BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: SB 199 HEARING DATE:
3/15/11
AUTHOR: CORREA ANALYSIS BY:
Darren Chesin
AMENDED: AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Vote by mail ballots: return
DESCRIPTION
Existing law provides that after marking the ballot, the
absent voter must either:
Return the ballot by mail or in person to the
elections official from whom it came; or,
Return the ballot in person to any member of a
precinct board at any polling place within the
jurisdiction of the elections official who issued the
ballot.
Existing law provides that all absentee ballots must be
received by either the elections official from whom it came
or the precinct board before the close of the polls on
Election Day.
Existing law provides that the elections official must
establish procedures to ensure the secrecy of any ballot
returned to a precinct polling place and the security,
confidentiality, and integrity of any personal information
collected, stored, or otherwise used.
This bill additionally permits a properly cast absentee
ballot to be returned in person to any member of a precinct
board at any polling place within the state .
This bill provides that if the absentee ballot is returned
to a precinct board of a polling place located in a county
other than the county from which the ballot was issued, the
elections official responsible for that polling place must
forward the ballot to the elections official who issued the
ballot.
BACKGROUND
In California, registered voters can apply for an absentee
ballot by mail for an upcoming election at any time, but
not later than seven days prior to the election. Once the
application is processed by the county elections official,
the proper ballot type/style will be sent to the voter.
After voting, the ballot is inserted into the envelope
provided for this purpose, and returned to the registrar.
Voters may return absentee ballots by one of several means,
including:
� Mailing it to their county elections official.
� Returning it in person to a polling place or
elections office within their county on Election Day.
� Authorizing a specified third party (relative or
person residing in the same household) to return the
ballot on their behalf.
Regardless of how the ballot is returned, it must be
received by the county elections office by the time polls
close (8 p.m.) on Election Day. Late-arriving absentee
ballots cannot be counted.
COMMENTS
1.According to the author , California continues to see the
rapid growth of absentee ballot voters. This bill will
allow voters to return their absentee ballots to any
polling place in the state, not just to those in the
county in which they are registered. In today's highly
mobile society, people often commute great distances for
work, school, or other reasons. SB 199 would allow a
professional who lives in Placer County to return their
absentee ballot on a lunch break in downtown Sacramento,
or a student who is not in their home county that has
their absentee ballot forwarded from home to vote by
dropping their ballot off near campus on the day of an
election. Election officials who receive these absentee
ballots that belong to other counties will then batch and
forward the ballots received in the days following the
SB 199 (CORREA) Page
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election. This bill encourages civic participation by
allowing today's mobile voter to return an absentee
ballot to any polling place, regardless of county of
registration.
2.Previous Legislation : This bill is identical to AB 773
(Blakeslee) of 2007 which was vetoed by the Governor. In
his veto message, the Governor stated, in part:
"Absentee voters already have sufficient options for
returning their ballot. If they choose not to return
their ballot by mail, they can return it to any polling
place in their home county. This is ample flexibility.
While it may be convenient for a small number of voters
to return their ballots in counties other than their
county of residence, the extra costs to counties and
inherent delays associated with this measure do not
justify the provisions of this bill."
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: California Common Cause
Secretary of State
Oppose: None received
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