BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 814|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 814
Author: Hill (D)
Amended: 7/1/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS, REAP. & C. A. COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/29/10
AYES: Hancock, DeSaulnier, Liu, Strickland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Denham
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-0, 8/2/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Ashburn, Corbett, Emmerson, Wolk,
Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Leno, Price, Walters
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant
SUBJECT : Elections: ballots: notification
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires, for a statewide election,
that elections officials include a notification with the
sample ballot, or notice of the polling place, that informs
the voter that he/she will receive a state ballot pamphlet.
This bill also requires that elections officials include a
notification with the vote by mail ballot that informs the
voter that he/she should receive a voter information guide.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the Secretary of State
(SOS) to produce the state ballot pamphlet for each
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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 SOS 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 requires 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."
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This bill also requires 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 SOS's Web site 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 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
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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.)
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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
Local county officials have indicated that they will most
likely print the information required in this bill on the
sample ballot booklet without additional costs, and that
some counties already enclose an insert with their sample
ballots and that this required information would just be
added to that insert. Therefore, any costs associated with
this bill are expected to be minor to local elections
officials.
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : 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. According to
the author's office:
"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 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."
DLW:mw 8/4/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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