure that the secrecy of a  








                                                                  AB 269
                                                                  Page  2

          voter's ballot is not compromised, by prohibiting an observer  
          from willfully attempting to ascertain a voter's ballot choices  
          when the observer knows the identity of the voter who cast the  
          ballot in question.  While elections officials have established  
          procedures to minimize the possibility that an observer could  
          learn the identity of the voter who cast a specific ballot, this  
          bill may help protect the secrecy of ballots against observers  
          who attempt to circumvent those procedures.

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