BILL NUMBER:  AB 293
  VETOED	DATE: 09/06/2011




To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 293 without my signature.

This bill requires county elections officials to establish a free
access system where vote-by-mail voters can find out whether their
ballot was counted, and if it was not counted, the reason why.

I support the author's goal of informing vote-by-mail voters of the
status of their ballot, but, in view of California's severe fiscal
challenges, I believe restraint must be exercised with regard to any
new state mandates.  Under existing law, local governments can
implement this type of database on their own.  In fact, many counties
have done so.

Sincerely,



Edmund G. Brown Jr.