BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Alex Padilla, Chair
BILL NO: AB 2177 HEARING DATE: 6/24/14
AUTHOR: BROWN ANALYSIS BY: Frances Tibon
Estoista
AMENDED: 5/23/14
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Early voting
DESCRIPTION
Existing law establishes procedures for voters to apply for a
vote by mail (VBM) ballot, and use the ballot to vote in an
election.
Existing law permits any voter to cast a VBM ballot in person at
the office of the elections official beginning on the 29th day
prior to an election, until the close of polls on election day.
Existing law provides, for the purposes of this provision, that
the office of the elections official may include satellite
locations; and also requires advance public notice to be
provided of any such satellite location not later than 14 days
prior to voting at the satellite location, except as specified.
Existing law permits elections officials to allow voters to cast
VBM ballots prior to an election at their offices or satellite
locations on weekends or at times beyond regular office hours.
This bill defines "early voting," for the purposes of this bill,
to mean casting a vote by mail (VBM) ballot in person at the
office of the elections official or another location designated
by the elections official either before or on the day of the
election.
This bill requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to provide
guidance to local elections officials in accomplishing the
following:
a) Establishing one or more locations for early voting, which
may include the office of the local elections official;
b) Notifying voters of the early voting location or locations;
and,
c) Ensuring that the early voting location or locations and the
procedures used therein comply with disability access
requirements under federal and state law.
This bill permits county elections officials to apply to the SOS
for funding from the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) to
provide early voting. Requires a county that obtains funding
sufficient to satisfy all associated costs to provide early
voting pursuant to the following:
a) Requires each county elections official to offer early voting
for not less than six hours on at least one Saturday and one
Sunday prior to every statewide election at a location that
is accessible and complies with disability access
requirements under federal and state law.
b) Provides that the requirement to offer early voting prior to
every statewide election does not apply to an election that
is conducted wholly by mail or to a precinct in which each
voter is furnished a VBM ballot.
This bill permits a county to offer early voting pursuant to the
provisions of this bill if it does not obtain funding sufficient
to satisfy all associated costs.
This bill declares the intent of the Legislature in enacting
this bill to make voting more convenient and accessible in order
to increase voter turnout at elections.
BACKGROUND
Early Voting under Existing Law : Although existing state law
does not use the term "early voting," any California voter can
receive and cast a VBM ballot in the office of the elections
official beginning 29 days prior to election day and ending at
the close of the polls on election day. Additionally, elections
officials are permitted, but not required, to offer early voting
at "satellite locations" of the office of the elections
official, and may offer voting at their offices or such
"satellite locations" on weekends or at times beyond regular
office hours.
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In fact, according to information from a survey of county
elections officials conducted by the Los Angeles County
Registrar of Voters and other information gathered by Assembly
Elections and Redistricting Committee staff, it appears that at
least 28 counties, representing 89% of registered voters in
California, offered early voting for at least one weekend day
prior to the November 2012 Presidential General Election. At
least eleven counties, representing more than 56% of registered
voters in California, provided weekend voting opportunities that
would have complied with the requirements of this bill.
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The following table details the weekend early voting
opportunities that were provided in connection with the November
2012 Presidential General Election:
---------------------------------------------------------------
|County |Weekend Early Voting Opportunity at November 2012 |
| |election |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Alameda |Sat. 11/3 & Sun. 11/4: 9-5 at elections |
| |official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Butte |Sat. 11/3: 8-5 at elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Contra |Sat. 11/3: 9-3 at elections official's office |
|Costa | |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Fresno |Sat. 11/3: 9-3 at elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Inyo |Sat. 11/3 & Sun. 11/4: 8-? at elections |
| |official's office (closing time not specified on |
| |survey) |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Kern |Sat. 11/3: 8-2 at elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Los Angeles |Sat. 10/27, Sun. 10/28, Sat. 11/3, & Sun. 11/4: |
| |8-4 at elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Madera |Sat. 11/3: 8-5 at the elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Marin |Sat. 11/3 & Sun. 11/4: 9-1 at elections |
| |official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Monterey |Sat. 10/27, Sat. 11/3, & Sun. 11/4: 8-5 at |
| |elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Napa |Sat. 11/3 & Sun. 11/4: 8:30-4:30 at 5 different |
| |satellite locations |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Nevada |Sat. 11/3: 9-4 at elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Orange |Sat. 10/27, Sat. 11/3, & Sun. 11/4: 8-5 at |
| |elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Placer |Sat. 10/27, Sun. 10/28, Sat. 11/3, & Sun. 11/4: |
| |9-4 at elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
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|Riverside |Sat. 10/27 & Sun. 10/28: 10-5 at elections |
| |official's office and 3 other satellite locations |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Sacramento |Sat. 11/3: 9-2 at elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|San |Sat. 11/3: 8-5 at the elections official's office |
|Bernardino |and 1 satellite location |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|San Diego |Sat. 11/3: 8-5 at the elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|San |Sat. 10/27, Sun. 10/28, Sat 11/3, & Sun. 11/4: |
|Francisco |10-4 at elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|San Luis |Sat. 11/3 & Sun. 11/4: 9-1 at elections |
|Obispo |official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|San Mateo |Sat. 10/27 & Sat. 11/3: 10-3 at elections |
| |official's offices (2 locations) |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Santa |Sat. 11/3: 8-5 at elections official's offices (3 |
|Barbara |locations) |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Santa Clara |Sat. 10/27, Sun. 10/28, Sat 11/3, & Sun. 11/4: |
| |9-3 at elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Santa Cruz |Sat. 11/3 & Sun. 11/4: 9-5 at elections |
| |official's office and 1 satellite location |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Solano |Sat. 11/3: 8-5 at elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Sonoma |Sat. 10/27, Sat. 11/3, & Sun. 11/4: 8-5 at |
| |elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Tehama |Sat. 11/3: 9-3 at elections official's office |
|------------+--------------------------------------------------|
|Tulare |Sat. 11/3: 8-5 at elections official's office |
---------------------------------------------------------------
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COMMENTS
1. According to the Author : In order to a have a thriving
democracy all citizens must exercise their right to vote.
As a result, it is imperative that [the] government makes
the act of voting as accessible as possible. Early voting
is voting that takes place (usually on the weekend) before
election day. Voting on the weekend will give another
alternative to people who work and have difficulty finding
the time to vote on Tuesdays. AB 2177 would require an
election official on at least one Saturday and Sunday before
Election Day to allow voters to vote in person at an easily
accessible designated location. Increasing participation
will only help to strengthen our democracy.
President Obama issued Executive Order 13639, which
established the Presidential Commission on Election
Administration and instructed it to identify the best
practices to promote elections and increase voter turnout.
The Commission was co-chaired by Bob Bauer, the general
counsel to the President's reelection campaign in 2012, and
by Ben Ginsberg, who served as national counsel to Governor
Mitt Romney's Presidential campaign in 2012. One of the
Commission's 12 recommendations was that states adopt
uniform early voting procedures.
2. Other States : According to the National Conference of
State Legislatures, 33 states (including California) and the
District of Columbia permit any qualified voter to cast a
ballot in person during a designated period prior to
election day with no excuse or justification required. At
least 12 of the 33 early voting states require that early
vote centers be open on at least one Saturday or Sunday
during the early voting period, while others (including
California) give local officials the authority to determine
the hours for early voting.
It bears repeating that California elections officials are
already permitted, but not required, to offer early voting
at "satellite locations" of the office of the elections
official, and may offer voting at their offices or such
"satellite locations" on weekends or at times beyond regular
office hours. The table on page 3 of this analysis bears
this out.
3. Help America Vote Act (HAVA) . HAVA was signed into law by
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President Bush on October 29, 2002. To address
irregularities in voting systems that came to light in 2000,
HAVA provided federal funding to the states to implement a
statewide voter registration system, replace punch card
voting machines, improve voter education and poll worker
training, permit voters to cast provisional ballots, and
require at least one voting machine per polling place to
allow voters with disabilities to vote privately and
independently. To be eligible to receive HAVA funding, each
state was required to submit a State Plan to the federal
government that would serve as a blueprint to meet the
requirements of HAVA.
4. California State Auditor's Report : One of the
recommendations (#3) culminating from the August 2013
California Auditor's report was for the SOS to formally
renegotiate its Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the U.S.
Department of Justice (USDOJ) by discussing the need to
pursue VoteCal (California's pending statewide voter
database) and obtaining clarity as to what aspect of the
current (existing) statewide voter registration database
system known as CalVoter, if any, does not meet HAVA
requirements, thus ensuring that the State has maximum
flexibility in how it spends the remaining HAVA funds, and
to report the results of that request to the Legislature by
December 2013.
5. Back to the Future : In November 2005; the SOS entered
into a MOA with the USDOJ after the USDOJ found that the
existing CalVoter system was not compliant with the
requirements of HAVA. Under the MOA, the State could
continue using CalVoter until the implementation of a
replacement system, provided that the terms of the MOA were
met, including the adoptions of regulations and certain
changes to the system. Throughout that time, the SOS
provided monthly updates to the USDOJ regarding adoption of
the new VoteCal system.
Fast forward to August 8, 2013 and the California State
Auditor's report and recommendations: The SOS contacted the
USDOJ in October regarding the status and possible
renegotiation of the MOA. In November 2013 the USDOJ
contacted the SOS and clarified that in light of ongoing
discussions, the purposes behind the MOA, the requirements
of HAVA, and the State's progress in implementing the new
VoteCal system, the USDOJ believes that the MOA should
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remain in place until such time as the VoteCal system is
completely implemented. On February 5, 2014 a copy of the
USDOJ's letter to the SOS on the decision to deny
renegotiation of the MOA was submitted to the state Auditor
as well as the Legislature.
It has been the general understanding between legislative
leaders and the SOS that any HAVA funds remaining after
VoteCal's implementation are to be used for the projects
$5-6 million annual maintenance and operations costs in the
years immediately following implementation in June 2016.
Once the remaining HAVA funds are spent, all VoteCal
expenses will be paid from the General Fund.
6. Similar Legislation . SB 637 (Yee) of 2013 would have,
among other provisions, required early voting for statewide
elections, on at least one Saturday for statewide elections.
SB 637 died on the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense
File.
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 5-1
Assembly Appropriations Committee: 12-5
Assembly Floor: 54-23
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local
1000
Support: Association of American University Women (AAUW)
California Labor Federation
California School Employees Association, AFL-CIO
Oppose: Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC)
AB 2177 (BROWN)
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