BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1717
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1717 (De Leon)
As Amended June 10, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |71-0 |(April 12, |SENATE: |31-0 |(June 24, |
| | |2010) | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: E. & R.
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.
The Senate amendments :
1)Provide that a voter may opt out of, or opt back into,
receiving his or her sample ballot and other materials by mail
only if the elections official receives the request and can
process it prior to the statutory deadline for mailing those
materials for the next election. If a voter misses this
AB 1717
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deadline, the request shall take effect for the following
election.
2)Requires the procedures to include a verification process to
confirm the voter's identity, either in writing with a
signature that can be matched to the one on file, or if the
request is submitted electronically, through a match of the
voter's California driver's license number, California
identification number, or partial social security number.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was similar to the Senate
approved version.
FISCAL EFFECT : Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : 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."
Analysis Prepared by : Lori Barber / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0004882