AB 547: Elections: special elections: all-mailed ballot elections.
- Session Year: 2015-2016
- House: Assembly
- Latest Version Date: 2015-10-10
Existing law authorizes, until January 1, 2020, San Diego County to conduct, as a pilot program, an all-mailed ballot special election or special consolidated election to fill a congressional or legislative vacancy under specified conditions. If such an election is conducted, existing law requires San Diego County to report certain information to the Legislature and the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election.
This bill, until January 1, 2021, would authorize San Diego County, or any city, school district, community college district, special district, or other district or political subdivision whose boundaries are located wholly within San Diego County, to conduct an all-mailed ballot special election or special consolidated election to fill a vacancy on the legislative or governing body of those entities. The bill would authorize those entities to also hold an all-mailed ballot special election for county initiatives, city initiatives, district initiatives, bond issues, and school measures conducted pursuant to specified provisions. The bill would extend the pilot program for San Diego County, as described above, until January 1, 2021. The bill would also require certain voter education workshops to be conducted in-person.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of San Diego.
Existing law authorizes, until January 1, 2020, San Diego County to conduct, as a pilot program, an all-mailed ballot special election or special consolidated election to fill a congressional or legislative vacancy under specified conditions. If such an election is conducted, existing law requires San Diego County to report certain information to the Legislature and the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election.
This bill, until January 1, 2021, would authorize San Diego County, or any city, school district, community college district, special district, or other district or political subdivision whose boundaries are located wholly within San Diego County, to conduct an all-mailed ballot special election or special consolidated election to fill a vacancy on the legislative or governing body of those entities. The bill would authorize those entities to also hold an all-mailed ballot special election for county initiatives, city initiatives, district initiatives, bond issues, and school measures conducted pursuant to specified provisions. The bill would extend the pilot program for San Diego County, as described above, until January 1, 2021. The bill would also require certain voter education workshops to be conducted in-person.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of San Diego.
Existing law authorizes, until January 1, 2020, San Diego County to conduct, as a pilot program, an all-mailed ballot special election or special consolidated election to fill a congressional or legislative vacancy under specified conditions. If such an election is conducted, existing law requires San Diego County to report certain information to the Legislature and the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election.
This bill bill, until January 1, 2021, would authorize San Diego County, or any city, school district, community college district, special district, or other district or political subdivision whose boundaries are located wholly or in part within San Diego County, to conduct an all-mailed ballot special election or special consolidated election to fill a vacancy on the legislative or governing body of those entities. The bill would authorize those entities to also hold an all-mailed ballot special election for county initiatives, city initiatives, district initiatives, bond issues, and school measures conducted pursuant to specified provisions. The bill would extend the pilot program for San Diego County, as described above, until January 1, 2021, and would repeal the condition that, for a special election to fill a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office, the congressional or legislative district lie wholly within San Diego County. 2021. The bill would also require certain voter education workshops to be conducted in-person.
Existing law authorizes cities with a population of less than 100,000 persons, school districts, and special districts to conduct an all-mailed ballot special election to fill a vacancy on the legislative or governing body of those entities under specified conditions.
This bill would authorize those entities to also hold all-mailed ballot special elections for city initiatives and district initiatives conducted pursuant to specified provisions.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of San Diego.
Existing law authorizes, until January 1, 2020, San Diego County to conduct, as a pilot program, an all-mailed ballot special election or special consolidated election to fill a congressional or legislative vacancy under specified conditions. If such an election is conducted, existing law requires San Diego County to report certain information to the Legislature and the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election.
This bill until January 1, 2021, would authorize San Diego County, or any city, school district, community college district, special district, or other district or political subdivision whose boundaries are located wholly or in part within San Diego County, to conduct an all-mailed ballot special election or special consolidated election to fill a vacancy on the legislative or governing body of those entities. The bill would authorize those entities to also hold an all-mailed ballot special election for county initiatives, city initiatives, district initiatives, bond issues, and school measures conducted pursuant to specified provisions. The bill would extend the pilot program for San Diego County until January 1, 2021, and would repeal the condition that that, for a special election to fill a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office, the congressional or legislative district lie wholly within San Diego County. The bill would also require certain voter education workshops to be conducted in-person.
Existing law authorizes cities with a population of less than 100,000 persons, school districts, and special districts to conduct an all-mailed ballot special election to fill a vacancy on the legislative or governing body of those entities under specified conditions.
This bill would authorize all cities, regardless of population size, counties, and cities and counties, to also conduct an all-mailed ballot special election to fill a vacancy on the legislative or governing body of those entities under the same conditions. The bill would authorize those entities to also hold all-mailed ballot special elections to be held for county initiatives, city initiatives, for city initiatives and district initiatives conducted pursuant to specified provisions. The bill would make all of these types of special elections subject to the same conditions that apply to the San Diego County pilot program, as specified, except that the entity conducting the special election would not be required to report certain information to the Legislature and the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election.
Existing law authorizes, until January 1, 2020, San Diego County to conduct, as a pilot program, an all-mailed ballot special election or special consolidated election to fill a congressional or legislative vacancy under specified conditions. If such an election is conducted, existing law requires San Diego County to report certain information to the Legislature and the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election.
This bill would repeal the condition that the congressional or legislative district lie wholly within San Diego County. The bill would also require certain voter education workshops to be conducted in-person.
Existing law authorizes cities with a population of less than 100,000 persons, school districts, and special districts to conduct an all-mailed ballot special election to fill a vacancy on the legislative or governing body of those entities under specified conditions.
This bill would authorize all cities, regardless of population size, counties, and cities and counties, to also conduct an all-mailed ballot special election to fill a vacancy on the legislative or governing body of those entities under the same conditions. The bill would authorize all-mailed ballot special elections to be held for county initiatives, city initiatives, and district initiatives conducted pursuant to specified provisions. The bill would make all of these types of special elections subject to the same conditions that apply to the San Diego County pilot program, as specified, except that the entity conducting the special election would not be required to report certain information to the Legislature and the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election.
Existing law provides for the calling of a special election to fill a congressional or legislative vacancy. Existing law requires that the special election occur within a specified number of days, not to exceed 180 days, following the issuance of a proclamation by the Governor.
This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these provisions.
Existing law provides for the calling of a special election to fill a congressional or legislative vacancy. Existing law requires that the special election occur within a specified number of days, not to exceed 180 days, following the issuance of a proclamation by the Governor.
This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these provisions.
(a)Notwithstanding Section 4000 or any other law, as a pilot program, an all-mailed ballot special election or special consolidated election in San Diego County may be conducted by an eligible entity if the special election or special consolidated election is any of the following:
(1)A special election to fill a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office.
(2)A special election to fill a vacancy in the legislative body or governing body.
(3)A special election conducted pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 9100), Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9200), Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 9300), Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 9400), or Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 9500) of Division 9.
(b)A special election or special consolidated election described in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a), may be conducted wholly as an all-mailed ballot election if all of the following apply:
(1)(A)For a special election to fill a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office, the Board of Supervisors of San Diego County, by resolution, authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the election and the congressional or legislative district lies wholly within San Diego County.
(B)For all other special elections the legislative body or governing body of the eligible entity, by resolution, authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the election.
(2)The election does not occur on the same date as a statewide direct primary election, statewide general election, or any other election conducted in an overlapping jurisdiction that is not consolidated and conducted wholly by mail.
(3)(A)If the boundaries of the jurisdiction of the eligible entity overlap with the boundaries of a city, at least one ballot dropoff location is provided per city that is open during business hours to receive voted ballots beginning not less than seven days before the date of the election.
(B)The number of dropoff locations in unincorporated areas shall be based on the number of unincorporated registered voters divided by 100,000 (rounded to the next whole number) with no less than one location to be selected.
(C)A ballot dropoff location provided for under this section shall consist of a locked ballot box located in a secure public building that meets the accessibility requirements for a polling place.
(4)On at least one Saturday and Sunday on or after the date the elections official first delivers ballots to voters, the elections official allows any voter to vote the ballot at a satellite location within the jurisdiction of the eligible entity pursuant to Section 3018. The elections official shall determine the hours of operation for each Saturday and Sunday, provided that the satellite location is open to voters for a minimum of six hours on each designated Saturday and Sunday.
(5)(A)At least one polling place is provided per eligible entity or the polling places are fixed in a manner so that there is one polling place for every 10,000 registered voters within the jurisdiction of the eligible entity, as determined on the 88th day before the day of the election, whichever results in more polling places. A polling place shall allow a voter to request and vote a ballot between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
(B)The polling places provided under this section shall be established in accordance with the accessibility requirements described in Article 5 (commencing with Section 12280) of Chapter 3 of Division 12, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.), the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20901 et seq.), and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), and shall, to the extent possible, ensure that access is evenly distributed throughout the jurisdiction of the eligible entity.
(C)The polling places provided under this section shall be established at accessible locations and shall be equipped with voting units or systems that are accessible to individuals with disabilities and that provide the same opportunity for access and participation as is provided to voters who are not disabled, including the ability to vote privately and independently in accordance with Sections 12280 and 19240.
(D)If a polling place consolidates one or more precincts for which the elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), the elections official shall ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak that language.
(E)If a polling place consolidates one or more precincts for which the elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 12303, the elections official shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak that language.
(6)(A)The elections official delivers to each voter all supplies necessary for the use and return of the mail ballot, including an envelope for the return of the voted mail ballot with postage prepaid.
(B)The elections official delivers to each voter, with either the sample ballot sent pursuant to Section 13303 or with the voters ballot, all of the following:
(i)A notice, translated in all languages required under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), that informs voters of all of the following:
(I)An all-mailed ballot election is being conducted and each eligible voter will receive a ballot by mail.
(II)The voter may cast a ballot in person at a satellite location provided for under paragraph (4) or at a polling place on election day.
(III)The voter may request the elections official to send a vote by mail ballot in a language other than English pursuant to Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) or a facsimile copy of the ballot printed in a language other than English pursuant to Section 14201.
(ii)A list of the ballot dropoff locations, satellite locations, and polling places established pursuant to this section. The list shall also be posted on the Internet Web site of the elections official.
(iii)A postage-paid postcard that the voter may return to the elections official for the purpose of requesting a vote by mail ballot in a language other than English.
(7)(A)The elections official submits to the Secretary of State a voter education and outreach plan to be implemented by the eligible entity for any election conducted pursuant to this section. The voter education and outreach plan shall include, but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
(i)One education and outreach meeting that includes representatives, advocates, and other stakeholders representing each community for which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance in a language other than English under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(ii)One education and outreach meeting that includes representatives from community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, individuals with disabilities.
(iii)At least one in-person bilingual voter education workshop for each language in which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(iv)At least one in-person voter education workshop to increase accessibility for participation of eligible voters with disabilities.
(v)A toll-free voter assistance hotline maintained by the elections official that is operational no later than the date that vote by mail ballots are mailed to voters until 5 p.m. on the day after the special election. The toll-free voter assistance hotline shall provide assistance to voters in all languages in which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(vi)At least one public service announcement in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, that serve English-speaking citizens for purposes of informing voters of the upcoming election and promoting the toll-free voter assistance hotline.
(vii)At least one public service announcement in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, that serve non-English-speaking citizens for each language in which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) for purposes of informing voters of the upcoming election and promoting the toll-free voter assistance hotline.
(viii)A voter education social media strategy that is developed in partnership with community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, non-English-speaking individuals and individuals with disabilities.
(B)The voter education and outreach plan shall be posted on the Internet Web site of the Secretary of State and on the Internet Web site of the elections official.
(c)Except as otherwise provided in this section, the election day procedures shall be conducted in accordance with Division 14 (commencing with Section 14000).
(d)The elections official may provide, at his or her discretion, additional ballot dropoff locations and polling places for purposes of this section.
(e)The return of voted mail ballots is subject to Sections 3017 and 3020.
(f)(1)If the eligible entity conducts a special election pursuant to this section, it may process vote by mail ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election. Processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes may include verifying the voters signature on the vote by mail ballot return envelope and updating voter history records.
(2)If the eligible entity conducts a special election pursuant to this section, it may start to process vote by mail ballots on the 10th business day before the election. Processing vote by mail ballots includes opening vote by mail ballot return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating any damaged ballots, and preparing the ballots to be machine read, or machine reading them, but under no circumstances shall a vote count be accessed or released until 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
(g)Results of any vote by mail ballot tabulation or count shall not be released before the close of the polls on the day of the election.
(h)For the sole purpose of reporting the results of an election conducted pursuant to this section, upon completion of the ballot count, the elections official shall divide the jurisdiction into precincts pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 12220) of Chapter 3 of Division 12 and shall prepare a statement of the results of the election in accordance with Sections 15373 and 15374.
(i)The elections official shall compile an index, list, or file of all persons who voted in an election conducted pursuant to this section. If the elections official uses data-processing equipment to compile the index, list, or file, he or she shall retain an accurate copy of that index, list, or file in electronic format for a period of 10 years.
(j)(1)If an election is conducted pursuant to this section, the eligible entity shall report to the Legislature and to the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A)Any statistics on the cost to conduct the election.
(B)The turnout of different populations, including, but not limited to, and to the extent possible, the population categories of race, ethnicity, language preference, age, gender, disability, permanent vote by mail status, and political party preference.
(C)The number of ballots that were not counted and the reasons they were rejected.
(D)Voter fraud.
(E)Any other problems that become known to the eligible entity during the election or canvass.
(2)Whenever possible, using the criteria set forth in paragraph (1), the report shall compare the election conducted pursuant to this section to similar elections not conducted pursuant to this section in the same jurisdiction or comparable jurisdictions.
(3)Within six months after the date of the election or before the date of a subsequent election conducted pursuant to this section, whichever is sooner, the eligible entity shall do all of the following with respect to the report required by this subdivision:
(A)Submit the report to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(B)Submit the report to the Secretary of State.
(C)Post the report on the Internet Web site of the elections official.
(k)For purposes of this section, eligible entity means both of the following:
(1)San Diego County.
(2)A city, school district, community college district, special district, or other district or political subdivision organized pursuant to state law, whose boundaries are located wholly within San Diego County.
(l)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 2.The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the voting behavior, demographic characteristics, and unique special election experiences of San Diego County. It is the intent of the Legislature that the provisions of this act continue the pilot program that may be used for future special elections.
(a)Notwithstanding Section 4000 or any other law, as a pilot program, an all-mailed ballot special election or special consolidated election in San Diego County may be conducted by an eligible entity if the special election or special consolidated election is any of the following:
(1)A special election to fill a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office.
(2)A special election to fill a vacancy in the legislative body or governing body.
(3)A special election conducted pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 9100), Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9200), Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 9300), Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 9400), or Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 9500) of Division 9.
(b)A special election or special consolidated election described in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a), may be conducted wholly as an all-mailed ballot election if all of the following apply:
(1)(A)For a special election to fill a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office, the Board of Supervisors of San Diego County, by resolution, authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the election and the congressional or legislative district lies wholly within San Diego County.
(B)For all other special elections the legislative body or governing body of the eligible entity, by resolution, authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the election.
(2)The election does not occur on the same date as a statewide direct primary election, statewide general election, or any other election conducted in an overlapping jurisdiction that is not consolidated and conducted wholly by mail.
(3)(A)If the boundaries of the jurisdiction of the eligible entity overlap with the boundaries of a city, at least one ballot dropoff location is provided per city that is open during business hours to receive voted ballots beginning not less than seven days before the date of the election.
(B)The number of dropoff locations in unincorporated areas shall be based on the number of unincorporated registered voters divided by 100,000 (rounded to the next whole number) with no less than one location to be selected.
(C)A ballot dropoff location provided for under this section shall consist of a locked ballot box located in a secure public building that meets the accessibility requirements for a polling place.
(4)On at least one Saturday and Sunday on or after the date the elections official first delivers ballots to voters, the elections official allows any voter to vote the ballot at a satellite location within the jurisdiction of the eligible entity pursuant to Section 3018. The elections official shall determine the hours of operation for each Saturday and Sunday, provided that the satellite location is open to voters for a minimum of six hours on each designated Saturday and Sunday.
(5)(A)At least one polling place is provided per eligible entity or the polling places are fixed in a manner so that there is one polling place for every 10,000 registered voters within the jurisdiction of the eligible entity, as determined on the 88th day before the day of the election, whichever results in more polling places. A polling place shall allow a voter to request and vote a ballot between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
(B)The polling places provided under this section shall be established in accordance with the accessibility requirements described in Article 5 (commencing with Section 12280) of Chapter 3 of Division 12, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.), the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20901 et seq.), and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), and shall, to the extent possible, ensure that access is evenly distributed throughout the jurisdiction of the eligible entity.
(C)The polling places provided under this section shall be established at accessible locations and shall be equipped with voting units or systems that are accessible to individuals with disabilities and that provide the same opportunity for access and participation as is provided to voters who are not disabled, including the ability to vote privately and independently in accordance with Sections 12280 and 19240.
(D)If a polling place consolidates one or more precincts for which the elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), the elections official shall ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak that language.
(E)If a polling place consolidates one or more precincts for which the elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 12303, the elections official shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak that language.
(6)(A)The elections official delivers to each voter all supplies necessary for the use and return of the mail ballot, including an envelope for the return of the voted mail ballot with postage prepaid.
(B)The elections official delivers to each voter, with either the sample ballot sent pursuant to Section 13303 or with the voters ballot, all of the following:
(i)A notice, translated in all languages required under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), that informs voters of all of the following:
(I)An all-mailed ballot election is being conducted and each eligible voter will receive a ballot by mail.
(II)The voter may cast a ballot in person at a satellite location provided for under paragraph (4) or at a polling place on election day.
(III)The voter may request the elections official to send a vote by mail ballot in a language other than English pursuant to Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) or a facsimile copy of the ballot printed in a language other than English pursuant to Section 14201.
(ii)A list of the ballot dropoff locations, satellite locations, and polling places established pursuant to this section. The list shall also be posted on the Internet Web site of the elections official.
(iii)A postage-paid postcard that the voter may return to the elections official for the purpose of requesting a vote by mail ballot in a language other than English.
(7)(A)The elections official submits to the Secretary of State a voter education and outreach plan to be implemented by the eligible entity for any election conducted pursuant to this section. The voter education and outreach plan shall include, but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
(i)One education and outreach meeting that includes representatives, advocates, and other stakeholders representing each community for which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance in a language other than English under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(ii)One education and outreach meeting that includes representatives from community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, individuals with disabilities.
(iii)At least one in-person bilingual voter education workshop for each language in which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(iv)At least one in-person voter education workshop to increase accessibility for participation of eligible voters with disabilities.
(v)A toll-free voter assistance hotline maintained by the elections official that is operational no later than the date that vote by mail ballots are mailed to voters until 5 p.m. on the day after the special election. The toll-free voter assistance hotline shall provide assistance to voters in all languages in which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(vi)At least one public service announcement in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, that serve English-speaking citizens for purposes of informing voters of the upcoming election and promoting the toll-free voter assistance hotline.
(vii)At least one public service announcement in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, that serve non-English-speaking citizens for each language in which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) for purposes of informing voters of the upcoming election and promoting the toll-free voter assistance hotline.
(viii)A voter education social media strategy that is developed in partnership with community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, non-English-speaking individuals and individuals with disabilities.
(B)The voter education and outreach plan shall be posted on the Internet Web site of the Secretary of State and on the Internet Web site of the elections official.
(c)Except as otherwise provided in this section, the election day procedures shall be conducted in accordance with Division 14 (commencing with Section 14000).
(d)The elections official may provide, at his or her discretion, additional ballot dropoff locations and polling places for purposes of this section.
(e)The return of voted mail ballots is subject to Sections 3017 and 3020.
(f)(1)If the eligible entity conducts a special election pursuant to this section, it may process vote by mail ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election. Processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes may include verifying the voters signature on the vote by mail ballot return envelope and updating voter history records.
(2)If the eligible entity conducts a special election pursuant to this section, it may start to process vote by mail ballots on the 10th business day before the election. Processing vote by mail ballots includes opening vote by mail ballot return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating any damaged ballots, and preparing the ballots to be machine read, or machine reading them, but under no circumstances shall a vote count be accessed or released until 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
(g)Results of any vote by mail ballot tabulation or count shall not be released before the close of the polls on the day of the election.
(h)For the sole purpose of reporting the results of an election conducted pursuant to this section, upon completion of the ballot count, the elections official shall divide the jurisdiction into precincts pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 12220) of Chapter 3 of Division 12 and shall prepare a statement of the results of the election in accordance with Sections 15373 and 15374.
(i)The elections official shall compile an index, list, or file of all persons who voted in an election conducted pursuant to this section. If the elections official uses data-processing equipment to compile the index, list, or file, he or she shall retain an accurate copy of that index, list, or file in electronic format for a period of 10 years.
(j)(1)If an election is conducted pursuant to this section, the eligible entity shall report to the Legislature and to the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A)Any statistics on the cost to conduct the election.
(B)The turnout of different populations, including, but not limited to, and to the extent possible, the population categories of race, ethnicity, language preference, age, gender, disability, permanent vote by mail status, and political party preference.
(C)The number of ballots that were not counted and the reasons they were rejected.
(D)Voter fraud.
(E)Any other problems that become known to the eligible entity during the election or canvass.
(2)Whenever possible, using the criteria set forth in paragraph (1), the report shall compare the election conducted pursuant to this section to similar elections not conducted pursuant to this section in the same jurisdiction or comparable jurisdictions.
(3)Within six months after the date of the election or before the date of a subsequent election conducted pursuant to this section, whichever is sooner, the eligible entity shall do all of the following with respect to the report required by this subdivision:
(A)Submit the report to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(B)Submit the report to the Secretary of State.
(C)Post the report on the Internet Web site of the elections official.
(k)For purposes of this section, eligible entity means both of the following:
(1)San Diego County.
(2)A city, school district, community college district, special district, or other district or political subdivision organized pursuant to state law, whose boundaries are located wholly within San Diego County.
(l)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 2.The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the voting behavior, demographic characteristics, and unique special election experiences of San Diego County. It is the intent of the Legislature that the provisions of this act continue the pilot program that may be used for future special elections.
(a)Notwithstanding Section 4000 or any other law, as a pilot program, an all-mailed ballot special election or special consolidated election in San Diego County may be conducted by an eligible entity if the special election or special consolidated election is any of the following:
(1)A special election to fill a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office.
(2)A special election to fill a vacancy in the legislative body or governing body.
(3)A special election conducted pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 9100), Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9200), Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 9300), Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 9400), or Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 9500) of Division 9.
(b)A special election or special consolidated election described in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a), may be conducted wholly as an all-mailed ballot election if all of the following apply:
(1)(A)For a special election to fill a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office, the Board of Supervisors of San Diego County, by resolution, authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the election. election and the congressional or legislative district lies wholly within San Diego County.
(B)For all other special elections the legislative body or governing body of the eligible entity, by resolution, authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the election.
(2)The election does not occur on the same date as a statewide direct primary election, statewide general election, or any other election conducted in an overlapping jurisdiction that is not consolidated and conducted wholly by mail.
(3)(A)If the boundaries of the jurisdiction of the eligible entity overlap with the boundaries of a city, at least one ballot dropoff location is provided per city and that is open during business hours to receive voted ballots beginning not less than seven days before the date of the election.
(B)The number of dropoff locations in unincorporated areas shall be based on the number of unincorporated registered voters divided by 100,000 (rounded to the next whole number) with no less than one location to be selected.
(C)A ballot dropoff location provided for under this section shall consist of a locked ballot box located in a secure public building that meets the accessibility requirements for a polling place.
(4)On at least one Saturday and Sunday on or after the date the elections official first delivers ballots to voters, the elections official allows any voter to vote the ballot at a satellite location within the jurisdiction of the eligible entity pursuant to Section 3018. The elections official shall determine the hours of operation for each Saturday and Sunday, provided that the satellite location is open to voters for a minimum of six hours on each designated Saturday and Sunday.
(5)(A)At least one polling place is provided per eligible entity or the polling places are fixed in a manner so that there is one polling place for every 10,000 registered voters within the jurisdiction of the eligible entity, as determined on the 88th day before the day of the election, whichever results in more polling places. A polling place shall allow a voter to request and vote a ballot between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
(B)The polling places provided under this section shall be established in accordance with the accessibility requirements described in Article 5 (commencing with Section 12280) of Chapter 3 of Division 12, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.), the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20901 et seq.), and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), and shall, to the extent possible, ensure that access is evenly distributed throughout the jurisdiction of the eligible entity.
(C)The polling places provided under this section shall be established at accessible locations and shall be equipped with voting units or systems that are accessible to individuals with disabilities and that provide the same opportunity for access and participation as is provided to voters who are not disabled, including the ability to vote privately and independently in accordance with Sections 12280 and 19240.
(D)If a polling place consolidates one or more precincts for which the elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), the elections official shall ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak those languages. that language.
(E)If a polling place consolidates one or more precincts for which the elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 12303, the elections official shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak those languages. that language.
(6)(A)The elections official delivers to each voter all supplies necessary for the use and return of the mail ballot, including an envelope for the return of the voted mail ballot with postage prepaid.
(B)The elections official delivers to each voter, with either the sample ballot sent pursuant to Section 13303 or with the voters ballot, all of the following:
(i)A notice, translated in all languages required under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), that informs voters of all of the following:
(I)An all-mailed ballot election is being conducted and each eligible voter will receive a ballot by mail.
(II)The voter may cast a ballot in person at a satellite location provided for under paragraph (4) or at a polling place on election day.
(III)The voter may request the elections official to send a vote by mail ballot in a language other than English pursuant to Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) or a facsimile copy of the ballot printed in other languages a language other than English pursuant to Section 14201.
(ii)A list of the ballot dropoff locations, satellite locations, and polling places established pursuant to this section. The list shall also be posted on the Internet Web site of the elections official.
(iii)A postage-paid postcard that the voter may return to the elections official for the purpose of requesting a vote by mail ballot in a language other than English.
(7)(A)The elections official submits to the Secretary of State a voter education and outreach plan to be implemented by the eligible entity for any election conducted pursuant to this section. The voter education and outreach plan shall include, but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
(i)One education and outreach meeting that shall include includes representatives, advocates, and other stakeholders representing each community for which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance in other languages a language other than English under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(ii)One education and outreach meeting that shall include includes representatives from community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, individuals with disabilities.
(iii)At least one in-person bilingual voter education workshop for each language in which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(iv)At least one in-person voter education workshop to increase accessibility for participation of eligible voters with disabilities.
(v)A toll-free voter assistance hotline maintained by the elections official that shall be is operational no later than the date that vote by mail ballots are mailed to voters until 5 p.m. on the day after the special election. The toll-free voter assistance hotline shall provide assistance to voters in all languages in which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(vi)At least one public service announcement in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, that serve English-speaking citizens for purposes of informing voters of the upcoming election and promoting the toll-free voter assistance hotline.
(vii)At least one public service announcement in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, that serve non-English-speaking citizens for each language in which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) for purposes of informing voters of the upcoming election and promoting the toll-free voter assistance hotline.
(viii)A voter education social media strategy that is developed in partnership with community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, non-English-speaking individuals and individuals with disabilities.
(B)The voter education and outreach plan shall be posted on the Internet Web site of the Secretary of State and on the Internet Web site of the elections official.
(c)Except as otherwise provided in this section, the election day procedures shall be conducted in accordance with Division 14 (commencing with Section 14000).
(d)The elections official may provide, at his or her discretion, additional ballot dropoff locations and polling places for purposes of this section.
(e)The return of voted mail ballots is subject to Sections 3017 and 3020.
(f)(1)If the eligible entity conducts a special election pursuant to this section, it may process vote by mail ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election. Processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes may include verifying the voters signature on the vote by mail ballot return envelope and updating voter history records.
(2)If the eligible entity conducts a special election pursuant to this section, it may start to process vote by mail ballots on the 10th business day before the election. Processing vote by mail ballots includes opening vote by mail ballot return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating any damaged ballots, and preparing the ballots to be machine read, or machine reading them, but under no circumstances shall a vote count be accessed or released until 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
(g)Results of any vote by mail ballot tabulation or count shall not be released before the close of the polls on the day of the election.
(h)For the sole purpose of reporting the results of an election conducted pursuant to this section, upon completion of the ballot count, the elections official shall divide the jurisdiction into precincts pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 12220) of Chapter 3 of Division 12 and shall prepare a statement of the results of the election in accordance with Sections 15373 and 15374.
(i)The elections official shall compile an index, list, or file of all persons who voted in an election conducted pursuant to this section. If the elections official uses data-processing equipment to compile the index, list, or file, he or she shall retain an accurate copy of that index, list, or file in electronic format for a period of 10 years.
(j)(1)If an election is conducted pursuant to this section, the eligible entity shall report to the Legislature and to the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A)Any statistics on the cost to conduct the election.
(B)The turnout of different populations, including, but not limited to, and to the extent possible, the population categories of race, ethnicity, language preference, age, gender, disability, permanent vote by mail status, and political party preference.
(C)The number of ballots that were not counted and the reasons they were rejected.
(D)Voter fraud.
(E)Any other problems that become known to the eligible entity during the election or canvass.
(2)Whenever possible, using the criteria set forth in paragraph (1), the report shall compare the election conducted pursuant to this section to similar elections not conducted pursuant to this section in the same jurisdiction or comparable jurisdictions.
(3)Within six months after the date of the election or before the date of a subsequent election conducted pursuant to this section, whichever is sooner, the eligible entity shall do all of the following with respect to the report required by this subdivision:
(A)Submit the report to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(B)Submit the report to the Secretary of State.
(C)Post the report on the Internet Web site of the elections official.
(k)For purposes of this section, eligible entity means both of the following:
(1)San Diego County.
(2)A city, school district, community college district, special district, or other district or political subdivision organized pursuant to state law, whose boundaries are located wholly or in part within San Diego County.
(l)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 2.Section 4004 of the Elections Code is amended to read:4004.(a)Small city means a city with a population of 100,000 or less, as determined by the annual city total population rankings by the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance.
(b)Eligible entity means a school district or a special district.
(c)Notwithstanding Sections 1500 and 4000, an election in an eligible entity may be conducted wholly as an all-mailed ballot election, subject to the following conditions:
(1)The legislative body of the small city or governing body of the eligible entity, by resolution, authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the election.
(2)The election is either of the following:
(A)A special election to fill a vacancy in the legislative body or governing body.
(B)A special election conducted pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9200) or Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 9300) of Division 9.
(3)The election is not held on the same date as a statewide primary or general election.
(4)The election is not consolidated with any other election, except another special election.
(5)The return of voted mail ballots is subject to Section 3017.
SEC. 2.The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the voting behavior, demographic characteristics, and unique special election experiences of San Diego County. It is the intent of the Legislature that the provisions of this act continue the pilot program that may be used for future special elections.
(a)Notwithstanding Section 4000 or any other law, as a pilot program, an all-mailed ballot special election or special consolidated election in San Diego County may be conducted to fill a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office if all of the following apply: by an eligible entity if the special election or special consolidated election is any of the following:
(1)A special election to fill a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office.
(2)A special election to fill a vacancy in the legislative body or governing body.
(3)A special election conducted pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 9100), Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9200), Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 9300), Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 9400), or Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 9500) of Division 9.
(b)A special election or special consolidated election described in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a), may be conducted wholly as an all-mailed ballot election if all of the following apply:
(1)The (A)For a special election to fill a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office, the Board of Supervisors of San Diego County, by resolution, authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the election.
(B)For all other special elections the legislative body or governing body of the eligible entity, by resolution, authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the election.
(2)The election does not occur on the same date as a statewide direct primary election, statewide general election, or any other election conducted in an overlapping jurisdiction that is not consolidated and conducted wholly by mail.
(3)(A)If the boundaries of the congressional or legislative district jurisdiction of the eligible entity overlap with the boundaries of a city, at least one ballot dropoff location is provided per city and is open during business hours to receive voted ballots beginning not less than seven days before the date of the election.
(B)The number of dropoff locations in unincorporated areas shall be based on the number of unincorporated registered voters divided by 100,000 (rounded to the next whole number) with no less than one location to be selected.
(C)A ballot dropoff location provided for under this section shall consist of a locked ballot box located in a secure public building that meets the accessibility requirements for a polling place.
(4)On at least one Saturday and Sunday on or after the date the county elections official first delivers ballots to voters, the elections official allows any voter to vote the ballot at a satellite location within the congressional or legislative district jurisdiction of the eligible entity pursuant to Section 3018. The elections official shall determine the hours of operation for each Saturday and Sunday, provided that the satellite location is open to voters for a minimum of six hours on each designated Saturday and Sunday.
(5)(A)At least one polling place is provided per city eligible entity or the polling places are fixed in a manner so that there is one polling place for every 10,000 registered voters within the congressional or legislative district, jurisdiction of the eligible entity, as determined on the 88th day before the day of the election, whichever results in more polling places. A polling place shall allow a voter to request and vote a ballot between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
(B)The polling places provided under this section shall be established in accordance with the accessibility requirements described in Article 5 (commencing with Section 12280) of Chapter 3 of Division 12, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.), the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20901 et seq.), and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), and shall, to the extent possible, ensure that access is evenly distributed throughout the congressional or legislative district. jurisdiction of the eligible entity.
(C)The polling places provided under this section shall be established at accessible locations and shall be equipped with voting units or systems that are accessible to individuals with disabilities and that provide the same opportunity for access and participation as is provided to voters who are not disabled, including the ability to vote privately and independently in accordance with Sections 12280 and 19240.
(D)If a polling place consolidates one or more precincts for which the county elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), the elections official shall ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak those languages.
(E)If a polling place consolidates one or more precincts for which the county elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 12303, the elections official shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak those languages.
(6)(A)The county elections official delivers to each voter all supplies necessary for the use and return of the mail ballot, including an envelope for the return of the voted mail ballot with postage prepaid.
(B)The county elections official delivers to each voter, with either the sample ballot sent pursuant to Section 13303 or with the voters ballot, all of the following:
(i)A notice, translated in all languages required under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), that informs voters of all of the following:
(I)An all-mailed ballot election is being conducted and each eligible voter will receive a ballot by mail.
(II)The voter may cast a ballot in person at a satellite location provided for under paragraph (4) or at a polling place on election day.
(III)The voter may request the county elections official to send a vote by mail ballot in a language other than English pursuant to Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) or a facsimile copy of the ballot printed in other languages pursuant to Section 14201.
(ii)A list of the ballot dropoff locations, satellite locations, and polling places established pursuant to this section. The list shall also be posted on the Internet Web site of the county elections official.
(iii)A postage-paid postcard that the voter may return to the county elections official for the purpose of requesting a vote by mail ballot in a language other than English.
(7)(A)The county elections official submits to the Secretary of State a voter education and outreach plan to be implemented by the county eligible entity for any election conducted pursuant to this section. The voter education and outreach plan shall include, but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
(i)One education and outreach meeting that shall include representatives, advocates, and other stakeholders representing each community for which the county eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance in other languages under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(ii)One education and outreach meeting that shall include representatives from community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, individuals with disabilities.
(iii)At least one in-person bilingual voter education workshop for each language in which the county eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(iv)At least one in-person voter education workshop to increase accessibility for participation of eligible voters with disabilities.
(v)A toll-free voter assistance hotline maintained by the county elections official that shall be operational no later than the date that vote by mail ballots are mailed to voters until 5 p.m. on the day after the special election. The toll-free voter assistance hotline shall provide assistance to voters in all languages in which the county eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(vi)At least one public service announcement in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, that serve English-speaking citizens for purposes of informing voters of the upcoming election and promoting the toll-free voter assistance hotline.
(vii)At least one public service announcement in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, that serve non-English-speaking citizens for each language in which the county eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) for purposes of informing voters of the upcoming election and promoting the toll-free voter assistance hotline.
(viii)A voter education social media strategy that is developed in partnership with community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, non-English-speaking individuals and individuals with disabilities.
(B)The voter education and outreach plan shall be posted on the Internet Web site of the Secretary of State and on the Internet Web site of the county elections official.
(b)
(c)Except as otherwise provided in this section, the election day procedures shall be conducted in accordance with Division 14 (commencing with Section 14000).
(c)
(d)The county elections official may provide, at his or her discretion, additional ballot dropoff locations and polling places for purposes of this section.
(d)
(e)The return of voted mail ballots is subject to Sections 3017 and 3020.
(e)
(f)(1)If the county eligible entity conducts a special election pursuant to this section, it may process vote by mail ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election. Processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes may include verifying the voters signature on the vote by mail ballot return envelope and updating voter history records.
(2)If the county eligible entity conducts a special election pursuant to this section, it may start to process vote by mail ballots on the 10th business day before the election. Processing vote by mail ballots includes opening vote by mail ballot return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating any damaged ballots, and preparing the ballots to be machine read, or machine reading them, but under no circumstances shall a vote count be accessed or released until 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
(f)
(g)Results of any vote by mail ballot tabulation or count shall not be released before the close of the polls on the day of the election.
(g)
(h)For the sole purpose of reporting the results of an election conducted pursuant to this section, upon completion of the ballot count, the county elections official shall divide the jurisdiction into precincts pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 12220) of Chapter 3 of Division 12 and shall prepare a statement of the results of the election in accordance with Sections 15373 and 15374.
(h)
(i)The county elections official shall compile an index, list, or file of all persons who voted in an election conducted pursuant to this section. If the elections official uses data-processing equipment to compile the index, list, or file, he or she shall retain an accurate copy of that index, list, or file in electronic format for a period of 10 years.
(i)
(j)(1)If an election is conducted pursuant to this section, San Diego County the eligible entity shall report to the Legislature and to the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A)Any statistics on the cost to conduct the election.
(B)The turnout of different populations, including, but not limited to and to the extent possible, the population categories of race, ethnicity, language preference, age, gender, disability, permanent vote by mail status, and political party preference.
(C)The number of ballots that were not counted and the reasons they were rejected.
(D)Voter fraud.
(E)Any other problems that become known to the county eligible entity during the election or canvass.
(2)Whenever possible, using the criteria set forth in paragraph (1), the report shall compare the election conducted pursuant to this section to similar elections not conducted pursuant to this section in the same jurisdiction or comparable jurisdictions.
(3)Within six months after the date of the election or before the date of a subsequent election conducted pursuant to this section, whichever is sooner, San Diego County the eligible entity shall do all of the following with respect to the report required by this subdivision:
(A)Submit the report to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(B)Submit the report to the Secretary of State.
(C)Post the report on the Internet Web site of the county elections official.
(k)For purposes of this section, eligible entity means both of the following:
(1)San Diego County.
(2)A city, school district, community college district, special district, or other district or political subdivision organized pursuant to state law, whose boundaries are located wholly or in part within San Diego County.
(j)
(l)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020, 2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, 2021, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 2.Section 4004 of the Elections Code is amended to read:4004.(a)Small city means a city with a population of 100,000 or less, as determined by the annual city total population rankings by the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance.
(a)
(b)Eligible entity means a city, county, city and county, school district, or school district or a special district.
(b)
(c)Notwithstanding Sections 1500 and 4000, an election in an eligible entity may be conducted wholly as an all-mailed ballot election, subject to the following conditions:
(1)The legislative body of the small city or governing body of the eligible entity, by resolution, authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the election.
(2)The election is either of the following:
(A)A special election to fill a vacancy in the legislative body or governing body.
(B)A special election conducted pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 9100), Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9200), 9200) or Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 9300) of Division 9.
(3)The election is not held 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. election.
(4)The election is not consolidated with any other election, except another special election.
(5)The return of voted mail ballots is subject to Section 3017.
(4)(A)If the boundaries of the jurisdiction of the eligible entity overlap with the boundaries of a city, at least one ballot dropoff location is provided per city and is open during business hours to receive voted ballots beginning not less than seven days before the date of the election.
(B)The number of dropoff locations in unincorporated areas shall be based on the number of unincorporated registered voters divided by 100,000 (rounded to the next whole number) with no less than one location to be selected.
(C)A ballot dropoff location provided for under this section shall consist of a locked ballot box located in a secure public building that meets the accessibility requirements for a polling place.
(5)On at least one Saturday and Sunday on or after the date the elections official first delivers ballots to voters, the elections official allows any voter to vote the ballot at a satellite location within the jurisdiction of the eligible entity pursuant to Section 3018. The elections official shall determine the hours of operation for each Saturday and Sunday, provided that the satellite location is open to voters for a minimum of six hours on each designated Saturday and Sunday.
(6)(A) At least one polling place is provided per eligible entity or the polling places are fixed in a manner so that there is one polling place for every 10,000 registered voters within the jurisdiction of the eligible entity, as determined on the 88th day before the day of the election, whichever results in more polling places. A polling place shall allow a voter to request and vote a ballot between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
(B)The polling places provided under this section shall be established in accordance with the accessibility requirements described in Article 5 (commencing with Section 12280) of Chapter 3 of Division 12, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.), the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20901 et seq.), and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), and shall, to the extent possible, ensure that access is evenly distributed throughout the eligible entity.
(C)The polling places provided under this section shall be established at accessible locations and shall be equipped with voting units or systems that are accessible to individuals with disabilities and that provide the same opportunity for access and participation as is provided to voters who are not disabled, including the ability to vote privately and independently in accordance with Sections 12280 and 19240.
(D)If a polling place consolidates one or more precincts for which the elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), the elections official shall ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak those languages.
(E)If a polling place consolidates one or more precincts for which the elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 12303, the elections official shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak those languages.
(7)(A) The elections official delivers to each voter all supplies necessary for the use and return of the mail ballot, including an envelope for the return of the voted mail ballot with postage prepaid.
(B)The elections official delivers to each voter, with either the sample ballot sent pursuant to Section 13303 or with the voters ballot, all of the following:
(i)A notice, translated in all languages required under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), that informs voters of all of the following:
(I)An all-mailed ballot election is being conducted and each eligible voter will receive a ballot by mail.
(II)The voter may cast a ballot in person at a satellite location provided for under paragraph (5) or at a polling place on election day.
(III)The voter may request the elections official to send a vote by mail ballot in a language other than English pursuant to Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) or a facsimile copy of the ballot printed in other languages pursuant to Section 14201.
(ii)A list of the ballot dropoff locations, satellite locations, and polling places established pursuant to this section. The list shall also be posted on the Internet Web site of the elections official.
(iii)A postage-paid postcard that the voter may return to the elections official for the purpose of requesting a vote by mail ballot in a language other than English.
(8)(A) The elections official submits to the Secretary of State a voter education and outreach plan to be implemented by the eligible entity for any election conducted pursuant to this section. The voter education and outreach plan shall include, but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
(i)One education and outreach meeting that shall include representatives, advocates, and other stakeholders representing each community for which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance in other languages under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(ii)One education and outreach meeting that shall include representatives from community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, individuals with disabilities.
(iii)At least one in-person bilingual voter education workshop for each language in which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(iv)At least one in-person voter education workshop to increase accessibility for participation of eligible voters with disabilities.
(v)A toll-free voter assistance hotline maintained by the elections official that shall be operational no later than the date that vote by mail ballots are mailed to voters until 5 p.m. on the day after the special election. The toll-free voter assistance hotline shall provide assistance to voters in all languages in which the city or district is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(vi)At least one public service announcement in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, that serve English-speaking citizens for purposes of informing voters of the upcoming election and promoting the toll-free voter assistance hotline.
(vii)At least one public service announcement in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, that serve non-English-speaking citizens for each language in which the city or district is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) for purposes of informing voters of the upcoming election and promoting the toll-free voter assistance hotline.
(viii)A voter education social media strategy that is developed in partnership with community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, non-English-speaking individuals and individuals with disabilities.
(B)The voter education and outreach plan shall be posted on the Internet Web site of the Secretary of State and on the Internet Web site of the elections official.
(c)Except as otherwise provided in this section, the election day procedures shall be conducted in accordance with Division 14 (commencing with Section 14000).
(d)The elections official may provide, at his or her discretion, additional ballot dropoff locations and polling places for purposes of this section.
(e)The return of voted mail ballots is subject to Sections 3017 and 3020.
(f)(1) If the eligible entity conducts a special election pursuant to this section, it may process vote by mail ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election. Processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes may include verifying the voters signature on the vote by mail ballot return envelope and updating voter history records.
(2)If the eligible entity conducts a special election pursuant to this section, it may start to process vote by mail ballots on the 10th business day before the election. Processing vote by mail ballots includes opening vote by mail ballot return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating any damaged ballots, and preparing the ballots to be machine read, or machine reading them, but under no circumstances shall a vote count be accessed or released until 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
(g)Results of a vote by mail ballot tabulation or count shall not be released before the close of the polls on the day of the election.
(h)For the sole purpose of reporting the results of an election conducted pursuant to this section, upon completion of the ballot count, the elections official shall divide the jurisdiction into precincts pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 12220) of Chapter 3 of Division 12 and shall prepare a statement of the results of the election in accordance with Sections 15373 and 15374.
(i)The elections official shall compile an index, list, or file of all persons who voted in an election conducted pursuant to this section. If the elections official uses data-processing equipment to compile the index, list, or file, he or she shall retain an accurate copy of that index, list, or file in electronic format for a period of 10 years.
(a)Notwithstanding Section 4000 or any other law, as a pilot program, an all-mailed ballot special election or special consolidated election in San Diego County may be conducted to fill a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office if all of the following apply:
(1)The congressional or legislative district lies wholly within San Diego County.
(2)
(1)The Board of Supervisors of San Diego County, by resolution, authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the election.
(3)
(2)The election does not occur on the same date as a statewide direct primary election, statewide general election, or any other election conducted in an overlapping jurisdiction that is not consolidated and conducted wholly by mail.
(4)
(3)(A)If the boundaries of the congressional or legislative district overlap with the boundaries of a city, at least one ballot dropoff location is provided per city and is open during business hours to receive voted ballots beginning not less than seven days before the date of the election.
(B)The number of dropoff locations in unincorporated areas shall be based on the number of unincorporated registered voters divided by 100,000 (rounded to the next whole number) with no less than one location to be selected.
(C)A ballot dropoff location provided for under this section shall consist of a locked ballot box located in a secure public building that meets the accessibility requirements for a polling place.
(5)
(4)On at least one Saturday and Sunday on or after the date the county elections official first delivers ballots to voters, the elections official allows any voter to vote the ballot at a satellite location within the congressional or legislative district pursuant to Section 3018. The elections official shall determine the hours of operation for each Saturday and Sunday, provided that the satellite location shall be is open to voters for a minimum of six hours on each designated Saturday and Sunday.
(6)
(5)(A)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 congressional or legislative district, as determined on the 88th day prior to before the day of the election, whichever results in more polling places. A polling place shall allow a voter to request and vote a ballot between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
(B)The polling places provided under this section shall be established in accordance with the accessibility requirements described in Article 5 (commencing with Section 12280) of Chapter 3 of Division 12, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.), the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 15301 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20901 et seq.), and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1971 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), and shall, to the extent possible, ensure that access is evenly distributed throughout the congressional or legislative district.
(C)The polling places provided under this section shall be established at accessible locations and shall be equipped with voting units or systems that are accessible to individuals with disabilities and that provide the same opportunity for access and participation as is provided to voters who are not disabled, including the ability to vote privately and independently in accordance with Sections 12280 and 19240.
(D)If a polling place consolidates one or more precincts for which the county elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 12303 or the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1971 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), the elections official shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak those languages.
(E)If a polling place consolidates one or more precincts for which the county elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 12303, the elections official shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak those languages.
(7)
(6)(A)The county elections official delivers to each voter all supplies necessary for the use and return of the mail ballot, including an envelope for the return of the voted mail ballot with postage prepaid.
(B)The county elections official delivers to each voter, with either the sample ballot sent pursuant to Section 13303 or with the voters ballot, all of the following:
(i)A notice, translated in all languages required under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1971 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), that informs voters of all of the following:
(I)An all-mailed ballot election is being conducted and each eligible voter will receive a ballot by mail.
(II)The voter may cast a ballot in person at a satellite location provided for under paragraph (5) (4) or at a polling place on election day.
(III)The voter may request the county elections official to send a vote by mail ballot in a language other than English pursuant to Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1971 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) or a facsimile copy of the ballot printed in other languages pursuant to Section 14201.
(ii)A list of the ballot dropoff locations, satellite locations, and polling places established pursuant to this section. The list shall also be posted on the Internet Web site of the county elections official.
(iii)A postage-paid postcard that the voter may return to the county elections official for the purpose of requesting a vote by mail ballot in a language other than English.
(8)
(7)(A)The county elections official submits to the Secretary of State a voter education and outreach plan to be implemented by the county for any election conducted pursuant to this section. The voter education and outreach plan shall include, but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
(i)One education and outreach meeting that shall include representatives, advocates, and other stakeholders representing each community for which the county is required to provide voting materials and assistance in other languages under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1971 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(ii)One education and outreach meeting that shall include representatives from community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, individuals with disabilities.
(iii)At least one in-person bilingual voter education program workshop for each language in which the county is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1971 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(iv)At least one in-person voter education program workshop to increase accessibility for participation of eligible voters with disabilities.
(v)A toll-free voter assistance hotline maintained by the county elections official that shall be operational no later than the date that vote by mail ballots are mailed to voters until 5 p.m. on the day after the special election. The toll-free voter assistance hotline shall provide assistance to voters in all languages in which the county is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1971 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(vi)At least one public service announcement in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, that serve English-speaking citizens for purposes of informing voters of the upcoming election and promoting the toll-free voter assistance hotline.
(vii)At least one public service announcement in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, that serve non-English-speaking citizens for each language in which the county is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1971 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) for purposes of informing voters of the upcoming election and promoting the toll-free voter assistance hotline.
(viii)A voter education social media strategy that is developed in partnership with community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, non-English-speaking individuals and individuals with disabilities.
(B)The voter education and outreach plan shall be posted on the Internet Web site of the Secretary of State and on the Internet Web site of the county elections official.
(b)Except as otherwise provided in this section, the election day procedures shall be conducted in accordance with Division 14 (commencing with Section 14000).
(c)The county elections official may provide, at his or her discretion, additional ballot dropoff locations and polling places for purposes of this section.
(d)The return of voted mail ballots is subject to Sections 3017 and 3020.
(e)(1)If the county conducts a special election pursuant to this section, it may process vote by mail ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election. Processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes may include verifying the voters signature on the vote by mail ballot return envelope and updating voter history records.
(2)If the county conducts a special election pursuant to this section, it may start to process vote by mail ballots on the 10th business day before the election. Processing vote by mail ballots includes opening vote by mail ballot return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating any damaged ballots, and preparing the ballots to be machine read, or machine reading them, but under no circumstances shall a vote count be accessed or released until 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
(f)Results of any vote by mail ballot tabulation or count shall not be released before the close of the polls on the day of the election.
(g)For the sole purpose of reporting the results of an election conducted pursuant to this section, upon completion of the ballot count, the county elections official shall divide the jurisdiction into precincts pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 12220) of Chapter 3 of Division 12 and shall prepare a statement of the results of the election in accordance with Sections 15373 and 15374.
(h)The county elections official shall compile an index, list, or file of all persons who voted in an election conducted pursuant to this section. If the elections official uses data-processing equipment to compile the index, list, or file, he or she shall retain an accurate copy of that index, list, or file in electronic format for a period of 10 years.
(i)(1)If an election is conducted pursuant to this section, San Diego County shall report to the Legislature and to the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election, including, but not limited to, any statistics on the cost to conduct the election; the turnout of different populations, including, but not limited to and to the extent possible, the population categories of race, ethnicity, language preference, age, gender, disability, permanent vote by mail status, and political party affiliation as it relates to the languages required under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965; the number of ballots that were not counted and the reasons they were rejected; voter fraud; and any other problems that became known to the county during the election or canvass. all of the following:
(A)Any statistics on the cost to conduct the election.
(B)The turnout of different populations, including, but not limited to and to the extent possible, the population categories of race, ethnicity, language preference, age, gender, disability, permanent vote by mail status, and political party preference.
(C)The number of ballots that were not counted and the reasons they were rejected.
(D)Voter fraud.
(E)Any other problems that become known to the county during the election or canvass.
(2)Whenever possible, using the criteria set forth in paragraph (1), the report shall compare the election conducted pursuant to this section to similar elections not conducted pursuant to this section in the same jurisdiction or comparable jurisdictions.
(3)Within six months after the date of the election or prior to before the date of a subsequent election conducted pursuant to this section, whichever is sooner, San Diego County shall do all of the following with respect to the report required by this subdivision:
(A)Submit the report to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(B)Submit the report to the Secretary of State.
(C)Post the report on the Internet Web site of the county elections official.
(j)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 2.Section 4004 of the Elections Code is amended to read:4004.(a)Small city means a city with a population of 100,000 or less, as determined by the annual city total population rankings by the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance.
(b)
(a)Eligible entity means a school district or a city, county, city and county, school district, or special district.
(c)
(b)Notwithstanding Sections 1500 and 4000, an election in a small city or an eligible entity may be conducted wholly as an all-mail all-mailed ballot election, subject to the following conditions:
(1)The legislative body of the small city or the governing body of the eligible entity, by resolution, authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the election.
(2)The election is a special election to fill a vacancy in the legislative body or governing body. either of the following:
(A)A special election to fill a vacancy in the legislative body or governing body.
(B)A special election conducted pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 9100), Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9200), or Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 9300) of Division 9.
(3)The election is not held 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.
(4)The election is not consolidated with any other election.
(5)The return of voted mail ballots is subject to Section 3017.
(4)(A)If the boundaries of the jurisdiction of the eligible entity overlap with the boundaries of a city, at least one ballot dropoff location is provided per city and is open during business hours to receive voted ballots beginning not less than seven days before the date of the election.
(B)The number of dropoff locations in unincorporated areas shall be based on the number of unincorporated registered voters divided by 100,000 (rounded to the next whole number) with no less than one location to be selected.
(C)A ballot dropoff location provided for under this section shall consist of a locked ballot box located in a secure public building that meets the accessibility requirements for a polling place.
(5)On at least one Saturday and Sunday on or after the date the elections official first delivers ballots to voters, the elections official allows any voter to vote the ballot at a satellite location within the jurisdiction of the eligible entity pursuant to Section 3018. The elections official shall determine the hours of operation for each Saturday and Sunday, provided that the satellite location is open to voters for a minimum of six hours on each designated Saturday and Sunday.
(6)(A) At least one polling place is provided per eligible entity or the polling places are fixed in a manner so that there is one polling place for every 10,000 registered voters within the jurisdiction of the eligible entity, as determined on the 88th day before the day of the election, whichever results in more polling places. A polling place shall allow a voter to request and vote a ballot between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
(B)The polling places provided under this section shall be established in accordance with the accessibility requirements described in Article 5 (commencing with Section 12280) of Chapter 3 of Division 12, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.), the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20901 et seq.), and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), and shall, to the extent possible, ensure that access is evenly distributed throughout the eligible entity.
(C)The polling places provided under this section shall be established at accessible locations and shall be equipped with voting units or systems that are accessible to individuals with disabilities and that provide the same opportunity for access and participation as is provided to voters who are not disabled, including the ability to vote privately and independently in accordance with Sections 12280 and 19240.
(D)If a polling place consolidates one or more precincts for which the elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), the elections official shall ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak those languages.
(E)If a polling place consolidates one or more precincts for which the elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 12303, the elections official shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak those languages.
(7)(A) The elections official delivers to each voter all supplies necessary for the use and return of the mail ballot, including an envelope for the return of the voted mail ballot with postage prepaid.
(B)The elections official delivers to each voter, with either the sample ballot sent pursuant to Section 13303 or with the voters ballot, all of the following:
(i)A notice, translated in all languages required under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.), that informs voters of all of the following:
(I)An all-mailed ballot election is being conducted and each eligible voter will receive a ballot by mail.
(II)The voter may cast a ballot in person at a satellite location provided for under paragraph (5) or at a polling place on election day.
(III)The voter may request the elections official to send a vote by mail ballot in a language other than English pursuant to Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) or a facsimile copy of the ballot printed in other languages pursuant to Section 14201.
(ii)A list of the ballot dropoff locations, satellite locations, and polling places established pursuant to this section. The list shall also be posted on the Internet Web site of the elections official.
(iii)A postage-paid postcard that the voter may return to the elections official for the purpose of requesting a vote by mail ballot in a language other than English.
(8)(A) The elections official submits to the Secretary of State a voter education and outreach plan to be implemented by the eligible entity for any election conducted pursuant to this section. The voter education and outreach plan shall include, but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
(i)One education and outreach meeting that shall include representatives, advocates, and other stakeholders representing each community for which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance in other languages under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(ii)One education and outreach meeting that shall include representatives from community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, individuals with disabilities.
(iii)At least one in-person bilingual voter education workshop for each language in which the eligible entity is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(iv)At least one in-person voter education workshop to increase accessibility for participation of eligible voters with disabilities.
(v)A toll-free voter assistance hotline maintained by the elections official that shall be operational no later than the date that vote by mail ballots are mailed to voters until 5 p.m. on the day after the special election. The toll-free voter assistance hotline shall provide assistance to voters in all languages in which the city or district is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.).
(vi)At least one public service announcement in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, that serve English-speaking citizens for purposes of informing voters of the upcoming election and promoting the toll-free voter assistance hotline.
(vii)At least one public service announcement in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television, that serve non-English-speaking citizens for each language in which the city or district is required to provide voting materials and assistance under subdivision (c) of Section 14201 and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10101 et seq.) for purposes of informing voters of the upcoming election and promoting the toll-free voter assistance hotline.
(viii)A voter education social media strategy that is developed in partnership with community organizations and individuals that advocate on behalf of, or provide services to, non-English-speaking individuals and individuals with disabilities.
(B)The voter education and outreach plan shall be posted on the Internet Web site of the Secretary of State and on the Internet Web site of the elections official.
(c)Except as otherwise provided in this section, the election day procedures shall be conducted in accordance with Division 14 (commencing with Section 14000).
(d)The elections official may provide, at his or her discretion, additional ballot dropoff locations and polling places for purposes of this section.
(e)The return of voted mail ballots is subject to Sections 3017 and 3020.
(f)(1) If the eligible entity conducts a special election pursuant to this section, it may process vote by mail ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election. Processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes may include verifying the voters signature on the vote by mail ballot return envelope and updating voter history records.
(2)If the eligible entity conducts a special election pursuant to this section, it may start to process vote by mail ballots on the 10th business day before the election. Processing vote by mail ballots includes opening vote by mail ballot return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating any damaged ballots, and preparing the ballots to be machine read, or machine reading them, but under no circumstances shall a vote count be accessed or released until 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
(g)Results of a vote by mail ballot tabulation or count shall not be released before the close of the polls on the day of the election.
(h)For the sole purpose of reporting the results of an election conducted pursuant to this section, upon completion of the ballot count, the elections official shall divide the jurisdiction into precincts pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 12220) of Chapter 3 of Division 12 and shall prepare a statement of the results of the election in accordance with Sections 15373 and 15374.
(i)The elections official shall compile an index, list, or file of all persons who voted in an election conducted pursuant to this section. If the elections official uses data-processing equipment to compile the index, list, or file, he or she shall retain an accurate copy of that index, list, or file in electronic format for a period of 10 years.
SECTION 1.Section 10703 of the Elections Code is amended to read:10703.(a)A special election to fill a vacancy in the office of Representative in Congress, State Senator, or Member of the Assembly shall be conducted on a Tuesday at least 126 days, but not more than 140 days, following the issuance of an election proclamation by the Governor pursuant to Section 1773 of the Government Code, except that the special election may be conducted within 180 days following the Governors proclamation in order that the election or the primary election may be consolidated with the next regularly scheduled statewide election or local election occurring wholly or partially within the same territory in which the vacancy exists, provided that the voters eligible to vote in the local election comprise at least 50 percent of all the voters eligible to vote on the vacancy.
(b)Except as provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 10730), a special election or a primary election may not be conducted on the day after a state holiday.
(c)(1)A special election described in this section may be conducted as an all-mailed ballot election pursuant to Section 4000.5.
(2)This subdivision shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
(a)A special election to fill a vacancy in the office of Representative in Congress, State Senator, or Member of the Assembly shall be conducted on a Tuesday at least 126 days, but not more than 140 days, following the issuance of an election proclamation by the Governor pursuant to Section 1773 of the Government Code, except that the special election may be conducted within 180 days following the Governors proclamation in order that the election or the primary election may be consolidated with the next regularly scheduled statewide election or local election occurring wholly or partially within the same territory in which the vacancy exists, provided that the voters eligible to vote in the local election comprise at least 50 percent of all the voters eligible to vote on the vacancy.
(b)Except as provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 10730), a special election or a primary election may not be conducted on the day after a state holiday.
(c)(1)A special election described in this section may be conducted as an all-mailed ballot election pursuant to Section 4000.5.
(2)This subdivision shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| May 22, 2015 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. |
| Oct 10, 2015 | Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 727, Statutes of 2015. |
| Oct 10, 2015 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Sep 1, 2015 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. |
| Aug 25, 2015 | In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling. |
| Aug 24, 2015 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 28. Noes 11. Page 2144.). |
| Aug 24, 2015 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. |
| Jul 9, 2015 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Jul 8, 2015 | From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 4. Noes 0.) (July 7). |
| Jun 25, 2015 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| Jun 4, 2015 | Referred to Com. on E. & C.A. |
| May 22, 2015 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 51. Noes 24. Page 1552.) |
| Feb 23, 2015 | Read first time. To print. |
| May 22, 2015 | In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. |
| May 19, 2015 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| May 18, 2015 | Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. |
| May 14, 2015 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 4. Noes 3.) (May 13). |
| Apr 30, 2015 | Re-referred to Com. on E. & R. |
| Apr 29, 2015 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on E. & R. Read second time and amended. |
| Mar 23, 2015 | Re-referred to Com. on E. & R. |
| Mar 19, 2015 | Referred to Com. on E. & R. |
| Mar 19, 2015 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on E. & R. Read second time and amended. |
| Feb 24, 2015 | From printer. May be heard in committee March 26. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 24, 2015 | Assembly 3rd Reading AB547 Gonzalez By Allen | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Jul 7, 2015 | Do pass | Senate Standing Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments |
Passed |
|
| May 22, 2015 | AB 547 GONZALEZ Assembly Third Reading | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| May 13, 2015 | Do pass as amended. | Assembly Standing Committee on Elections and Redistricting |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| California Association of Clerks and Election Officials | ** Support | Aug 24, 2015 |
| County Of San Diego | ** Support | Aug 24, 2015 |
| Disability Rights California | ** Against | May 22, 2015 |
| League Of Women Voters Of California | ** Support | Aug 24, 2015 |
| Rural County Representatives of California | ** Support | Aug 24, 2015 |
| Urban Counties Caucus | ** Support | Aug 24, 2015 |
AB 547
Page 7
|
Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 |
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 547
Amended: 5/18/15 in Assembly
SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 4-0, 7/7/15
AYES: Allen, Hancock, Hertzberg, Liu
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 51-24, 5/22/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Elections: special elections: all-mailed ballot elections
DIGEST: This bill expands a previously authorized mailed ballot election pilot project in San Diego County to allow certain local elections held in San Diego County to be conducted pursuant to the provisions of that project. This bill extends the pilot project by one year.
Existing law:
Permits a special election in San Diego County, held before January 1, 2020, to fill a vacancy in the Legislature or in Congress, to be conducted by mailed ballot subject to all of the following conditions:
The legislative or congressional district lies wholly within San Diego County;
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;
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 such locations are open during business hours to receive voted ballots beginning not less than seven days before the election;
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;
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;
Polling places are established in accordance with existing state and federal accessibility requirements, and access to polling places is evenly distributed throughout the congressional or legislative district;
For polling places that consolidate one or more precincts for which the elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to existing state or federal law, the elections official makes reasonable efforts to ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak those languages; and,
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.
Requires that each voter in the mail ballot election receives a list of the ballot drop-off and polling place locations (which shall also be posted on the Internet Web site of the county elections office), a postage-paid postcard that the voter may return to the elections official for the purpose of requesting a ballot in a language other than English, and a notice, translated into all languages as required by state and federal law, that informs voters of the following:
That the election is being conducted by mail and that each eligible voter will receive a ballot by mail;
The voter may cast a ballot in person at a satellite location; and,
The voter may request the county elections official to send a ballot in a language other than English pursuant to state and federal law.
Requires San Diego County, if it conducts an election by mailed ballot pursuant to the provisions outlined above, to report to the Legislature and to the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election, including, but not limited to, any statistics on the cost to conduct the election; the turnout of different populations, including, but not limited to and to the extent possible, the population categories of race, ethnicity, language preference, age, gender, disability, permanent vote by mail status, and political party affiliation as it relates to the languages required under the federal Voting Rights Act; the number of ballots that were not counted and the reasons they were rejected; voter fraud; and any other problems that became known to the county during the election or canvass. Requires the report, whenever possible, to compare the election conducted under the pilot project to similar elections not conducted as mailed ballot elections in the same jurisdiction or comparable jurisdictions.
This bill makes the following modifications to the previously authorized pilot project under which San Diego County is permitted to conduct a special election to fill a vacancy in the Legislature or in Congress as a mailed ballot election, subject to the aforementioned conditions:
Expands the pilot project to allow a special election to be conducted as an all-mailed ballot election if the election is to fill a vacancy in a governing body or to vote on a local ballot measure, and is for San Diego County, or any city, school district, community college district, special district, or other district or political subdivision whose boundaries are located wholly within San Diego County (hereinafter referred to as an “eligible entity”);
Requires the governing body of an eligible entity that seeks to conduct an election pursuant to the pilot project to authorize the use of mailed ballots for the election;
Clarifies that at elections conducted under the pilot project, the elections official is required to ensure that a polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak languages other than English if federal law requires the elections official to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in those languages for precincts that are consolidated at that polling place;
Requires bilingual voter education workshops and voter education workshops designed to increase accessibility for participation of voters with disabilities that are required to be conducted under the pilot project to be conducted in-person;
Makes the eligible entity for which the election is being conducted responsible for complying with the requirements of the pilot project, including the reporting requirement; and,
Extends the date of the pilot project by one year, to January 1, 2021.
Background
Existing all-mailed ballot pilot projects. Last year, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed AB 1873 (Gonzalez and Mullin, Chapter 598, Statutes of 2014), which allows special elections in San Diego County to fill vacancies in the Legislature and Congress to be conducted by mailed ballot until 2020, subject to certain conditions.
This bill modifies some of those conditions, and significantly expands the types of elections that are allowed to be conducted as mailed ballot elections pursuant to the pilot project.
In addition to the San Diego pilot project that was authorized by AB 1873, there is another ongoing pilot project authorized by the Legislature and the Governor to examine the use of all-mailed ballot elections for local elections. That pilot project was originally authorized by AB 413 (Yamada, Chapter 187, Statutes of 2011), which allows 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 in March 2013 in the City of Davis and the Washington Unified School District as permitted by AB 413, and submitted its report on those elections in December 2013. Yolo County is permitted to conduct local elections as all-mailed ballot elections on two additional dates before the conclusion of the pilot project.
Last year, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed AB 2028 (Mullin, Chapter 209, Statutes of 2014), which allowed San Mateo County to join Yolo County in participating in that ongoing pilot project. Part of the author’s rationale for introducing AB 2028 was to expand the pilot program to gather more data, and to get information from an urban county “to contrast the rural county [Yolo] that is already part of the program.” San Mateo County has not yet conducted an election as part of the all-mailed ballot pilot program that was expanded by AB 2028. (San Mateo County conducted an all-mailed ballot election on May 5, 2015, for a parcel tax measure in the San Carlos School District, but that election was conducted as an all-mailed ballot election pursuant to other provisions of existing law, and not as part of the pilot project authorized by AB 2028.)
When the Legislature considered AB 1873 last year, early versions of the bill would have expanded the circumstances under which local elections could be conducted as all-mailed ballot elections. However, AB 1873 was narrowed, and ultimately authorized a pilot project in San Diego County regarding the use of all-mailed ballot elections for legislative and congressional vacancy elections. The chaptered version of AB 1873 did not allow local elections to be conducted as mailed ballot elections as part of that pilot project.
AB 1504 (Alejo, 2015), which was approved by the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee and is now pending on the Senate Floor, authorizes Monterey and Sacramento counties to participate in the ongoing Yolo/San Mateo pilot project and extends that pilot project by two years.
Comments
According to the author, special elections in California are notorious for having abysmal voter turnout levels. In fact, the average registered turnout of the 13 deciding special elections since January 2013 was 14.07%. In some of those special elections, turnout dropped below 10%.
This alarmingly low turnout level can be attributed to the fact that special elections often cover fewer issues and are generally less competitive than statewide general elections. As a result, special elections generate less media coverage and do not adequately capture voter attention, which can intensify low turnout.
Vote-by-mail voters have cast as much as 80% of the ballots in special elections this decade as Election Day voter participation in these contests has dropped significantly. In fact, vote-by-mail voters have demonstrated that they are up to five times more likely to participate in a special election than voters who do not receive their ballot in the mail.
In San Diego County alone, the Secretary of State reported that the percentage of vote-by-mail voters was over 4% higher than the statewide average for the 2014 General Election. This may suggest that San Diego County’s voting behavior and demographics lend themselves to special elections conducted predominantly by mail.
Additionally, academic studies have examined the use of mail balloting in special elections favorably. One California study conducted in 2007 found that a vote-by-mail system increased turnout by 8% in special elections. Similar increases in special elections turnout have even been found in Oregon, California charter cities and California counties which have used mail balloting.
Likewise, a 2010 study published in the Social Science Journal found that vote-by-mail systems significantly increased the voter turnout rate of ethnic minorities such as Latinos and African Americans.
Furthermore, pilot projects have found significant cost savings and reported no voter fraud issues in conducting special elections by mail. Yolo County reported as much as 43% cost savings in 2013 with a predominately vote-by-mail format.
Severely low voter turnout in California’s costly special elections is causing large portions of California’s electorate to be underrepresented in deciding the outcome of all statewide races and ballots, which directly undercuts our principles of democracy and participation in a fiscally detrimental manner.
AB 547 would strive to increase voter turnout and cut costs in San Diego County’s special elections by extending to other political subdivisions in the county the option to conduct all-mailed ballot special elections under the AB 1873 pilot program to cities, counties, school districts, special districts and local ballot initiatives.
Too many pilots? The San Diego pilot project includes a number of accessibility, outreach, and voter education requirements that exceed those included in the San Mateo and Yolo pilot project. In light of that fact, allowing local elections to be included as part of the San Diego pilot project may provide additional information about how the differing accessibility, outreach, and voter education requirements affect turnout at all-mail ballot elections.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No
County of San Diego (source)
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
League of Women Voters of California
Rural County Representatives of California
Urban Counties Caucus
OPPOSITION: (Verified 7/10/15)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 51-24, 5/22/15
AYES: Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Dahle, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Gatto, Grove, Harper, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Linder, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Patterson, Salas, Steinorth, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, O'Donnell, Olsen, Waldron, Weber
Prepared by: Darren Chesin / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106
7/13/15 10:09:58
AB 547 (Gonzalez) Page 6 of 6
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Ben Allen, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 547 Hearing Date: 7/7/15
Author: |
Gonzalez |
||
Version: |
5/18/15 |
||
Urgency: |
No |
Fiscal: |
No |
Consultant: |
Darren Chesin |
||
Subject: Elections: special elections: all-mailed ballot elections
DIGEST
This bill expands a previously authorized mailed ballot election pilot project in San Diego County to allow certain local elections held in San Diego County to be conducted pursuant to the provisions of that project. Extends the pilot project by one year.
ANALYSIS
Existing law:
Permits a special election in San Diego County, held before January 1, 2020, to fill a vacancy in the Legislature or in Congress, to be conducted by mailed ballot subject to all of the following conditions:
The legislative or congressional district lies wholly within San Diego County;
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;
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 such locations are open during business hours to receive voted ballots beginning not less than seven days before the election;
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;
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;
Polling places are established in accordance with existing state and federal accessibility requirements, and access to polling places is evenly distributed throughout the congressional or legislative district;
For polling places that consolidate one or more precincts for which the elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to existing state or federal law, the elections official makes reasonable efforts to ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak those languages;
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;
Requires that each voter in the mail ballot election receives a list of the ballot drop-off and polling place locations (which shall also be posted on the Internet Web site of the county elections office), a postage-paid postcard that the voter may return to the elections official for the purpose of requesting a ballot in a language other than English, and a notice, translated into all languages as required by state and federal law, that informs voters of the following:
That the election is being conducted by mail and that each eligible voter will receive a ballot by mail;
The voter may cast a ballot in person at a satellite location; and,
The voter may request the county elections official to send a ballot in a language other than English pursuant to state and federal law.
Requires San Diego County, if it conducts an election by mailed ballot pursuant to the provisions outlined above, to report to the Legislature and to the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election, including, but not limited to, any statistics on the cost to conduct the election; the turnout of different populations, including, but not limited to and to the extent possible, the population categories of race, ethnicity, language preference, age, gender, disability, permanent vote by mail status, and political party affiliation as it relates to the languages required under the federal Voting Rights Act; the number of ballots that were not counted and the reasons they were rejected; voter fraud; and any other problems that became known to the county during the election or canvass.
Requires the report, whenever possible, to compare the election conducted under the pilot project to similar elections not conducted as mailed ballot elections in the same jurisdiction or comparable jurisdictions.
This bill:
Makes the following modifications to the previously authorized pilot project under which San Diego County is permitted to conduct a special election to fill a vacancy in the Legislature or in Congress as a mailed ballot election, subject to the aforementioned conditions:
Expands the pilot project to allow a special election to be conducted as an all-mailed ballot election if the election is to fill a vacancy in a governing body or to vote on a local ballot measure, and is for San Diego County, or any city, school district, community college district, special district, or other district or political subdivision whose boundaries are located wholly within San Diego County (hereinafter referred to as an "eligible entity");
Requires the governing body of an eligible entity that seeks to conduct an election pursuant to the pilot project to authorize the use of mailed ballots for the election;
Clarifies that at elections conducted under the pilot project, the elections official is required to ensure that a polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak languages other than English if federal law requires the elections official to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in those languages for precincts that are consolidated at that polling place;
Requires bilingual voter education workshops and voter education workshops designed to increase accessibility for participation of voters with disabilities that are required to be conducted under the pilot project to be conducted in-person;
Makes the eligible entity for which the election is being conducted responsible for complying with the requirements of the pilot project, including the reporting requirement; and,
Extends the date of the pilot project by one year, to January 1, 2021.
BACKGROUND
Existing All-Mailed Ballot Pilot Projects: Last year, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed AB 1873 (Gonzalez and Mullin, Chapter 598, Statutes of 2014), which allows special elections in San Diego County to fill vacancies in the Legislature and Congress to be conducted by mailed ballot until 2020, subject to certain conditions.
This bill modifies some of those conditions, and significantly expands the types of elections that are allowed to be conducted as mailed ballot elections pursuant to the pilot project.
In addition to the San Diego pilot project that was authorized by AB 1873, there is another ongoing pilot project authorized by the Legislature and the Governor to examine the use of all-mailed ballot elections for local elections. That pilot project was originally authorized by AB 413 (Yamada, Chapter 187, Statutes of 2011), which allows 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 in March 2013 in the City of Davis and the Washington Unified School District as permitted by AB 413, and submitted its report on those elections in December 2013. Yolo County is permitted to conduct local elections as all-mailed ballot elections on two additional dates before the conclusion of the pilot project.
Last year, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed AB 2028 (Mullin, Chapter 209, Statutes of 2014), which allowed San Mateo County to join Yolo County in participating in that ongoing pilot project. Part of the author's rationale for introducing AB 2028 was to expand the pilot program to gather more data, and to get information from an urban county "to contrast the rural county [Yolo] that is already part of the program." San Mateo County has not yet conducted an election as part of the all-mailed ballot pilot program that was expanded by AB 2028. (San Mateo County conducted an all-mailed ballot election on May 5, 2015, for a parcel tax measure in the San Carlos School District, but that election was conducted as an all-mailed ballot election pursuant to other provisions of existing law, and not as part of the pilot project authorized by AB 2028.)
When the Legislature considered AB 1873 last year, early versions of the bill would have expanded the circumstances under which local elections could be conducted as all-mailed ballot elections. However, AB 1873 was narrowed, and ultimately authorized a pilot project in San Diego County regarding the use of all-mailed ballot elections for legislative and congressional vacancy elections. The chaptered version of AB 1873 did not allow local elections to be conducted as mailed ballot elections as part of that pilot project.
AB 1504 (Alejo), which was approved by this committee and is now pending on the Senate floor, authorizes Monterey and Sacramento counties to participate in the ongoing Yolo/San Mateo pilot project and extends that pilot project by two years.
COMMENTS
According to the author: Special elections in California are notorious for having abysmal voter turnout levels. In fact, the average registered turnout of the 13 deciding special elections since January 2013 was 14.07%. In some of those special elections, turnout dropped below 10%.
This alarmingly low turnout level can be attributed to the fact that special elections often cover fewer issues and are generally less competitive than statewide general elections. As a result, special elections generate less media coverage and do not adequately capture voter attention, which can intensify low turnout.
Vote-by-mail voters have cast as much as 80% of the ballots in special elections this decade as Election Day voter participation in these contests has dropped significantly. In fact, vote-by-mail voters have demonstrated that they are up to 5 times more likely to participate in a special election than voters who do not receive their ballot in the mail.
In San Diego County alone, the Secretary of State reported that the percentage of vote-by-mail voters was over 4% higher than the statewide average for the 2014 General Election. This may suggest that San Diego County’s voting behavior and demographics lend themselves to special elections conducted predominantly by mail.
Additionally, academic studies have examined the use of mail balloting in special elections favorably. One California study conducted in 2007 found that a vote-by-mail system increased turnout by 8% in special elections. Similar increases in special elections turnout have even been found in Oregon, California charter cities and California counties which have used mail balloting.
Likewise, a 2010 study published in the Social Science Journal found that vote-by-mail systems significantly increased the voter turnout rate of ethnic minorities such as Latinos and African Americans.
Furthermore, pilot projects have found significant cost savings and reported no voter fraud issues in conducting special elections by mail. Yolo County reported as much as 43% cost savings in 2013 with a predominately vote-by-mail format.
Severely low voter turnout in California’s costly special elections is causing large portions of California’s electorate to be underrepresented in deciding the outcome of all statewide races and ballots, which directly undercuts our principles of democracy and participation in a fiscally detrimental manner.
AB 547 would strive to increase voter turnout and cut costs in San Diego County’s special elections by extending to other political subdivisions in the county the option to conduct all-mailed ballot special elections under the AB 1873 pilot program to cities, counties, school districts, special districts and local ballot initiatives.
Too Many Pilots? The San Diego pilot project includes a number of accessibility, outreach, and voter education requirements that exceed those included in the San Mateo and Yolo pilot project. In light of that fact, allowing local elections to be included as part of the San Diego pilot project may provide additional information about how the differing accessibility, outreach, and voter education requirements affect turnout at all-mail ballot elections.
RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION
AB 1504 (Alejo), which was approved by this committee and is now pending on the Senate floor, authorizes Monterey and Sacramento counties to join an ongoing pilot project that allows certain local elections to be conducted entirely by mailed ballot.
AB 1873 (Gonzalez, Chapter 598, Statutes of 2014), allowed special elections in San Diego County to fill vacancies in the Legislature and Congress to be conducted by mailed ballot until 2020, subject to certain conditions
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Floor: |
51 - 24 |
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: |
4 - 3 |
POSITIONS
Sponsor: County of San Diego
Support: California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
Rural County Representatives of California
Urban Counties Caucus
Oppose: None received
-- END --
AB 547
Page 3
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 547
(Gonzalez)
As Amended May 14, 2015
Majority vote
Committee |
Votes |
Ayes |
Noes |
Elections |
4-3 |
Ridley-Thomas, Gordon, Mullin, Perea |
Grove, Travis Allen, Gatto |
SUMMARY: Expands a previously authorized mailed ballot election pilot project in San Diego County to allow certain local elections held in San Diego County to be conducted pursuant to the provisions of that project. Extends the pilot project by one year. Specifically, this bill makes the following modifications to a previously authorized pilot project under which San Diego County is permitted to conduct a special election to fill a vacancy in the Legislature or in Congress as a mailed ballot election, subject to certain conditions:
Expands the pilot project to allow a special election to be conducted as an all-mailed ballot election if the election is to fill a vacancy in a governing body or to vote on a local ballot measure, and is for San Diego County, or any city, school district, community college district, special district, or other district or political subdivision whose boundaries are located wholly within San Diego County (hereinafter referred to as an "eligible entity");
Requires the governing body of an eligible entity that seeks to conduct an election pursuant to the pilot project to authorize the use of mailed ballots for the election;
Clarifies that at elections conducted under the pilot project, the elections official is required to ensure that a polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak languages other than English if federal law requires the elections official to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in those languages for precincts that are consolidated at that polling place;
Requires bilingual voter education workshops and voter education workshops designed to increase accessibility for participation of voters with disabilities that are required to be conducted under the pilot project to be conducted in-person;
Makes the eligible entity for which the election is being conducted responsible for complying with the requirements of the pilot project, including the reporting requirement; and,
Extends the date of the pilot project by one year, to January 1, 2021.
EXISTING LAW:
Permits a special election in San Diego County, held before January 1, 2020, to fill a vacancy in the Legislature or in Congress, to be conducted by mailed ballot subject to all of the following conditions:
The legislative or congressional district lies wholly within San Diego County;
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;
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 such locations are open during business hours to receive voted ballots beginning not less than seven days before the election;
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;
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;
Polling places are established in accordance with existing state and federal accessibility requirements, and access to polling places is evenly distributed throughout the congressional or legislative district;
For polling places that consolidate one or more precincts for which the elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to existing state or federal law, the elections official makes reasonable efforts to ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak those languages;
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;
Each voter receives all of the following from the elections official:
A notice, translated into all languages as required by state and federal law, that informs voters of the following:
That the election is being conducted by mail and that each eligible voter will receive a ballot by mail;
The voter may cast a ballot in person at a satellite location; and,
The voter may request the county elections official to send a ballot in a language other than English pursuant to state and federal law.
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 postage-paid postcard that the voter may return to the elections official for the purpose of requesting a ballot in a language other than English.
Requires San Diego County, if it conducts an election by mailed ballot pursuant to the provisions outlined above, to report to the Legislature and to the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election, including, but not limited to, any statistics on the cost to conduct the election; the turnout of different populations, including, but not limited to and to the extent possible, the population categories of race, ethnicity, language preference, age, gender, disability, permanent vote by mail status, and political party affiliation as it relates to the languages required under the federal Voting Rights Act; the number of ballots that were not counted and the reasons they were rejected; voter fraud; and any other problems that became known to the county during the election or canvass. Requires the report, whenever possible, to compare the election conducted under the pilot project to similar elections not conducted as mailed ballot elections in the same jurisdiction or comparable jurisdictions.
FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "AB 547 would strive to increase voter turnout and cut costs in San Diego County’s special elections by extending to other political subdivisions in the county the option to conduct all-mailed ballot special elections under the AB 1873 pilot program to cities, counties, school districts, special districts and local ballot initiatives."
Last year, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed AB 1873 (Gonzalez), Chapter 598, Statutes of 2014, which allows special elections in San Diego County to fill vacancies in the Legislature and Congress to be conducted by mailed ballot until 2020, subject to certain conditions. This bill modifies some of those conditions, and significantly expands the types of elections that are allowed to be conducted as mailed ballot elections pursuant to the pilot project.
When the Legislature considered AB 1873 last year, early versions of this bill would have expanded the circumstances under which local elections could be conducted as all-mailed ballot elections. However, AB 1873 was narrowed, and ultimately authorized a pilot project in San Diego County regarding the use of all-mailed ballot elections for legislative and congressional vacancy elections. The chaptered version of AB 1873 did not allow local elections to be conducted as mailed ballot elections as part of that pilot project. This bill would allow local special elections to be conducted as mailed ballot elections pursuant to the pilot project.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by: Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0000416
AB 547
Page 7
Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, Chair
AB 547 (
Gonzalez) – As Amended April 29, 2015
SUBJECT: Elections: special elections: all-mailed ballot elections.
SUMMARY: Expands a previously authorized mailed ballot election pilot project in San Diego County to allow certain local elections held in San Diego County to be conducted pursuant to the provisions of that project. Repeals a requirement that a special election to fill a vacancy in the Legislature or Congress can be conducted pursuant to the pilot project only if the district is located entirely in San Diego County. Allows any school district, special district, or small city, as defined, to conduct a special election for a local ballot measure as an all-mailed ballot election. Specifically, this bill:
Makes the following modifications to a previously authorized pilot project under which San Diego County is permitted to conduct a special election to fill a vacancy in the Legislature or in Congress as a mailed ballot election, subject to certain conditions:
Expands the pilot project to allow any special election to be conducted as an all-mailed ballot election if the election is to fill a vacancy in a governing body or to vote on a local ballot measure, and is for San Diego County, or any city, school district, community college district, special district, or other district or political subdivision organized pursuant to state law whose boundaries are located wholly or in part within San Diego County (hereinafter referred to as an "eligible entity");
Repeals a requirement, if the election conducted pursuant to the pilot is a special election to fill a vacancy in the Legislature or in Congress, that the district for which the special election is being held must be located entirely within San Diego County;
Requires the governing body of an eligible entity that seeks to conduct an election pursuant to the pilot project to authorize the use of mailed ballots for the election;
Clarifies that at elections conducted under the pilot project, the elections official is required to ensure that a polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak languages other than English if federal law requires the elections official to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in those languages for precincts that are consolidated at that polling place;
Requires bilingual voter education workshops and voter education workshops designed to increase accessibility for participation of voters with disabilities that are required to be conducted under the pilot project to be conducted in-person;
Makes the eligible entity for which the election is being conducted responsible for complying with the requirements of the pilot project, including the reporting requirement; and,
Extends the date of the pilot project by one year, to January 1, 2021.
Permits the following jurisdictions to conduct any special election held to vote on a local ballot measure as an all-mailed ballot election:
Cities with a population of 100,000 or less, as determined by the annual city total population rakings by the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance;
School districts; and,
Special districts.
Makes technical and corresponding changes.
EXISTING LAW:
Permits a special election in San Diego County, held before January 1, 2020 to fill a vacancy in the Legislature or in Congress, to be conducted by mailed ballot subject to all of the following conditions:
The legislative or congressional district lies wholly within San Diego County;
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;
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 such locations are open during business hours to receive voted ballots beginning not less than seven days before the election;
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;
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;
Polling places are established in accordance with existing state and federal accessibility requirements, and access to polling places is evenly distributed throughout the congressional or legislative district;
For polling places that consolidate one or more precincts for which the elections official is required to recruit precinct board members who are fluent in a language in addition to English pursuant to existing state or federal law, the elections official makes reasonable efforts to ensure that the polling place is staffed by precinct board members who speak those languages;
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;
Each voter receives all of the following from the elections official:
A notice, translated into all languages as required by state and federal law, that informs voters of the following:
That the election is being conducted by mail and that each eligible voter will receive a ballot by mail;
The voter may cast a ballot in person at a satellite location; and,
The voter may request the county elections official to send a ballot in a language other than English pursuant to state and federal law.
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 postage-paid postcard that the voter may return to the elections official for the purpose of requesting a ballot in a language other than English.
Requires San Diego County, if it conducts an election by mailed ballot pursuant to the provisions outlined above, to report to the Legislature and to the Secretary of State regarding the success of the election, including, but not limited to, any statistics on the cost to conduct the election; the turnout of different populations, including, but not limited to and to the extent possible, the population categories of race, ethnicity, language preference, age, gender, disability, permanent vote by mail status, and political party affiliation as it relates to the languages required under the federal Voting Rights Act; the number of ballots that were not counted and the reasons they were rejected; voter fraud; and any other problems that became known to the county during the election or canvass. Requires the report, whenever possible, to compare the election conducted under the pilot project to similar elections not conducted as mailed ballot elections in the same jurisdiction or comparable jurisdictions.
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:
An election in which no more than 1,000 registered voters are eligible to participate;
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;
An election on the issuance of a general obligation water bond;
An election in one of four specifically enumerated water districts; or,
An election or assessment ballot proceeding required or authorized by the state constitution under Proposition 218.
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.
Authorizes a district to conduct any election as an all-mailed ballot election on any date other than an established election date.
Permits San Mateo and Yolo counties, 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.
FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
Purpose of the Bill: According to the author:
Special elections in California are notorious for having abysmal voter turnout levels. In fact, the average registered turnout of the 13 deciding special elections since January 2013 is 14.07%. In some of those special elections, that statistic even drops below 10%.
This alarmingly low turnout level can be attributed to the fact that special elections often cover fewer issues and are generally less competitive than statewide general elections. As a result, special elections generate less media coverage and do not adequately capture voter attention, which can intensify low turnout.
Vote-by-mail voters have cast as much as 80% of the ballots in special elections this decade as Election Day voter participation in these contests has dropped significantly. In fact, vote-by-mail voters have demonstrated that they are up to 5 times more likely to participate in a special election than voters who do not receive their ballot in the mail.
In San Diego County alone, the Secretary of State reported that the percentage of vote-by-mail voters was over 4% higher than the statewide average for the 2014 General Election. This may suggest that San Diego County’s voting behavior and demographics lend themselves to special elections conducted predominantly by mail.
What is more, academic studies have examined the use of mail balloting in special elections favorably. One California study conducted in 2007 found that a vote-by-mail system increased turnout by 8% in special elections. Similar increases in special elections turnout have even been found in Oregon, California charter cities and California counties which have used mail balloting.
Likewise, a 2010 study published in the Social Science Journal found that vote-by-mail systems significantly increased the voter turnout rate of ethnic minorities such as Latinos and African Americans.
Furthermore, pilot projects have found significant cost savings and reported no voter fraud issues in conducting special elections by mail. Yolo County reported as much as 43% cost-savings in 2013 with a predominately vote-by-mail format.
Severely low voter turnout in California’s costly special elections
is causing large portions of California’s electorate to be
underrepresented in deciding the outcome of all statewide races and
ballots, which directly undercuts our principles of democracy and
participation in a fiscally detrimental manner.
Full voter participation produces governments with more stability, legitimacy and a genuine mandate to govern while making it more difficult for extremist or special interest groups to win elections or to influence mainstream candidates.
AB 547 would strive to increase voter turnout and cut costs in San Diego County’s special elections by extending to other political subdivisions in the county the option to conduct all-mailed ballot special elections under the AB 1873 pilot program to cities, counties, school districts, special districts and local ballot initiatives.
Existing All-Mailed Ballot Pilot Projects: Last year, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed AB 1873 (Gonzalez and Mullin), Chapter 598, Statutes of 2014, which allows special elections in San Diego County to fill vacancies in the Legislature and Congress to be conducted by mailed ballot until 2020, subject to certain conditions. This bill modifies some of those conditions, and significantly expands the types of elections that are allowed to be conducted as mailed ballot elections pursuant to the pilot project.
In addition to the San Diego pilot project that was authorized by AB 1873, there is another ongoing pilot project authorized by the Legislature and the Governor to examine the use of all-mailed ballot elections for local elections. That pilot project was originally authorized by AB 413 (Yamada), Chapter 187, Statutes of 2011, which allows 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 in March 2013 in the City of Davis and the Washington Unified School District as permitted by AB 413, and submitted its report on those elections in December 2013. Yolo County is permitted to conduct local elections as all-mailed ballot elections on two additional dates before the conclusion of the pilot project.
Last year, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed AB 2028 (Mullin), Chapter 209, Statutes of 2014, which allowed San Mateo County to join Yolo County in participating in that ongoing pilot project. Part of the author's rationale for introducing AB 2028 was to expand the pilot program to gather more data, and to get information from an urban county "to contrast the rural county [Yolo] that is already part of the program." San Mateo County has not yet conducted an election as part of the all-mailed ballot pilot program that was expanded by AB 2028. (San Mateo County conducted an all-mailed ballot election on May 5, 2015, for a parcel tax measure in the San Carlos School District, but that election was conducted as an all-mailed ballot election pursuant to other provisions of existing law, and not as part of the pilot project authorized by AB 2028.)
When the Legislature considered AB 1873 last year, early versions of the bill would have expanded the circumstances under which local elections could be conducted as all-mailed ballot elections. However, AB 1873 was narrowed, and ultimately authorized a pilot project in San Diego County regarding the use of all-mailed ballot elections for legislative and congressional vacancy elections. The chaptered version of AB 1873 did not allow local elections to be conducted as mailed ballot elections as part of that pilot project.
Given the fact that an ongoing all-mail ballot election pilot project for local elections was only recently expanded to include an additional county, and given the fact that only one set of elections have been held under the pilot project, the committee may wish to consider whether it is warranted to further expand the circumstances under which local elections may be conducted as all-mail ballot elections. On the other hand, the San Diego pilot project includes a number of accessibility, outreach, and voter education requirements that exceed those included in the San Mateo and Yolo pilot project. In light of that fact, allowing local elections to be included as part of the San Diego pilot project may provide additional information about how the differing accessibility, outreach, and voter education requirements affect turnout at all-mail ballot elections.Special Vacancy Elections in Multiple Counties: One of the requirements in AB 1873 for conducting an election as an all-mailed ballot election was that the congressional or legislative district for which the election was being held had to be located entirely within San Diego County. That condition ensured that all voters within a given district would be voting in accordance with the same rules and procedures. Without that condition, if there was a vacancy in a legislative or congressional district that included part of San Diego County, but that also included portions of one or more other counties, and if San Diego County decided to conduct the special election to fill that vacancy as a mailed ballot election, some voters within the district would vote using the mailed ballot method authorized by the San Diego pilot project, while the remaining voters in the district would vote using a traditional polling place-model election.
This bill would repeal the requirement that a congressional or legislative district must be entirely within San Diego County in order for a special vacancy election to be eligible to be conducted under the pilot project. Furthermore, this bill allows specified elections for local office, as detailed above, to be conducted under the pilot project even where those elections also include territory outside of San Diego County. If a special election were held under this pilot project in a district that included territory outside of San Diego County, only the election in the San Diego County-portion of the district would be conducted as a mailed ballot election. The committee may wish to consider whether this disparate treatment of voters within the same district is appropriate.Local Ballot Measure Elections and Clarifying Amendment: As detailed above, this bill would expand existing law to allow a school district, special district, or small city, as defined, to conduct a local ballot measure election as an all-mail ballot election. This provision is not limited to jurisdictions that are located wholly or partially in San Diego County, and elections conducted pursuant to this provision would not be subject to the accessibility, outreach, voter education, and reporting requirements that apply to elections conducted pursuant to the San Diego County pilot project. According to the author, it is not her intent for this bill to affect elections other than those that would be conducted as part of the pilot project in San Diego County. To reflect this intent, committee staff recommends the following amendment to this bill:
On page 9, strike out lines 6 to 34, inclusive.
Disability Rights California, which had opposed a prior version of this bill, has indicated that they will remove their opposition and will be neutral on this bill with this amendment.Related Legislation: AB 1504 (Alejo), which is also being heard in this committee today, authorizes Monterey and Sacramento counties to participate in an ongoing pilot project that allows certain elections to be conducted entirely by mailed ballot, and extends that pilot project by two years.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
County of San Diego (sponsor) (prior version)
Urban Counties Caucus (prior version)
Opposition
Disability Rights California (prior version)
Analysis Prepared by: Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
Discussed in Hearing
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Bill Co-Author(s):
