BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 562
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 31, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 562 (Fong) - As Amended: August 29, 2012
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 23, 2011) |SENATE: |28-9 |(August 31, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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(vote not relevant)
SUBJECT : Vote by mail ballots and election results statements.
SUMMARY : Allows vote by mail (VBM) ballots to be counted if
they are cast by election day and received by the elections
official no later than three days after the election.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of the bill,
and instead:
1)Make various findings and declarations about recent and
forthcoming closures of United States Postal Service (USPS)
facilities, and the impact that those closures may have on the
delivery of VBM ballots.
2)Provide that a VBM ballot is timely cast if it is received by
the voter's elections official no later than three days after
election day and either of the following is satisfied:
a) The ballot is postmarked on or before election day; or,
b) If the ballot has no postmark, a postmark with no date,
or an illegible postmark, the VBM ballot identification
envelope is signed and dated on or before election day.
3)Allow counties to continue to use envelopes and other official
election materials that do not take into account the
provisions of this bill until the supply of those materials is
exhausted.
4)Extend the deadline for elections officials to prepare a
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certified statement of the results of an election from 28 days
after the election to 31 days after the election.
5)Add an urgency clause, allowing this bill to take effect
immediately upon enactment.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that a VBM ballot must be received by the elections
official from whom it was obtained, or by a precinct board in
that jurisdiction, no later than the close of polls on
election day in order for that ballot to be counted.
2)Require a VBM ballot identification envelope to include
specified information, including the following:
a) A declaration, under penalty of perjury, stating that
the voter resides within the precinct in which he or she is
voting and is the person whose name appears on the
envelope;
b) The signature of the voter; and,
c) The date of signing.
3)Require the elections official to prepare a certified
statement of the results of an election and to submit that
statement to the governing body within 28 days of the
election.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill added the Wood Memorial to
the group of specific stake races which are exempt from the
32-race per day limit on imported races, as defined.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. State-mandated local program; contains
reimbursement direction.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
Earlier this year, the Assembly Elections and
Redistricting Committee and the Senate Elections and
Constitutional Amendments Committee held a joint
oversight hearing to discuss recent and forthcoming
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USPS facility closures and the impact on voters and
the upcoming presidential elections. During the
hearing, state and county elections officials
testified about the impact that recent post office and
processing facility closures had on their
jurisdictions and on local elections, as well as the
anticipated challenges with more closures expected.
One of the most significant impacts those closures
have had on the election process is that there have
been significant delays in mail delivery in some
circumstances. Elections officials from counties that
were previously served by closed facilities have
indicated that some first class mail took five to
seven days to arrive after closures of USPS
facilities, compared to the usual delivery time of one
to three days.
Existing law requires a voted VBM ballot to be
received by either the elections official who issued
the ballot or a polling place in the county before the
closing of the polls on election day. Due to the USPS
facility closures, however, voters who mail their
ballots within a reasonable timeframe could, through
no fault of their own, find themselves disenfranchised
due to delays in mail delivery.
Six USPS mail processing facilities in California
already have been closed since the last statewide
general election, and two more are scheduled to be
closed before this year's presidential general
election.
This bill seeks to mitigate against the negative
impacts of USPS facility closures and to protect
voters' right to vote by allowing ballots that are
postmarked or signed and dated by election day to be
counted, as long as those ballots are received by the
elections official by the third day after the
election.
2)Florida Law : The issue of counting VBM ballots received after
election day gained increased attention during the aftermath
of the 2000 Presidential Election in Florida. VBM ballots
cast in Florida that are received from overseas are counted if
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received up to 10 days after the election, provided that the
ballot is signed and dated or postmarked on or prior to
election day. That provision of Florida law is the result of
a consent decree, entered into in 1982 due to concerns that
overseas voters did not have sufficient time between the
primary and general election (which were only a month apart)
to receive, vote, and return their ballots.
3)Breaking New Ground : If this bill passes, it will represent
the first time that California state law explicitly has
allowed any ballot which was received after election day to be
counted. Florida's experience with counting ballots that
arrive after election day shows that adopting such a policy
can result in unequal treatment of votes. In a review of
overseas VBM ballots that were counted in Florida in 2000, the
New York Times found that hundreds of ballots that arrived
after election day and were postmarked after the election were
improperly counted.
4)2010 Primary Election Ballots in Riverside County : In
Riverside County, 12,563 VBM ballots were discovered at a
local post office the day after the June 8, 2010 statewide
primary election. These ballots were eventually accepted by
the county elections official, but only after a superior court
judge ruled that they should be counted. In this instance,
the voters had mailed their ballots in time for normal
delivery but county elections officials, who previously and
routinely visited certain post offices to collect VBM ballots,
did not visit the post office that actually had these ballots.
While a plain reading of the applicable statute would have
resulted in these ballots being rejected, the presiding judge
ordered that the ballots be counted based on a provision of
the California Constitution which reads "A voter who casts a
vote in an election in accordance with the laws of this State
shall have that vote counted."
5)VBM Ballot Deadlines in Other States : Each state has its own
deadlines for the return of mail ballots. In some states, the
deadline varies depending on whether the individual submitting
the ballot is a civilian living in the United States (US), or
a military or overseas voter covered under the Uniformed and
Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).
According to information from the National Association of
Secretaries of State, three states require mail ballots from
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civilians living in the US to be returned prior to election
day in order to be counted, while 36 states (including
California) require such ballots to be received by election
day. Eleven states and the District of Columbia allow mail
ballots from civilians living in the US to arrive after
election day and still be counted as long as the ballot is
postmarked (or in some cases, signed and dated) by election
day.
For active duty military and overseas citizens who are covered
under UOCAVA, one state requires mail ballots to be returned
prior to election day in order to be counted, and 32 states
(including California) require ballots to be received by
election day. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia
allow mail ballots from voters who are covered under UOCAVA to
arrive after election day and still be counted. Most of those
states require the ballot to be postmarked (or in some cases,
signed and dated) by election day.
6)State Mandates : The 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 state budgets
suspended various state mandates as a mechanism for cost
savings. Among the mandates that were suspended were all six
existing elections-related mandates. This bill adds another
mandate on counties.
7)Related Legislation : SB 348 (Correa) of the current
legislative session would have allowed VBM ballots to be
counted if they were postmarked by election day and received
by the elections official no later than six days after the
election. SB 348 was approved by the Senate Committee on
Elections & Constitutional Amendments, but subsequently was
held on the Senate Appropriations Committee's suspense file.
8)Prior Version : The prior version of this bill, which was
approved by the Assembly, dealt with horse racing. Those
provisions were removed from this bill in the Senate, and the
current contents were added. As a result, this bill has been
re-referred to this committee pursuant to Assembly Rules 77.2.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094