BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 1929
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          Date of Hearing:   May 25, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    AB 1929 (Gorell) - As Amended:  May 21, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              ElectionsVote:6-0

          Urgency:     Yes                  State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill establishes procedures to review and approve the use 
          of "ballot marking systems" for use in California elections only 
          by special absentee (military and overseas) voters. 
          Specifically, this bill:

          1)Defines a ballot marking system as a device used for the sole 
            purpose of marking a ballot, that is not connected to any 
            voting system, does not store voter identifiable selections, 
            and does not have the capability to tabulate votes.

          2)Establishes procedures for Secretary of State (SOS) review and 
            approval of ballot marking systems that are substantially 
            similar to current requirements for SOS review and approval of 
            voting systems.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Costs for the SOS to review and approve ballot marking systems 
          will be paid by each vendor seeking approval of their respective 
          system. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . This bill is sponsored by Democracy Live, a private 
            company that states it has developed an onscreen ballot 
            marking device that allows a voter to electronically mark his 
            or her ballot. The information marked on the voter's ballot is 
            then temporarily captured and stored to allow for the transfer 
            of information to be formatted onto a portable document format 
            (pdf) that the voter may print out and mail or fax to their 
            county elections official. After the voter has printed his or 








                                                                  AB 1929
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            her ballot, the information temporarily stored by Democracy 
            Live is then purged. The author and sponsors argue this system 
            will help facilitate military and overseas voters by allowing 
            them to more quickly obtain a ballot specific to the precinct 
            in which they reside and clearly and concisely mark their 
            ballot. A system like this is currently not allowed for use in 
            California elections.

           2)Related Legislation  . AB 1805 (Huffman), pending on this 
            committee's Suspense File, establishes policies and procedures 
            for military and overseas voters in compliance with the 
            federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act and 
            consistent with the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081