Existing law requires the canvass of an election to commence no later than the Thursday following the election and shall be continued daily, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excepted, for not less than 6 hours each day until completed. Existing law requires the elections official to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit that certified statement to the governing body within 30 days of the election, except as specified.

This bill would instead require the elections official to submit the certified statement of the results of the election on the 30th calendar day following the election. By increasing the duties of local elections officials relative to the days on which they would be required to certify election results, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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

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

Date of Hearing: June 21, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS

Isaac G. Bryan, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 518

Author:(Wilk) – As Introduced Ver:February 14, 2023

SENATE VOTE: 40-0

SUBJECT: Elections: certification of results.

SUMMARY: Prohibits an elections official from certifying election results before the 30th day after an election, except as specified. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires a certified statement of the results of an election that is prepared by the elections official, other than specified elections conducted in November of odd-numbered years, to be submitted to the relevant governing body on the 30th calendar day following the election, rather than requiring the statement to be submitted by the 30th calendar day following the election as is required under existing law. The effect of this change is that an elections official would be prohibited from submitting the certified statement of results before the 30th calendar day following the election.
2. Makes technical and corresponding changes.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires an elections official to conduct a semifinal official canvass of each election by tabulating vote by mail (VBM) and precinct ballots and compiling the results. Requires the semifinal official canvass to begin immediately upon the closing of the polls and to continue without adjournment until all precincts are accounted for. (Elections Code §15150)
2. Requires an official canvass of election results to commence no later than the Thursday following the election. Requires the official canvass to be open to the public and, for state elections, to result in a report of results to the Secretary of State (SOS). Requires the official canvass be continued daily (except for Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) for not less than six hours each day until completed. (Elections Code §15301)
   
3. Requires the official canvass of election results to include various tasks, including the following:
   1. Processing and counting any valid VBM and provisional ballots not included in the semifinal official canvass.
   2. Counting any valid write-in votes.
   3. Reporting final results to the governing board and the SOS, as required. (Elections Code §15302)
      
4. Requires the elections official to prepare a certified statement of the results of an election and submit it to the governing body within 30 days of the election or, in the case of school district, community college district, county board of education, or special district elections conducted on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of odd-numbered years, no later than the last Monday before the last Friday of that month. (Elections Code §15372)
5. Requires a county elections official to send to the SOS the election results for all persons voted for at a presidential primary election, and the vote given for all persons for electors of President and Vice President of the United States, within 28 days after the relevant election. (Elections Code §§15375(c), 15375(d))
6. Requires a county elections official, upon receiving a VBM ballot, to compare the signature on the VBM ballot identification envelope with a signature appearing on any affidavit of registration of the voter, or on any form issued by an elections official that contains the voter's signature and is part of the voter's registration record. (Elections Code §3019(a)(1))
7. Provides that if the elections official determines, upon comparing signatures, that the signature on the VBM ballot identification envelope possesses multiple, significant, and obvious differing characteristics when compared to all signatures in the voter's registration record, the signature is subject to additional procedures that provide that a signature shall be rejected only if two additional elections officials each find beyond a reasonable doubt that the signature differs in multiple, significant, and obvious respects from all signatures in the voter's registration record. (Elections Code §3019(c))
   
8. Requires, in the case of a VBM ballot identification envelope that was not signed by the voter, or in the case of an identification envelope that was signed but where the signature on the envelope did not compare to the signatures on file for the voter as detailed above in 6), that the voter be sent an unsigned identification envelope statement or a signature verification statement by which the voter may verify under penalty of perjury that the voter completed and returned the VBM ballot in question. Requires this notice to be sent not later than eight days prior to the certification of the election. Provides that a voter’s VBM ballot shall not be rejected if the voter submits a completed unsigned identification envelope statement or signature verification statement by 5 p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election and the signature on that statement compares to a signature on file in the voter’s registration record, as specified. (Elections Code §§3019(d), 3019(e))
   

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• The Secretary of State (SOS) indicates that, beginning in 2024-25, it would incur a cost of $1.9 million for every primary/general election cycle (General Fund).
• By imposing additional requirements on local elections officials, this bill creates a state-mandated local program. To the extent the Commission on State Mandates determines that the provisions of this bill create a new program or impose a higher level of service on local agencies, local agencies could claim reimbursement of those costs (General Fund). The magnitude is unknown, but potentially in excess of $50,000 annually.
  

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose of the Bill: According to the author:

SB 518 will create an important clarification for California voters as we move forward with vote by mail ballots. Each election, hundreds of voters across the state submit ballots that end up rejected because of missing or non-comparing signatures. Voters should know exactly how long they have to correct or complete their signatures each election to ensure their vote is included in the final tally.

1. VBM Ballots and Identification Envelope Signature Cure Process: Under California law, a VBM ballot must be verified by the elections official before it can be counted. That verification includes a comparison of the signature on the VBM ballot identification envelope with the signatures that are part of the voter’s registration record to confirm that the voter who was issued the VBM ballot is the voter who returned the ballot.
   
   It is not uncommon for a VBM ballot to be returned in an envelope that is missing the voter’s signature or with a signature that doesn’t match signatures in the voter’s record. At the November 2022 statewide general election, for instance, nearly 48,000 VBM ballots that were returned by voters to elections officials were unable to be counted because the signature on the return envelope did not match the signature on file, and nearly 12,000 VBM ballots were rejected because the return envelope was not signed by the voter. In the last several years, the Legislature has taken a number of steps to reduce the number of VBM ballots that are rejected for these reasons.
   
   Specifically, AB 477 (Mullin), Chapter 726, Statutes of 2015, and SB 759 (McGuire), Chapter 446, Statutes of 2018, created cure processes for voters who failed to sign the VBM ballot return envelope or who had a signature mismatch on that envelope. Existing law allows a voter to complete that cure process until 5 p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election.
   
   Elections officials are not required to certify election results on a specific day, but instead must certify results no later than a specified deadline. As a result, the deadline for a voter to complete this cure process varies from county-to-county, depending on when each county certifies its election results. For the November 2022 statewide general election, at least 42 of the 58 counties finalized their election results before the 30th day after the election, though 34 counties (including the 11 counties with the largest number of registered voters) appear to have finalized their results on the 27th day after the election or later.
   
   This bill seeks to provide a uniform certification deadline—and thus a uniform deadline for voters to cure a VBM ballot where the ballot return envelope was missing a signature, or where the signature on the envelope does not match the signatures on file for the voter—in all California counties. Although existing law does not have a uniform deadline for voters across the state to cure problems with their VBM ballots, there is a uniform policy for the minimum amount of time that a voter must be given to cure a problem with their VBM ballot after being notified of that problem. Specifically, existing law requires elections officials to notify voters not less than eight days before the elections official certifies the election.
   
   By requiring elections officials to certify election results on the 30th day after the election, this bill would prevent elections officials from certifying results earlier. While having a common certification date would create greater uniformity, prohibiting elections officials from certifying election results before the 30th day after the election may force counties to use limited resources on extending the certification process even in situations where no additional ballots will be counted.
2. Presidential Elections: Although elections officials are not required to certify election results until the 30th day after the election in most circumstances, there are certain situations where elections officials must finalize results more quickly. Notably, county elections officials are required to send results for presidential primary and general elections to the SOS within 28 days after the relevant election. In the case of a presidential general election, this earlier deadline is intended, in part, to ensure that the SOS has sufficient time to analyze the votes for presidential electors and certify the winners in time to meet deadlines under federal law. This bill’s impacts on presidential elections is unclear, but the SOS notes that it may “impose problematic timing constraints regarding the submission of presidential results by the Secretary of State to the United States Congress and would create logistical conflicts with respect to provisions of the federal Electoral Count Reform Act.”
   
3. Special Elections: In order to comply with various provisions of existing law, an elections official generally will take at least two weeks to certify an election, and finalizing election results often takes much longer. In the case of special elections to fill vacancies in public offices, however, elections officials often certify election results much more quickly so that the vacancy can be filled and the successful candidate can take office. In the case of a special primary election, the elections official may need to finalize election results much faster than 30 days in order to ensure that preparations for a subsequent special runoff election can begin. By prohibiting certification before the 30th day after an election, this bill could delay vacancy fillings and disrupt special runoff election preparations.
4. Logistical Challenges: This bill could pose logistical challenges for the SOS, which, in the case of elections for federal or state office or state ballot measures, is responsible for compiling results from county elections officials, declaring the results for those contests, and issuing certificates of election to successful candidates. Currently, the SOS receives results on a rolling basis, but under this bill, results from all 58 counties would arrive on the same day. This would significantly compress the time that the SOS has to complete its workload. That compressed workload is a major component behind the assessment of the SOS that this bill would result in a cost to the agency of $1.9 million for every election cycle for limited term staff and overtime.
5. Arguments in Opposition: In opposition to this bill, the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials writes:

Elections Code section 15301 requires that the election canvass be conducted daily, excluding weekends and holidays, for at least six hours each day until completed. Once all vote-by-mail ballots (except those challenged and awaiting cure by the voters) and provisional ballots are processed and the One Percent Manual Tally and reconciliation of election materials has been completed, a county elections official likely does not have six hours of work to complete each day. Requiring a county to extend their canvass period will add labor and security costs.

Additionally, requiring counties to continue the canvass when all work is done will impact when candidates can assume their elected office. The terms of special districts and school district offices start on specific days – first Friday of December and second Friday of December respectively. In some years, the first Friday of December falls before the 30th day after Election Day. County and city governing bodies declare winners at their next regular meeting following the certification date. By removing the ability of county elections officials to certify earlier, some jurisdictions will have to wait until their second meeting in December to declare the winners of their contests.

1. Related Legislation: AB 1037 (Berman), which is pending in the Senate Elections & Constitutional Amendments Committee, permits a voter to return a completed signature verification statement or unsigned identification envelope statement by electronic means, in addition to those permitted under existing law, if such means are made available by the elections official. AB 1037 was approved by this committee by a 6-2 vote, and was approved on the Assembly Floor by a 61-16 vote.
   
   SB 77 (Umberg), which is pending in this committee, requires an election official to notify a voter by telephone, text, or email of the opportunity for the voter to cure a problem with the signature on the voter’s VBM ballot identification envelope.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

None on file.

Opposition

California Association of Clerks and Election Officials

Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D.

Solano County Board of Supervisors

Analysis Prepared by: Ethan Jones / ELECTIONS / (916) 319-2094

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: SB 518

Author: Wilk (R)

Introduced: 2/14/23

Vote: 21

SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/18/23

AYES: Glazer, Nguyen, Allen, McGuire, Menjivar, Newman, Umberg

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/18/23

AYES: Portantino, Jones, Ashby, Bradford, Seyarto, Wahab, Wiener

SUBJECT: Elections: certification of results

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill changes when election officials submit certified statements of the results of an election from occurring within 30 days following the election to on the 30th calendar day following the election.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Requires the official canvass to include, but not be limited to, the following tasks:
   1. An inspection of all materials and supplies returned by poll workers.
   2. A reconciliation of the number of signatures on the roster with the number of ballots recorded on the ballot statement.
   3. In the event of a discrepancy in the reconciliation required by b), the number of ballots received from each polling place shall be reconciled with the number of ballots cast, as indicated on the ballot statement.
   4. A reconciliation of the number of ballots counted, spoiled, canceled, or invalidated due to identifying marks, overvotes, or as otherwise provided by statute, with the number of votes recorded, including vote by mail and provisional ballots, by the vote counting system.
   5. Processing and counting any valid vote by mail and provisional ballots not included in the semifinal official canvass.
   6. Counting any valid write-in votes.
   7. Reproducing any damaged ballots, if necessary.
   8. Reporting final results to the governing board and the Secretary of State, as required.
2. Requires the canvass to commence no later than the Thursday following the election, shall be open to the public, and for state or statewide elections, shall result in a report of results to the Secretary of State. Requires the canvass be continued daily, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excepted, for not less than six hours each day until completed.
3. Requires, upon completion of the count, the election official to add to the results as so determined, the results of the write-in votes and any paper ballots used as certified by the precinct board, and thereupon shall declare the vote, and forthwith post one copy at the counting place for public inspection.
4. Requires the election official to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit it to the governing body within 30 days of the election or, in the case of school district, community college district, county board of education, or special district elections conducted on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of odd-numbered years, no later than the last Monday before the last Friday of that month.
5. Requires the election official to post the certified statement of the results of the election on their website in a downloadable spreadsheet format that may include, but is not limited to, a comma-separated values file or a tab-separated values file and that is compatible with a spreadsheet software application that is widely used at the time of the posting. Requires the certified statement of the election results to be posted and maintained on the election official’s website for a period of at least 10 years following the election. Specifies that this provision only applies to an election official who uses a computer system that has the capability of producing the election results in a downloadable spreadsheet format without requiring modification of the computer system.
6. Requires a voter who voted by mail and either has a missing or a non-comparing signature to submit a statement to remedy or cure their signature no later than 5p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election, as specified.

This bill:

1. Requires the election official to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit it to the governing body on the 30th calendar day following the election.
2. Makes other nonsubstantive changes.

Background

Voting by Mail. California voters have increasingly utilized vote by mail (VBM) ballots when voting in elections. In the 2022 general election, of 11,146,610 ballots cast, 9,755,188 were VBM ballots. This represents 87.52% of the votes cast in November 2022 and is the highest VBM participation percentage for a general election in the state’s history. When comparing the past two gubernatorial general elections (2018 and 2020), there were approximately 1.45 million more VBM ballots in November 2022 than in November 2018.

VBM Rejection Rates. VBM ballots can be rejected for a variety of reasons. For example, the ballot may be missing from the envelope, multiple ballots might be returned in one envelope, the ballot may arrive after the deadline, there may be a missing or an incorrect address on the VBM envelope, the voter’s signature might be missing, the voter’s signature might not compare with the signature on file, etc. According to data from the SOS that was derived from VoteCal, California’s statewide voter registration database, the November 2020 general election had 86,401 VBM ballots that were challenged. Of the 86,401 challenged VBM ballots, 14,666 ballots (16.97%) were rejected for a missing voter signature and 49,816 ballots (57.66%) were rejected for a signature that did not compare with the one on file. When combined, missing and non-comparing signatures amounted to 64,482 ballots or 74.63% of the total number of rejected ballots.

For the November 2022 election, the SOS indicated that 120,432 VBM ballots were challenged. Of the 120,432 challenged VBM ballots, 11,897 ballots (9.88%) were rejected for a missing voter signature and 47,963 ballots (39.83%) were rejected for a signature that did not compare with the one on file. When combined, missing and non-comparing signatures amounted to 76,379 ballots or 63.42% of the total number of rejected ballots.

Ballot Curing. When a voter’s signature does not compare to the signature on file or the voter’s signature is missing from the voter’s vote by mail envelope, the county election official is required to mail a notice to the voter of the issue and how the voter can remedy or “cure” their ballot. The voter is required to submit their verification or unsigned identification envelope statement by no later than 5p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election. Other than the total number of rejected ballots due to a missing or non-comparing signature, it unknown how many voters submitted their statement after the deadline.

Certification Deadlines. The election official is required to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit it to the governing body within 30 days of the election. However, some counties may need every day permissible to certify their election results and others may not. For example, a smaller county may not need as long to certify their results than larger counties.

Comments

1. Completing the Canvass. As previously mentioned, some counties may need every day permissible to certify their election results and others may not. It is conceivable that some counties may complete their canvass within 30 days of the election. If the deadline becomes a full 30 days, counties may be using scarce and limited resources waiting for a small number of statements to arrive that may or may not affect the outcome of a contest.

By having a varying certification deadline, this creates a scenario where it is unknown to the public, and for voters needing to cure their ballot, of when certification will take place. As a result, it may be confusing for voters to determine the certification date for their county and the deadline for submitting an unsigned identification envelope statement or a signature verification statement. Having a singular certification date would create more uniformity, especially in multi-county districts. However, at some point, there needs to be finality to an election, and this committee should consider when that “finality” should take place.

Related/Prior Legislation

SB 503 (Becker, Chapter 319, Statutes of 2021), among other provisions, provided additional parameters for election officials when comparing a voter’s signature and notifying a voter of their missing or non-comparing signature.

SB 523 (McGuire, Chapter 568, Statutes of 2019) required, among other provisions relating to notifications for voters with a missing or non-comparing signature, aligned the timeline for notices and the submission of an unsigned VBM ballot envelope with the deadlines established for mismatching signatures to 5 p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election, as specified.

SB 29 (Correa, Chapter 618, Statutes of 2014) extended, among other provisions relating to vote by mail ballots, the deadline for election officials to prepare a certified statement of the results of an election from 28 days after the election to 30 days after the election.

There were multiple attempts to require an election official to submit the certified statement of the results of the election to the governing body within 31 days of the election. This included AB 562 (Fong 2012), AB 1466 (Committee on Budget 2012), and SB 1017 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review 2012). AB 562 contained urgency and failed when the Assembly did not concur in Senate amendments. AB 1466 and SB 1017 died at various stages in the legislative process.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• The Secretary of State (SOS) indicates that, beginning in 2024-25, it would incur a cost of $1.9 million for every primary/general election cycle (General Fund).
• By imposing additional requirements on local elections officials, this bill creates a state-mandated local program. To the extent the Commission on State Mandates determines that the provisions of this bill create a new program or impose a higher level of service on local agencies, local agencies could claim reimbursement of those costs (General Fund). The magnitude is unknown, but potentially in excess of $50,000 annually

SUPPORT: (Verified 5/18/23)

None received

OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/18/23)

California Association of Clerks and Election Officials

Solano County Board of Supervisors

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, SB 518 will create an important clarification for California voters as we move forward with mass mail in ballot elections. Each election, hundreds of voters across the state send in their ballots that are ultimately rejected because of missing or mismatched signatures. Voters should know exactly how long they have to correct or complete their signatures each election to ensure their voted is counted.

ARGUMENTS IN OPPSOITION: In a letter opposing SB 518, the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials stated, in part, the following:

As the officials charged with conducting accessible elections in California, we share the desire of Senator Wilk to ensure voters have a clear understanding of how much time they have to cure a signature issue with their vote-by-mail ballot. CACEO’s opposition is due to the fiscal impacts to those counties who are regularly able to complete the election canvass in less than 30 days and due to the delay for some candidates to assume their elected office.

[…]

Additionally, requiring counties to continue the canvass when all work is done will impact when candidates can assume their elected office. The terms of special districts and school district offices start on specific days – first Friday of December and second Friday of December respectively. In some years, the first Friday of December falls before the 30th day after Election Day. County and city governing bodies declare winners at their next regular meeting following the certification date. By removing the ability of county elections officials to certify earlier, some jurisdictions will have to wait until their second meeting in December to declare the winners of their contests.

Prepared by: Scott Matsumoto / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106

5/20/23 13:00:18

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular Session

SB 518 (Wilk) - Elections: certification of results

Bill Summary:

SB 518 would change when election officials submit certified statements of the results of an election from occurring within 30 days following the election to on the 30th calendar day following the election.

Fiscal Impact:

• The Secretary of State (SOS) indicates that, beginning in 2024-25, it would incur a cost of $1.9 million for every primary/general election cycle (General Fund).
• By imposing additional requirements on local elections officials, this bill creates a state-mandated local program. To the extent the Commission on State Mandates determines that the provisions of this bill create a new program or impose a higher level of service on local agencies, local agencies could claim reimbursement of those costs (General Fund). The magnitude is unknown, but potentially in excess of $50,000 annually.

Background:

California voters have increasingly utilized VBM ballots when voting in elections. In the 2022 General Election, about 88 percent of the votes cast were done using VBM ballots, up from 48 percent in November 2010.

VBM ballots can be rejected for a variety of reasons. For example, the ballot may be missing from the envelope, multiple ballots might returned in one envelope, the ballot may arrive after the deadline, there may be a missing or incorrect address on the VBM envelope, the voter’s signature might be missing, or the voter’s signature might not compare with the signature on file. For the November 2022 General Election, SOS data indicate that 120,432 VBM ballots were challenged. Of these, 11,897 ballots (or 10 percent) were rejected for a missing voter signature and 47,963 ballots (or 40 percent) were rejected for a signature that did not compare with the one on file.

When a voter’s signature does not compare to the signature on file, or the voter’s signature is missing from the voter’s VBM envelope, county election officials are required to mail a notice to the voter of the issue and how the voter can remedy or “cure” their ballot. The voter is required to submit their verification or unsigned identification envelope statement by no later than 5 p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election. Other than the total number of rejected ballots due to a missing or non-comparing signature, it unknown how many voters submitted their statement after the deadline.

The election official is required to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit it to the governing body within 30 days of the election. However, some counties (such as larger ones) may need every day permissible to certify their election results and others (such as smaller ones) may not.

Proposed Law:

This bill would require election officials to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit it to the governing body on the 30th calendar day following the election.

Related Legislation:

• SB 503 (Becker, Chapter 319, Statutes of 2021) among other provisions, provided additional parameters for election officials when comparing a voter’s signature and notifying a voter of their missing or non-comparing signature.
• SB 523 (McGuire, Chapter 568, Statutes of 2019) required, among other provisions relating to notifications for voters with a missing or non-comparing signature, aligned the timeline for notices and the submission of an unsigned VBM ballot envelope with the deadlines established for mismatching signatures to 5 p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election, as specified.
• SB 29 (Correa, Chapter 618, Statutes of 2014) extended, among other provisions relating to vote by mail ballots, the deadline for election officials to prepare a certified statement of the results of an election from 28 days after the election to 30 days after the election.
• There were multiple attempts to require an election official to submit the certified statement of the results of the election to the governing body within 31 days of the election. This included AB 562 (Fong) of 2012, AB 1466 (Committee on Budget) of 2012, and SB 1017 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review). AB 562 contained urgency and failed when the Assembly did not concur in Senate amendments. AB 1466 and SB 1017 died before reaching the Governor’s desk.

Staff Comments:

SOS indicates that this bill would require it to add new limited-term staff to comply with new statutory requirements. SOS would need to establish the guidelines and procedures required to train the new staff members, and procure space to house them. Additional overtime for Elections Division staff would also be needed during peak periods within the election cycle.

Current law requires that the election canvass be conducted daily, excluding weekends and holidays, for at least six hours each day until completed. Once all VBM ballots (except those challenged and awaiting cure by the voters) and provisional ballots are processed and the One Percent Manual Tally and reconciliation of election materials has been completed, a county elections official likely does not have six hours of work to complete each day. This bill would require such a county to extend its canvass period, adding labor and security costs.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Senator Steven Glazer, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: 518 Hearing Date: 4/18/23

Subject:

DIGEST

This bill changes when election officials submit certified statements of the results of an election from occurring within 30 days following the election to on the 30th calendar day following the election.

ANALYSIS

Existing law:

1. Requires the official canvass to include, but not be limited to, the following tasks:
   1. An inspection of all materials and supplies returned by poll workers.
   2. A reconciliation of the number of signatures on the roster with the number of ballots recorded on the ballot statement.
   3. In the event of a discrepancy in the reconciliation required by b), the number of ballots received from each polling place shall be reconciled with the number of ballots cast, as indicated on the ballot statement.
   4. A reconciliation of the number of ballots counted, spoiled, canceled, or invalidated due to identifying marks, overvotes, or as otherwise provided by statute, with the number of votes recorded, including vote by mail and provisional ballots, by the vote counting system.
   5. Processing and counting any valid vote by mail and provisional ballots not included in the semifinal official canvass.
   6. Counting any valid write-in votes.
   7. Reproducing any damaged ballots, if necessary.
   8. Reporting final results to the governing board and the Secretary of State, as required.
2. Requires the canvass to commence no later than the Thursday following the election, shall be open to the public, and, for state or statewide elections, shall result in a report of results to the Secretary of State. Requires the canvass be continued daily, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excepted, for not less than six hours each day until completed.
3. Requires, upon completion of the count, the election official to add to the results as so determined, the results of the write-in votes and any paper ballots used as certified by the precinct board, and thereupon shall declare the vote, and forthwith post one copy at the counting place for public inspection.
4. Requires the election official to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit it to the governing body within 30 days of the election or, in the case of school district, community college district, county board of education, or special district elections conducted on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of odd-numbered years, no later than the last Monday before the last Friday of that month.
5. Requires the election official to post the certified statement of the results of the election on their website in a downloadable spreadsheet format that may include, but is not limited to, a comma-separated values file or a tab-separated values file and that is compatible with a spreadsheet software application that is widely used at the time of the posting. Requires the certified statement of the election results to be posted and maintained on the election official’s website for a period of at least 10 years following the election. Specifies that this provision only applies to an election official who uses a computer system that has the capability of producing the election results in a downloadable spreadsheet format without requiring modification of the computer system.
6. Requires a voter who voted by mail and either has a missing or a non-comparing signature to submit a statement to remedy or cure their signature no later than 5p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election, as specified.

This bill:

1. Requires the election official to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit it to the governing body on the 30th calendar day following the election.
2. Makes other nonsubstantive changes.

BACKGROUND

Voting by Mail. California voters have increasingly utilized vote by mail (VBM) ballots when voting in elections. In the 2022 general election, of 11,146,610 ballots cast, 9,755,188 were VBM ballots. This represents 87.52% of the votes cast in November 2022 and is the highest VBM participation percentage for a general election in the state’s history. When comparing the past two gubernatorial general elections (2018 and 2020), there were approximately 1.45 million more VBM ballots in November 2022 than in November 2018.

VBM Rejection Rates. VBM ballots can be rejected for a variety of reasons. For example, the ballot may be missing from the envelope, multiple ballots might be returned in one envelope, the ballot may arrive after the deadline, there may be a missing or an incorrect address on the VBM envelope, the voter’s signature might be missing, the voter’s signature might not compare with the signature on file, etc. According to data from the SOS that was derived from VoteCal, California’s statewide voter registration database, the November 2020 general election had 86,401 VBM ballots that were challenged. Of the 86,401 challenged VBM ballots, 14,666 ballots (16.97%) were rejected for a missing voter signature and 49,816 ballots (57.66%) were rejected for a signature that did not compare with the one on file. When combined, missing and non-comparing signatures amounted to 64,482 ballots or 74.63% of the total number of rejected ballots.

For the November 2022 election, the SOS indicated that 120,432 VBM ballots were challenged. Of the 120,432 challenged VBM ballots, 11,897 ballots (9.88%) were rejected for a missing voter signature and 47,963 ballots (39.83%) were rejected for a signature that did not compare with the one on file. When combined, missing and non-comparing signatures amounted to 76,379 ballots or 63.42% of the total number of rejected ballots.

Ballot Curing. When a voter’s signature does not compare to the signature on file or the voter’s signature is missing from the voter’s vote by mail envelope, the county election official is required to mail a notice to the voter of the issue and how the voter can remedy or “cure” their ballot. The voter is required to submit their verification or unsigned identification envelope statement by no later than 5p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election. Other than the total number of rejected ballots due to a missing or non-comparing signature, it unknown how many voters submitted their statement after the deadline.

Certification Deadlines. The election official is required to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit it to the governing body within 30 days of the election. However, some counties may need every day permissible to certify their election results and others may not. For example, a smaller county may not need as long to certify their results than larger counties.

COMMENTS

1. According to the author: SB 518 will create an important clarification for California voters as we move forward with mass mail in ballot elections. Each election, hundreds of voters across the state send in their ballots that are ultimately rejected because of missing or mismatched signatures. Voters should know exactly how long they have to correct or complete their signatures each election to ensure their voted is counted.
2. Completing the Canvass. As previously mentioned, some counties may need every day permissible to certify their election results and others may not. It is conceivable that some counties may complete their canvass within 30 days of the election. If the deadline becomes a full 30 days, counties may be using scarce and limited resources waiting for a small number of statements to arrive that may or may not affect the outcome of a contest.

By having a varying certification deadline, this creates a scenario where it is unknown to the public, and for voters needing to cure their ballot, of when certification will take place. As a result, it may be confusing for voters to determine the certification date for their county and the deadline for submitting an unsigned identification envelope statement or a signature verification statement. Having a singular certification date would create more uniformity, especially in multi-county districts. However, at some point, there needs to be finality to an election, and this committee should consider when that “finality” should take place.

1. Argument on Opposition. In a letter opposing SB 518, the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials stated, in part, the following:

As the officials charged with conducting accessible elections in California, we share the desire of Senator Wilk to ensure voters have a clear understanding of how much time they have to cure a signature issue with their vote-by-mail ballot. CACEO’s opposition is due to the fiscal impacts to those counties who are regularly able to complete the election canvass in less than 30 days and due to the delay for some candidates to assume their elected office.

[…]

Additionally, requiring counties to continue the canvass when all work is done will impact when candidates can assume their elected office. The terms of special districts and school district offices start on specific days – first Friday of December and second Friday of December respectively. In some years, the first Friday of December falls before the 30th day after Election Day. County and city governing bodies declare winners at their next regular meeting following the certification date. By removing the ability of county elections officials to certify earlier, some jurisdictions will have to wait until their second meeting in December to declare the winners of their contests.

RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION

SB 503 (Becker), Chapter 319, Statutes of 2021, among other provisions, provided additional parameters for election officials when comparing a voter’s signature and notifying a voter of their missing or non-comparing signature.

SB 523 (McGuire), Chapter 568, Statutes of 2019, required, among other provisions relating to notifications for voters with a missing or non-comparing signature, aligned the timeline for notices and the submission of an unsigned VBM ballot envelope with the deadlines established for mismatching signatures to 5 p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election, as specified.

SB 29 (Correa), Chapter 618, Statutes of 2014, extended, among other provisions relating to vote by mail ballots, the deadline for election officials to prepare a certified statement of the results of an election from 28 days after the election to 30 days after the election.

There were multiple attempts to require an election official to submit the certified statement of the results of the election to the governing body within 31 days of the election. This included AB 562 (Fong) of 2012, AB 1466 (Committee on Budget) of 2012, and SB 1017 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review). AB 562 contained urgency and failed when the Assembly did not concur in Senate amendments. AB 1466 and SB 1017 died at various stages in the legislative process.

POSITIONS

Sponsor: Author

Support: None received

Oppose: California Association of Clerks and Election Officials

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SENATE COMMITTEE ON

ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Senator Steven Glazer, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: 518 Hearing Date: 3/21/23

Subject:

DIGEST

This bill changes when the election official submits the certified statement of the results of the election from occurring within 30 days following the election to on the 30th calendar day following the election.

ANALYSIS

Existing law:

1. Requires the official canvass to include, but not be limited to, the following tasks:
   1. An inspection of all materials and supplies returned by poll workers.
   2. A reconciliation of the number of signatures on the roster with the number of ballots recorded on the ballot statement.
   3. In the event of a discrepancy in the reconciliation required by b), the number of ballots received from each polling place shall be reconciled with the number of ballots cast, as indicated on the ballot statement.
   4. A reconciliation of the number of ballots counted, spoiled, canceled, or invalidated due to identifying marks, overvotes, or as otherwise provided by statute, with the number of votes recorded, including vote by mail and provisional ballots, by the vote counting system.
   5. Processing and counting any valid vote by mail and provisional ballots not included in the semifinal official canvass.
   6. Counting any valid write-in votes.
   7. Reproducing any damaged ballots, if necessary.
   8. Reporting final results to the governing board and the Secretary of State, as required.
2. Requires the canvass to commence no later than the Thursday following the election, shall be open to the public, and, for state or statewide elections, shall result in a report of results to the Secretary of State. Requires the canvass be continued daily, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excepted, for not less than six hours each day until completed.
3. Requires, upon completion of the count, the election official to add to the results as so determined, the results of the write-in votes and any paper ballots used as certified by the precinct board, and thereupon shall declare the vote, and forthwith post one copy at the counting place for public inspection.
4. Requires the election official to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit it to the governing body within 30 days of the election or, in the case of school district, community college district, county board of education, or special district elections conducted on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of odd-numbered years, no later than the last Monday before the last Friday of that month.
5. Requires the election official to post the certified statement of the results of the election on their website in a downloadable spreadsheet format that may include, but is not limited to, a comma-separated values file or a tab-separated values file and that is compatible with a spreadsheet software application that is widely used at the time of the posting. Requires the certified statement of the election results to be posted and maintained on the election official’s website for a period of at least 10 years following the election. Specifies that this provision only applies to an election official who uses a computer system that has the capability of producing the election results in a downloadable spreadsheet format without requiring modification of the computer system.
6. Requires a voter who voted by mail and either has a missing or a non-comparing signature to submit a statement to remedy or cure their signature no later than 5p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election, as specified.

This bill:

1. Requires the election official to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit it to the governing body on the 30th calendar day following the election.
2. Makes other nonsubstantive changes.

BACKGROUND

Voting by Mail. California voters have increasingly utilized VBM ballots when voting in elections. In the 2022 general election, of 11,146,610 ballots cast, 9,755,188 were VBM ballots. This represents 87.52% of the votes cast in November 2022 and is the highest VBM participation percentage for a general election in the state’s history. When comparing the past two gubernatorial general elections (2018 and 2020), there were approximately1.45 million more VBM ballots in November 2022 than in November 2018.

VBM Rejection Rates. VBM ballots can be rejected for a variety of reasons. For example, the ballot may be missing from the envelope, multiple ballots might be returned in one envelope, the ballot may arrive after the deadline, there may be a missing or an incorrect address on the VBM envelope, the voter’s signature might be missing, the voter’s signature might not compare with the signature on file, etc. According to data from the SOS that was derived from VoteCal, California’s statewide voter registration database, the November 2020 general election had 86,401 VBM ballots that were challenged. Of the 86,401 challenged VBM ballots, 14,666 ballots (16.97%) were rejected for a missing voter signature and 49,816 ballots (57.66%) were rejected for a signature that did not compare with the one on file. When combined, missing and non-comparing signatures amounted to 64,482 ballots or 74.63% of the total number of rejected ballots.

For the November 2022 election, the SOS indicated that 120,432 VBM ballots were challenged. Of the 120,432 challenged VBM ballots, 11,897 ballots (9.88%) were rejected for a missing voter signature and 47,963 ballots (39.83%) were rejected for a signature that did not compare with the one on file. When combined, missing and non-comparing signatures amounted to 76,379 ballots or 63.42% of the total number of rejected ballots.

Ballot Curing. When a voter’s signature does not compare to the signature on file or the voter’s signature is missing from the voter’s vote by mail envelope, the county election official is required to mail a notice to the voter of the issue and how the voter can remedy or “cure” their ballot. The voter is required to submit their verification or unsigned identification envelope statement by no later than 5p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election. Other than the total number of rejected ballots due to a missing or non-comparing signature, it unknown how many voters submitted their statement after the deadline.

Certification Deadlines. The election official is required to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit it to the governing body within 30 days of the election. However, some counties may need every day permissible to certify their election results and others may not. For example, a smaller county may not need as long to certify their results than larger counties.

COMMENTS

1. According to the author: SB 518 will create an important clarification for California voters as we move forward with mass mail in ballot elections. Each election, hundreds of voters across the state send in their ballots that are ultimately rejected because of missing or mismatched signatures. Voters should know exactly how long they have to correct or complete their signatures each election to ensure their voted is counted.
2. Completing the Canvass. As previously mentioned, some counties may need every day permissible to certify their election results and others may not. It is conceivable that some counties may complete their canvass within 30 days of the election. If the deadline becomes a full 30 days, counties may be using scarce and limited resources waiting for a small number of statements to arrive that may or may not affect the outcome of a contest.

By having a varying certification deadline, this creates a scenario where it is unknown to the public, and for voters needing to cure their ballot, of when certification will take place. As a result, it may be confusing for voters to determine the certification date for their county and the deadline for submitting an unsigned identification envelope statement or a signature verification statement. Having a singular certification date would create more uniformity, especially in multi-county districts. However, at some point, there needs to be finality to an election, and this committee should consider when that “finality” should take place.

RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION

SB 503 (Becker), Chapter 319, Statutes of 2021, among other provisions, provided additional parameters for election officials when comparing a voter’s signature and notifying a voter of their missing or non-comparing signature.

SB 523 (McGuire), Chapter 568, Statutes of 2019, required, among other provisions relating to notifications for voters with a missing or non-comparing signature, aligned the timeline for notices and the submission of an unsigned VBM ballot envelope with the deadlines established for mismatching signatures to 5 p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election, as specified.

SB 29 (Correa), Chapter 618, Statutes of 2014, extended, among other provisions relating to vote by mail ballots, the deadline for election officials to prepare a certified statement of the results of an election from 28 days after the election to 30 days after the election.

There were multiple attempts to require an election official to submit the certified statement of the results of the election to the governing body within 31 days of the election. This included AB 562 (Fong) of 2012, AB 1466 (Committee on Budget) of 2012, and SB 1017 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review). AB 562 contained urgency and failed when the Assembly did not concur in Senate amendments. AB 1466 and SB 1017 died at various stages in the legislative process.

POSITIONS

Sponsor: Author

Support: None received

Oppose: None received

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