Today's Law As Amended


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AB-1271 Elections: vote by mail ballots.(2009-2010)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.

 Section 3001 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

3001.
 No later than 29 days before the day of the election, the county elections official shall begin mailing the materials required by Section 3010. The county elections official shall have five days to mail a ballot to each active registered voter by  Except as provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 3200) and Sections 3007.5 and 3007.7, application for a vote by mail ballot shall be made in writing to and received by the elections official having jurisdiction over the election between the 29th and the 7th day prior to the election. The application shall be signed by the applicant and shall show his or her place of residence. An application received by the elections official prior to  the 29th day before the day of the election and five days for each voter who registers to vote after that date. The county elections official shall not discriminate against any region or precinct in the county in choosing which ballots to mail first within the prescribed five-day mailing  shall be kept and processed during the application  period.

SEC. 2.

 Section 3009 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

3009.
 (a) Upon receipt of a vote by mail ballot application signed by the voter that arrives within the proper time, the elections official should determine if the signature and residence address on the ballot application appear to be the same as that on the original affidavit of registration. The elections official may make this signature check upon receiving the voted ballot, but the signature must be compared before the vote by mail voter ballot is canvassed.
(b) If the elections official deems the applicant entitled to a vote by mail ballot, he or she shall deliver by mail or in person the appropriate ballot. The ballot may be delivered to the applicant or an authorized representative of the applicant, except that in no case shall the ballot be delivered to an individual under 16 years of age. The elections official shall deliver the vote by mail ballot to the authorized representative of the applicant only if that person signs a statement attested to under penalty of perjury that provides the name of the applicant, and affirms that the person receiving the ballot is 16 years of age or older and is authorized by the applicant to deliver the vote by mail ballot.
(c) (1) If the elections official determines that an application does not contain all of the information prescribed in Section 3001 or 3006, or for any other reason is defective, and the elections official is able to ascertain the voter’s address, the elections official shall, within one working day of receiving the application, mail the voter a vote by mail voter’s ballot together with a notice. The notice shall inform the voter that the voter’s vote by mail ballot shall not be counted unless the applicant provides the elections official with the missing information or corrects the defects prior to, or at the time of, receipt of the voter’s executed vote by mail ballot. The notice shall specifically inform the voter of the information that is required or the reason for the defects in the application, and shall state the procedure necessary to remedy the defective application.
(2) If the voter substantially complies with the requirements contained in the notice provided by the elections official, the voter’s ballot shall be counted.
(3) In determining from the records of registration if the signature and residence address on the application appear to be the same as that on the original affidavit of registration, the elections official or registrar of voters may use the duplicate file of affidavits of registered voters or the facsimiles of voter’s signatures, provided that the method of preparing and displaying the facsimiles complies with law.

SEC. 3.

 Section 3017 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

3017.
 (a) (1) A  All  vote by mail ballots ballot  cast under this division shall be voted on or before the day of the election. After marking the ballot, the vote by mail voter shall do any either  of the following: (1) return the ballot by mail or in person to the elections official from whom it came or (2) return the ballot in person to a member of a precinct board at a polling place within the jurisdiction. However, a vote by mail voter who is unable to return the ballot, may designate an authorized representative to return the ballot to the elections official from whom it came or to the precinct board at any polling place within the jurisdiction. The ballot must, however, be received by either the elections official from whom it came or the precinct board before the close of the polls on election day. 
(A) Return the ballot by mail or in person to the elections official who issued the ballot.
(B) Return the ballot in person to a member of a precinct board at a polling place or vote center within the state.
(C) Return the ballot to a vote by mail ballot dropoff location within the state that is provided pursuant to Section 3025 or 4005.
(2) A vote by mail voter who is unable to return the ballot may designate another person to return the ballot to the elections official who issued the ballot, to the precinct board at a polling place or vote center within the state, or to a vote by mail ballot dropoff location within the state that is provided pursuant to Section 3025 or 4005. The person designated shall return the ballot in person, or put the ballot in the mail, no later than three days after receiving it from the voter or before the close of the polls on election day, whichever time period is shorter. Notwithstanding subdivision (d), a ballot shall not be disqualified from being counted solely because it was returned or mailed more than three days after the designated person received it from the voter, provided that the ballot is returned by the designated person before the close of polls on election day.
(3) The ballot must be received by the elections official who issued the ballot, the precinct board, or the vote by mail ballot dropoff location before the close of the polls on election day. If a vote by mail ballot is returned to a precinct board at a polling place or vote center, or to a vote by mail ballot dropoff location, that is located in a county that is not the county of the elections official who issued the ballot, the elections official for the county in which the vote by mail ballot is returned shall forward the ballot to the elections official who issued the ballot no later than eight days after receipt.
(b) The elections official shall establish procedures to ensure the secrecy of a ballot returned to a precinct  polling place and the security, confidentiality, and integrity of any  personal information collected, stored, or otherwise used pursuant to this section.
(c) On or before March 1, 2008, the elections official shall establish procedures to track and confirm the receipt of voted vote by mail ballots and to make this information available by means of online access using the county’s elections division Internet Web site. If the county does not have an elections division Internet Web site, the elections official shall establish a toll-free telephone number that may be used to confirm the date a voted vote by mail ballot was received.
(d) The provisions of this section are mandatory, not directory, and a no  ballot shall not  be counted if it is not delivered in compliance with this section.
(e) (1) A person designated to return a vote by mail ballot shall not receive any form of compensation based on the number of ballots that the person returns and an individual, group, or organization shall not provide compensation on this basis.
(2) For purposes of this paragraph, “compensation” means any form of monetary payment, goods, services, benefits, promises or offers of employment, or any other form of consideration offered to another person in exchange for returning another voter’s vote by mail ballot.
(3) A person in charge of a vote by mail ballot and who knowingly and willingly engages in criminal acts related to that ballot as described in Division 18 (commencing with Section 18000), including, but not limited to, fraud, bribery, intimidation, and tampering with or failing to deliver the ballot in a timely fashion, is subject to the appropriate punishment specified in that division.

SEC. 4.

 Section 3025 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

3025.
 For purposes of this chapter, “authorized representative” means a person who is designated in writing by a voter to the elections official to receive, return, or both receive and return the voter’s vote by mail ballot. Except for an authorized representative of a candidate or the spouse of a candidate, an authorized representative shall not be a candidate or the spouse of a candidate, or a paid or volunteer worker of a general purpose committee, controlled committee, independent expenditure committee, political party, campaign committee of a candidate, or any other group or organization at whose behest the individual designated to receive the ballot, return the ballot, or both receive and return the ballot is performing a service.
SEC. 5.
 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.