BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1102|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
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|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1102
Author: Liu (D)
Amended: 4/27/10
Vote: 21
SEN. ELEC., REAP. & CONST. AMEND. COMMITTEE : 3-2, 4/20/10
AYES: Hancock, DeSaulnier, Liu
NOES: Denham, Strickland
SUBJECT : Elections: vote-by-mail: legislative and
congressional
vacancies
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows a special general or primary
election called to fill a vacancy in an office of
Representative in Congress, State Senate, or Member of the
Assembly to be conducted wholly by mail within a county if
certain conditions are satisfied, including that the board
of supervisors of the county authorizes the all-mail ballot
election. The bill revises and recast the procedures
applicable to elections conducted wholly by mail, including
procedures relating to notifying voters of information
relating to the election, the distribution of election
materials, and the establishment of locations for the
return of ballots.
ANALYSIS : Existing law allows a local, special, or
consolidated election to be conducted wholly by mail if
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specified conditions are satisfied, including that the
governing body of the local agency authorizes the use of
mailed ballots for the election. Existing law establishes
certain procedures for the conduct of all-mail ballot
elections.
This bill permits a special primary or run-off election
called to fill a legislative or congressional vacancy to be
conducted wholly by mail provide that the board of
supervisors of each county within the affected jurisdiction
authorizes the all-mail ballot election.
This bill requires the elections official to mail a notice
prior to the election to voters which does all of the
following:
1.Notify the voter that the election is being conducted by
all mail ballot.
2.Indicate the last date ballots will be mailed to voters
who were registered at least 29 days before the election.
3.Instruct the voter how to obtain a replacement ballot if
the first ballot is not received at least 15 days before
the election.
4.List the locations established for the return of voted
ballots.
This bill requires the elections official to establish
locations for the return of voted ballots as follows:
1.One location for each 25,000 registered voters, or
portion thereof, in the jurisdiction after subtraction of
permanent vote by mail voters, including military and
overseas voters.
2.Each location must be open on Election Day from 7:00 a.m.
until 8:00 p.m. and may be open other days and times at
the discretion of the elections official.
3.Each location must be staffed by a minimum of two
persons.
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4.In selecting the locations, the elections official shall
give preference and priority to the following: facilities
that are accessible to voters with disabilities; schools,
government buildings, halls, churches, community rooms,
conference rooms, and multipurpose facilities; facilities
with a minimum of 20 parking spaces reserved for voters
or, in lieu thereof, ample space to provide drive-through
services; and, facilities located near major
thoroughfares.
This bill requires that any voter returning a voted ballot
to a designated location must sign a roster with his or her
signature and printed name. If the voter has authorized a
person to return his/her voted ballot on his/her behalf
pursuant to existing law, the person returning the voted
ballot must sign the roster with his/her signature, printed
name, the name of the voter for whom he/she is returning
the ballot, and his or her relationship to the voter.
Background
All-Mail History . Oregon is the only state that conducts
all of its statewide elections on an all-mail basis. Other
states, including California, permit all mail ballot
elections only under specific conditions - usually for
local or special elections. Two counties - Alpine and
Sierra - conduct all-mail ballot elections for all local,
state, and federal elections thanks to a provision of law
that allows counties with precincts that have fewer than
250 voters in them to turn them in to all-mail ballot
precincts. Several California counties have conducted
all-mail ballot elections. Monterey conducted one of the
first vote-by-mail elections ever held in the United States
in 1977 on a flood control measure. Alpine County
conducted its first all-mail election in November, 1993 for
a countywide special election. San Diego used all-mail
balloting in May 1981 for a measure proposing to build a
$224 million convention center. Stanislaus County
conducted its first all-mail ballot election in 1987 for
the Modesto City Charter.
In 1992, the Legislature approved a pilot project in
Stanislaus and Placer counties. The counties were allowed
to conduct all-mail ballot elections. Placer County did
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not utilize this pilot project but Stanislaus County
conducted the 1993 Statewide Special Election as an
all-mail ballot election.
All-mail ballot elections conducted in California as well
as other states have generally shown increases in voter
turnout and significant decreases in the cost of conducting
elections. During Stanislaus County's all-mail ballot
pilot project, the County saved almost half of its usual
election expenditures. Stanislaus County generally
reported turnout levels at six to eight percentage points
below the state's average. During the 1993 Statewide
Special Election, the County's turnout was 6.8 percent
higher than the statewide average during that election.
Oregon has been conducting all-mail ballot elections for
non-partisan and ballot measure elections for 20 years. In
1998 the voters passed an initiative expanding vote-by-mail
to primary and general elections.
Special Election History . According to the Secretary of
State:
In the last 20 years, there have been 96 special primary
and general elections to fill vacant seats in the Assembly,
Senate and Congress in California, an average of 4.8 per
year.
1. The highest voter turnout for a special election that
did not coincide with an already scheduled statewide
election was 52.2 percent in 1998 when Lois Capps was
elected to fill a vacancy in the 22nd Congressional
District.
2. In 2009, the voter turnout in the special elections to
fill the vacancies in Senate District 26 and Assembly
District 51 garnered the lowest voter turnout in the
last 20 years, when 7.9 percent of the electorate turned
out to vote in each election.
3. In the January 12, 2010 Special General Election in the
72nd Assembly District, 15.6 percent of voters turned
out to vote, and 81 percent of voters voted by mail.
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4. The average voter turnout in special elections since
1990 is 24.7 percent.
5. The most special legislative and congressional elections
in a single year since 1990: 18 in 1993. The combined
average voter turnout for those elections was 27
percent.
6. Since 1990, there has been at least one special election
every year, except in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
7. The cost of a special election can vary widely and
differs from county to county.
Monterey County Pilot Project . AB 319 (Salinas), Chapter
385 of 2001, allowed Monterey County to conduct any
election within the county wholly by mail, provided that
the election did not contain a state or federal office. AB
319 specified that it was to serve as a pilot project for
mailed ballot elections, and required Monterey County to
report to the Legislature and the SOS regarding the success
of the election, including, but not limited to, any
statistics on the increase of voter fraud. The pilot
project ended on December 31, 2005. AB 591 (Salinas) of
2005 sought to extend the pilot project until December 31,
2008, but that bill failed after never being heard in the
Senate Elections Committee.
Previous Legislation
AB 1228 (Yamada) of 2009 would have permitted Yolo and
Santa Clara counties to conduct specified local elections
as all-mail as part of a pilot project. AB 1228 was vetoed
by the Governor.
AB 1654 (Huffman) of 2007 would have allowed jurisdictions
in Calaveras, Marin, Mariposa, Nevada, Plumas, Santa
Barbara, Siskiyou, and Sonoma counties to conduct any
local, special, primary, or general election as an all-mail
ballot election until December 31, 2013. AB 1654 was
approved by the Assembly Elections and Redistricting
Committee but subsequently was amended to deal with an
unrelated issue.
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AB 867 (Liu) of 2005 would have authorized Calaveras,
Mendocino, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Sierra, and
Ventura Counties to conduct all elections as all-mail
ballot elections until January 1, 2011. AB 867 was held on
the Assembly Appropriations Committee's suspense file.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/26/10)
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
California State Association of Counties
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
County of San Diego
Monterey County Board of Supervisors
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Urban Counties Caucus
OPPOSITION : (Verified 4/26/10)
Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality
Disability Rights California
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed
Officials
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
this bill will let counties conduct vote-by-mail elections
to fill vacancies in Congress, the state Senate, or state
Assembly. Voting by mail reduces the cost of elections,
makes voting more efficient, and can increase participation
in the election process. All-mail ballot elections
conducted in California as well as other states have
generally increased voter turnout and decreased election
costs. Oregon conducts all elections by mail and at least
17 other states conduct certain elections by mail or allow
local officials the option of conducting elections by mail,
according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The opponents indicate
California's diverse population presents unique concern
that necessitates caution before permitting jurisdictions
to conduct vote-by-mail elections. They are concerned that
there is limited research on the impact of all-mail ballot
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elections on the participation of ethnic populations. They
are concerned also about reduction in the number of polling
places which could come about. Lastly, they are concerned
about the amount of voter education it would take to ensure
voters who are unfamiliar with the absentee voting process
do not fall through the cracks and that voters from
populations with high rates of mobility will not receive
their ballots in the mail. The Disability Rights
California wants to have language in the bill which assures
access for people with disabilities.
DLW:do 4/28/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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