BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 293 (Hill)
Hearing Date: 7/11/2011 Amended: As Introduced
Consultant: Maureen Ortiz Policy Vote: E&CA: 4-0
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 293 requires local elections officials to
establish a free access system which vote-by-mail (VBM) voters
may use to find out whether their ballot was counted, and if
not, the reason why it was not counted.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Voter information ------potentially minor
reimbursable costs---- General*
*Reimbursable state local mandate
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STAFF COMMENTS:
County elections officials do not anticipate any significant
costs resulting from AB 293, and free access systems already
exist via Internet web sites, or through toll-free telephone
numbers. Existing law, SB 1725 (Bowen) Chapter 687 of 2006,
required election officials to establish a procedure to track
and confirm the receipt of VBM ballots, and to make this
information available by means of online access using the
county's elections division web site, or if a web site is
unavailable, by means of a toll-free telephone number. The
effective date of that requirement was March 1, 2008.
Therefore, there will not be any new costs incurred by counties
for the establishment of a "free access system" since they are
already required by law to have implemented such a program.
AB 293 will require the information accessible by VBM voters to
include whether the vote was counted, and the reason why if it
was not counted. Current law requires elections officials to
compare the signature on the envelope with that appearing on the
AB 293 (Hill)
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affidavit of registration and to reject ballots when the
signatures do not match. Minor variations in signature matching
are allowed such as the use of initials for the first or middle
name, or both. Other reasons why VBM ballots are sometimes not
counted is their receipt after the close of polls on elections
day, or the absence of a signature by the voter.
SB 613 (Perata) Chapter 613 of 2003 required the establishment
of a free access system that allow voters who cast a provisional
ballot to confirm whether their ballot was counted, and if not,
the reason it was not accounted. AB 293 will provide the same
opportunities for VBM voters.
This bill is similar to AB 84 (Hill) which was vetoed in 2009.
In that veto message, the Governor indicated that "While I
support the author's intent, I believe this will result in
additional costs to local governments. Some counties use an
existing system that tracks receipt of VBM ballots to provide
this information to voters. I would encourage other counties to
consider implementing the provisions of this bill if their
resources allow."
This bill is also similar to AB 2964 (Levine) which was vetoed
by the Governor in 2008 due to the 2008-09 State Budget delay.
AB 2616 (Hill) of 2010, which would have allowed vote by mail
voters to check their status on the Secretary of State's website
upon implementation of the statewide voter registration database
was vetoed last year over cost concerns to the Secretary of
State's Office.