BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Alex Padilla, Chair
BILL NO: AB 269 HEARING DATE: 6/24/14
AUTHOR: GROVE ANALYSIS BY: Darren Chesin
AMENDED: 4/16/13
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Vote by mail ballots: military or overseas voters
DESCRIPTION
Existing law defines a "military or overseas voter" as an
elector absent from the county in which he or she is otherwise
eligible to vote who is any of the following:
a)A Member of the active or reserve components of the United
States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard,
Merchant Marine, a member of the United States Public Health
Service Commissioned Corps, a member of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps of the
United States, or a member on activated status of the National
Guard or state militia;
b)A United States citizen living outside of the territorial
limits of the United States or the District of Columbia; or,
c)A spouse or dependent of a person described in subdivision a)
above.
Existing law requires all vote by mail (VBM) ballots to be
received by the elections official from whom they were obtained
or by the precinct board no later than the close of polls on
election day in order to be counted.
This bill allows the VBM ballot of a military or overseas voter
to arrive up to three days after the election and still be
counted, provided that the ballot is postmarked by the United
States Postal Service or the Military Postal Service Agency on
or before Election Day.
BACKGROUND
VBM Ballot Deadlines in Other States : Each state has its own
deadlines for the return of mail ballots. In some states, the
deadline varies depending on whether the individual
submitting the ballot is a civilian living in the United States
(U.S.), or a military or overseas voter covered under the
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).
According to information from the National Association of
Secretaries of State, as of 2013, three states require mail
ballots from civilians living in the U.S. to be returned prior
to Election Day in order to be counted, while 36 states
(including California) require such ballots to be received by
Election Day. Eleven states and the District of Columbia allow
mail ballots from civilians living in the US to arrive after
Election Day and still be counted as long as the ballot is
postmarked (or in some cases, signed and dated) by Election Day.
For active duty military and overseas citizens who are covered
under UOCAVA, one state requires mail ballots to be returned
prior to Election Day in order to be counted, and 32 states
(including California) require ballots to be received by
Election Day. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia
allow mail ballots from voters who are covered under UOCAVA to
arrive after Election Day and still be counted. Most of those
states require the ballot to be postmarked (or in some cases,
signed and dated) by Election Day.
2010 Primary Election Ballots in Riverside County : In Riverside
County, 12,563 VBM ballots were discovered at a local post
office the day after the June 8, 2010 Statewide Primary
Election. These ballots were eventually accepted by the county
elections official, but only after a superior court judge ruled
that they should be counted. In this instance, the voters had
mailed their ballots in time for normal delivery but county
elections officials, who previously and routinely visited
certain post offices to collect VBM ballots, did not visit the
post office that actually had these ballots. While a plain
reading of the applicable statute would have resulted in these
ballots being rejected, the presiding judge ordered that the
ballots be counted based on a provision of the California
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Constitution which reads "A voter who casts a vote in an
election in accordance with the laws of this State shall have
that vote counted."
COMMENTS
1.According to the Author : According to a 2009 study by The Pew
Center on the States, it is difficult for overseas members of
the military to successfully vote unless they return their
ballot via fax. The study suggested that California send out
ballots earlier and/or extend the date upon which a ballot can
be counted.
AB 269 will allow mailed ballots from active U.S. military
members and U.S. civilians living abroad to be counted up to 3
days after Election Day, as long as the ballot was postmarked
no later than Election Day.
Californians in our nation's military serve and sacrifice much
to ensure that their family, friends, and neighbors maintain
the right to free and open elections. These
selfless men and women deserve every benefit and opportunity
to ensure that their voices are also heard at the ballot box,
making it as convenient as reasonably possible for them to
cast their vote.
The same should be done for the many Californians living
abroad, whether they be working for American companies in
other countries, serving on religious missions, or performing
humanitarian efforts.
2.Suggested Amendment . Under this bill, a VBM ballot cast by a
military or overseas voter that is postmarked by Election Day
may be counted if it is received by the elections official up
to 3 days after the election but a VBM ballot cast by any
other VBM voter that is postmarked by election day must still
be received by the elections official by 8 p.m. on election
day in order to be counted. Is this equitable?
Committee staff suggests amending this bill to include all VBM
ballots thereby ensuring that all ballots postmarked by
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Election Day will have the same opportunity to be counted.
This committee, the Senate, and the Assembly Elections and
Redistricting Committee has already approved this suggested
approach in SB 29 (Correa) which is currently pending in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
3.Related Legislation and Previous Legislation : SB 29 (Correa),
which is pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
would allow any VBM ballot to be received by the elections
official from whom it was obtained no later than three days
after election day if the ballot is postmarked on or before
election day, or if the ballot has no postmark or an illegible
postmark, the VBM ballot identification envelope is signed and
dated on or before election day.
AB 562 (Fong) of 2012, would have allowed a VBM ballot to be
counted if it was postmarked on or before election day or
signed and dated on or before election day and received by the
elections official no later than three days after the
election, among other provisions. AB 562, which contained an
urgency clause, failed passage on the Assembly floor.
AB 477 (Valadao) of 2011, was substantially similar to this
bill. AB 477 was held on the Senate Appropriations
Committee's suspense file.
SB 348 (Correa) of 2011, would have allowed any VBM ballot to be
counted if the ballot envelope was postmarked by election day
and received by the elections official no later than six days
after election day. SB 348 (Correa) was held on the Senate
Appropriations Committee's suspense file.
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 7-0
Assembly Veterans' Affairs Committee: 8-0
Assembly Appropriations Committee: 17-0
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Assembly Floor: 78-0
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: AMVETS-Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America-California State Council
Oppose: California Association of Clerks and Election
Officials
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