BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1424
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Date of Hearing: April 21, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 1424 (Knight) - As Amended: April 13, 2009
SUBJECT : Elections: vote by mail.
SUMMARY : Requires a completed vote by mail (VBM) ballot
identification envelope to contain the last four digits of the
voter's California driver's license number, identification card
number, or social security number (SSN) in order for that ballot
to be counted. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a voter who is returning a VBM ballot to provide the
last four digits of his or her California driver's license
number or California identification card number or, if the
voter has neither, the last four digits of his or her SSN on
the VBM ballot identification envelope. Requires the VBM
ballot identification envelope to contain a security flap or
sleeve to conceal the voter's signature and the last four
digits of his or her driver's license number, identification
card number, or SSN during mailing.
2)Requires the VBM ballot identification envelope to inform the
voter that the envelope will be opened only upon verification
of the signature and the last four digits of the voter's
driver's license number, identification card number, or SSN.
3)Prohibits an elections official from counting a VBM ballot
unless the voter's signature and the last four digits of the
voter's California driver's license number, California
identification card number, or SSN as completed by the voter
on the VBM ballot identification envelope are the same as
those on other state and federal records for that voter.
4)Requires the fee for an original or replacement California
identification card to be waived for a person who requests the
identification card for the purposes of complying with the
requirements of this bill.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Prohibits a VBM ballot from being counted unless the signature
on the VBM ballot identification envelope matches that voter's
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signature on his or her affidavit of registration.
2)Allows an elections official to compare the signature on a VBM
ballot identification envelope with the signature on a VBM
ballot application in order to verify a VBM ballot, but only
if the elections official previously compared the signature on
the VBM ballot application with the signature on the voter's
affidavit of registration.
3)Makes fraud or the attempt to commit fraud in connection with
any vote cast a felony, punishable by imprisonment for up to
three years.
4)Makes impersonation of a voter at an election a felony,
punishable by imprisonment for up to three years.
5)Makes it a felony, punishable by imprisonment for up to three
years, to vote or attempt to vote at an election when not
entitled to do so.
6)Makes it a felony, punishable by imprisonment for up to three
years, to vote more than once at an election.
7)Makes it a felony, punishable by imprisonment for up to three
years, to vote or attempt to vote a VBM ballot by fraudulently
signing the name of a fictitious person, or of a regularly
qualified voter, or of a person who is not qualified to vote.
8)Requires a person to pay a fee of $24 to obtain a California
identification card, with certain exceptions.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. State-mandated local program; contains
reimbursement direction.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
The right to vote is a precious liberty guaranteed by
the U.S. and California Constitutions. However, the
integrity of the ballot box is just as important to
the credibility of elections as access to it. Voters
are disenfranchised by the counting of improperly cast
ballots, and their civil rights are violated just as
surely as if they were prevented from voting.
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Unfortunately, California's current system of
elections serves as an open invitation to fraud, and
is urgently in need of reform. One of the major
problems with California's existing voter registration
procedures is the absence of safeguards to ensure that
non-eligible persons, such as foreign citizens,
convicted felons, and fictitious persons, do not vote.
First, voters need not show any proof of identity when
registering to vote. Voters state in their
registration that they are eligible, but there is no
background check. Second, they are asked to give a
driver's license or ID number on the voter
registration form, but if they do not, they are still
registered to vote. Thus, there is no assurance that
the name on the registration card is a real person, or
that the person is lawfully entitled to vote . . .
Moreover, the most likely avenue for voter fraud today
is in mail balloting, which offers far more
opportunities for abuse than the traditional polling
place because of the separation of both ballot and
voter from the polling place, with all of its
integrity and privacy protections. Mail ballots are
inherently problematic because there is no way of
knowing who actually fills them out. In addition,
ballots could be stolen from mail boxes, either before
or after they have been voted. . .
AB 1424 will help safeguard our right to vote and
instill public confidence in the security and
integrity of our elections system, by requiring voters
to identify themselves on their mail ballot return
envelope. Voters who cannot afford an ID card may
receive a free California ID in order to vote.
2)Is This Bill Necessary ? Notwithstanding the author's concerns
about fraudulent VBM votes being cast, the need for this bill
- and the manner in which this bill would protect against
fraudulent VBM votes being cast - is unclear. California law
already requires the elections official to compare the
signature on a VBM ballot envelope with the signature on that
voter's affidavit of registration before the VBM ballot may be
counted. If those signatures do not match, the ballot is not
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counted. As such, existing law already contains protections
against VBM ballots being cast by someone other than the voter
to whom the ballot was issued.
Furthermore, the author has provided no information to the
committee to indicate that the casting of fraudulent VBM
ballots is a problem in need of a solution. As noted above, a
person who casts a fraudulent VBM ballot at an election can be
charged with a number of different felonies, any one of which
is punishable by up to three years in state prison. Given
that a signature comparison is already done on every VBM
ballot before the ballot is counted, a VBM ballot that is cast
by someone other than the voter to whom the ballot was issued
likely will not be counted.
3)Will This Bill Disenfranchise Voters Due to Inadvertent
Errors ? While it seems unlikely that this bill will provide
any meaningful protection against fraud, it also seems likely
that one consequence of this bill will be the invalidation of
a number of legally cast ballots. For instance, if a voter
transposed two of the digits from his or her driver's license
number, identification card number, or SSN, his or her ballot
would be rejected under the provisions of this bill even if
the signature on the ballot was a match to the signature on
that voter's registration card. Similarly, to the extent that
a person neglected to provide the last four digits of his or
her driver's license number, identification card number, or
SSN, or failed to provide that information due to fear of
identity theft, this bill would require that the ballot be
invalidated even if there was no question that the ballot was
cast by the voter to whom it was issued.
4)Arguments in Opposition : In opposition to this bill, Asian
Americans for Civil Rights and Equality notes:
AB 1424 would create new barriers for voters who are
casting vote-by-mail ballots. Vote-by-mail voters are
already required to write down several pieces of
information on their vote-by-mail envelope, and common
problems include voters neglecting to sign or date their
vote-by-mail envelope or to complete other required
information on the vote-by-mail envelope. These problems
are multiplied for voters who face significant barriers to
voting such as new voters and limited English proficient
voters. California should strive to make the vote-by-mail
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process easier and more accessible for voters rather than
making it more difficult. . . .
Furthermore, AB 1424's requirement does not provide any
additional safeguards against fraud because elections
officials are already required to verify that the signature
on a voter's vote-by-mail envelope matches the signature on
the voter's registration form in order for the ballot to be
counted.
5)Related Legislation : AB 1415 (Adams), which is also being
heard in this committee today, and SB 370 (Runner), which is
being heard in the Senate Committee on Elections,
Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments today, also
require a completed VBM ballot identification envelope to
contain the last four digits of a voter's California driver's
license number, identification card number, or SSN in order
for that ballot to be counted, among other provisions.
6)Related Initiative : This bill is similar to a provision in an
initiative that has been submitted to the Attorney General for
a title and summary. That initiative is substantially similar
to AB 1415 and SB 370.
7)Double-Referral : This bill has been double-referred to the
Assembly Transportation Committee. Due to upcoming committee
deadlines, if this bill is approved in committee today, it
would need to be heard in the Assembly Transportation
Committee next week. As such, in order to ensure that this
bill can be heard in both policy committees before the
upcoming deadline, if it is the author's or the committee's
desire to amend this bill, it should be passed out of
committee without being amended, but with the author's
commitment to amend the bill in the Assembly Transportation
Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
American Civil Liberties Union
AB 1424
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Asian Americans for Civil Rights & Equality
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094