BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1717
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 6, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 1717 (De Leon) - As Amended: March 16, 2010
SUBJECT : Ballot materials: electronic access.
SUMMARY : Authorizes elections officials to establish
procedures to permit a voter to opt out of receiving election
materials by mail, subject to certain conditions. Specifically,
this bill : provides that county and city elections officials
may establish procedures designed to permit a voter to opt out
of receiving his or her sample ballot, voter pamphlet, notice of
polling place, and associated materials by mail and instead
receive them electronically by e-mail or on the county's or
city's Internet web site. Requires these procedures to comply
with all of the following conditions:
1)The procedures provide notice of and an opportunity by which a
voter can notify elections officials of his or her desire to
obtain ballot materials electronically instead of by mail.
2)The voter's information and e-mail address are to remain
confidential, subject to existing restrictions on the access
of voter information.
3)The procedures provide notice and opportunity for a voter who
has opted out of receiving a sample ballot and other materials
by mail to opt back in to receiving them by mail.
4)The procedures establish a process by which a voter can apply
electronically to become a vote by mail voter.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the elections official to send to each voter a sample
ballot and a voter's pamphlet. Requires the sample ballot to
be mailed not more than 40 nor less than 21 days before the
election to each voter who is registered at least 29 days
prior to the election.
2)Requires the elections official to send notice of the polling
place to each voter with the sample ballot.
AB 1717
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3)Requires the elections official to send notice of the polling
place to each voter who registered after the 29th day prior to
the election. Requires the notice to include information as
to where a voter can obtain a sample ballot and ballot
pamphlet prior to the election, a statement indicating that
those documents will be available at the polling place at the
time of the election, and the address of the Secretary of
State's (SOS) website and, if applicable, of the county
website where a sample ballot may be viewed.
FISCAL EFFECT : Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
AB 1717
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COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
As more and more Californians turn to the Internet for
their research needs, and increasingly choose to "go
paperless" for communications such as bank and billing
statements, the receipt of election materials through the
mail is no longer essential for many voters.
AB 1717 would allow county and city elections officials to
offer registered voters the opportunity to opt-out of
receiving their sample ballot, ballot pamphlet, and notice
of polling place by mail, and instead provide access to
this information electronically (i.e. via e-mail or web
site).
In addition to helping local governments save money in
printing and postage costs, I believe this proposal would
also benefit our environment by reducing the amount of
paper that ends up at recycling centers and landfills.
2)Argument in Support : In support of this bill, the San Mateo
County Board of Supervisors writes:
Providing election materials electronically to County
voters would substantially reduce the costs to counties of
compiling, printing and mailing sample ballots. In San
Mateo County, those costs average approximately $150,000
per election. In addition to the fiscal savings, paperless
distribution of voting materials is friendly to the
environment and a highly effective way of distributing
information to voters. Most importantly, the electronic
distribution of sample ballot materials is the most
convenient way for voters to access ballot information
wherever and whenever they wish prior to the election.
3)Previous Legislation : AB 306 (Fuller), Chapter 98, Statutes
of 2009, requires the SOS to establish a process to enable a
voter to opt out of receiving the state ballot pamphlet by
mail. Where two or more voters share the same postal address,
the SOS would have to continue to mail at least one ballot
pamphlet to that address unless every voter at the address
chooses to opt out. AB 306 will only become effective after
the SOS certifies that the state has a statewide voter
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registration database that complies with the federal Help
America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S. C. Section 153012 et seq.).
AB 1046 (Leno) of 2007 would have required the SOS to notify
voters that the state ballot pamphlet is available online and
to discontinue mailing ballot pamphlets to a voter's residence
upon receipt of such a request from the voter. After being
approved by this Committee, AB 1046 subsequently was amended
to deal with a different issue.
AB 1717
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
California State Association of Counties
City Clerks Association of California
League of California Cities
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
State Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Lori Barber / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094