BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1440
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1440 (Swanson)
As Introduced February 27, 2009
Majority vote
ELECTIONS 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Fong, Adams, Bill |Ayes:|De Leon, Nielsen, |
| |Berryhill, Coto, Mendoza, | |Ammiano, |
| |Saldana, Swanson | |Charles Calderon, Davis, |
| | | |Duvall, Fuentes, Hall, |
| | | |Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |John A. Perez, Price, |
| | | |Skinner, Solorio, Audra |
| | | |Strickland, Torlakson |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
AB 1440
Page 2
Committee, potential state General Fund reimbursable costs for
county elections officials to provide the provisional ballots to
out-of-county emergency workers and separate and mail these
ballots to the appropriate county for tabulation. Assuming, at
most, 1,000 such provisional ballots, and "handling" costs of
$50 per ballot, the total cost would be $50,000 at any one
election.
COMMENTS : 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."
Analysis Prepared by : Qiana Charles / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094
FN: 0000570