BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 740|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 740
Author: Cedillo (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS, REAPPORT. & C.A. COMM : 5-0, 03/31/09
AYES: Hancock, Walters, DeSaulnier, Liu, Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Elections: provisional ballots
SOURCE : Secretary of State
DIGEST : This bill requires that a provisional ballot be
rejected if the provisional ballot envelope is not signed,
and adds voted provisional ballots and provisional ballot
identification envelopes to the list of items that must be
kept by the elections official for 22 months.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that if a voter claims
to be properly registered to vote, but his or her
eligibility to vote cannot be established, the voter may
cast a provisional ballot. Once voted, the provisional
ballot is sealed in a provisional ballot envelope and
signed by the voter. During the official canvass of
election results the elections official examines the
records with respect to all provisional ballots cast, and
if the provisional voter's eligibility to vote can be
established, the envelope is opened and the provisional
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ballot is counted. As part of this process, the signature
on the envelope is compared with the one on the voter's
affidavit of registration, and the ballot is rejected if
the two signatures do not compare.
This bill additionally requires that the provisional ballot
be rejected if the provisional ballot envelope is not
signed.
Existing law requires elections officials to retain
specified elections materials for a period of 22 months for
federal elections and six months for nonfederal elections,
as specified. Materials required to be retained for these
periods include, but are not limited to:
1.Voted polling place ballots.
2.Paper record copies of voted polling place ballots cast
electronically.
3.Voted mail ballots.
4.Mail ballot identification envelopes.
5.Spoiled and canceled ballots.
6.Unused mail ballots surrendered by the voter.
This bill additionally requires elections officials to
retain voted provisional ballots and provisional ballot
identification envelopes for the aforementioned time
periods.
Background
Provisional Ballot Signatures . Although rare, provisional
ballot envelopes occasionally fail to include the signature
of the voter. In such instances, there is no way to verify
that the voter on record actually cast the ballot.
Retention of Election Materials . Elections officials are
required to retain voted ballots and other election
materials for specified time periods in the event that one
or more candidate races or measures becomes the subject of
an election contest. In the event of an election contest,
it may be necessary for the court to examine these
materials in order to validate or overturn the certified
results of the election.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/20/09)
Secretary of State (source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
OPPOSITION : (Verified 4/20/09)
Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
this bill adds voted provisional ballots and provisional
ballot identification envelopes to the list of items that
must be kept by the elections official for 22 months.
While this is a current practice in most counties, it is
important to clarify it in state law. This bill also
clarifies that if a provisional ballot envelope is not
signed, elections officials must reject the ballot. This
bill works to improve integrity in our elections
procedures.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Department of Finance
opposes this bill because it would likely create a
reimbursable mandate of unknown cost.
DLW:nl 4/21/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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