BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Alex Padilla, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1873 HEARING DATE: 6/24/14
AUTHOR: GONZALEZ ANALYSIS BY: Darren Chesin
AMENDED: 5/28/14
FISCAL: NO
SUBJECT
Mail ballot elections
DESCRIPTION
Existing law permits an election to be conducted wholly by mail
if the governing body authorizes the use of mailed ballots for
the election, the election occurs on an established mailed
ballot election date, and the election is one of the following:
a.An election in which no more than 1,000 registered voters are
eligible to participate;
b.An election in a city, county, or district with 5,000 or fewer
registered voters that is restricted to the imposition of
special taxes, expenditure limitation overrides, or both;
c.An election on the issuance of a general obligation water
bond;
d.An election in one of four specifically enumerated water
districts; or,
e.An election or assessment ballot proceeding required or
authorized by the state constitution under Proposition 218.
Existing law authorizes a school district or city with a
population of 100,000 or less to conduct an all-mail ballot
election to fill a vacancy in a special election.
Existing law authorizes a district to conduct any election as an
all-mailed ballot election on any date other than an established
election date.
Existing law provides that whenever there are 250 or fewer
people registered to vote in any precinct, the elections
official may deem the precinct as an all-mail ballot precinct,
and provides that no precinct may be divided solely in order to
create an all-mail precinct.
Existing law provides that once a legislative or congressional
vacancy occurs, the Governor has 14 days to issue a proclamation
declaring the date of the special election. Requires the
special run-off election to occur between 126 and 140 days after
the date of the proclamation with the special primary election
occurring the ninth Tuesday preceding the special run-off,
except as specified. Permits the special runoff election to be
held up to 180 days after the date of the Governor's
proclamation if it will allow either the special runoff or
special primary to coincide with an existing state or local
election involving at least half the voters in the affected
jurisdiction.
Existing law permits Yolo County, as part of a pilot program
lasting through January 1, 2018, to conduct elections on up to
three dates as all-mailed ballot elections, subject to certain
conditions and reporting requirements.
Existing law provides that a vote by mail (VBM) ballot must be
received by the elections official from whom it was obtained, or
by a precinct board in that jurisdiction, no later than the
close of polls on Election Day in order for that ballot to be
counted.
This bill permits a special election held to fill a vacancy in
the Legislature or in Congress to be conducted entirely by
mailed ballot subject to all of the following conditions:
a.The board of supervisors of each affected county authorizes
the use of mailed ballots.
b.The election does not occur on the same date as a statewide
primary or general election, or any other election conducted
in an overlapping jurisdiction that is not consolidated and
conducted wholly by mail.
c.At least one ballot drop-off location is provided per city,
and at least one drop-off location is provided in
unincorporated areas for every 100,000 registered voters, and
AB 1873 (GONZALEZ)
Page 2
such locations are open during business hours to receive voted
ballots beginning not less than seven days before the
election.
d.The elections official provides for at least six hours of
voting at a satellite location within the congressional or
legislative district on at least one Saturday and Sunday after
the ballots are delivered to voters.
e.At least one polling place is provided per city or the polling
places are fixed in a manner so that there is one polling
place for every 10,000 registered voters within the district,
as specified, whichever results in more polling places.
Provides that a polling place shall allow voters to request a
ballot between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the day of the election if
they need replacement ballots for any reason.
f.Polling places are established in accordance with existing
state and federal accessibility requirements, and are evenly
distributed throughout the congressional or legislative
district.
g.Each voter receives all supplies necessary for the use and
return of the mail ballot, including a return envelope for the
voted ballot with postage prepaid.
h.Each voter receives all of the following from the elections
official:
A notice indicating that the election is being conducted
wholly by mail and that each eligible voter will received a
ballot by mail;
A list of the ballot drop-off and polling place
locations, and that list is posted on the Internet Web site
of the county elections office; and,
A statement informing voters that the voting materials,
including the official ballot and the facsimile ballot, are
available in all languages required by state and federal
law.
This bill provides that a ballot for these elections is timely
cast if it is received by the voter's elections official no
AB 1873 (GONZALEZ)
Page 3
later than three days after election day and either of the
following is satisfied:
The ballot is postmarked or is time stamped or date stamped by
a bona fide private mail delivery company on or before
election day; or,
If the ballot has no postmark, a postmark with no date, or an
illegible postmark, the ballot identification envelope is
signed and dated on or before Election Day.
This bill permits jurisdictions that have the necessary computer
capability to begin processing vote by mail (VBM) ballots on the
10th business day prior to the election, instead of the seventh
business day prior to the election.
This bill contains a January 1, 2020 sunset date.
BACKGROUND
A Little All-Mail History . Several California counties have
conducted all-mail ballot elections. Monterey conducted one of
the first vote-by-mail elections ever held in the United States
in 1977 on a flood control measure. Alpine County conducted its
first all-mail election in November, 1993 for a countywide
special election. San Diego used all-mail balloting in May 1981
for a measure proposing to build a $224 million convention
center. Stanislaus County conducted its first all-mail ballot
election in 1987 for the Modesto City Charter.
In 1992, the Legislature approved a pilot project in Stanislaus
and Placer counties. The counties were allowed to conduct
all-mail ballot elections. Placer County did not utilize this
pilot project but Stanislaus County conducted the 1993 Statewide
Special Election as an all-mail ballot election.
All-mail ballot elections conducted in California as well as
other states have generally shown increases in voter turnout and
significant decreases in the cost of conducting elections.
During Stanislaus County's all-mail ballot pilot project, the
County saved almost half of its usual election expenditures.
Stanislaus County generally reported turnout levels at six to
eight percentage points below the state's average. During the
1993 Statewide Special Election, the County's turnout was 6.8
AB 1873 (GONZALEZ)
Page 4
percent higher than the statewide average during that election.
It should be noted however, that with few exceptions, prior
all-mail elections have been limited to local elections only.
Oregon has been conducting all-mail ballot elections for
non-partisan and ballot measure elections for 20 years. In 1998
the voters passed an initiative expanding vote-by-mail to
primary and general elections. The state of Washington has also
recently adopted statewide all-mail ballot elections.
Yolo County Pilot Project : In 2011, the Legislature approved
and the Governor signed AB 413 (Yamada), Ch. 187, Statutes of
2011, which created a pilot program allowing Yolo County to
conduct local elections on not more than three dates as
all-mailed ballot elections. AB 413 was intended to serve as a
pilot project to evaluate the desirability of further expanding
the circumstances under which elections are permitted to be
conducted as all-mailed ballot elections. Yolo County conducted
all-mailed ballot elections last March in the City of Davis and
the Washington Unified School District as permitted by AB 413,
and submitted its report on those elections last December. The
pilot project in Yolo County was authorized following a prior
pilot project in Monterey County that failed to provide useful
information about the impacts of all-mailed ballot elections
because the report filed by Monterey County as part of the pilot
project lacked much of the information that was necessary to
evaluate the impacts of the pilot project.
The report prepared in connection with the first two elections
conducted in Yolo County under the pilot project found that
turnout at the all-mailed ballot elections conducted as part of
the pilot project was not significantly different than similar
polling place elections held in the two jurisdictions in prior
years. The study also found that turnout rates broken down by
age, ethnic background, party preference, and permanent VBM
status was consistent and similar between the polling place and
the all-mailed ballot elections. The study found that data
provided on the cost to conduct all-mailed ballot elections was
inconclusive in determining whether there are significant
savings to moving to all-mailed ballot elections. However, the
study also cautioned that Davis-one of the jurisdictions in
which the pilot was conducted-"is a relatively affluent,
homogenous community with a higher level of educational
achievement than most other areas of the state" and so the
AB 1873 (GONZALEZ)
Page 5
results "are not necessarily applicable to other, dissimilar
communities." The report also noted that the effects of
all-mailed ballot elections on turnout would not necessarily be
similar in general elections.
Yolo County is permitted to conduct local elections as
all-mailed ballot elections on two additional dates before the
conclusion of the pilot project.
Vote by Mail and Permanent Vote by Mail Voting : Under state
law, any voter can request a VBM ballot for any election, and
any voter can become a permanent VBM voter. Permanent VBM
voters automatically receive a ballot in the mail for every
election, without the need to re-apply for a VBM ballot. As
such, any voter who prefers to vote by mail has the ability to
do so under existing law.
Among the arguments that supporters of all-mailed ballot
elections frequently make in support of such elections is that
all-mailed ballot elections are more convenient for voters.
However, it is not clear whether this is the case. Any voter
who finds it more convenient to vote by mail has the option to
do so under existing law, and voters who want to vote by mail at
every election can sign up for permanent VBM status. Some
voters, due to physical disability or language issues, may
prefer to vote at the polls in order to take advantage of access
or help provided by electronic voting machines or bilingual poll
workers.
COMMENTS
1.According to the Author : Assembly Bill 1873, known as the
Voting Ought To be Easy (VOTE) Act for Special Elections,
seeks to improve two major shortcomings with special elections
in California - the widespread non-participation by voters in
these low-profile electoral contests and the costliness of
operating a special election on taxpayers. Together, the
apparent inefficiency of the special election status quo has
invited well-meaning but risky alternatives that undermine the
public's right to an election and our State government's
system of checks and balances.
AB 1873 allows county and local governments the opportunity to
avoid the low participation and high costs involved in special
AB 1873 (GONZALEZ)
Page 6
elections by conducting these special elections predominantly
by mail ballot, a process which has been shown in practice and
academic studies to majorly reduce costs and increase access
to democracy. In exchange, the county or local government
opting in to the predominantly mail special election process
agrees to several measures that further expands voter access.
These conditions include providing postage-paid envelopes for
return ballots and honoring any ballot received with a
postmark by Election Day, similar to tax forms postmarked by
April 15 are still "on time." They also include making
available a limited number of in-person voting locations for
early weekend voting as well as voting on Election Day,
ensuring access for those with disabilities or limited English
proficiency, and developing and conducting plans for voter
outreach and education about electoral participation in these
elections.
Our democracy flourishes when more eligible voters participate
and AB 1873 helps move our state in that direction for special
elections.
Special elections in California notoriously have abysmal voter
turnout levels, sometimes dropping below 10% of registered
voters. For instance, in recent special elections to fill
Assembly seats, AD 52 saw a turnout of only 8.61%, and AD 54
saw a turnout of only 8.47%. This can be attributed to
special elections often covering fewer issues than regularly
scheduled elections, and generally being less competitive than
statewide general elections, thus generating less media
coverage and voter attention. Special elections are also
typically held on days which voters may be unable to take off
of work or are less publicized. Severely low turnout in
special elections undercuts our principles of democracy and
participation, as elections are decided by a small amount of
voters.
Furthermore, these special elections are extremely costly for
jurisdictions to hold. A state Assembly special election can
cost over a million dollars to conduct, with only a small
handful of people showing up at each polling place to vote.
In many special elections, the vast majority of voters already
utilize mail ballots through permanent absentee registration.
With AB 1873, all registered voters in a county or city opting
AB 1873 (GONZALEZ)
Page 7
to use mail balloting for a special election would receive a
ballot in the mail. Voters would be able to cast their ballot
by mail in those 29 days preceding the special election date,
at an early voting location on a weekend day before the
election, or on Election Day at a polling place.
2.Jumping the Gun ? The committee may wish to consider whether
it is desirable to expand the circumstances under which
elections can be conducted entirely by mail prior to the
completion of the Yolo County pilot project (see discussion in
the Background section above) that the Legislature authorized
in an effort to get better information about the impacts of
such elections.
3.Special Vacancy Elections : In order to promptly fill
vacancies in the Legislature and in Congress, special
elections to fill such vacancies typically are conducted in a
shortened time period, and elections officials have less time
to prepare than they do for regularly scheduled elections.
Furthermore, because vacancies in the Legislature or in
Congress can occur due to the death of an officeholder or an
unexpected resignation, special vacancy elections often cannot
be anticipated in advance, so elections officials may not be
able to prepare in advance for these elections.
While certain elections may be conducted as all-mailed ballot
elections under existing law, most elections -- particularly
for the Legislature and Congress -- are still conducted as
traditional elections, where voters have the ability to vote
at a polling place on election day. As a result, many voters
who are accustomed to voting at a polling place may expect
that there will be a neighborhood polling place at which they
will be able to vote in a special election for the Legislature
or Congress. If such polling places are not going to be
provided, voter education and outreach efforts may be
necessary to ensure that voters who traditionally would vote
at a polling place are not negatively affected by this change
in election procedure. Given the unpredictable need and
expedited time frame for special elections, however, the
ability of elections officials to do effective voter education
and outreach may be limited.
The committee may wish to consider whether it is desirable to
allow the use of a balloting method-all-mailed ballot
AB 1873 (GONZALEZ)
Page 8
elections-with which many voters are not familiar for special
vacancy elections, given that the abbreviated schedule for
such elections limits the ability to do education and
outreach.
4.United States Postal Service Facility Closures and Mail
Delays : In 2012, this committee and the Assembly Elections
and Committee held a joint oversight hearing to discuss
United States Postal Service (USPS) facility closures and the
impact on voters and upcoming elections. During the hearing,
state and county elections officials testified about the
impact that recent post office and processing facility
closures had on their jurisdictions and on local elections, as
well as the anticipated challenges with more closures
expected.
According to testimony from elections officials, one of the most
significant impacts those closures had on the election process
is that there had been significant delays in mail delivery in
some circumstances. Elections officials from counties that
were previously served by closed facilities indicated that
some first class mail took five to seven days to arrive after
closures of USPS facilities, compared to the usual delivery
time of one to three days. Since that hearing, the USPS has
announced further plans for changes in mail delivery
procedures that also have the potential to delay mail
delivery. Finally, the USPS and Congress have discussed
proposals to end Saturday mail delivery as a way to cut costs.
The committee may wish to consider whether it is appropriate to
permit all-mail ballot elections to be used in a broader range
of circumstances when closures and operational changes by the
USPS may result in further mail delivery delays, and otherwise
make mail delivery less reliable.
5.Arguments in Opposition : Asian Americans Advancing
Justice-Los Angeles (Advancing Justice-LA), which has an
oppose unless amended position, writes, in part:
Advancing Justice-LA supports both legislative and grassroots
efforts to make it easier for voters to vote by mail (VBM). We
are aware that across the state, the proportion of voters
signing up for permanent VBM status has trended upward over
the past decade. However, we believe it is premature for the
AB 1873 (GONZALEZ)
Page 9
state to authorize jurisdictions to make VBM the primary
balloting option for voters in the absence of information
explaining why California ranks poorly relative to other
states with respect to VBM rejection rates and VBM return
rates...
Additionally, although the overall proportion of VBM voters in
the state has increased over time, available data highlight
sizable age, racial and ethnic, and other disparities between
VBM voters and polling place voters, as well as significant
variations by region. For example, a report by the California
Civic Engagement Project at the UC Davis Center for Regional
Change found that in the 2012 general election, the proportion
of youth voters (defined as ages 18-23) who voted by mail was
25 percentage points lower than the proportion of voters 64
years or older who voted by mail.
Among racial and ethnic lines, the report found that statewide,
the rate of VBM usage among Latino voters was 14 percentage
points lower than the rate for all voters as a whole, and that
this gap was larger in regions such as Southern California
(encompassing Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino,
and Ventura Counties). The report found that the rate of VBM
usage among Asian American voters was above that of the
general population; however, from voter research that
Advancing Justice-LA has conducted, we know that the rate of
VBM usage varies by Asian American ethnic group. For example,
among Los Angeles County voters during the 2008 general
election, Asian Indian (22%), Cambodian (27%), and Filipino
American (26%) voters used the VBM balloting process at rates
near or below the countywide average (24%).
Advancing Justice-LA's belief is that policymakers should first
consider the potential challenges and disparities in VBM usage
noted above before enacting legislation that permits
jurisdictions to make VBM balloting the primary option for
voters, whether in regularly scheduled elections or special
vacancy elections?
Even accepting the notion that all-mail ballot elections may
create increased turnout, we believe that the unintended
consequences of making VBM the primary option for diverse
electorates will impede the achievement of increased turnout
unless adequate mitigation measures are taken. These
AB 1873 (GONZALEZ)
Page 10
unintended consequences pertain to accessibility and education
and include the following:
Reduction in availability of language assistance
available at polling places under federal law, and
availability of in-person assistance in general?
Reduction in availability of language assistance
available at polling places under state law?
Large amount of voter education required to switch to
all-mail system?
1.Related Legislation : AB 2028 (Mullin), which is also being
heard in this committee today, would authorize San Mateo
County to participate in the ongoing all-mailed ballot pilot
project that is being conducted in Yolo County, as described
above.
SCA 16 (Steinberg), which is pending in the Senate
Appropriations Committee, would permit the Governor to fill a
legislative vacancy by appointment, as specified.
AB 2273 (Ridley-Thomas), which is pending in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee, would require the state to reimburse
counties for the costs of special elections held to fill
vacancies in Congress and the Legislature, for all elections
held on or after January 1, 2013. AB 2273 was approved by
this committee on a 7-0 vote.
SB 942 (Vidak) would require the state to reimburse counties for
the costs of special elections held to fill vacancies in
Congress and the Legislature, for all elections held between
January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2014. SB 963 (Torres) is
identical to AB 2273. Both bills are pending in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
2.Previous Legislation : SB 109 (Gaines) of 2011 would have
would authorized a county with a population of 400,000 or less
to conduct a special election called by the Governor to be
conducted wholly as an all-mail ballot election, as specified.
SB 109 failed passage in this committee.
SB 304 (Kehoe) of 2011 would have authorized elections in San
AB 1873 (GONZALEZ)
Page 11
Diego County to be conducted wholly by mail until January 1,
2016, if specified conditions were satisfied. SB 304 was
never heard in committee.
SB 1102 (Liu) of 2010 would have permitted a special primary or
run-off election to fill a legislative or congressional
vacancy to be conducted wholly by mail provided that the board
of supervisors of each county within the affected jurisdiction
authorized the all-mail ballot election. SB 1102 was never
brought up for vote on the Senate Floor.
AB 1681 (Yamada) of 2010 was similar to AB 413. AB 1681 was
vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, who expressed concern that
"with limited options to vote in-person citizens-especially
poor, elderly, and disabled voters-would not have sufficient
opportunity to vote."
AB 1228 (Yamada) of 2009 was similar to AB 1681, except that AB
1228 would have allowed both Yolo and Santa Clara Counties to
participate in the all-mail ballot pilot project. AB 1228 was
vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger for the same reasons stated
in his veto message of AB 1681 above.
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 4-2
Assembly Floor: 44-32
POSITIONS
Sponsor: County of San Diego
Support: California State Association of Counties
California State Association of Letter Carriers
County of San Bernardino
Rural County Representatives of California
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Urban Counties Caucus
Oppose: American Civil Liberties Union of California
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles
Disability Rights California
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San
AB 1873 (GONZALEZ)
Page 12
Francisco Bay Area
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
AB 1873 (GONZALEZ)
Page 13