BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Norma J. Torres, Chair
BILL NO: SB 240 HEARING DATE: 1/7/14
AUTHOR: YEE ANALYSIS BY: Darren Chesin
AMENDED: 1/6/14
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Vote by mail ballot drop boxes: public higher education campuses
DESCRIPTION
Existing law provides that all vote by mail (VBM) ballots shall
be voted on or before the day of the election. After marking
the ballot, the VBM voter must either (1) return the ballot by
mail or in person to the elections official from whom it came or
(2) return the ballot in person to a member of a precinct board
at a polling place within the jurisdiction.
Existing law permits a VBM voter who is unable to return the
ballot to designate his or her spouse, child, parent,
grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, or a person residing
in the same household as the VBM voter to return the ballot to
the elections official from whom it came or to the precinct
board at a polling place within the jurisdiction.
Existing law provides that a ballot shall not be counted if it
is not delivered in compliance with the aforementioned sections.
Existing law requires elections officials to establish
procedures to ensure the secrecy of a VBM ballot returned to a
precinct polling place and the security, confidentiality, and
integrity of any related personal information collected, stored,
or otherwise used.
This bill provides that for each statewide general election and
each statewide primary election the elections official shall do
both of the following:
Establish at least one VBM ballot drop box within each campus
of the California State University and the University of
California within the jurisdiction of the county or city and
county.
Consider establishing at least one VBM ballot drop box within
each community college within the jurisdiction of the county
or city and county, and establish that VBM ballot drop box if
the elections official determines that a VBM ballot drop box
at the college would be convenient for voters.
This bill does not apply to a county or city and county that has
a population of fewer than 150,000 people.
This bill provides that the California State University and the
California Community Colleges shall, and the University of
California is requested to, provide access for use of their
campuses as a VBM ballot drop box site. This bill does not apply
to a campus of the University of California if the campus
refuses a request for access to the campus as a VBM ballot drop
box site.
This bill defines "vote by mail ballot drop box" as a secure
receptacle established by an elections official whereby a voted
VBM ballot may be returned to the elections official from whom
it was obtained. The Secretary of State shall assist elections
officials by providing recommendations and guidelines regarding
the placement and security of vote by mail ballot drop boxes.
BACKGROUND
Existing VBM Ballot Drop-Off Sites . An unknown number of
counties currently establish VBM drop-off sites although
existing law does not specifically address them (this bill
provides for the establishment of ballot drop boxes ). One of
those counties, Sacramento County, designates facilities
throughout the county where voters can drop-off their ballots
prior to Election Day. The county requires that all facilities
must be accessible to voters with disabilities and have at least
one person monitor the station . Sites include facilities such
as city halls, county departments, assisted living facilities,
local businesses, non-profit and community organizations, and
facilities that already serve as polling places on Election Day.
A list of the VBM drop-off sites is included in Sacramento
County's sample ballot booklets. The Sacramento County system
is designed so that a voter or someone designated by the voter
must hand their voted VBM ballot to the person monitoring the
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drop-off site.
Voting on Public College Campuses . Current law provides
elections officials discretion in determining polling places, as
long as the selected locations meet specific requirements,
including locating polling places on college and university
campuses. Discussions with county elections officials indicate
that polling places are often located on public and private
college campuses when the colleges cooperate and there are
enough voters registered on the campus to merit it or when the
location and parking situation on campus makes the polling place
convenient for off-campus voters.
According to a 2013 survey conducted by committee staff, nine of
the ten campuses of the University of California (UC), and 16 of
the 23 campuses of the California State University, had polling
places in the November 2012 General Election. The one UC campus
that did not have a polling place on Election Day was UC
Riverside which served as an early polling site instead. When
asked why the other CSU campuses did not have polling places the
county elections officials responded as follows:
CSU Bakersfield : Only 324 students reside in on-campus housing
(only some of which are actually registered to vote there) and
there is inadequate parking for off-campus voters.
CSU East Bay : Student voters use an off campus site that is in
a neighboring precinct which serves the campus.
CSU Los Angeles : Student voters use a precinct across the
street that serves the campus.
California Maritime Academy : The CMA is a very small school
and there are not enough students residing on campus to
warrant a polling place. A nearby off-campus precinct
location serves the campus.
CSU San Bernardino : The elections official indicates that a
polling place will be located on campus for future elections.
San Jose State University : Logistically it is difficult to put
a polling place on campus because of parking and ADA issues.
A polling place directly across the street from the SJSU
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dormitories serves the campus.
CSU Stanislaus : Only 633 students reside in on-campus housing
(only some of which are actually registered to vote there) and
there is inadequate parking for off-campus voters.
COMMENTS
1.According to the Author : In 2012, the Secretary of State
launched the online voter registration system to allow
Californians to register or re-register through the internet.
The new system saw immediate success, increasing the state's
voter rolls to a record high of over 18 million voters.
According to county data tallied by Political Data Inc., the
state's largest bipartisan election data firm, 61.5% of those
who used the online registration system were under the age of
35.
Senate Bill 240 ensures that young voters' voices are heard at
the ballot box by allowing University of California (UC) and
California State University (CSU) students to drop off their
vote by mail ballots on campus. While in college, many
students will be voting for the first time. Together with
online voter registration, students can effortlessly register
or reregister to vote with their new address, request a vote
by mail ballot, and drop off the completed ballot on campus.
According to the Secretary of State's website, 65% and 51% of
voters voted by mail in the 2012 Primary and General Statewide
Elections, respectively. That was an increase from the
previous Statewide Election in 2010 where almost 58% and 48%
voted by mail during the year's Primary and General Elections.
As more voters turn to the convenience of voting by mail,
elections officials look at options to encourage voters to
return their ballots in time. Several cities and counties in
California already utilize ballot drop boxes at various
locations to allow voters to return their ballots without the
need to pay a postage fee. These locations include City Hall,
libraries, agencies, university campuses, and even businesses.
By extending this type of convenience to UC and CSU campuses,
it would encourage students, faculty, staff, and neighbors to
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return their vote by mail ballot, without any added cost.
2.Conflict with Section 3017 of the Elections Code . As stated
above, existing law (Section 3017 of the Elections Code)
provides that all VBM ballots shall be voted on or before the
day of the election. After marking the ballot, the VBM voter
must either (1) return the ballot by mail or in person to the
elections official from whom it came or (2) return the ballot
in person to a member of a precinct board at a polling place
within the jurisdiction. It is unclear whether VBM ballot
drop boxes as required by this bill would legally constitute
returning the ballot in person to the elections official from
whom it came. Therefore, staff recommends amending this bill
to make this clarification.
3.Drop Box Security Concerns . This bill does not require that
VBM ballot drop boxes be monitored by personnel and only
defines them as "a secure receptacle established by an
elections official whereby a voted VBM ballot may be returned
to the elections official from whom it was obtained." The
bill also requires the Secretary of State to assist elections
officials by providing recommendations and guidelines
regarding the placement and security of vote by mail ballot
drop boxes. However, in order to ensure that VBM ballot drop
boxes remain secure, staff recommends amending this bill to
include the following language or something similar:
"A vote by mail ballot drop box shall consist of a secured
ballot box that allows return envelopes, once deposited, to
only be removed by persons appointed by the elections
official. Vote by mail ballot drop boxes located outdoors
must be constructed of durable material able to withstand
inclement weather, and be sufficiently secured to the ground
or another structure to prevent their removal. From 29 days
prior to Election Day until 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, two
people who are appointed by the elections official must empty
each ballot drop-off box with sufficient frequency to prevent
damage and unauthorized access to the ballots. Vote by mail
ballot drop boxes must be locked and sealed at all times, with
seal logs that document each time the box is opened, by whom,
and the number of ballots removed. Ballots must be placed
into sealed transport carriers and returned to the elections
official's office or another designated location. At 8:00
p.m. on Election Day, all ballot drop-off boxes must be
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emptied or sealed to prevent the deposit of additional
ballots."
4.Both Polls and Drop Boxes Needed ? Given that the vast
majority of public universities in California have actual
polling places on campus on Election Day, as discussed in the
"Background" section above, is it necessary to also
require/request that elections officials also establish a VBM
ballot drop box on those campuses as well?
5.June Exodus . This bill requires elections officials to
establish VBM ballot drop boxes on public college campuses for
each election conducted by a county, including elections
scheduled for times when most students are not attending
classes, such as June Statewide Primary Elections.
6.Out-of-County Student Voter Disenfranchisement . Many students
attending college away from home are typically registered to
vote in their home county, and not the county in which they
are attending school. As a result, many of these students may
mistakenly deposit their voted VBM ballot in the ballot drop
box required by this bill. Since counties are not currently
required to forward VBM ballots to their county of origin,
these student voters could be unwittingly disenfranchised.
7.Small County Exemption . This bill exempts counties that have
a population under 150,000, which include Alpine, Amador,
Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Inyo, Lake,
Lassen, Mariposa, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Napa, Nevada,
Plumas, San Benito, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity,
Tuolumne, and Yuba. Of these, only Humboldt County has a UC or
CSU campus but it is unclear why CSU Humboldt is exempted from
this bill.
8.Double Referral . This bill is double referred to the Senate
Committee on Education.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: None received
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Oppose: None received
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