BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 817|
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                                    CONSENT


          Bill No:  SB 817
          Author:   Senate Elec., Reap. & Const. Amend. Committee
          Amended:  As introduced
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE ELEC., REAP. & CONST. AMEND. COM.  :  5-0, 4/21/09
          AYES:  Hancock, Walters, DeSaulnier, Liu, Strickland


           SUBJECT  :    Elections:  special vote by mail voter

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill makes changes the term special  
          absentee voters to special vote by mail voters" in the law  
          relating to the "vote by mail voter."

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law authorizes a "vote by mail voter"  
          to cast his/her ballot by mail.  Existing law also  
          authorizes members of the Armed Forces, their spouses and  
          dependent, a Unites States citizen temporarily residing  
          outside the country, and crew members of a United States  
          merchant vessel to cast their votes as "special absentee  
          voters."

          This bill changes the term for these votes from "special  
          absentee voters" to "special vote by mail voters."

           Background
           
          This bill is one of the committee's annual omnibus bills  
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                                                                SB 817
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          2

          that makes minor corrections to multiple erroneous code  
          references and also makes several technical and conforming  
          changes.

           Prior legislation
           
          One of the provisions contained in AB 1243 (Karnette),  
          Chapter 508, Statutes of 2007, changed terms relating to  
          "absentee voter" and "permanent absentee voter" ballots by  
          replacing with the terms "vote by mail" and "permanent vote  
          by mail," respectively.  This bill cleans up several  
          erroneous references that were not corrected in AB 1243.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No    
          Local:  No

          DLW:do  4/22/09   Senate Floor Analyses 

                       SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

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