BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1228|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1228
Author: Yamada (D)
Amended: 7/16/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS, REAP. & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 3-2, 7/7/09
AYES: Hancock, DeSaulnier, Liu
NOES: Walters, Strickland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-27, 5/18/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Elections: all-mailed ballot elections: Yolo
County
SOURCE : Yolo County Clerk-Recorder
DIGEST : This bill creates a pilot program allowing Yolo
County to conduct not more than three local elections at
all-mail ballot elections.
Senate Floor Amendments of 7/16/09 clarify that the local
all mail election pilot project may not coincide with any
other election.
ANALYSIS : Existing law authorizes a local, special, or
consolidated election to be conducted as an all-mailed
ballot election, so long as specified conditions are
satisfied.
This bill:
CONTINUED
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1. Allows not more than three elections in Yolo County to
be conducted as all-mailed ballot elections, subject to
the following conditions:
A. The governing body of the city, county, or
district, by resolution, authorizes the all-mailed
ballot election and notifies the Secretary of State
of its intent to conduct an all-mailed ballot
election at least 88 days prior to the date of the
election.
B. The election does not occur on the same date as a
statewide primary or general election, or any other
election conducted in an overlapping jurisdiction
that is not consolidated and conducted as an all
mailed ballot election pursuant to the bill.
C. The election is not a special election to fill a
vacancy in a state office, the State Legislature, or
the United States Congress.
D. At least one polling place is provided in each
city within the jurisdiction and is open to receive
voted ballots for at least two weeks before the date
of the election and until 8 p.m. on the day of the
election.
E. The elections official delivers to each voter all
supplies necessary for the use and return of the mail
ballot, including an envelope for the return of the
voted mail ballot, postage prepaid.
F. The elections official delivers to each voter,
with either the sample ballot or with the voter's
ballot, a list of the polling places provided under
this bill. The list of polling places must also be
posted on the Internet website of the Yolo County
Elections Office.
G. The return of voted mail ballots is subject to the
same procedures for the return of vote by mail
ballots at a regular election.
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H. The polling places provided under this bill are at
an accessible location and are equipped with voting
units or systems that are accessible to individuals
with disabilities and that provide the same
opportunity for access and participation, including
the ability to vote privately and independently.
2. Requires, if Yolo County conducts an all-mailed ballot
election pursuant to the provisions of this bill, that
the county report to the Legislature and to the
Secretary of State regarding the success of the
election. Requires the report to include, but not be
limited to, any statistics on the cost to conduct the
election; the turnout of different populations,
including whenever possible, but not limited to, the
population categories of race, ethnicity, age, gender,
disability, permanent vote by mail status, and political
party affiliation; the number of ballots that were not
counted and the reasons why they were rejected; voter
fraud; and any other problems that became known to the
county during the election or canvass. Requires the
report, whenever possible, to compare the success of the
all-mailed ballot election to similar elections not
conducted as all-mailed ballot elections in the same
jurisdiction.
3. Requires the report to be submitted to the Legislature
within six months after the date of an all-mailed ballot
election or prior to the date of any other all-mailed
ballot election conducted under this bill, whichever is
sooner.
4. Contains a December 31, 2016 sunset date.
Comments
According to the author, "Vote by mail has steadily
increased in California since the state began allowing
voters to register as a permanent mail ballot voters
without having to provide a reason for doing so, which has
led some local election officials to promote all
vote-by-mail elections. These legislative efforts have
failed primarily out of concern for those who prefer to
vote at the polls - mostly poor non-white voters.
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Increasingly, poor non-white voters are disproportionately
represented due to higher voting rates among permanent
(formerly known as absentee) mail ballot voters, who tend
to be older, wealthier, and white. While vote by mail
voting affects all elections, it is particularly acute in
traditionally low-turnout elections, such as local
elections without a state or federal contest. It is
unclear in these low-turnout elections whether the
potential increase in turnout from all vote-by-mail
elections will offset the potential decrease in turnout
caused by eliminating a preferred voting method (poll
voting) for some voters. ? AB 1228 establishes pilot
elections allowing Yolo County to conduct up to 3 local all
vote-by-mail elections. These elections will be subject to
prescribed conditions to minimize their impact on voters
who traditionally vote at the polls, including, but not
limited to, requiring all return postage to be pre-paid, a
required two week early voting period, one polling place
per city, and a process to ensure the timely mailing of
ballots and sample ballots."
Under state law, any voter can request a vote by mail
ballot for any election, and any voter can become a
permanent vote by mail voter. Permanent vote by mail
voters automatically receive a ballot in the mail for every
election, without the need to re-apply for a vote by mail
ballot. As such, any voter who prefers to vote by mail has
the ability to do so under existing law. Among the
arguments that supporters of all-mailed ballot elections
frequently make in support of such elections is that
all-mailed ballot elections are more convenient for voters.
However, it is not clear whether this is the case. Any
voter who finds it more convenient to vote by mail has the
option to do so under existing law.
Unlike many of the previous bills that would have
authorized all-mailed ballot elections, whether on a
permanent or on a pilot project basis, this bill explicitly
requires Yolo County to report back to the Legislature on
the impact that the all-mailed ballot election had on
turnout of voters by permanent vote by mail status. As a
result, this pilot project may provide the Legislature with
more information about whether all-mailed ballot elections
may, in some circumstances, be more convenient for voters
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than traditional elections.
Prior Legislation
AB 1654 (Huffman), 2007-08 Session, would have allowed
jurisdictions in Calaveras, Marin, Mariposa, Nevada,
Plumas, Santa Barbara, Siskiyou, and Sonoma counties to
conduct any local, special, primary, or general election as
an all-mailed ballot election until December 31, 2013.
However, the bill was amended to deal with an unrelated
issue, after it was approved by the Assembly Elections and
Redistricting Committee.
AB 867 (Liu), 2005-06 Session, would have authorized
Calaveras, Mendocino, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Cruz,
Sierra, and Ventura Counties to conduct all elections as
all-mailed ballot elections until January 1, 2011. The
bill was held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee's
suspense file.
AB 319 (Salinas), Chapter 385, Statutes of 2001, allowed
Monterey County to conduct any election within the county
wholly by mail, provided that the election did not contain
a state or federal office. The provisions of the bill
sunsetted on December 31, 2005.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/9/09)
Yolo County Clerk-Recorder (source)
Disability Rights California
Yolo County
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Evans, Feuer,
Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones, Krekorian, Lieu,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, John A.
Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,
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Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Yamada, Bass
NOES: Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee,
Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Knight,
Logue, Miller, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Silva, Smyth,
Audra Strickland, Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Adams, Conway, Eng, Price, Saldana
DLW:mw 7/20/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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