BILL ANALYSIS
SB 817
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Date of Hearing: June 23, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
SB 817 (Elections, Reapportionment & Constitutional Amendments
Committee) -
As Introduced: March 2, 2009
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
SUBJECT : Elections: special vote by mail voter.
SUMMARY : Changes the terminology used to refer to a voter who
is a member of the Armed Forces or the spouse or dependent of a
member of the Armed Forces, a United States citizen temporarily
residing outside the country, or a person who is serving on a
merchant vessel under the laws of the United States, from a
"special absentee voter" to a "special vote by mail (VBM)
voter."
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines "special absentee voter" as an elector who is any of
the following:
a) A member of the armed forces of the United States or any
auxiliary branch thereof;
b) A citizen of the United States temporarily living
outside the territorial limits of the United States or the
District of Columbia;
c) Serving on a merchant vessel documented under the laws
of the United States; or,
d) A spouse or dependent of a member of the armed forces or
any auxiliary branch thereof.
2)Provides that an application for a VBM ballot by a special
absentee voter or by an overseas voter shall be deemed an
affidavit of registration and an application for permanent VBM
voter status. Provides that such an application shall be
accepted only if it contains the voter's name, residence
address for voting purposes, the address to which the ballot
is to be sent, the voter's political party for a primary
SB 817
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election and the voter's signature.
3)Requires the county elections official to mail a ballot to all
special absentee voters and overseas voters who are permanent
VBM voters as soon as possible on or after the 60th day prior
to an election.
FISCAL EFFECT : Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author, this omnibus
bill simply changes the term "special absentee voters" to
"special vote by mail voters" to make the Elections Code
consistent.
2)Absentee Voting vs. Vote By Mail Voting : Two years ago, the
Legislature approved and the Governor signed AB 1243
(Karnette), Chapter 508, Statutes of 2007. Among other
provisions, AB 1243 changed the name of "absentee" voting to
VBM voting, in an attempt to clarify that a voter does not
need to be absent from his or her precinct on election day in
order to choose to vote by mail.
When AB 1243 was introduced, it proposed to use the term "VBM
voter" to apply only to those voters who were permanent
absentee voters. Amendments taken by the author in this
committee made that terminology change applicable to all
absentee voters, instead of just permanent absentee voters.
Because the committee did not discuss changing the terminology
used to refer to "special absentee voters" - a specific
category of voter that has certain rights under state and
federal law - the amendments that were drafted to AB 1243 did
not change the terminology used to refer to those voters.
However, because "special absentee voters" do not need to be
absent from the precinct on election day in order to take
advantage of some of the rights granted to those voters under
state and federal law, changing the terminology used to refer
to those voters to special VBM voters would be consistent with
the actions taken by the Legislature and the Governor in
enacting AB 1243.
3)Technical Issue : This bill has a drafting error. Committee
staff recommends the following amendments to correct that
technical error:
SB 817
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On page 6, line 39, after "A" insert "special"
On page 6, line 39, strike out "absentee"
4)Related Legislation : AB 1572 (Elections & Redistricting
Committee), which was approved by this committee on a 7-0
vote, would change multiple statutory references from
"absentee ballots" to VBM ballots to clean-up portions of
state law that were not changed by AB 1243 (Karnette) of 2007,
among other provisions. AB 1572 does not, however, change the
terminology used to refer to "special absentee voters," and as
such is not in conflict with this bill. AB 1572 is pending on
the Senate Floor.
AB 1340 (Bonnie Lowenthal) allows a ballot from a special
absentee voter who is temporarily living outside the United
States to arrive up to 10 days after the election and still be
counted, provided that the ballot is postmarked on or before
election day. AB 1340 was approved by this committee on a 7-0
vote. AB 1340 is pending in the Senate Elections,
Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee. This
bill is in conflict with AB 1340.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094