BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 387|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 387
Author: Hancock (D)
Amended: 3/31/09
Vote: 21
SENATE ELEC., REAP. & CONST. AMEND. COM. : 3-1, 4/21/09
AYES: Hancock, DeSaulnier, Liu
NOES: Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Ballots: identifying information
SOURCE : Secretary of State
DIGEST : This bill prohibits a voter from placing
personal information, as defined, upon a ballot that
identifies the voter, and it provides that a ballot that
contains personal information is not invalid. It also
deletes the requirement that a ballot marked in a manner so
as to identify the voter is void and instead require a
ballot that contains personal information to be segregated
in a specified manner and requires that a duplicate ballot
be prepared.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law prohibits a voter from placing any mark upon a
ballot that will make the ballot identifiable.
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Furthermore, a ballot that is not marked as provided by law
or that is marked or signed by the voter so that the ballot
can be identified by others must be rejected.
Existing law provides that any ballot that is torn, bent,
or otherwise defective must be corrected so that every vote
cast by the voter can be counted by the automatic
tabulating equipment. If necessary, a true duplicate copy
of the defective ballot must be made and substituted
therefore, following the intention of the voter insofar as
it can be ascertained from the defective ballot.
This bill prohibits a voter from placing personal
information, as defined, upon a ballot that identifies the
voter. This bill provides that instead of rejecting a
ballot that contains personal information it must be
segregated in a specified manner and will require that a
duplicate ballot be prepared in the same manner as other
defective ballots. "Personal information" includes all of
the following:
1.The signature of the voter.
2.The initials, name, or address of the voter.
3.A voter identification number.
4.A social security number.
5.A driver's license number.
This bill requires that ballots include in their
instructions to voters that marking the ballot outside of
the designated space to vote for a candidate or measure may
compromise the secrecy of the ballot.
Background
Marked Ballots . Prior to the advent of voting systems that
use an automated tabulation component, paper ballots were
routinely counted by hand. If the elections official who
was hand-counting those ballots was compliant, vote-buying
could occur if a voter made an identifying mark on his or
her ballot. In order to address this possibility, the law
provided that any distinguishing marks or erasures would
render a ballot void. However, according to the Secretary
of State, cases of "vote selling" and individuals marking a
ballot to indicate they've voted a particular way is
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extremely rare to nonexistent while many ballots are
currently rejected for extraneous, often inadvertent marks
made by a voter. With the increased use of optically
scanned paper ballots that require the voter to mark the
ballot with an ordinary ink pen, it is common for voters to
scribble on the ballot to ensure that the ink in the pen is
flowing or they simply and innocently doodle on the ballot
while deciding how to vote.
According to the author's office, voters should not be
disenfranchised for making harmless, extraneous marks on a
paper ballot. Concerns over vote buying in this fashion
are no longer legitimate. Ballots that contain personal
information should also be remade and not be rejected.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/1/09)
Secretary of State (source)
DLW:do 5/4/09 Senate Floor Analyses
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