BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 193
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 193 (Knight)
As Amended April 26, 2011
Majority vote
ELECTIONS 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 15-0
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|Ayes:|Fong, Logue, Bonilla, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Hall, Mendoza, Swanson, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Valadao | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, |
| | | |Solorio |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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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
Megan's Law Web site 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 : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor ongoing reimbursable General Fund costs for
AB 193
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counties to check the Megan's Law Web site for each single
family residence polling place and to locate a new polling place
for those residence found to be housing a registered sex
offender. Approximately 1,500 (less than 10%) of the state's
polling places are in single family residences. In addition to
the database search, assuming a new polling place location would
have to be found for 1% of the homes, annual statewide costs
would likely not exceed $25,000.
COMMENTS : 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 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."
According to information from the United States Election
Assistance Commission, there were more than 15,000 polling
places open in California on election day for 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. 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% 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. This bill would impose
another mandate on elections officials.
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.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0000264