BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Norma J. Torres, Chair
BILL NO: SB 1062 HEARING DATE: 4/22/14
AUTHOR: BLOCK ANALYSIS BY: Frances Tibon
Estoista
AMENDED: 3/24/14
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Elections: vote by mail ballots
DESCRIPTION
Existing law sets forth procedures to allow voters to apply for
and receive a vote-by-mail ballot (VBM).
Existing law requires the elections official to deliver to each
qualified applicant the ballot for the precinct in which he or
she resides as well as all supplies necessary for the use and
return of the VBM ballot.
This bill requires the elections official to include a return
envelope with prepaid postage if the ballot is to be mailed
within the territorial limits of the United States or the
District of Columbia.
BACKGROUND
Any registered voter may vote using a vote-by-mail ballot
instead of going to the polls on Election Day. Existing law
also allows any registered voter to become a permanent VBM
voter.
Statistics provided by the Secretary of State's Web site
indicate that since 2000, and with the exception of the 2010
Primary Election, VBM voting has been on an upward trend. Some
California counties, including Alpine, San Francisco, and
Sierra, currently offer prepaid postage on return envelopes for
all VBM ballots in all elections, while the counties of Glenn,
Kern, and Tuolumne offer prepaid postage for mandatory VBM
ballot voters, which are sent to voters who do not have a
designated polling location provided by the county.
In 2009, then Assemblyman Hector De La Torre introduced AB 1519
which would have established a "State Vote by Mail Postage
Fund," with a sole purpose of funding costs for providing
prepaid postage envelopes to all VBM voters. In the Assembly
Appropriations Committee analysis of AB 1519, staff indicated,
"Major annual GF reimbursable costs for postal charges for the
VBM ballots returned statewide by mail at each statewide primary
and general election. Based on the number of VBM ballots
returned in recent elections, annual cost would be in the range
of $1.2 million to $2.4 million." In an almost "Catch 22"
situation, while VBM voting has been on a steady climb, the
costs to mail a document has also been steadily increasing. The
United States Postal Service has raised the cost of postage by 5
cents since 2009; it now costs 49 cents to send mail domestic
first class.
COMMENTS
1. According to the Author : California's voter turnout has
declined in relation to that of other states since the 1990s.
In the 2012 General Election, only 55.47% of California's
eligible voters turned out to vote, ranking the state 48th in
voting participation. Turnout has been even worse in the
state's recent primary elections, with only half the number
of general election participants.
Meanwhile, evidence has shown that many find it more convenient
to mail in a ballot than to vote in-person. Between 2000 and
2012, the popularity of VBM in California doubled, increasing
from 24.53% to 51.15% of cast ballots in general elections.
Even a larger majority of voters utilize absentee voting
during the primaries, with VBM ballots consisting of 65.15%
of the total votes counted in the 2012 Primary Election.
Providing prepaid postage on VBM return envelopes eases the
voting process for all VBM voters.
2. The San Mateo County Study . A study undertaken by a group
of distinguished academics, conducted in San Mateo County and
published in the Election Law Journal (Volume 11, Number 3,
2012,) suggests providing prepaid postage will have no effect
and could actually be detrimental in successful voter
participation. The study's Abstract concluded:
SB 1062 (BLOCK)
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"In collaboration with local election officials, we
conducted a randomized field experiment in which
postage-paid envelopes were provided to a random
sample of 10,000 permanent vote-by-mail (VBM) voters
in San Mateo County, California, in advance of the
November 2, 2010, general election. We find that the
treatment generated statistically significant but
unexpected effects: postage-paid envelopes increased
the probability that voters cast their ballots in
person and decreased the probability that they cast
their ballots by mail.
These offsetting effects meant that the intervention
produced no net change in voter turnout. We find that
this pattern of countervailing effects is strongest
among voters who frequently voted by mail in the past,
those potentially most susceptible to disruptions in
routine. Postelection interviews support the idea
that the postage-paid envelopes created confusion for
some voters. The results suggest that reforms
designed to increase turnout by decreasing voting
costs may have the unintended effect of disrupting
routines."
3. Similar Legislation : SB 117 (Murray) of 2005 would have
established the Absent Voting Postage Prepaid Fund, but was
held in Assembly Appropriations. SB 758 (Murray) of 2001
would have required the Secretary of State to prepay the
postage for return of absentee ballot envelopes, but was held
in Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1519 (De La Torre) of 2009 was similar to SB 117 (Murray),
in that it would have established a State Vote by Mail
Postage Fund. AB 1519 was held in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
SB 1062 (BLOCK)
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Support: California State Council of the Service Employees
International Union
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
Oppose: None received
SB 1062 (BLOCK)
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