BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS, REAPPORTIONMENT AND
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
BILL NO: AB 2369 HEARING DATE: 6/29/10
AUTHOR: BLOCK ANALYSIS BY: Frances Tibon
Estoista
AMENDED: AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Elections: ballots
DESCRIPTION
Existing law defines a "special absentee voter" as an
elector who is any of the following:
a) A member of the Armed Forces of the U.S. or any
auxiliary branch thereof;
b) A citizen of the U.S. temporarily living outside of
the territorial limits of the
U.S. or the District of Columbia;
c) Serving on a merchant vessel documented under the laws
of the U.S.; or,
d) A spouse or dependent of a member of the Armed Forces
or any auxiliary branch thereof.
Existing law permits a special absentee voter who is
temporarily living outside the territorial limits of the
U.S. or the District of Columbia to return his or her
ballot by facsimile transmission at any election until
January 1, 2011.
Existing law provides that a ballot returned by facsimile
transmission must be received by the elections official no
later than the closing of the polls on Election Day.
Existing law requires any ballot returned by facsimile
transmission to contain an "identification envelope"
containing all the information required on the vote by mail
identification envelope.
Existing law requires any ballot returned by facsimile
transmission to contain an oath of voter declaration that
requires the voter to waive his or her right to have his or
her ballot kept secret.
Existing law requires the county elections official to
adopt appropriate procedures to protect the secrecy of
ballots returned by facsimile transmission.
Existing law required the Secretary of State (SOS) to
report by December 31, 2008, on the number of ballots
returned by fax pursuant to state law and on any benefits
and problems derived from allowing ballots to be returned
by fax.
This bill removes the sunset clauses associated with the
provisions allowing ballots to be transmitted by fax to and
from those voters who are temporarily living outside the
United States or those who have been called to military
service.
BACKGROUND
Secretary of State's Report on Military and Overseas Faxed
Ballots : In 2004, the Legislature approved and the
Governor signed AB 2941 (Bates), Chapter 821, Statutes of
2004, which permits a special absentee voter who is
temporarily living outside the U.S. to return his or her
ballot by facsimile transmission. AB 2941 required the SOS
to report by December 31, 2008 on the benefits and problems
of allowing voters to return ballots by fax and on the
number of ballots returned by fax pursuant to AB 2941. The
SOS writes in their report:
The Secretary of State surveyed elections officials in each
of California's 58 counties in December 2008 regarding the
number of voted ballots returned by facsimile transmission
in the categories of military voters (domestic and
overseas) and non-military overseas voters for the November
4, 2008, General Election. This breakdown was patterned
after the categories requested by the federal Election
Assistance Commission in the Uniformed and Overseas
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Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) portion of its 2008
Election Day Survey for consistency and ease of completion.
It should be noted that seven counties did not
differentiate military from non-military overseas voters.
The Secretary of State survey also asked each county to
provide the number of facsimile ballots counted and the
number rejected or not counted. Finally, the survey
solicited comments and recommendations regarding any
benefits or problems counties experienced with the receipt
of facsimile ballots.
None of the counties recommended discontinuing the practice
of accepting facsimile special absentee ballots. County
elections officials believe that military and overseas
voters should continue to be allowed to send their
completed ballots in by facsimile, especially because these
votes may be disadvantaged by having to rely on traditional
means to return ballots before the polls close on Election
Day.
During the November 4, 2008, General Election, county
officials were able to resolve most problems, such as the
failure to return the signed oath of voter with the faxed
ballot, by contacting the voter and obtaining all required
forms.
According to the 58 counties that responded to the survey,
11,997 ballots were returned by fax for the November 4,
2008, General Election. Of those, 875 faxed ballots were
rejected and were not counted. The most common reasons for
rejection were the failure on the part of the voter to
forward or sign the oath of voter and poor facsimile
quality.
Sixteen counties reported having received incomplete or
illegible ballot packages, i.e., the oath of voter was not
faxed with the ballot, there were missing pages, or
portions of the ballot did not come through clearly. In
most cases, county elections officials were able to contact
the voter to correct the deficiency by sending them
additional documents.
Ten counties experienced a substantial increase in the
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number of special absentee voters and two of those counties
reported that additional processing time was necessary for
duplicating ballots due the quality of the facsimile
transmissions. However, only one of the 58 counties, Santa
Clara County indicated the process actually delayed the
counting of the ballots because every faxed ballot required
duplication.
Notably, the three counties that experienced the highest
volume of facsimile ballots (Los Angeles, Orange, and San
Diego counties) each expressed support for continuing the
program. Many military members were reportedly grateful
that this method of voting was available and expressed
their appreciation to county election officials.
COMMENTS
1. According to the author : Established by AB 2941(Bates)
in 2004 and extended by AB 2786 (Salas) in 2008, current
law allows a voter who is temporarily living outside of
the territorial limits of the United States, the
District of Columbia, or is called to military service,
to return his or her vote by mail ballot by facsimile
transmission to the elections official. The ballot has
to be received by the close of the Election Day polls
and accompanied by an identification envelope and an
oath of voter declaration in a prescribed form.
The statutes that protect the voting rights of men and
women in uniform serving outside the United States will
expire in 2011. Faxed voting ballots are a proven and
effective means of voting by service members and others
living temporarily overseas (In the 2008 General
Election over 8,000 members of the Armed Services cast
their votes with a faxed ballot). AB 2369 will ensure
that a permanent protection for service members' voting
rights is established.
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 7-0
Assembly Appropriations Committee: 15-0
Assembly Floor: 74-0
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POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: California Association of Clerks and Election
Officials
County of San Diego
Oppose: None received
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