BILL NUMBER: AB 2616	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 20, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 12, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Hill

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   An act to amend Section 3017 of the Elections Code, relating to
elections.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2616, as amended, Hill. Elections: vote by mail ballots.
   Existing law requires an elections official to count only those
vote by mail ballots returned by mail that are received by the
elections official or delivered to a polling place by the close of
the polls on the day of the election that contain specified
information. Existing law also requires the elections official to
establish procedures to ensure the secrecy of any vote by mail ballot
returned to a precinct polling place.
   Existing law also requires procedures to track and confirm the
receipt of voted vote by mail ballots and requires that this
information be available by means of online access using the county's
elections division Internet Web site. Existing law requires the
elections official to establish procedures to ensure the security,
confidentiality, and integrity of any personal information collected,
stored, or otherwise used in tracking vote by mail ballots.
   This bill would require  the Secretary of State, when a
specified statewide voter registration database is implemented, in
coordination with  county elections officials  , to
establish procedures  to permit a  voter 
 vote  by mail voter to find out whether his or her vote had
been counted, and if not, the reason why, via online access on the
 Secretary of State's   county's  Internet
Web site  or via a   toll-free telephone number  .

   Because this bill would impose new duties on local elections
officials, it 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:  no   yes  .


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:  
   (a) The number of voters choosing to vote using a vote by mail
ballot has increased from 23 percent of voters casting a vote by mail
ballot in June 2000 to 57 percent in June 2010.  
   (b) Vote by mail voters currently do not enjoy rights provided to
provisional voters who, by law, have the ability to find out after an
election if their votes counted, and if not, why not.  
   (c) A voter's signature changes over time, often because of age or
illness, so a voter's present-day signature may not match the
signature from when he or she first registered to vote.  
   (d) Shifts in signatures over time may lead to legally eligible
voters being disenfranchised and not having their votes counted.
 
   (e) The technology used to allow provisional voters to find out
after an election if their votes were counted can be used to allow
vote by mail voters to do the same. 
   SECTION 1.   SEC. 2.   Section 3017 of
the Elections Code is amended to read:
   3017.  (a) All vote by mail ballots cast under this division shall
be voted on or before the day of the election. After marking the
ballot, the vote by mail voter shall do either of the following: (1)
return the ballot by mail or in person to the elections official from
whom it came or (2) return the ballot in person to any member of a
precinct board at any polling place within the jurisdiction. However,
a vote by mail voter who, because of illness or other physical
disability, is unable to return the ballot may designate his or her
spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, or a
person residing in the same household as the vote by mail voter to
return the ballot to the elections official from whom it came or to
the precinct board at any polling place within the jurisdiction. The
ballot must, however, be received by either the elections official
from whom it came or the precinct board before the close of the polls
on election day.
   (b) The elections official shall establish procedures to ensure
the secrecy of any ballot returned to a precinct polling place and
the security, confidentiality, and integrity of any personal
information collected, stored, or otherwise used pursuant to this
section.
   (c)  On or before March 1, 2008, the   The
 elections official shall  establish procedures
  permit a legally registered voter  to track and
confirm the receipt of voted vote by mail ballots  , and permit a
vote by mail voter to find out whether his or her ballot was counted
and if not, identify the reason why,  and to make this
information available by means of online access using the county's
elections division Internet Web site. If the county does not have an
elections division Internet Web site, the elections official shall
establish a toll-free telephone number that may be used to 
confirm the date a voted vote by mail ballot was received. 
 obtain this same information regarding vote by mail ballots.

   (d) The provisions of this section are mandatory, not directory,
and no ballot shall be counted if it is not delivered in compliance
with this section.
   (e) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), no vote by mail voter's
ballot shall be returned by any paid or volunteer worker of any
general purpose committee, controlled committee, independent
expenditure committee, political party, candidate's campaign
committee, or any other group or organization at whose behest the
individual designated to return the ballot is performing a service.
However, this subdivision shall not apply to a candidate or a
candidate's spouse. 
   (f) The Secretary of State, in coordination with county elections
officials, shall establish procedures to permit a vote by mail voter
to find out whether his or her ballot was counted and if not,
identify the reason why, by means of accessing the Secretary of State'
s Internet Web site. This subdivision shall become operative when, as
determined by the Secretary of State, VoteCal, the statewide voter
registration database, is implemented. 
   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.