BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1440
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 1440 (Swanson) - As Introduced: February 27, 2009
SUBJECT : Elections: provisional ballots.
SUMMARY : Allows emergency services workers to vote a special
provisional ballot that contains statewide measures and
candidates for statewide office if they are responding to a
state of emergency. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that upon the declaration of a state of emergency by
the Governor, elections officials in the counties included in
the Governor's executive order shall issue to any person who
is a public safety worker, emergency services worker, or other
person officially engaged in responding to the declared
emergency, a provisional ballot permitting that person to vote
on all statewide measures and candidates for statewide office
appearing on the ballot.
2)Requires elections officials to transmit for processing any
ballot cast to the elections official in the county where the
voter is registered to vote.
3)Establishes that a ballot cast pursuant to this bill will be
counted if the ballot is cast by the voter no later than the
close of the polls on election day and is received by the
county elections official where the voter is registered on or
before the 10th day following the date of the election.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that at all elections, a voter claiming to be
properly registered but whose qualification or entitlement to
vote cannot be immediately established is entitled to vote a
provisional ballot.
2)Provides that the provisional ballot of a voter who is
otherwise entitled to vote shall not be rejected because the
voter did not cast his or her ballot in the precinct to which
he or she was assigned by the elections official.
3)Provides that if a provisional ballot cast by the voter
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contains the same candidates and measures on which the voter
would have been entitled to vote in his or her assigned
precinct, the elections official shall count the votes for the
entire ballot. However, if the ballot cast by the voter
contains candidates or measures on which the voter would not
have been entitled to vote in his or her assigned precinct,
the elections official will count only the votes for the
candidates and measures on which the voter was entitled to
vote in his or her assigned precinct.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. State-mandated local program; contains
reimbursement direction.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
During a large-scale emergency, state mutual aid agreements
can require emergency personnel to respond to a situation
away from the county in which they are registered to vote.
If these voters have not requested, received, or voted with
a vote-by-mail ballot and/or do not return home before
Election Day, they will have no opportunity to vote.
This bill allows emergency personnel responding to a
Governor's declared state emergency to cast a provisional
ballot within any county inside California, regardless of
which county the voter is currently registered to vote.
The individual's selections would be counted only for those
races for which they are entitled to vote, based on their
registration address. To be counted, the ballot must be
cast no later than the close of polls on Election Day, and
the county in which the ballot was cast must forward it to
the election official in the voter's home county within 10
calendar days.
Natural and man-made disasters can occur regardless of the
season. For example, California's fire season has continued
into the month of November, resulting in emergency
personnel missing not only primary elections, but general
elections as well. As the state continues to grow in
population, a greater number of emergency personnel could
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well be deployed throughout the California at various times
of the year. The chances of emergency personnel being
deprived of their right to vote thus becomes an ever
greater possibility.
2)Issuance of Executive Orders During the Election Season : In
the fall of 1993 then Governor Pete Wilson issued an Executive
Order W-69-93 declaring a state of emergency within the
counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino,
San Diego and Ventura. The executive order temporarily
suspended certain portions of the Elections Code regarding
absentee voters. The executive order authorized elections
officials to issue a provisional ballot permitting a person
officially engaged in responding to the emergency to vote on
all statewide measures appearing on the November 2, 1993
Special Statewide Election Ballot. Executive Order W-69-93
also specified that upon return of a ballot by the voter by
the close of polls on election day, the elections official was
required to transmit for processing the ballot to the
elections official in the county where the voter was
registered to vote.
3)Concerns Expressed : Although the California Association of
Clerks and Election Officials (CACEO) has not officially taken
a position on this bill, they did raise concerns about the
possible need for multiple ballots. According to CACEO, this
bill could be interpreted to require a new ballot containing
statewide offices and propositions because candidates for
statewide office are rotated by the Assembly District
resulting in the creation of multiple versions of a ballot.
Additional costs for these ballots would constitute a mandated
county cost. CACEO has proposed an alternative proposal which
would not necessitate the need for additional ballot versions,
but rather allow emergency responders to transmit their
ballots via facsimile, similar to those deployed in the
military. This option will also allow election officials to
provide a quick turnaround on based ballots and allow voters
to cast a ballot not only on statewide candidates and issues,
but on important local contests and propositions as well.
4)Arguments in Support : According to the California
Professional Firefighters:
The firefighter work schedules have evolved to reflect
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continuous service. Firefighters generally work shifts
ranging from 24 to 48 hours continuously before they go off
duty. These shifts can be extended further in instances
where there is a declared state of emergency and
firefighters from across California are called on to
provide a mutual aid response to the declared emergency.
Ultimately, their unusual working hours make it possible,
indeed likely, that many firefighters will be on duty
during the entire period the polls are open on Election
Day, especially when considering that November - the month
in which general elections are held - is still part of the
fire season in many areas of the state.
California Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, states that "by
allowing emergency personnel to cast a provisional ballot
outside of the county they are registered in, AB 1440 ensures
emergency personnel will not lose their ability to vote while
responding to a declared state of emergency".
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Secretary of State Debra Bowen (sponsor)
California Professional Firefighters
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Qiana Charles / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094