Amended in Senate August 18, 2014

Amended in Senate August 11, 2014

Amended in Senate June 18, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2194

Introduced by Assembly Member Mullin

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(Coauthor: Senator Padilla)

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February 20, 2014

An act to amend begin delete Sections 15360, 15560, and end delete begin insert , repeal, and add Section end insert 15626 of, begin delete to amend the heading of Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 15560) of Division 15 of, end delete and to add begin insert and repeal end insert Article 5 (commencing with Section 15645) begin delete to end delete begin insert of end insert Chapter 9 of Division 15 of, the Elections Code, relating to elections, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2194, as amended, Mullin. Elections: statewide recounts.

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(1) Existing

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begin insert Existing end insert law establishes procedures by which a voter may request a recount of the votes cast in an election following completion of the official canvass. Under existing law, the voter seeking the recount is required, before the recount is commenced and at the beginning of each subsequent day, to deposit with the elections official the amount of money required by the elections official to cover the cost of the recount for that day.

This bill begin insert , until July 1, 2015, end insert would require the Secretary of State to order an automatic manual recount of all votes cast for a statewide office or state ballot measure if the difference in the number of votes received is less than or equal to 0.1%. begin delete The bill would allow the Secretary of State and the candidates, or the proponents of a state ballot measure and the persons filing ballot arguments against the measure, to agree to an alternative method of conducting a recount in lieu of a full statewide recount. end delete By imposing new duties on local elections officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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(2) Existing law authorizes the Secretary of State to establish a postcanvass risk-limiting audit pilot program for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of election results. Under the program, a participating county would conduct an audit of one or more contests in each election after the tabulation of the unofficial final results, as defined, or after completion of the official canvass for the election. Existing law requires, during the official canvass of an election in which a voting system is used, the elections official conducting the election to conduct a public manual tally of the ballots tabulated by those devices, including vote by mail voters’ ballots, cast in 1% of the precincts chosen at random by the elections official.

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This bill would allow a county to conduct a postcanvass risk-limiting audit in lieu of a 1% manual tally.

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(3) The

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begin insert The end insert California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

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(4) This

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begin insert This end insert bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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SECTION 1.  

Section 15360 of the Elections Code is amended
to read:

15360.  

(a) During the official canvass of every election in
which a voting system is used, the official conducting the election
shall conduct a public manual tally of the ballots tabulated by those
devices, including vote by mail ballots, using either of the
following methods:

(1) (A) A public manual tally of the ballots, including vote by
mail ballots, cast in 1 percent of the precincts chosen at random
by the elections official. If 1 percent of the precincts is less than
one whole precinct, the tally shall be conducted in one precinct
chosen at random by the elections official.

(B) (i) In addition to the 1 percent manual tally, the elections
official shall, for each race not included in the initial group of
precincts, count one additional precinct. The manual tally shall
apply only to the race not previously counted.

(ii) Additional precincts for the manual tally may be selected
at the discretion of the elections official.

(2) A two-part public manual tally, which includes both of the
following:

(A) A public manual tally of the ballots, not including vote by
mail ballots, cast in 1 percent of the precincts chosen at random
by the elections official and conducted pursuant to paragraph (1).

(B) (i) A public manual tally of not less than 1 percent of the
vote by mail ballots cast in the election. Batches of vote by mail
ballots shall be chosen at random by the elections official.

(ii) For the purposes of this section, a “batch” means a set of
ballots tabulated by the voting system devices, for which the voting
system can produce a report of the votes cast.

(iii) (I) In addition to the 1 percent manual tally of the vote by
mail ballots, the elections official shall, for each race not included
in the initial 1 percent manual tally of vote by mail ballots, count
one additional batch of vote by mail ballots. The manual tally shall
apply only to the race not previously counted.

(II) Additional batches for the manual tally may be selected at
the discretion of the elections official.

(b) If vote by mail ballots are cast on a direct recording
electronic voting system at the office of an elections official or at
a satellite location of the office of an elections official pursuant to
Section 3018, the official conducting the election shall either
include those ballots in the manual tally conducted pursuant to
paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) or conduct a public manual
tally of those ballots cast on no fewer than 1 percent of all the
direct recording electronic voting machines used in that election
chosen at random by the elections official.

(c) The elections official shall use either a random number
generator or other method specified in regulations that shall be
adopted by the Secretary of State to randomly choose the initial
precincts, batches of vote by mail ballots, or direct recording
electronic voting machines subject to the public manual tally.

(d) The manual tally shall be a public process, with the official
conducting the election providing at least a five-day public notice
of the time and place of the manual tally and of the time and place
of the selection of the precincts, batches, or direct recording
electronic voting machines subject to the public manual tally prior
to conducting the selection and tally.

(e) The official conducting the election shall include a report
on the results of the 1 percent manual tally in the certification of
the official canvass of the vote. This report shall identify any
discrepancies between the machine count and the manual tally and
a description of how each of these discrepancies was resolved. In
resolving any discrepancy involving a vote recorded by means of
a punchcard voting system or by electronic or electromechanical
vote tabulating devices, the voter verified paper audit trail shall
govern if there is a discrepancy between it and the electronic
record.

(f) This section does not apply to a county that conducts a
postcanvass risk-limiting audit pursuant to Section 15560.

SEC. 2.  

The heading of Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section
15560) of Division 15 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

 

Chapter  8.5. Postcanvass Risk-Limiting Audit

 

SEC. 3.  

Section 15560 of the Elections Code is amended to
read:

15560.  

(a) (1)  Any county may conduct a postcanvass
risk-limiting audit of one or more contests after each election in
that county pursuant to this section in lieu of a 1 percent manual
tally, as provided for in Section 15360. The contest or contests to
be audited and the audit units examined shall be chosen at random
by the elections official using a random number generator or other
method approved by the Secretary of State pursuant to subdivision
(c) of Section 15360.

(2) An elections official conducting an audit pursuant to this
section shall do all of the following:

(A) Provide at least a five-day public notice of the time and
place of the random selection of the audit units to be manually
tallied and of the time and place of the audit.

(B) Make available to the public a report of the vote tabulating
device results for the contest, including the results for each audit
unit in the contest, prior to the random selection of audit units to
be manually tallied and prior to the commencement of the audit.

(C) Conduct the audit upon tabulation of the unofficial final
results or upon completion of the official canvass for the election.

(D) Conduct the audit in public view by hand without the use
of electronic scanning equipment using the tally procedures
established by Section 15360 for conducting a manual tally.

(b) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:

(1) “Audit unit” means a precinct, a set of ballots, or a single
ballot. A precinct, a set of ballots, or a single ballot may be used
as an audit unit for purposes of this section only if all of the
following conditions are satisfied:

(A) The relevant vote tabulating device is able to produce a
report of the votes cast in the precinct, set of ballots, or single
ballot.

(B) The elections official is able to match the report described
in subparagraph (A) with the ballots corresponding to the report
for purposes of conducting an audit pursuant to this section.

(C) Each ballot is assigned to not more than one audit unit.

(2) “Contest” means an election for an office or for a measure.
“Contest” shall not include either of the following:

(A) An election for a political party central committee, as
provided in Division 7 (commencing with Section 7000).

(B) An advisory election, as provided in Section 9603.

(3) “Risk-limiting audit” means a manual tally employing a
statistical method that ensures a large, predetermined minimum
chance of requiring a full manual tally whenever a full manual
tally would show an electoral outcome that differs from the
outcome reported by the vote tabulating device for the audited
contest. A risk-limiting audit shall begin with a hand tally of the
votes in one or more audit units and shall continue to hand tally
votes in additional audit units until there is strong statistical
evidence that the electoral outcome is correct. In the event that
counting additional audit units does not provide strong statistical
evidence that the electoral outcome is correct, the audit shall
continue until there has been a full manual tally to determine the
correct electoral outcome of the audited contest.

(4) “Unofficial final results” means election results tabulated
pursuant to an official canvass conducted pursuant to Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 15300) but not yet reported to the
governing board or the Secretary of State pursuant to subdivision
(h) of Section 15302.

(c) The Secretary of State may adopt, amend, and repeal rules
and regulations necessary for the administration of this section.

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begin delete SEC. 4. end delete
begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

Section 15626 of the Elections Code is amended
to read:

15626.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert The recount shall be commenced not more than
seven days following the receipt by the elections official of the
request for the recount under Section 15620, 15621, or 15645 and
shall be continued daily, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays
excepted, for not less than six hours each day until completed. The
recount shall not be commenced until the first day following
notification of the individuals specified in Section 15628.

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(b) This section shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2015,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before July 1, 2015, deletes or extends that date.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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begin insert Section 15626 is added to the end insert begin insert Elections Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

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begin insert 15626. end insert   

(a) The recount shall be commenced not more than
seven days following the receipt by the elections official of the
request for the recount under Section 15620 or 15621 and shall
be continued daily, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excepted,
for not less than six hours each day until completed. The recount
shall not be commenced until the first day following notification
of the individuals specified in Section 15628.

(b) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2015.

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begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

Article 5 (commencing with Section 15645) is added
to Chapter 9 of Division 15 of the Elections Code, to read:

 

Article 5.  Automatic Recounts

 

15645.  

(a) Within five days after the Secretary of State files
a statement of the vote, as required by subdivision (b) of Section
15501, the Secretary of State shall order an automatic manual
recount of all votes cast for a statewide office or state ballot
measure if any of the following occurs:

(1) The official canvass of returns in a statewide primary election
shows that the difference in the number of votes received by the
second and third place candidates for a statewide office is less than
or equal to one-tenth of 1 percent of the number of all votes cast
for both candidates.

(2) The official canvass of returns in a statewide general election
shows that the difference in the number of votes received by the
two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes for a
statewide office is less than or equal to one-tenth of 1 percent of
the number of all votes cast for both candidates.

(3) The official canvass of returns in a statewide election shows
that the difference in the number of votes cast for and against a
state ballot measure is less than or equal to one-tenth of 1 percent
of the number of all votes cast on the measure.

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(b) (1) The Secretary of State and both candidates, or the
proponents of the state ballot measure and the persons filing ballot
arguments against the measure, subject to a recount under this
section may agree to use an alternative method of conducting the
recount in lieu of a full statewide recount. The reason for agreeing
to an alternative method of recount may include, but is not limited
to, the discovery of uncounted ballots or a counting error in one
or more precincts or counties.

(2) The Secretary of State shall notify the elections official of
each county of, and shall direct county elections officials to
implement, the alternative method of conducting the recount.

(3) If an alternative method of conducting a recount is
implemented pursuant to this subdivision, a voter may request a
recount pursuant to Section 15623.

(c)

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begin insert (b) end insert  It is the intent of the Legislature to fully reimburse counties
for costs resulting from conducting an automatic manual recount
required by this section in an expeditious manner upon certification
of those costs. A candidate shall not be charged for an automatic
manual recount required by this section.

15646.  

Upon ordering a recount pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 15645, the Secretary of State shall notify the elections
official of each county and shall direct the county elections officials
to recount all the votes cast for the office or for and against the
state ballot measure. The elections official in each county shall
commence the recount within seven days of receiving notice under
this section.

15647.  

All the provisions of Article 3 (commencing with
Section 15620), except Sections 15620, 15621, 15622, 15623,
15624, and 15627, shall apply to this article unless otherwise
provided herein.

15648.  

The Secretary of State may adopt, amend, and repeal
rules and regulations necessary for the administration of this article.

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begin insert 15649. end insert   

This article shall remain in effect only until July 1,
2015, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that is enacted before July 1, 2015, deletes or extends that date.

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begin delete SEC. 6. end delete
begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

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begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to ensure that all eligible voters are able to have their
votes counted at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election,
it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.