BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1681
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 16, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 1681 (Yamada) - As Introduced: January 25, 2010
SUBJECT : Elections: all-mailed ballot elections.
SUMMARY : Creates a pilot program allowing Yolo County to
conduct not more than three local elections as all-mail ballot
elections. Specifically, this bill :
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 (SOS) 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.
c) The election is not a special election to fill a vacancy
in a state office, the State Legislature, or 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 Web
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site 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 (VBM) ballots at
a regular election.
h) The polling places provided pursuant to 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 SOS 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 VBM 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
6 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.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Permits an election to be conducted wholly by mail if the
governing body authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the
election, the election occurs on an established mailed ballot
election date, and the election is one of the following:
a) An election in which no more than 1,000 registered
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voters are eligible to participate;
b) An election in a city, county, or district with 5,000 or
fewer registered voters that is restricted to the
imposition of special taxes, expenditure limitation
overrides, or both;
c) An election on the issuance of a general obligation
water bond;
d) An election in one of four specifically enumerated water
districts; or,
e) An election or assessment ballot proceeding required or
authorized by the state constitution under Proposition 218.
2)Authorizes a school district or city with a population of
100,000 or less to conduct any special election held to fill a
vacancy as an all-mailed ballot election.
3)Authorizes a district to conduct any election as an all-mailed
ballot election on any date other than an established election
date.
FISCAL EFFECT : Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
The popularity of voting by mail in local and State
elections has steadily increased in California since the
state began permitting voters to register as permanent mail
ballot voters in 2001. Many voters prefer the convenience
of voting by mail, which traditionally costs County
Registrars less per vote than poll voting. Research
indicates that all-mail ballot elections tend to increase
turnout, decrease costs and do not result in voter fraud,
yet we have no detailed reports to evaluate these specific
claims.
Several California counties have conducted all-mail ballot
elections. Monterey conducted one of the first vote-by-mail
elections ever held in the United States in 1977. Alpine
County conducted its first all-mail election in November
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1993 for a countywide special election. San Diego used
all-mail balloting in May 1981 for a measure proposing to
build a convention center and Stanislaus County conducted
[at] the 1993 Statewide Special election as all-mail.
Although many of these elections proved successful in
reducing election costs, the data was never reported to the
state and therefore not able to be fully analyzed for use
in future elections.
In 2001, Monterey County conducted an all-mail election
which did require a report to be submitted to the State
Legislature. The county claimed the election had been a
success, but the submitted report lacked the detail needed
to support these claims.
AB 1681 will allow Yolo County to conduct up to three (3)
local all vote-by-mail elections subject to prescribed
conditions to minimize their impact on voters who
traditionally vote at the polls. These conditions include,
but are not limited to, requiring pre-paid return postage,
one polling place per city, a prescribed number of ballot
drop-off sites, and a process to ensure the timely mailing
of ballots and sample ballots. In addition, this bill will
require the Registrar of Voters to provide the state with a
detailed report on the impact of these all vote-by-mail
elections, including a cost comparison to a traditional
election; data on the impact on turnout for various types
of voters of varying demographics; and the reasons for
returned mail ballots that were not counted. . . .
The Governor vetoed similar legislation last year (AB 1228)
saying that:
"Under the provisions of this bill, one polling place
would be open per city. This limit would
significantly increase the distance needed to travel
to vote in-person. This burden would fall
disproportionately on those who are less mobile,
frequently poor, disabled and elderly."
AB 1681 also calls for one (1) polling place per city as
well as multiple drop-off sites. These polling and
drop-off locations must be accessible to individuals with
disabilities. Polling places must be equipped with voting
systems that allow for the same opportunity for access and
participation for people with disabilities that other
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voters receive.
By sending ballots directly to the voter, this legislation
should increase the participation by those that are less
mobile - often poor, disabled or elderly voters who may
have difficulty getting to a polling location. The study
required in this bill will help determine whether
vote-by-mail elections will make voting more accessible to
those with less mobility or who have fewer transportation
options.
2)Previous Legislation : This bill is identical to AB 1228
(Yamada) of 2009, except that AB 1228 would have allowed both
Yolo and Santa Clara Counties to participate in the all-mail
ballot pilot project. As noted above by the author, AB 1228
was vetoed by the Governor, who expressed concern that the
bill could "significantly increase the distance needed to
travel to vote in-person."
Given the Governor's stated reason for vetoing AB 1228, and the
fact that this bill is identical to AB 1228 except that it
applies only to Yolo County, the committee may wish to
consider whether it is likely that this bill will receive
favorable consideration from the Governor.
3)Vote By Mail and Permanent Vote By Mail Voting : Under state
law, any voter can request a VBM ballot for any election, and
any voter can become a permanent VBM voter. Permanent VBM
voters automatically receive a ballot in the mail for every
election, without the need to re-apply for a VBM 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, and voters who want to vote by mail
at every election can sign up for permanent VBM status.
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
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all-mailed ballot election had on turnout of voters by
permanent VBM 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 than traditional elections, in
which voters may request to vote by mail, but are not
compelled to do so.
4)Monterey Pilot Project : 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. AB 319
specified that it was to serve as a pilot project for mailed
ballot elections, and required Monterey County to report to
the Legislature and the SOS regarding the success of the
election, including, but not limited to, any statistics on the
increase of voter fraud. The pilot project ended on December
31, 2005. AB 591 (Salinas) of 2006 sought to extend the pilot
project until December 31, 2008, but that bill failed after
never being heard in the Senate Elections, Reapportionment and
Constitutional Amendments Committee.
Unfortunately, the report filed by Monterey County as part of
the pilot project lacked much of the information that is
necessary to evaluate the impacts of the pilot project.
Although the report indicated that mailed ballot elections
increased turnout, decreased costs, and did not result in
voter fraud, the report lacked the detail necessary to
evaluate these claims.
5)Arguments in Support : According to the sponsor of this bill,
the Yolo County Clerk/Recorder:
Mail ballot voting has become steadily more popular in
California since the Legislature first permitted permanent
mail ballot registration by its voters. As a result, many
local governments and some states have considered
conducting their elections entirely by mail to increase
efficiency and cut costs. However, previous legislative
attempts to implement these elections have met with
resistance since the effects on voter turnout in California
are not fully known.
AB 1681 creates a pilot project to find out what that
effect is. By using a county as diverse as Yolo, and by
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requiring detailed information to be reported back to the
legislature, AB 1681 will answer the questions surrounding
mail ballot elections and how they might affect
California's future.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Yolo County Clerk/Recorder (sponsor)
City Clerks Association of California
Disability Rights California
League of California Cities
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Yolo County Board of Supervisors
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094