BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 199|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 199
Author: Correa (D)
Amended: 5/24/11
Vote: 21
SENATE ELEC. & CONST. AMENDMENTS COMMITTEE : 3-2, 3/15/11
AYES: Correa, De Le�n, Lieu
NOES: La Malfa, Gaines
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 26-14, 5/9/11
AYES: Alquist, Blakeslee, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, De
Le�n, DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, Leno,
Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley,
Price, Rubio, Simitian, Steinberg, Vargas, Wolk, Wright,
Yee
NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Cannella, Dutton, Emmerson,
Fuller, Gaines, Harman, Huff, La Malfa, Runner,
Strickland, Walters, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Elections: vote by mail ballots
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill permits a voter to return a
vote-by-mail ballot to any polling place in the state, and
in the case of a vote-by-mail ballot returned to a precinct
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located in a county other than the county of the elections
official who issued the ballot, requires the election
official of the precinct at which the ballot is returned to
forward the ballot to the election official who issued the
ballot.
Assembly Amendments make a clarifying change by removing
absentee and replacing it with vote-by-mail in order to be
consistent with current terminology.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides that after marking the ballot, the absent voter
must either:
A. Return the ballot by mail or in person to the
elections official from whom it came.
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.
2. 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.
3. 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:
1. Permits a properly cast vote-by-mail to be returned in
person to any member of a precinct board at any polling
place within the state.
2. Provides that if the vote-by-mail is returned to a
precinct board of a polling place located in a county
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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 a
vote-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 vote-by-mail 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 vote-by-mail
cannot be counted.
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
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measure do not justify the provisions of this bill."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/29/11)
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
California Common Cause
Secretary of State
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/29/11)
Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
California continues to see the rapid growth of
vote-by-mail voters. This bill allows voters to return
their vote-by-mail 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. This
bill allows a professional who lives in Placer County to
return their vote-by-mail on a lunch break in downtown
Sacramento, or a student who is not in their home county
that has their vote-by-mail forwarded from home to vote by
dropping their ballot off near campus on the day of an
election. Election officials who receive this vote-by-mail
that belong to other counties will then batch and forward
the ballots received in the days following the election.
This bill encourages civic participation by allowing
today's mobile voter to return a vote-by-mail to any
polling place, regardless of county of registration.
DLW:do 8/29/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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