BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 199
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 5, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
SB 199 (Correa) - As Amended: May 24, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 26-14
SUBJECT : Elections: vote by mail ballots.
SUMMARY : Allows a vote by mail (VBM) voter to return his or
her ballot to any polling place within the state, instead of
being limited to polling places within the jurisdiction of the
elections official who issued the ballot. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Permits a properly cast VBM ballot to be returned in person to
any member of a precinct board at any polling place within the
state, instead of being limited to polling places within the
jurisdiction of the elections official who issued the ballot.
2)Provides that if a VBM 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 shall forward the ballot to
the elections official who issued it.
3)Provides that VBM ballots that are forwarded pursuant to this
bill to the jurisdiction of issuance that are not included in
the semifinal official canvass phase of the election shall be
processed and counted during the official canvass.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires all VBM ballots to be cast on or before the day of
the election. Provides that after marking the ballot, the VBM
voter must do either of the following:
a) Return the ballot by mail or in person to the elections
official from whom it came; or,
b) 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.
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1)Provides that all VBM ballots must be received by either the
elections official from whom it came or a precinct board
within the jurisdiction before the close of the polls on
election day.
2)Requires an elections official to 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.
3)Requires VBM ballots that are returned to the elections office
and to the polls on election day and that are not included in
the semifinal official canvass to be processed and counted
during the official canvass.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
State-mandated local program; contains reimbursement direction.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
SB 199 is a simple measure that will help absentee voters
return their ballots no matter where they find themselves
in the state on election day.
Existing law permits voters to return their absentee
ballots in person to any polling place in their home
county.
This bill would also permit voters to return their absentee
ballots in person to any polling place within the state.
Elections officials would then be required to forward those
ballots to the proper counties for processing and
tabulation.
In today's highly mobile society, people often travel great
distances for work, school, or other reasons.
This bill would allow a professional who lives in Placer
County to return their absentee ballot on a lunch break in
downtown Sacramento - or a college student from Orange
County attending Stanford to return their ballot at a
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polling place near that campus.
This bill is identical to AB 773 by Sam Blakeslee in 2007
which was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. The Governor
was concerned with mandated costs but the Appropriations
Committee found costs to be so minimal that the bill was
passed out pursuant to Rule 28.8.
2)Issues Raised : While not taking a position on this measure,
the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
raises the following issues:
a) It takes days to weeks to go through all precincts'
materials to retrieve out-of-county vote by mail ballots.
Each precinct's materials must be methodically logged to
maintain an audit trail. With the ever growing number of
vote by mail voters and the significant percentage who
turn their ballot in at the polls, the time needed to
retrieve out-of-county ballots from election materials is
significant;
b) Once voters learn that ballots will be forwarded to
the county of origin, a significant increase in
out-of-county vote by mail ballots can be expected.
College and University campuses with large numbers of
out-of-county students would undoubtedly generate more
out-of-county ballots;
c) Election officials in large counties or those with
high percentages of vote by mail ballots are barely
meeting the statutory deadline for completion of the
canvass. Receiving vote by mail ballots during the
canvass process could require an extension of the
official canvass; and,
d) Small counties often complete the canvass shortly
following the election. Would these counties be required
to delay the canvass in case a ballot was forwarded from
another county?
1)Argument in Support : Secretary of State Debra Bowen writes in
support:
Voters confront a variety of challenges when voting that
are often out of their control. In today's highly mobile
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society, many people work or travel frequently outside the
county where they live. However, current law requires
vote-by-mail voters to return their ballots to the county
registrar's office or a polling place in the county where
they are registered by the time the polls close on Election
Day.
To accommodate vote-by-mail voters who did not mail in
their vote-by-mail ballot on time and find themselves in a
different county on Election Day, SB 199 allows voters to
return their vote-by-mail ballot to a county registrar of
voters or polling place anywhere in the state by the time
the polls close on Election Day.
Given the number of people who vote by mail will continue
to rise, SB 199 makes practical changes in law to encourage
civic engagement and ensure voters can more easily exercise
their right to vote.
2)Previous Legislation : AB 773 (Blakeslee) of 2007, was
identical to this bill. AB 773 was vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger. In his veto message, the Governor argued that
"�w]hile 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."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Common Cause
Secretary of State Debra Bowen
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Lori Barber / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094