BILL ANALYSIS
SB 970
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 970 (Corbett)
As Amended August 20, 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 vote by mail (VBM) ballot dropoff locations 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 VBM ballot dropoff
locations 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)Requires a VBM ballot dropoff location established pursuant to
this bill to be available during the five business days prior
to the date of the election
3)Requires a VBM ballot dropoff location established pursuant to
this bill to be placed in a secure location that is centrally
located on the campus, and requires the county elections
official to retrieve any ballots returned to the dropoff
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location nightly.
4)Requires the SOS to provide implementation instructions to
counties that provide VBM dropoff locations pursuant to this
bill to address ballot security and assurances that the drop
off location shall be utilized solely by eligible voters in
the participating county.
5)Requires each county elections official who has a VBM ballot
dropoff location 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 VBM ballot dropoff location, the number of ballots
returned to the dropoff location, and any problems with the
dropoff location that have been 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 [VBM ballot dropoff location]
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."
Notwithstanding the author's desire to assess the desirability
of offering VBM ballot dropoff locations on college campuses, it
should be noted that existing state law may permit elections
officials to establish dropoff locations, and some counties
already do 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
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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: 0006459