BILL ANALYSIS
SB 970
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 970 (Corbett)
As Amended June 29, 2010
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :22-13
ELECTIONS 5-2 APPROPRIATIONS 11-5
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|Ayes:|Fong, Gatto, Mendoza, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Bradford, Coto, |
| |Saldana, Swanson | |Davis, De Leon, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Torlakson, Torrico |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Adams, Bill Berryhill |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Permits preelection day polling places to be
established on three college campuses in the state, subject to
certain conditions. Specifically, this bill :
1)Permits the Secretary of State (SOS), in conjunction with
county elections officials, the University of California (UC),
the California State University (CSU), and the California
Community Colleges (CCC) to establish preelection day polling
places on three college campuses in the state for at least one
general election held between January 1, 2011 and December 31,
2016. Requires one of the college campuses to be a campus
within the UC system with at least 20,000 registered students,
one of the college campuses to be a campus within the CSU
system with at least 13,000 registered students, and one of
the college campuses to be a campus within the CCC system with
at least 10,000 registered students.
2)Prohibits preelection day voting from taking place without the
voluntary consent of the local elections official within whose
jurisdiction the polling place would be located.
3)Requires each college campus selected to be a preelection day
polling place to serve as a polling place for any precinct in
the county's jurisdiction.
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4)Requires a preelection day polling place established pursuant
to this bill to be open during the five business days prior to
the date of the election
5)Requires each county elections official who has a preelection
day polling place within his or her jurisdiction pursuant to
this bill to report to the Legislature and the SOS regarding
the election within six months after the date of the election.
Requires the report to include statistics regarding the cost
of the preelection day polling place, the turnout of voters at
the preelection day polling place, and any problems with
preelection day polling place voting that is made known to the
elections official. Requires the SOS to report to the
Legislature regarding an assessment of early voting on college
campuses.
6)Contains a December 31, 2016 sunset date.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor absorbable cost for the SOS to designate the
three participating campuses and to report to the Legislature.
Costs to the campuses should be minimal and any costs to
counties would not be state-reimbursable, as implementation of
the bill is completely voluntary for any county.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "SB 970 expands
accessibility for the electorate. Students, who often may
register for the first time with their college campus address or
who may have re-registered as a part of a voter registration
drive, will now have access to a polling place over 5 days
before an election. New students who participate re-register to
vote with their new campus address, often encouraged by student
associations on campus, may find polling places unfamiliar. A
central voting location on campus-familiar to students, faculty,
and staff-will increase accessibility for students to vote on
Election Day." The author also asserts that the bill's
reporting requirement will provide a better understanding of the
costs of the early voting option.
Notwithstanding the author's stated desire to assess the
desirability of offering early voting, it should be noted that
existing state law already permits elections officials to
establish early voting locations, and some counties already do
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so. Additionally, it should be noted that existing law permits
elections officials to locate polling places on college and
university campuses if the elections official determines such a
placement is desirable and if the official can make appropriate
arrangements with school officials.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0005575