BILL ANALYSIS �
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Date of Hearing: March 29, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 193 (Knight) - As Introduced: January 27, 2011
AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED
SUBJECT : Polling place designation.
SUMMARY : Prohibits a single family home from being designated
as a polling place if it is the residence of a registered sex
offender. Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits a single family home from being designated as a
polling place if it is the residence of a person who is
required to register pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration
Act (SORA).
2)Requires elections officials, at a minimum, to consult the
database of registered sex offenders that is maintained by the
Department of Justice prior to designating a location as a
polling place.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Generally requires persons convicted of enumerated sex
offenses pursuant to SORA to register within five working days
of coming into a city or county, with specified law
enforcement officials in the city, county, or city and county
where he or she is domiciled.
2)Requires the elections official to designate a polling place
for each precinct at least 29 days prior to the election.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. State-mandated local program; contains
reimbursement direction.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
Several articles were published this past summer outlining
the discovery of polling locations being at the residences
of registered sex offenders. When the news station decided
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to investigate further, the results were astonishing. It
was discovered in a rough search that there were 19 polling
places in 5 bay area counties that were listed on Megan's
Law website as the residences of sex offenders. . . .
Often, at polling locations, high school students
volunteer, parents bring their children and there is an
expectation of security. When there are so many options
available for locations, why would a polling location be
placed at the residence of a sex offender? When information
regarding sex offender locations is available on a
comprehensive public database, the Counties and State
should consult it prior to designating a polling place.
2)Author's Amendments : In an effort to address concerns raised
by the California Association of Clerks and Election
Officials, as described below, and by committee staff, the
author is proposing amendments that would limit the
application of this bill to situations where a single family
home has been designated as a polling place for an election.
This analysis reflects those proposed author's amendments.
3)Workload and State Mandates : According to information from
the United States Election Assistance Commission, there were
more than 15,000 polling places open in California on election
day at the 2008 Presidential General Election. Under the
provisions of this bill, elections officials would be required
to look up every single family home that potentially will be
used as a polling place on the state's sex offender registry
before designating any of those residences as a polling place.
The exact number of polling places that are located at single
family residences in a typical election is unknown, and the
percentage of polling places located at single family
residences varies significantly from county to county, with
some counties locating more than 20 percent of polling places
at single family homes while other counties do not locate any
polling places at single family residences. However, based on
a review of polling locations in selected counties for the
November 2010 general election, it appears likely that not
more than 10 percent of polling places statewide are located
at single family residences.
The 2011-2012 State Budget that was approved by the Legislature
on March 17, 2011, suspends most existing state-mandated local
programs as a mechanism for cost savings. Among the mandates
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that were suspended were a requirement for counties to allow
any voter to become a permanent vote by mail (VBM) voter and a
requirement for counties to tabulate VBM ballots by precinct.
In fact, all six existing elections-related mandates were
suspended in the 2011-2012 budget bill. The Committee may
wish to consider whether it is desirable to establish new
election mandates on counties when the Legislature has voted
to suspend the existing election mandates.
4)Siting of Polling Places : Notwithstanding the author's
contention that there are many options available for the
siting of polling places, at previous elections, elections
officials have reported difficulty in finding a sufficient
number of locations for polling places. In particular,
elections officials often have trouble locating polling places
that are accessible to disabled voters, as required by state
and federal law. By potentially limiting the number of
locations that are available to be used as polling places,
this bill could make it more difficult for elections officials
to locate polling places in compliance with state and federal
accessibility laws and in locations that are convenient for
voters. The proposed author's amendments, however, may
mitigate this concern to some degree.
5)Concerns Expressed : Although it has not taken an official
position on this bill, the California Association of Clerks
and Election Officials has expressed numerous concerns with
the introduced version of this bill. In its letter to the
author, the Association writes the following:
While understanding the concerns prompting the legislation,
implementing the proposal would impose an onerous task and
ongoing costs on counties. Polling locations would have to
be checked prior to each election, as individuals relocate
and polling locations change. With approximately 5,000
polling places in Los Angeles County alone, the time and
expense to check each location would be significant. . . .
In addition, implementation would likely result in
decreased access for non-offender voters, as polling places
in large apartment complexes or assisted living facilities
would be among those most likely to be required to be
moved. Further, voters who have been voting at the same
location for many years would have to be redirected to
another facility in the event a registrant moved into the
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facility where the polling place had previously been
located.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Police Chiefs Association (as introduced)
Crimes Victims United of California (as introduced)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094