BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2616
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2616 (Hill)
As Amended April 12, 2010
Majority vote
ELECTIONS 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 15-0
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|Ayes:|Fong, Adams, Bill |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway, Ammiano, |
| |Berryhill, Coto, Mendoza, | |Coto, Davis, Bonnie |
| |Saldana, Swanson | |Lowenthal, Hall, Harkey, |
| | | |Miller, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Torlakson, Hill |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to establish
procedures that allows a vote by mail (VBM) voter to find out
whether his or her VBM ballot was counted, and, if not, the
reason why it was not counted. Specifically, this bill requires
the:
1)SOS, in coordination with county elections officials, to
establish procedures to permit a VBM voter to find out if his
or her ballot was counted and if not, the reason why the
ballot was not counted, by means of accessing the SOS's
Internet web site.
2)Provisions of this bill to become operative when VoteCal, the
statewide voter registration database, is implemented.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, costs for the SOS to coordinate the new procedures
with county elections officials will be minor and absorbable, as
the capability required by this bill will be a component of the
VoteCal system.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "based on the numbers
gathered by the Secretary of State, of all the votes cast in the
2009 Statewide Special Election 62% of them were cast by mail.
Twenty years ago, less than 10% of votes cast in the 1988
Primary were done through the mail. Needless to say, voting by
mail has increased significantly over the past few years as a
AB 2616
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convenient method of voting. Safeguards built into the method
of voting included requiring elections officials to verify the
signature on a [VBM] ballot envelope with the signature on the
voter's registration card. AB 2616 seeks to give VBM voters the
same rights afforded to provisional voters to find out whether
their ballot was counted. AB 2616 requires that once VoteCal is
implemented, that the Secretary of State work with local
elections officials to inform voters whose ballots are not
counted the reason why, thus giving voters the ability to take
corrective action to ensure that their vote is counted in future
elections."
In the past, there have been a number of bills that have
addressed VBM issues. For example, AB 84 (Hill) of 2009, would
have required elections officials to establish procedures to
allow a VBM voter to find out whether his or her VBM ballot was
counted, and if not the reason why it was not counted. AB 84 was
vetoed by the Governor who expressed concern that it could
result in additional costs to local governments. AB 2964
(Levine) of 2008, which was substantially similar to AB 84 was
also vetoed by the Governor, though the Governor did not express
any policy objections to the bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Qiana Charles / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094 FN:
0004069