BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1805 HEARING DATE: 7/03/12
AUTHOR: HUFFMAN ANALYSIS BY: DARREN CHESIN
AMENDED: 5/25/12
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Military and overseas voters
DESCRIPTION
Existing law defines a "special absentee voter" as an
elector who is any of the following:
A member of the armed forces of the U.S. or any
auxiliary branch thereof;
A citizen of the U.S. temporarily living outside of
the territorial limits of the U.S. or District of
Columbia;
Serving on a merchant vessel documented under the
laws of the U.S.; or,
A spouse or dependent of a member of the armed
forces or any auxiliary branch thereof.
Existing law provides that an application for a vote by
mail (VBM) ballot by a special absentee voter or by an
overseas voter shall be deemed an affidavit of registration
and an application for permanent VBM voter status. Such an
application may be accepted only if it contains the voter's
name, residence address for voting purposes, the address to
which the ballot is to be sent, the voter's political party
for a primary election and the voter's signature.
Existing law requires the county elections official to mail
a ballot to all special absentee voters and overseas voters
who are permanent VBM voters as soon as possible on or
after the 60th day prior to an election. County elections
officials must send with the ballot a list of all
candidates who have qualified for the ballot by the 60th
day before the election and a list of all measures that are
to be submitted to the voters and on which the voter is
qualified to vote.
Existing law permits a special absentee voter to register
to vote and apply for a VBM ballot by facsimile
transmission and permits an elections official to send a
VBM ballot by mail, facsimile, or electronic transmission.
Existing law permits a special absentee voter who is
temporarily living outside of the US to return his or her
ballot by facsimile transmission.
Existing law requires all ballots, including special
absentee ballots, to be received by the voter's elections
official no later than the closing of the polls on Election
Day in order to be counted.
This bill establishes new voting procedures for military
and overseas voters, as defined, to comply with the federal
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42
United States Code Section 1973ff et seq.) and implement
the policies of that act and the Uniform Military and
Overseas Voters Act (UMOVA) adopted by the National
Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State laws.
Specifically, this bill :
1. Replaces the term "special absentee voter" with
"military or overseas voter."
2. Expands the definition of what constitutes a military
or overseas voter to include any citizen of the U.S.
living outside the territorial limits of the U.S., who,
except for the residency requirement, is eligible to
vote in California and was a resident of California when
last living within the territorial limits of the U.S.,
or was born outside of the U.S., and his or her parent
or legal guardian was a resident of California when the
parent or legal guardian was last living within the
territorial limits of the U.S., and he or she was not
previously registered to vote in any other state.
3. Requires an elections official that receives a
completed federal postcard application from a qualified
military or overseas voter to deem that application as
an affidavit of registration, an application for a VBM
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ballot, and an application for permanent VBM status.
4. Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to make
available, to qualified military or overseas voters,
information on procedures for military and overseas
voters to register to vote and cast ballots and to
develop standardized military and overseas voting
materials, as specified.
5. Requires each elections official to have a system
available which allows a military or overseas voter to
electronically request and receive a VBM application, an
unvoted ballot, and other information as required by
this bill.
6. Requires the elections official to send a VBM ballot to
a military or overseas voter not earlier than 60 days,
but not later than 45 days before the election.
7. Permits a military or overseas voter to use a federal
write-in absentee ballot (FWAB) in any election in which
he or she is qualified to vote.
8. Requires elections officials to send VBM ballots by
means of transmission (mail, facsimile, or electronic
transmission) requested by a qualified military or
overseas voter.
9. Provides that a valid ballot cast and submitted for
mailing pursuant to this bill shall be counted if it is
received by the elections official by the time the polls
close on election day.
10.Requires elections officials to implement an electronic
free access system, which allows a military or overseas
voter to determine by telephone, electronic mail or
Internet, whether his or her ballot was received.
11.Requires elections officials to request an electronic
mail address from each military or overseas voter who
registers after the effective date of this bill.
12.Requires each elections official, as soon as
practicable before an election, to publish on his or her
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Web site and update, as specified, a list of all the
ballot measures and federal, state and local offices
that, as of that date, are expected to be on the ballot
for that election.
13. Provides that a military or overseas voter's
mistake or omission in the completion of a document
under this bill shall not invalidate the document if the
mistake or omission does not prevent determining whether
the voter is eligible to vote. Provides that a military
or overseas voter's failure to satisfy nonsubstantive
requirements does not invalidate a document submitted
pursuant to this bill.
14. Makes other conforming changes.
BACKGROUND
Facilitating Voting by Overseas Voters : On October 28,
2009, President Obama signed into law the Military and
Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act to expand the 1986
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act
(UOCAVA), which was established to protect the rights of
service members to vote in federal elections regardless of
where they are stationed. The MOVE Act builds on UOCAVA to
provide greater protections for service members, their
families, and other overseas citizens.
Existing Laws to Facilitate Voting by Overseas and Military
Voters : The provisions of the MOVE Act have been in effect
since the November 2010 election. However, given that
California law already included provisions to facilitate
voting by military members and other California residents
who are outside of the U.S., the SOS's office and local
elections officials only had to make minimal adjustments to
their practices in order to be in compliance. For example,
the MOVE Act requires states to establish procedures to
allow overseas voters to request voter registration
applications and absentee ballot applications by mail or
electronically, and requires at least one means of
electronic communication for voters to request, and for all
states to send, voter registration applications, absentee
ballot applications, and voting information. Current law
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allows a special absentee voter to register to vote and
apply for VBM ballot by facsimile transmission and allows
elections officials to send a VBM ballot by mail,
facsimile, or electronic transmission. Exceeding the
requirement of the MOVE Act, current law allows a special
absentee voter who is temporarily living outside of the
U.S. to return his or her ballot by facsimile transmission.
In addition, the MOVE Act requires states to transmit a
requested absentee ballot to overseas voters not later than
45 days before an election for federal offices. Again,
California law exceeds this requirement by specifically
requiring the county elections official to send the special
absentee ballot with a list of all candidates who have
qualified for the ballot beginning on the 60th day before
the election, along with a list of all measures on which
the voter is qualified to vote.
In addition to being compliant with all provisions in the
MOVE Act, California law also makes other accommodations to
facilitate voting by military voters and other California
residents who are outside of the U.S. Specifically,
current law provides that an application for a VBM ballot
by an overseas voter is deemed to be a request for voter
registration (if the voter was not already registered to
vote) and an application for permanent VBM voter status.
In addition, California makes all overseas voters permanent
VBM voters, thereby eliminating the need for overseas
military voters and other overseas voters to request a VBM
ballot for each election.
COMMENTS
1.According to the author , current federal law requires
that elections officials provide military and overseas
voters with the appropriate mechanisms for casting
ballots in federal elections. AB 1805 expands the voting
rights of military and overseas voters to include state
and local elections. This bill will also change the
terminology from "special absentee voter" to "military or
overseas voter." This bill provides procedures for
military and overseas voters to register to vote, apply
for voting ballots, receive voter information, and cast
votes.
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Thousands of overseas and military voters from throughout
California serve in a variety of uniformed and civilian
roles, from frontline active duty to restoration and
international aid services. Often working in the world's
hotspots of terrorism, disease and poverty, these men and
women leave behind families - parents, spouses, children
and friends - in the name of democracy. And while they
must separate from their loved ones for months or years
at a time, they maintain their connections, through their
families and friends, to the California communities they
call home.
AB 1805 allows these people to voice their opinions for the
leadership and direction of the communities where their
families live, giving these service personnel a
long-distance voice to vote for councilmembers,
supervisors, initiatives and other measures that will
impact the care, education and services available to the
people they love.
2.Use of Federal Write-In Absentee Ballots : One component
of the UMOVA that will help facilitate participation by
military and overseas voters is expanding the use of the
FWAB by allowing it to be used by military or overseas
voters in non-federal elections. Currently, the FWAB is
only available for federal elections, and it is typically
used as a back-up option when voters do not or cannot
receive a regular ballot in time to vote. The new
requirement in this bill to allow the FWAB to be used at
statewide and local elections will enfranchise more
military and overseas voters giving them the ability to
have their voices heard in matters concerning their
communities.
In addition, this bill establishes a mechanism for U.S.
citizens who have never lived in the U.S. to vote in
elections. This will encourage more participation from
U.S. citizens who are abroad due to circumstances or
situations that may have been out of their control,
including children who moved away from the U.S. before
they reached voting age.
3.Suggested Amendments . Article II, Section 2 of the
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California State Constitution requires a person to be a
resident of California in order to vote in the state and
Article II, Section 3 of the California Constitution
requires the Legislature to define residence. Ergo, this
bill needs an amendment to harmonize the definition of
"elector" with the definition of "resident" under
Elections Code section 349 and the requirement in
Elections Code section 2101 that only residents of
California are permitted to vote in the state.
This bill also needs an additional clarifying amendment to
ensure that a military or overseas voter receives a
ballot by one of the permitted methods of his or her
choosing.
4.Previous Legislation : SB 908 (Runner) of 2011 would have
permitted a special absentee voter, as defined, who is
temporarily living outside the U.S. or is called for
military services within the U.S. on or after the final
date to make application for a VBM ballot, to return his
or her ballot by electronic mail, as specified. SB 908
failed passage in this committee.
AB 2941 (Bates), Chapter 821, Statutes of 2004, permitted
special absentee voters who are temporarily living
outside the U.S. to return their ballots by facsimile
transmission. AB 2786 (Salas), Chapter 252, Statutes of
2008, extended the sunset date on the provisions of AB
2941, and AB 2369 (Block), Chapter 261, Statutes of 2010,
made the provisions of AB 2941 permanent.
AB 188 (Maze), Chapter 347, Statutes of 2003, streamlined a
number of provisions of state law to make it easier for
overseas voters to receive their ballots and cast a vote.
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 4-0
Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee: 6-0
Assembly Appropriations Committee: 12-5
Assembly Floor: 55-20
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POSITIONS
Sponsor: California Commission on Uniform State Laws
(co-sponsor)
Department of Defense Federal Voter Assistance Program
(co-sponsor)
Support: Uniform Law Commission, National Conference of
Commissioners
on Uniform State Laws
United States Army Warrant Officers Association
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States,
Department of California
Oppose: None received
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