BILL NUMBER: AB 1531 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 1, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 10, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 28, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Portantino
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Section 14310 of, and to add Article 6
(commencing with Section 14320) to Chapter 3 of Division 14 of, the
An act to amend Section 13314 of the Elections
Code, relating to elections.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1531, as amended, Portantino. Elections: voter
registration. challenges.
Existing law allows an elector to seek a writ of mandate alleging
that an error or omission has occurred, or is about to occur, in the
placing of a name on, or in the printing of, a ballot, sample ballot,
voter pamphlet, or other official matter, or that any neglect of
duty has occurred, or is about to occur. Existing law provides that
venue for these proceedings is in the County of Sacramento when the
Secretary of State is named a real party in interest.
This bill would require that the Secretary of State be named as a
respondent or real party in interest in any proceeding under the
above provisions concerning a statewide measure or candidates for
specified offices.
Existing law prohibits a person from registering to vote except by
affidavit of registration and requires that the affidavit be
received by the county elections official no later than 15 days prior
to the election, with specified exceptions. Under existing law, a
person registered as a voter in any precinct in the state who moves
from the district within 14 days prior to election day is, for the
purpose of that election, entitled to vote in the precinct from which
the person moved until the close of the polls on election day.
This bill would authorize a person who qualifies to vote in the
state to register or reregister at the office of the local elections
official commencing 14 days prior to election day and continuing
through election day or at the person's precinct on election day. A
person who registers prior to election day and provides proof of
current residence would be permitted to cast a vote by mail ballot. A
person who registers to vote on election day and provides proof of
current residence would be permitted to cast a regular ballot at the
precinct. A person who registers pursuant to these provisions and
does not provide proof of current residence would be permitted to
cast a provisional ballot.
The bill would also require local elections officials to compile a
list or index of voters who registered or reregistered to vote
pursuant to these provisions and to conduct a review no later than 30
days after the canvass of the votes for the election. By increasing
the duties of local elections officials, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 13314 of the
Elections Code is amended to read:
13314. (a) (1) Any An elector may
seek a writ of mandate alleging that an error or omission has
occurred, or is about to occur, in the placing of any
a name on, or in the printing of, a ballot,
sample ballot, voter pamphlet, or other official matter, or that any
neglect of duty has occurred, or is about to occur.
(2) A peremptory writ of mandate shall issue only upon proof of
both of the following: (A) that
(A) That the error, omission, or
neglect is in violation of this code or the California
Constitution , and (B) that .
(B) T hat issuance of
the writ will not substantially interfere with the conduct of the
election.
(3) The action or appeal shall have priority over all other civil
matters.
(4) The Secretary of State shall be named as a respondent or real
party in interest in any proceeding under this section concerning a
measure or a candidate described in Section 15375, except a candidate
for judge of the superior court.
(b) Venue for a proceeding under this section shall be exclusively
in Sacramento County in any of the following cases:
(1) The Secretary of State is named as a real party in interest or
as a respondent.
(2) A candidate for statewide elective office is named as a party.
(3) A statewide measure that is to be placed on the ballot is the
subject of the proceeding.
SECTION 1. Section 14310 of the Elections Code
is amended to read:
14310. (a) At an election, a voter claiming to be properly
registered, but whose qualification or entitlement to vote cannot be
immediately established upon examination of the index of registration
for the precinct or upon examination of the records on file with the
county elections official, shall be entitled to cast a provisional
ballot as follows:
(1) An election official shall advise the voter of the voter's
right to cast a provisional ballot.
(2) The voter shall be provided a provisional ballot, written
instructions regarding the process and procedures for casting the
provisional ballot, and a written affirmation regarding the voter's
registration and eligibility to vote. The written instructions shall
include the information set forth in subdivisions (c) and (d).
(3) The voter shall be required to execute, in the presence of an
elections official, the written affirmation stating that the voter is
eligible to vote and registered in the county where the voter
desires to vote.
(b) Once voted, the voter's ballot shall be sealed in a
provisional ballot envelope, and the ballot in its envelope shall be
deposited in the ballot box. A provisional ballot cast shall remain
sealed in its envelope for return to the elections official in
accordance with the elections official's instructions. The
provisional ballot envelope specified in this subdivision shall be a
color different than the color of, but printed substantially similar
to, an envelope used for a vote by mail ballot, and shall be
completed in the same manner as a vote by mail envelope.
(c) (1) During the official canvass, the elections official shall
examine the records with respect to all provisional ballots cast.
Using the procedures that apply to the comparison of the signature on
a vote by mail ballot, the elections official shall compare the
signature on each provisional ballot envelope with the signature on
the voter's affidavit of registration. If the signatures do not
compare, the ballot shall be rejected. A variation of the signature
caused by the substitution of initials for the first or middle name,
or both, shall not invalidate the ballot.
(2) (A) Provisional ballots shall not be included in any
semiofficial or official canvass, except under the following
circumstances:
(i) The elections official establishes prior to the completion of
the official canvass, from the records in his or her office, the
claimant's right to vote.
(ii) The votes have been properly cast pursuant to Article 6
(commencing with Section 14320).
(iii) Upon the order of a superior court in the county of the
voter's residence.
(B) A voter may seek the court order specified in this paragraph
regarding his or her own ballot at any time prior to completion of
the official canvass. Any judicial action or appeal shall have
priority over all other civil matters.
(3) 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.
(A) If the ballot cast by the voter 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.
(B) 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 shall count only
the votes for the candidates and measures on which the voter was
entitled to vote in his or her assigned precinct.
(d) The Secretary of State shall establish a free access system
that a voter who casts a provisional ballot may access to discover
whether the voter's provisional ballot was counted and, if not, the
reason why it was not counted.
(e) The Secretary of State may adopt appropriate regulations for
purposes of ensuring the uniform application of this section.
(f) This section shall apply to a vote by mail voter described by
Section 3015 who is unable to surrender his or her unvoted absent
voter's ballot.
(g) Any existing supply of envelopes marked "special challenged
ballot" may be used until the supply is exhausted.
SEC. 2. Article 6 (commencing with Section
14320) is added to Chapter 3 of Division 14 of the Elections Code, to
read:
Article 6. Same Day Registration and Voting
14320. (a) Notwithstanding Section 2102, an elector who qualifies
to vote under this code and Section 2 of Article II of the
California Constitution may register or reregister to vote as
follows:
(1) At the office of his or her local elections official
commencing on the 14th day prior to the election and continuing
through election day.
(2) At his or her precinct on election day.
(b) The elections official shall send the voter notification form
required by Section 2155 within 15 days after the date of the
election to a person who is properly registered or reregistered to
vote pursuant to this section, and the voter shall be registered for
future elections at the address for which the voter is so registered
or reregistered.
14321. (a) An elector who registers or reregisters to vote
pursuant to Section 14320 prior to election day, upon showing proof
of current residence, shall be furnished a vote by mail ballot. The
elector may cast the ballot as provided by Section 3018.
(b) An elector who registers or reregisters to vote pursuant to
Section 14320 on election day, upon showing proof of current
residence, may cast a ballot as provided in Article 4 (commencing
with Section 14270).
(c) An elector who registers or reregisters to vote pursuant to
Section 14320, but who is unable to show proof of current residence,
may cast a provisional ballot pursuant to Section 14310. A
provisional ballot cast pursuant to this section shall be placed in
an envelope distinguishable from other provisional ballot envelopes
and shall not be included in a semiofficial or official canvass until
the voter's right to vote is established.
14322. An elections officials shall mail a nonforwardable
residency confirmation postcard within 10 days of an election to a
voter who registers or reregisters to vote pursuant to Section 14320
but who is unable to show proof of current residence. The postcard
shall be substantially similar in form to the postcard mailed
pursuant to Section 2220. If the postcard mailed pursuant to this
section is returned as undeliverable within 10 days of mailing to the
elections official by the post office, a provisional ballot cast
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 14321 shall not be counted and
registration or reregistration shall be canceled. If the postcard is
not returned within that 10-day period by the post office, the
provisional ballot shall be included in the canvass.
14323. The elections official shall compile a list or index of
voters who registered or reregistered to vote pursuant to this
article. Not later than 30 days after the official canvass for the
election, the elections official shall conduct a review of the names
on the list or index and shall cancel any duplicate voter
registration that may exist.
14324. For purposes of this article, the office of the elections
official may include satellite locations, as long as the requirements
of subdivision (b) of Section 3018 are satisfied.
14325. The Secretary of State shall, by regulation, adopt
procedures for determining the documents or other materials that
constitute proof of current residence for purposes of voting under
this article.
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.