BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS, REAPPORTIONMENT AND
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
BILL NO: AB 814 HEARING DATE:
6/29/10
AUTHOR: HILL ANALYSIS BY:
Darren Chesin
AMENDED: 6/16/10
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Voter information guide: notice to voter
DESCRIPTION
Existing law requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to
produce the state ballot pamphlet for each statewide
election, one of which is mailed to each household in the
state where a registered voter resides. The state ballot
pamphlet must include all of the following:
A complete copy of each state ballot measure.
A copy of the arguments and rebuttals for and against
each state ballot
measure.
A copy of the analysis of each state ballot measure by
the Legislative Analyst.
Tables of contents, indexes, art work, graphics, and
other materials that the
Secretary of State determines will make the ballot
pamphlet easier to
understand or more useful for the average voter.
Existing law provides that a candidate for statewide
elective office who accepts specified voluntary campaign
expenditure limits may purchase the space to place a
statement in the state ballot pamphlet. The statement may
not make any reference to any opponent of the candidate.
The SOS may not include in the state ballot pamphlet a
statement from a candidate who has not voluntarily agreed
to the expenditure limitations.
Existing law requires local elections officials to produce
a sample ballot for each ballot type. A sample ballot
shall be mailed, postage prepaid, not more than 40 nor less
than 21 days before the election to each voter who is
registered at least 29 days prior to the election.
Existing law requires elections officials to provide a vote
by mail (VBM) ballot and the supplies necessary to complete
and return the ballot to each qualified VBM applicant prior
to an election.
This bill would require the elections officials to deliver
to each qualified VBM applicant a notification that the
voter should receive a "voter information guide containing
detailed information on the candidates and measures that
will be on the ballot for the election."
Author's Amendments . The committee has been informed that
the author intends to offer amendments to instead require
that for every statewide election a notice shall be printed
on the sample ballot notifying the voter that they should
receive a state ballot pamphlet at least a week prior to
the election. The notice must include the Secretary of
State's website where a voter can access an online version
of the state ballot pamphlet and the phone number to the
local elections office where the voter may get additional
information.
BACKGROUND
Missing State Ballot Pamphlets in San Mateo County . An
undetermined number of voters in San Mateo County failed to
receive their state ballot pamphlets for the June 8, 2010
Statewide Primary Election. The following statement
regarding this matter was issued by the Secretary of
State's Office on June 4, 2010:
State law requires that the Secretary of State's
Official Voter Information Guides be mailed to
every voter household no later than May 18, and
the U.S. Postal Service reports that all state
voter guides for the current election cycle were
received at their regional postal facilities on
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time.
State voter guides addressed to San Mateo County
voter households were delivered to the U.S.
Postal Service's San Francisco regional postal
facility between April 22 and May 13, then
distributed to area post offices from there.
To further enhance availability to all
Californians, the Secretary of State also makes
state voter guides available at every polling
place, every county elections office and every
public library, as well as on the Internet at
www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov.
Without contacting the Secretary of State for
the facts, San Mateo County elections chief
Warren Slocum incorrectly announced that not one
state voter guide had been received or even
mailed on time in San Mateo County. In fact,
most registered voters in San Mateo County have
received at least one state voter guide in the
mail. (Note: Since 2008, state voter guides
have been distributed one per voter household
rather than one per each voter.)
When the Secretary of State's office received
two phone calls yesterday from San Mateo County
voters, we wanted to investigate. When
contacted, San Mateo County staff assured
Secretary of State staff there appeared to be no
widespread issue with state voter guides.
However, upon further research, the Secretary of
State's office has learned at least 19 San Mateo
County voters did not receive voter guides in
the mail, despite being registered to vote
before the mailing began. (Note: County
elections offices are responsible for providing
state voter guides to all voters who register or
change registration information after the
statewide mailing begins. Each county has a
large supply of extra voter guides on hand for
such instances.)
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While bulk-mailing millions of items through the
U.S. Postal Service's 1,459 post offices across
California will never be perfect, even one
missed household is too many when it comes to
the Secretary of State's nonpartisan election
materials.
The Secretary of State's office is thankful to
voters who notify us if they do not receive
their election materials or wish to have
additional copies. It's unfortunate that Mr.
Slocum didn't notify the Secretary of State's
office when he had concerns about election
materials, and instead misinformed voters and
campaigns."
COMMENTS
1.According to the author , under existing law, the
Secretary of State is required to mail out state ballot
pamphlets no later than 21 days prior to a statewide
election. The ballot pamphlets, also known as Voter
Information Guides (VIG), provide the voter with
impartial summaries, arguments for and against, rebuttal
arguments, and other information concerning ballot
measures that helps voters decide how they will vote.
Days before the June 8th primary, our office began
receiving calls that voters in San Mateo County had not
received their VIGs. The Assemblymember, our District
Director, and San Mateo's Chief Elections Officer were
among those voters. Currently, to enhance access to the
VIG, the Secretary of State makes these guides available
at every polling place, county elections office and
public libraries, as well as on-line. However, given the
calls our office received regarding the issue it is clear
that voters don't know how to access additional VIGs if
they don't receive one in the mail. This bill is an
attempt to correct this.
Since the VIG is the one of the few sources that voters can
access and get the information needed to make an informed
vote, Assemblymember Hill wants to ensure voters know how
to get additional copies of the VIG in case the copy
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mailed to them is never received.
Also, under current law the Secretary of State is directed
to send out VIGs between 40-21 days from the election
while the County is supposed to mail out the ballots
29-14 days from the election. This means that a voter
might have his/her ballot, but not receive a VIG until a
week later. This bill addresses this discrepancy by
letting the voter know where to obtain a VIG in the event
it has not yet been received in the mail.
Assemblymember Hill will be offering author amendments to
require local election officials to send out a
notification with the sample ballot informing voters
where they can get copies of VIGs.
PRIOR ACTION
Prior votes do not reflect the current version of this bill
which was completely rewritten.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: None received
Oppose: None received
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