Existing law requires elections officials to begin mailing ballots to every registered voter no later than 29 days before an election. Existing law authorizes a jurisdiction to begin processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes and, if the jurisdiction has the necessary computer capability, vote by mail ballots 29 days before an election.

This bill would authorize elections officials to begin processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes and vote by mail ballots on the date on which the ballots are mailed, thereby allowing elections officials to begin processing vote by mail return envelopes and ballots earlier than 29 days before an election.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 15104 of the Elections Code proposed by SB 3 to be operative only if this bill and SB 3 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law requires elections officials to begin mailing ballots to every registered voter no later than 29 days before an election. Existing law authorizes a jurisdiction to begin processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes and, if the jurisdiction has the necessary computer capability, vote by mail ballots 29 days before an election.

This bill would authorize elections officials to begin processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes and vote by mail ballots on the date on which the ballots are mailed, thereby allowing elections officials to begin processing vote by mail return envelopes and ballots earlier than 29 days before an election.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 15104 of the Elections Code proposed by SB 3 to be operative only if this bill and SB 3 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law requires elections officials to begin mailing ballots to every registered voter no later than 29 days before an election. Existing law authorizes a jurisdiction to begin processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes and, if the jurisdiction has the necessary computer capability, vote by mail ballots 29 days before an election.

This bill would authorize elections officials to begin processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes and vote by mail ballots on the date on which the ballots are mailed, thereby allowing elections officials to begin processing vote by mail return envelopes and ballots earlier than 29 days before an election.

Existing law requires elections officials to begin mailing ballots to every registered voter no later than 29 days before an election. Existing law authorizes a jurisdiction to begin processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes and, if the jurisdiction has the necessary computer capability, vote by mail ballots 29 days before an election.

This bill would instead require authorize elections officials to begin processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes and vote by mail ballots on the date on which the ballots are mailed. By requiring local elections officials to begin processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes and vote by mail ballots at an earlier time, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. mailed, thereby allowing elections officials to begin processing vote by mail return envelopes and ballots earlier than 29 days before an election.

Existing law authorizes a jurisdiction to begin processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes and, if the jurisdiction has the necessary computer capability, vote by mail ballots 29 days before an election.

This bill would instead require elections officials to begin processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes and vote by mail ballots on the date on which the ballots are mailed. By requiring local elections officials to begin processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes and vote by mail ballots at an earlier time, this 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.

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:AB 16

Author:(Alanis)

As Amended Ver:September 4, 2025

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Conforms state law governing the processing of vote by mail (VBM) ballot return envelopes and ballots to a recent change in state law that allows elections officials to begin sending VBM ballots to voters earlier than the 29th day before the election.

Senate Amendments

Add double-jointing language to avoid chaptering issues with SB 3 (Cervantes) of the current legislative session.

COMMENTS

Until recently, state law required county elections officials to begin mailing VBM ballots to most voters on the 29th day prior to an election. AB 49 (Cervantes), Chapter 553, Statutes of 2019, however, required elections officials to begin sending VBM ballots no later than the 29th day before the election. As a result, some counties begin mailing VBM ballots earlier than the 29th day before the election. In those counties, some VBM ballots may be returned to the elections official before the 29th day before the election, which is the first day that existing law allows elections officials to begin processing VBM ballot return envelopes and VBM ballots that have been returned by voters.

This bill allows county elections officials to begin processing VBM ballot return envelopes and VBM ballots on the date on which ballots are mailed. That change may have a modest effect on elections officials′ ability to pre-process VBM ballot return envelopes and ballots before election day.

Unlike most ballots that are cast in-person at vote centers and polling places, VBM ballots generally are returned in envelopes that link the ballots back to the voters to whom they were issued, and must undergo additional verification before those envelopes can be opened. That verification includes a comparison of the signature on each 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 completed and returned the ballot. Once that verification is complete, the envelope can be opened and the ballot can be prepared for counting. California law currently allows all county elections officials to begin processing VBM ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election, and allows jurisdictions having the ″necessary computer capability″ to begin processing VBM ballots beginning the 29th day before the election. While actual vote tallies from those VBM ballots cannot be accessed by any person (including the elections official) or released to the public until 8 p.m. on election day, counties are able to scan those ballots through the voting system prior to election day. Once the polls are closed, the elections official instructs the voting system to tabulate and release the results of those already-scanned VBM ballots. Those ballots typically are the first results released by county elections officials on election night, often within 20 minutes of the time that the polls close, and may represent a substantial portion of the total number of ballots that ultimately are cast in the election. The City and County of San Francisco, for example, released the results for nearly 48% of the total number of ballots cast in the county at the November 2024 statewide general election shortly after 8 p.m. on the night of the election.

The limitation that counties must have ″necessary computer capability″ in order to begin processing VBM ballots before the day before the election dates back to 1975, when some counties still tallied ballots manually rather than by a computerized voting system. This restriction appears to be intended to prevent those counties from manually tallying ballots before the day before the election, potentially due to concerns that the process of manually tallying ballots would make election results publicly available before election day. It appears, however, that no California county has conducted a full manual tally of all ballots cast at a statewide election since 1984. Accordingly, the language related to counties having ″necessary computer capability″ in order to begin processing VBM ballots earlier appears to be obsolete. This bill deletes that language.

The Senate amendments make technical, non-substantive changes to address conflicts with other pending legislation. This bill, as amended in the Senate, is consistent with prior Assembly actions.

According to the Author

″AB 16… [allows] county election officials to begin processing and counting vote-by-mail ballots as soon as ballots are mailed. This will allow us to begin verifying signatures, processing ballots, and preparing them for machine counting without compromising the integrity of the election process. In the end, this bill is about transparency, efficiency, and public confidence in our elections. We owe it to our constituents to make sure that their voices are counted as quickly and accurately as possible.″

Arguments in Support

None received to the current version of the bill.

Arguments in Opposition

In opposition to this bill, Election Integrity Project California writes, "A lack of uniformity in the ballot mailing timeline presents a special challenge for candidates whose districts cross county lines. If one county mails out their ballots right 'on time,' but an adjoining county that candidate would also represent sends their ballots early, the candidate's ability to reach all of the potential constituents consistently in a fair and meaningful way is heavily impacted. AB 16 also enhances the probability that ballots will be processed in even more counties before ballots in other counties are even mailed out. This introduces yet more chaos into an already completely out-of-control election process in this state. California's election system cries out for more standardization and much less county autonomy. It also cries out for meaningful legislation that actually moves the needle…As it stands, AB 16 will make minor changes that accomplish nothing."

FISCAL COMMENTS

None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.

VOTES:

ASM ELECTIONS: 7-0-0

YES: Pellerin, Macedo, Bennett, Berman, Solache, Stefani, Tangipa

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 75-0-4

YES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bauer-Kahan, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Haney, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Ransom, Celeste Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas

ABS, ABST OR NV: Bains, Bennett, Ellis, Lee

UPDATED

VERSION: September 4, 2025

CONSULTANT: Ethan Jones / ELECTIONS / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0001750

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 16

Author: Alanis (R)

Amended: 9/4/25 in Senate

Vote: 21

SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 5-0, 7/1/25

AYES: Cervantes, Choi, Allen, Limón, Umberg

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 75-0, 5/5/25 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Vote by mail ballots: processing

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill permits election officials to begin processing vote by mail (VBM) return envelopes and VBM ballots on the day VBM ballots are mailed.

Senate Floor Amendments of 9/4/25 address chaptering issues between this bill and SB 3 (Cervantes) of 2025.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Requires an elections official to mail a ballot to every active registered voter for every election in which the voter is eligible to participate and to begin mailing VBM ballots no later than 29 days before the election.
2. Permits any jurisdiction to process VBM ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election. Processing VBM ballot return envelopes may include verifying the voter’s signature on the envelope and updating voter history records.
3. Permits any jurisdiction having the necessary computer capability to start processing VBM ballots on the 29th day before the election. Provides that processing VBM ballots includes opening VBM return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating damaged ballots, preparing ballots to be machine read, or processing ballots through the machine. All other jurisdictions are required to start processing VBM ballots at 5 p.m. on the day before the election.
4. Prohibits a vote count from being accessed or released until 8 p.m. on Election Day.

This bill permits election officials to begin processing VBM return envelopes and VBM ballots on the day VBM ballots are mailed.

Background

Vote by Mail. Californians have increasingly relied on VBM ballots to cast a vote. According to the Secretary of State’s office, the 1962 general election saw 2.63% of Californian voters vote by mail. For the 2024 presidential general election, 80.76% of Californian voters voted by mail. This massive increase in mail voting over the past 60 years is a result of many factors ranging from legislation expanding access to VBM ballots, paid postage on return envelopes, and additional elected offices resulting in longer, sometimes more complicated, and time-consuming ballots.

Restriction on Pre-Processing of VBM Ballots. The limitation that counties must have “necessary computer capability” in order to begin processing VBM ballots a day before the election dates back to 1975, when some counties still tallied ballots manually rather than by a computerized voting system. This restriction appears to be intended to prevent those counties from manually tallying ballots the day before the election, potentially due to concerns that the process would make election results publicly available before Election Day. It should be noted that no California county has conducted a full manual tally of all ballots cast at a statewide election since 1984 and the language related to counties having “necessary computer capability” in order to begin processing VBM ballots earlier appears to be obsolete.

Comments

Author’s Statement. Recent elections have revealed a significant deficiency in the state’s ability to process and count VBM ballots in a timely manner. The sheer volume of ballots requires additional verification steps and, unfortunately, that has led to delays in providing election results to the public. Voters, candidates, and the public have grown increasingly frustrated with these delays, and that frustration undermines trust in our electoral system. This bill addresses this issue by requiring county election officials to begin processing and counting VBM ballots as soon as ballots are mailed. This will allow them to begin verifying signatures, processing ballots, and preparing them for machine counting without compromising the integrity of the election process. As a whole, this bill is about transparency, efficiency, and public confidence in our elections.

Related/Prior Legislation

AB 37 (Berman, Chapter 312, Statutes of 2021), among other changes to VBM ballots, changed the starting date that counties were permitted to process VBM ballots from 15 business days before an election to 29 days before an election if the jurisdiction has the necessary computer capability. This practice was permitted for the November 3, 2020, statewide general election pursuant to AB 860 (Berman, Chapter 4, Statutes of 2020) and AB 37 made the change permanent.

AB 3370 (Committee on Elections and Redistricting, Chapter 106, Statutes of 2020), among other changes, modified the starting date that counties were permitted to process VBM ballots from 10 business days before an election to 15 business days before an election other than the November 3, 2020, statewide general election if the jurisdiction has the necessary computer capability.

SB 29 (Correa, Chapter 618, Statutes of 2014), among other changes, changed the starting date that counties were permitted to process VBM ballots from seven business days before an election to 10 business days before an election if the jurisdiction has the necessary computer capability.

AB 2606 (Keysor, Chapter 1275, Statutes of 1976), among other changes, permitted counties with the necessary computer capability to begin processing “absent voter ballots” on the fifth day prior to the election.

AB 50 (Unruh, Chapter 794, Statutes of 1961) required election officials to begin processing “absent voter ballots” at any time following the third day prior to an election.

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

SUPPORT: (Verified 9/4/25)

None received

OPPOSITION: (Verified 9/4/25)

Election Integrity Project California, Inc.

One individual

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:

In a letter opposing AB 16, Election Integrity Project California, Inc., stated, in part, the following:

We must assume that a move to authorize earlier ballot processing has as its goal shortening the gap between California’s outrageous 30-days-after Election Day certification deadline and the other 49 states’ ability to certify within a day or two after Election Day. To that end, AB 16 accomplishes nothing.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 75-0, 5/5/25

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bauer-Kahan, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Haney, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Ransom, Celeste Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas

NO VOTE RECORDED: Bains, Bennett, Ellis, Lee

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

9/8/25 21:05:53

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Senator Sabrina Cervantes, Chair

2025 - 2026 Regular

Bill No: AB Hearing Date: 7/1/25

Subject: Vote by mail ballots: processing

DIGEST

This bill permits election officials to begin processing vote by mail (VBM) return envelopes and VBM ballots on the day VBM ballots are mailed.

ANALYSIS

Existing law:

1. Requires an elections official to mail a ballot to every active registered voter for every election in which the voter is eligible to participate and to begin mailing VBM ballots no later than 29 days before the election.
2. Permits any jurisdiction to process VBM ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election. Processing VBM ballot return envelopes may include verifying the voter’s signature on the envelope and updating voter history records.
3. Permits any jurisdiction having the necessary computer capability to start processing VBM ballots on the 29th day before the election. Provides that processing VBM ballots includes opening VBM return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating damaged ballots, preparing ballots to be machine read, or processing ballots through the machine. All other jurisdictions are required to start processing VBM ballots at 5 p.m. on the day before the election.
4. Prohibits a vote count from being accessed or released until 8 p.m. on Election Day.

This bill permits election officials to begin processing VBM return envelopes and VBM ballots on the day VBM ballots are mailed.

BACKGROUND

Vote by Mail. Californians have increasingly relied on VBM ballots to cast a vote. According to the Secretary of State’s office, the 1962 general election saw 2.63% of Californian voters vote by mail. For the 2024 presidential general election, 80.76% of Californian voters voted by mail. This massive increase in mail voting over the past 60 years is a result of many factors ranging from legislation expanding access to VBM ballots, paid postage on return envelopes, and additional elected offices resulting in longer, sometimes more complicated, and time-consuming ballots. Below is a table of recent statewide elections and the percentage of VBM ballots in that election:

*Data compiled from reports from the Secretary of State’s website.

Restriction on Pre-Processing of VBM Ballots. The limitation that counties must have “necessary computer capability” in order to begin processing VBM ballots a day before the election dates back to 1975, when some counties still tallied ballots manually rather than by a computerized voting system. This restriction appears to be intended to prevent those counties from manually tallying ballots the day before the election, potentially due to concerns that the process would make election results publicly available before Election Day. It should be noted that no California county has conducted a full manual tally of all ballots cast at a statewide election since 1984 and the language related to counties having “necessary computer capability” in order to begin processing VBM ballots earlier appears to be obsolete.

COMMENTS

1. Author’s Statement. Recent elections have revealed a significant deficiency in the state’s ability to process and count VBM ballots in a timely manner. The sheer volume of ballots requires additional verification steps and, unfortunately, that has led to delays in providing election results to the public. Voters, candidates, and the public have grown increasingly frustrated with these delays, and that frustration undermines trust in our electoral system. This bill addresses this issue by requiring county election officials to begin processing and counting VBM ballots as soon as ballots are mailed. This will allow them to begin verifying signatures, processing ballots, and preparing them for machine counting without compromising the integrity of the election process. As a whole, this bill is about transparency, efficiency, and public confidence in our elections.
2. Speeding Up the Count. The author contends this bill will increase efficiency in the vote counting process. According to the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, it does not appear that there are any counties lacking computer capabilities that wait until the day before Election Day to begin processing VBM ballots. Counties typically process most VBM ballots that have arrived in the weeks prior to the week of the election. The bulk of VBM ballots is usually delivered to election officials on the day before Election Day, on Election Day, and in the days immediately following Election Day. This is a main reason for prolonged vote counts. Additional funding for staff and technology to process VBM ballots as well as a public education campaign would be needed to convince Californians to return their VBM ballots earlier. This would help expedite VBM ballot processing. While helpful in cleaning up the Elections Code and providing election officials with some additional time to process VBM ballots on the front end, it is doubtful that this bill will not have a sweeping effect on increasing the timeliness of election results.
3. Argument in Opposition. In a letter opposing AB 16, Election Integrity Project California, Inc., stated, in part, the following:

We must assume that a move to authorize earlier ballot processing has as its goal shortening the gap between California’s outrageous 30-days-after Election Day certification deadline and the other 49 states’ ability to certify within a day or two after Election Day. To that end, AB 16 accomplishes nothing.

RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION

SB 3 (Cervantes) of 2025, among other changes to the signature verification process for VBM ballot envelopes, includes the verification of signature cure statements as one of the procedures that is publicly observable. The bill is pending consideration in the Assembly.

AB 37 (Berman), Chapter 312, Statutes of 2021, among other changes to VBM ballots, changed the starting date that counties were permitted to process VBM ballots from 15 business days before an election to 29 days before an election if the jurisdiction has the necessary computer capability. This practice was permitted for the November 3, 2020, statewide general election pursuant to AB 860 (Berman), Chapter 4, Statutes of 2020, and AB 37 made the change permanent.

AB 3370 (Committee on Elections and Redistricting), Chapter 106, Statutes of 2020, among other changes, modified the starting date that counties were permitted to process VBM ballots from 10 business days before an election to 15 business days before an election other than the November 3, 2020, statewide general election if the jurisdiction has the necessary computer capability.

SB 29 (Correa), Chapter 618, Statutes of 2014, among other changes, changed the starting date that counties were permitted to process VBM ballots from seven business days before an election to 10 business days before an election if the jurisdiction has the necessary computer capability.

AB 2606 (Keysor), Chapter 1275, Statutes of 1976, among other changes, permitted counties with the necessary computer capability to begin processing “absent voter ballots” on the fifth day prior to the election.

AB 50 (Unruh), Chapter 794, Statutes of 1961, required election officials to begin processing “absent voter ballots” at any time following the third day prior to an election.

PRIOR ACTION

POSITIONS

Sponsor: Author

Support: None received

Oppose: Election Integrity Project California, Inc.

One individual

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 16

Author:(Alanis)

As Amended Ver:April 21, 2025

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Conforms state law governing the processing of vote by mail (VBM) ballot return envelopes and ballots to a recent change in state law that allows elections officials to begin sending VBM ballots to voters earlier than the 29th day before the election.

Major Provisions

1. Permits a county elections officials to begin processing VBM ballot return envelopes and ballots on the date on which ballots are mailed, instead of requiring the official to wait until the 29th day before the election, as is the case under existing law.
2. Repeals a requirement that a jurisdiction must have ″the necessary computer capability″ in order to begin to process VBM ballots before 5 p.m. on the day before the election.

COMMENTS

Until recently, state law required county elections officials to begin mailing VBM ballots to most voters on the 29th day prior to an election. AB 49 (Cervantes), Chapter 553, Statutes of 2019, however, required elections officials to begin sending VBM ballots no later than the 29th day before the election. As a result, some counties begin mailing VBM ballots earlier than the 29th day before the election. In those counties, some VBM ballots may be returned to the elections official before the 29th day before the election, which is the first day that existing law allows elections officials to begin processing VBM ballot return envelopes and VBM ballots that have been returned by voters.

This bill allows county elections officials to begin processing VBM ballot return envelopes and VBM ballots on the date on which ballots are mailed. That change may have a modest effect on elections officials′ ability to pre-process VBM ballot return envelopes and ballots before election day.

Unlike most ballots that are cast in-person at vote centers and polling places, VBM ballots generally are returned in envelopes that link the ballots back to the voters to whom they were issued, and must undergo additional verification before those envelopes can be opened. That verification includes a comparison of the signature on each 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 completed and returned the ballot. Once that verification is complete, the envelope can be opened and the ballot can be prepared for counting. California law currently allows all county elections officials to begin processing VBM ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election, and allows jurisdictions having the ″necessary computer capability″ to begin processing VBM ballots beginning the 29th day before the election. While actual vote tallies from those VBM ballots cannot be accessed by any person (including the elections official) or released to the public until 8 p.m. on election day, counties are able to scan those ballots through the voting system prior to election day. Once the polls are closed, the elections official instructs the voting system to tabulate and release the results of those already-scanned VBM ballots. Those ballots typically are the first results released by county elections officials on election night, often within 20 minutes of the time that the polls close, and may represent a substantial portion of the total number of ballots that ultimately are cast in the election. The City and County of San Francisco, for example, released the results for nearly 48% of the total number of ballots cast in the county at the November 2024 statewide general election shortly after 8 p.m. on the night of the election.

The limitation that counties must have ″necessary computer capability″ in order to begin processing VBM ballots before the day before the election dates back to 1975, when some counties still tallied ballots manually rather than by a computerized voting system. This restriction appears to be intended to prevent those counties from manually tallying ballots before the day before the election, potentially due to concerns that the process of manually tallying ballots would make election results publicly available before election day. It appears, however, that no California county has conducted a full manual tally of all ballots cast at a statewide election since 1984. Accordingly, the language related to counties having ″necessary computer capability″ in order to begin processing VBM ballots earlier appears to be obsolete. This bill deletes that language.

According to the Author

″AB 16… [allows] county election officials to begin processing and counting vote-by-mail ballots as soon as ballots are mailed. This will allow us to begin verifying signatures, processing ballots, and preparing them for machine counting without compromising the integrity of the election process. In the end, this bill is about transparency, efficiency, and public confidence in our elections. We owe it to our constituents to make sure that their voices are counted as quickly and accurately as possible.″

Arguments in Support

None received to the current version of the bill.

Arguments in Opposition

None on file.

FISCAL COMMENTS

None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.

VOTES

ASM ELECTIONS: 7-0-0

YES: Pellerin, Macedo, Bennett, Berman, Solache, Stefani, Tangipa

UPDATED

VERSION: April 21, 2025

CONSULTANT: Ethan Jones / ELECTIONS / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0000247

Date of Hearing: April 9, 2025

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS

Gail Pellerin, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 16 (

Author:Alanis) – As Introduced Ver:December 2, 2024

SUBJECT: Vote by mail ballots: processing.

SUMMARY: Removes discretion from county elections officials on whether to begin to process vote by mail (VBM) ballot return envelopes and ballots prior to the election, and instead requires elections officials to begin to process those materials before election day. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires elections officials to begin to process VBM ballot return envelopes on the date on which ballots are mailed, rather than permitting elections officials to begin 29 days before the election, as is the case under existing law.
2. Requires elections officials to begin to process VBM ballots on the date on which ballots are mailed, rather than permitting elections officials to begin on the 29th day before the election, as is the case under existing law. Repeals a requirement that a jurisdiction must have “the necessary computer capability” in order to begin to process VBM ballots before 5 p.m. on the day before the election.
3. Makes technical and conforming changes.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires an elections official to mail a ballot to every active registered voter for every election in which the voter is eligible to participate. Requires the elections official to begin mailing VBM ballots not later than 29 days before the election, as specified. (Elections Code §§3000.5, 3001, 3010)
   
2. Permits any jurisdiction to process VBM ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election. Provides that processing VBM ballot return envelopes may include verifying the voter’s signature on the envelope and updating voter history records, as specified. (Elections Code §15101(a))
   
3. Permits any jurisdiction having the necessary computer capability to start processing VBM ballots on the 29th day before the election. Provides that processing VBM ballots includes opening VBM return envelopes, removing ballots, duplicating damaged ballots, and preparing ballots to be machine read, or machine reading them, including processing write-in votes so that they can be tallied by the machine. Prohibits a vote count from being accessed or released until 8 p.m. on the day of the election. Requires all other jurisdictions to start processing VBM ballots at 5 p.m. on the day before the election. (Elections Code §15101(b))
   

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. State-mandated local program; contains reimbursement direction.

COMMENTS:

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

Recent elections have revealed a significant deficiency in our ability to process and count vote-by-mail ballots in a timely manner. In the 2024 general election… more than 9.3 million votes were cast by mail or early in-person voting. The sheer volume of ballots requires additional verification steps, and unfortunately, that’s led to delays in providing election results to the public. In fact, it took nearly a month before California could declare winners in key races like the 13th Congressional District and the 58th Assembly District. Voters, candidates, and the public have grown increasingly frustrated with these delays, and that frustration undermines trust in our election system. AB 16 addresses this issue by requiring county election officials to begin processing and counting vote-by-mail ballots as soon as ballots are mailed. This will allow us to begin verifying signatures, processing ballots, and preparing them for machine counting without compromising the integrity of the election process. In the end, this bill is about transparency, efficiency, and public confidence in our elections. We owe it to our constituents to make sure that their voices are counted as quickly and accurately as possible.

1. Processing Ballots and Reporting of Election Results: As detailed above, the author of this bill argues that the speed at which California finalizes election results and certifies elections can undermine trust in the state’s elections. While the desire to have final election results available sooner is understandable, the committee should consider whether there is an actual problem, rather than a perceived problem, with the current time frame to finalize election results.
   
   To the extent that the committee believes that the speed at which election results are finalized is an actual problem that is in need of a policy solution, there are a variety of potential approaches to speeding the rate at which election results are finalized. Each of those approaches, however, would involve policy and/or budgetary tradeoffs. For example, significant additional funding for staff, ballot processing equipment, and processing facilities could help expedite election results.
   
   As discussed in more detail below, existing law already allows county elections officials in California to process VBM ballot return envelopes and ballots before election day, and it appears that most (if not all) county elections officials already do so. Accordingly, it is unclear whether this bill would have a significant effect on the speed at which election results are finalized. On the other hand, this bill would allow elections officials to begin processing those ballots slightly earlier under circumstances, which could improve efficiency of elections officials’ operations.
2. Pre-Processing of VBM Ballots Return Envelopes and Ballots: Unlike most ballots that are cast in-person at vote centers and polling places, VBM ballots generally are returned in envelopes that link the ballots back to the voters to whom they were issued, and must undergo additional verification before those envelopes can be opened. That verification includes a comparison of the signature on each 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 completed and returned the ballot. Once that verification process is complete, the envelope can be opened and the ballot can be prepared for counting.
   
   The issue of processing of VBM ballots (referred to as “absentee ballots” in some other states) prior to election day has gained increased national attention in recent elections, in part because some states do not allow elections officials to process VBM ballots prior to election day. In those states, the inability of elections officials to process ballots before election day can delay the reporting of election results, because verification of information on VBM ballot return envelopes can be time consuming. According to information from the National Conference of State Legislatures, seven states (Alabama, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wisconsin) and Washington D.C., do not permit elections officials to begin processing VBM ballots before election day.
   
   California law, on the other hand, has allowed VBM ballots to be processed before election day since at least 1961 (those ballots were referred to as “absent voter ballots” under state law at the time). As detailed above, California law currently allows all county elections officials to begin processing VBM ballot return envelopes beginning 29 days before the election, and allows jurisdictions having the “necessary computer capability” to begin processing VBM ballots beginning the 29th day before the election.
   
   In short, all 58 California counties have the ability under existing law to process both VBM ballot return envelopes and VBM ballots beginning on the 29th day before the election. While actual vote tallies from those VBM ballots cannot be accessed by any person (including the elections official) or released to the public until 8 p.m. on election day, counties are able to scan those ballots through the voting system prior to election day. Once the polls are closed, the elections official instructs the voting system to tabulate and release the results of those already-scanned VBM ballots. Those ballots typically are the first results released by county elections officials on election night, often within 20 minutes of the time that the polls close, and may represent a substantial portion of the total number of ballots that ultimately are cast in the election. The City and County of San Francisco, for example, released the results for nearly 48% of the total number of ballots cast in the county at the November 2024 statewide general election shortly after 8 p.m. on the night of the election.
   
   As detailed above, the author of this bill has expressed concern that “[r]ecent elections have revealed a significant deficiency in our ability to process and count [VBM] ballots in a timely manner.” While it is true that VBM ballots generally take more time to process and count than ballots cast at polling places or vote centers, it is not clear whether legal restrictions on the pre-processing of VBM ballot return envelopes and VBM ballots before election day have a significant effect on the speed at which VBM ballots are processed and election results are released after election day. Existing law allows elections officials to begin processing VBM ballots before election day, and allows verified VBM ballots to be run through ballot tabulators before election day, provided that the elections official does not access or release election results before 8 p.m. on the day of the election. By election day, county elections officials generally have processed a substantial majority of VBM ballots that were received by the weekend before the election, and have run those ballots through ballot tabulators.
   
   A more significant barrier to including a larger number of VBM ballots in vote totals that are released on election night is the fact that a large number of VBM ballots are not returned until election day, or very shortly before. For example, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters’ office told the New York Times that voters dropped off 1 million VBM ballots on election day in the county at the November 2024 statewide general election. Due to other tasks that election workers had to perform on election day, the county was not able to begin the processing of those VBM ballot envelopes and ballots until after election day.
   
   Furthermore, in an effort to ensure that voters are not disenfranchised due to delays in mail delivery, California law allows ballots that are mailed by election day to be counted as long as they are received by the elections official by the seventh day after the election. Elections officials obviously cannot begin processing those VBM ballot return envelopes and ballots before they have been received.
   
   It appears, then, that logistical barriers are a larger factor than legal restrictions on the inability for county elections officials to count more VBM ballots prior to election day. As a result, other efforts may be more effective at increasing the speed at which VBM ballots are tabulated and results are released than the changes proposed by this bill. For example, a voter education campaign that encouraged voters to return their VBM ballots earlier, or to take advantage of in-person voting opportunities, could reduce the number of VBM ballots that need to be verified, processed, and counted after election day.
   
   Similarly, more widespread implementation of a recently-enacted state law could reduce the number of VBM ballots that need to undergo signature verification. Specifically, AB 626 (Pellerin), Chapter 661, Statutes of 2023, allows a voter to go to an in-person voting location with their marked VBM ballot, sign the roster at the voting location, and place the marked VBM ballot into the ballot box without an envelope, if specified conditions are met. In this case, the voter is treated as an in-person voter, and because these ballots are placed into the ballot box without an envelope, the elections official does not need to verify a signature on a ballot return envelope before the ballot can be counted. Not all counties meet the conditions imposed by AB 626, however, so that option is not available to every voter in California.
   
   However, while those changes may be more effective at increasing the speed at which VBM ballots are tabulated and results are released, they may also require additional resources or involve additional policy tradeoffs that are beyond the scope of this analysis.
3. Elections Officials’ Discretion and Potential Amendment: Current law gives elections officials discretion on whether to pre-process VBM ballot return envelopes and VBM ballots, while this bill would remove that discretion and make such tasks mandatory beginning on the date that the county mails VBM ballots to voters. County elections officials generally strive to pre-process as many VBM ballots before election day as possible without compromising preparing for or conducting the election. As a result, it seems unlikely that removing this discretion will have a significant effect on the number of VBM ballots that are able to be processed before election day.
   
   This bill could, however, require elections officials to be less efficient in preparing for and conducting elections. For example, this bill could be interpreted to require a county elections official to begin processing VBM ballot return envelopes and VBM ballots even if only a small handful of VBM ballots have been returned. Under existing law, an elections official might wait until a critical mass of VBM ballots had been received before beginning processing of those ballots, so that staff and other resources can be used more efficiently when preparing for and conducting the election.
   
   On the other hand, this bill does not require a county to complete the processing of VBM ballot return envelopes and ballots by any specific time; instead, it merely requires counties to begin that processing. Counties generally log returned VBM ballots as soon as they receive them, which is one of the steps involved in processing VBM ballot envelopes. As such, it appears that a county’s logging of VBM ballots as soon as they are received would meet the requirement to begin to process VBM ballot return envelopes.
   
   Nonetheless, to ensure that this bill does not create inefficiencies for elections officials, the committee may wish to consider amending this bill to reinstate county elections officials’ discretion on when to begin processing VBM ballot return envelopes and ballots.
4. Restriction on Pre-Processing of VBM Ballots: The limitation that counties must have “necessary computer capability” in order to begin processing VBM ballots before the day before the election dates back to 1975, when some counties still tallied ballots manually rather than by a computerized voting system. This restriction appears to be intended to prevent those counties from manually tallying ballots before the day before the election, potentially due to concerns that the process of manually tallying ballots would make election results publicly available before election day. It appears, however, that no California county has conducted a full manual tally of all ballots cast at a statewide election since 1984. Accordingly, the language related to counties having “necessary computer capability” in order to begin processing VBM ballots earlier appears to be obsolete.
5. Previous Legislation: Until recently, state law required county elections officials to begin mailing VBM ballots to most voters on the 29th day prior to an election. AB 49 (Cervantes), Chapter 553, Statutes of 2019, however, required elections officials to begin sending VBM ballots no later than the 29th day before the election. As a result, some counties begin mailing VBM ballots earlier than the 29th day before the election. In those counties, some VBM ballots may be returned to the elections official before the 29th day before the election, which is the first day that existing law allows elections officials to begin processing VBM ballot return envelopes and VBM ballots that have been returned by voters.
   
   This bill requires county elections officials to begin processing VBM ballot return envelopes and VBM ballots on the date on which ballots are mailed. That change may have a modest effect on elections officials’ ability to pre-process VBM ballot return envelopes and ballots before election day.
6. Related Legislation: AB 5 (Berman), which is also being heard in this committee today, requires county elections officials to report election results for all ballots, except ballots requiring special processing, by the 10th day after the election.
   
   AB 25 (DeMaio), which is also being heard in this committee today, requires an elections official to count all ballots, except provisional ballots and VBM ballots for which the voter has the opportunity either to verify their signature or to provide a signature, by no later than 72 hours after the election, among other provisions.
   
   AB 1214 (Patterson), which is also being heard in this committee today, reduces the amount of time that elections officials have to complete the official canvass of the election and certify the election from 30 days to 21 days, among other provisions.
   
   SB 3 (Cervantes) requires a county elections official, beginning the Thursday after an election, to post updated election results on their website at least twice a week, rather than once a week as is required under existing law, among other provisions. SB 3 is pending in the Senate Elections & Constitutional Amendments Committee.
   
   SB 407 (Choi) requires elections officials to certify results within 10 days of an election, among other provisions. SB 407 is pending in the Senate Elections & Constitutional Amendments Committee.
   
7. Arguments in Support: In support of this bill, Election Integrity Project, California, writes, “While complete certification of election results cannot be produced by California in a legitimate time frame until several laws are modified or eliminated, forbidding a delay in beginning to process ballots is a step in the right direction.”

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Election Integrity Project, California

Opposition

None on file.

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