Today's Law As Amended


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AB-1340 Special absentee voters.(2009-2010)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.

 Section 3102 of the Elections Code, as amended by Section 1 of Chapter 252 of the Statutes of 2008, is amended to read:

3102.
 (a) Any voter who qualifies as a military or overseas voter pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 300 shall have the right to register for, and to vote in, any election within the state, including any general, special, or primary election for any federal or statewide office or state ballot measure that is voted on statewide. Any voter who qualifies as a military or overseas voter pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 300 shall also have the right to register for, and to vote in, any other election for any office or ballot measure held in the precinct in which the voter was a resident when the voter was last living within the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia, or, for a military or overseas voter qualified pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 321, in any precinct of the state in which the voter’s parent or legal guardian resided when the parent or legal guardian last lived within the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia. Applications for the ballots of special absentee voters shall be received and, except as provided in Sections 3103.5 and 3103.6, the ballots shall be received and canvassed under the same procedure as vote by mail ballots, insofar as that procedure is not inconsistent with this chapter. 
(b) When a military or overseas voter registers to vote, the application shall be completed by the voter and shall contain the voter’s name; the voter’s date of birth; the address of the voter’s residence in the state when the voter was last living within the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia or, if qualified as a military or overseas voter pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 321, the address of the voter’s parent or legal guardian when the parent or legal guardian was last living within the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia; the address to which the ballot is to be sent; the voter’s political party preference or a statement that the voter declines to disclose a political party preference; and the voter’s signature. This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2011, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2011, deletes or extends that date. 
(c) If an elections official receives a completed federal postcard application from a person qualified as a military or overseas voter, the application shall be deemed to be an affidavit of registration.
(d) If the applicant is not a resident of the county to which the applicant has applied, the elections official receiving an application from a military or overseas voter shall forward it immediately to the county in which the applicant resided when the applicant was last living within the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia or, for a military or overseas voter qualified pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 321, to the county in which the applicant’s parent or legal guardian resided when the parent or legal guardian last lived within the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia.
(e) An application made pursuant to this section that is received by the elections official having jurisdiction over the election and deemed to be an affidavit of registration shall be effective only if it is postmarked on or before the 15th day prior to the election.

SEC. 2.

 Section 3102 of the Elections Code, as amended by Section 2 of Chapter 252 of the Statutes of 2008, is amended to read:

3102.
 (a) Any voter who qualifies as a military or overseas voter pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 300 shall have the right to register for, and to vote in, any election within the state, including any general, special, or primary election for any federal or statewide office or state ballot measure that is voted on statewide. Any voter who qualifies as a military or overseas voter pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 300 shall also have the right to register for, and to vote in, any other election for any office or ballot measure held in the precinct in which the voter was a resident when the voter was last living within the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia, or, for a military or overseas voter qualified pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 321, in any precinct of the state in which the voter’s parent or legal guardian resided when the parent or legal guardian last lived within the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia. Applications for the ballots of special absentee voters shall be received, and the ballots shall be received and canvassed under the same procedure as vote by mail ballots, insofar as that procedure is not inconsistent with this chapter. 
(b) When a military or overseas voter registers to vote, the application shall be completed by the voter and shall contain the voter’s name; the voter’s date of birth; the address of the voter’s residence in the state when the voter was last living within the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia or, if qualified as a military or overseas voter pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 321, the address of the voter’s parent or legal guardian when the parent or legal guardian was last living within the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia; the address to which the ballot is to be sent; the voter’s political party preference or a statement that the voter declines to disclose a political party preference; and the voter’s signature.
(c) If an elections official receives a completed federal postcard application from a person qualified as a military or overseas voter, the application shall be deemed to be an affidavit of registration.
(d) If the applicant is not a resident of the county to which the applicant has applied, the elections official receiving an application from a military or overseas voter shall forward it immediately to the county in which the applicant resided when the applicant was last living within the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia or, for a military or overseas voter qualified pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 321, to the county in which the applicant’s parent or legal guardian resided when the parent or legal guardian last lived within the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia.
(e) (b)  An application made pursuant to this section that is received by the elections official having jurisdiction over the election and deemed to be an affidavit of registration shall be effective only if it is postmarked on or before the 15th day prior to the election. This section shall become operative January 1, 2011. 

SEC. 3.

 Section 3103 of the Elections Code, as amended by Section 3 of Chapter 252 of the Statutes of 2008, is amended to read:

3103.
 (a) Any application made pursuant to this chapter that is received by the elections official prior to the 60th day before the election shall be kept and processed on or after the 60th day before the election.
(b) The elections official shall immediately send the voter a ballot in a form prescribed and provided by the Secretary of State. The elections official shall send with the ballot a list of all candidates who have qualified for the ballot by the 60th day before the election and a list of all measures that are to be submitted to the voters and on which the voter is qualified to vote. The voter shall be entitled to write in the name of any specific candidate seeking nomination or election to any office listed on the ballot.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 15341 or any other provision of law, any name written upon a ballot for a particular office pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be counted for the office or nomination, providing the candidate whose name has been written on the ballot has, as of the date of the election, qualified to have his or her name placed on the ballot for the office, or has qualified as a write-in candidate for the office.
(d) Except as provided in Sections 3103.5 and 3103.6, the elections official shall receive and canvass special absentee voter ballots described in this section under the same procedure as vote by mail ballots, insofar as that procedure is not inconsistent with this section.
Upon (e)   timely receipt of an application received  In the event that a voter executes a special absentee ballot pursuant to this section and an application for a vote by mail ballot  pursuant to Section 3102, 3101,  the elections official shall examine the application to ascertain that it is properly executed  cancel the voter’s permanent vote by mail status, and process the application  in accordance with this code. If the elections official is satisfied of this fact, the applicant shall be deemed a duly registered voter as of the date appearing on the application to the same extent and with the same effect as though he or she had registered in proper time prior to the election. Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 3000). 
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a special absentee voter who qualifies pursuant to this section may, by facsimile transmission, register to vote and apply for a special absentee ballot or a vote by mail ballot. Upon request, the elections official may send to the qualified special absentee voter either by mail, facsimile, or electronic transmission the special absentee ballot or, if available, a vote by mail ballot pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 3000).
(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2011, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2011, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 4.

 Section 3103.5 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

3103.5.
 (a) (1) A special absentee voter who is temporarily living outside of the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia, or is called for military service within the United States on or after the final date to make application for a special absentee ballot or a vote by mail ballot, may return his or her ballot by facsimile transmission. To be counted, the ballot returned by facsimile transmission must be received by the voter’s elections official no later than the closing of the polls on election day and must be accompanied by an identification envelope containing all of the information required by Section 3011 and an oath of voter declaration in substantially the following form:
OATH OF VOTER
I, , acknowledge that by returning my voted
ballot by facsimile transmission I have waived my right to have my ballot
kept secret. Nevertheless, I understand that, as with any vote by mail
voter, my signature, whether on this oath of voter form or my identification
envelope, will be permanently separated from my voted ballot to maintain
its secrecy at the outset of the tabulation process and thereafter.

My residence address is(Street Address) _____ _____ (City) _____ _____ (ZIP Code).

My current mailing address is(Street Address) _____ (City) _____ _____ (ZIP Code).

My e-mail address is _________________. My facsimile transmission
number is _________________.

I am a resident of __________ County, State of California, and I have not
applied, nor intend to apply, for a vote by mail ballot from any other jurisdiction for the same election.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.

Dated this __________ day of ______, 20_____.

(Signature)
 Voter(Power of Attorney Cannot be Accepted)

YOUR BALLOT CANNOT BE COUNTED UNLESS YOU SIGN THE
ABOVE OATH AND INCLUDE IT WITH YOUR BALLOT AND
IDENTIFICATION ENVELOPE, ALL OF WHICH ARE RETURNED
BY FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION.
(2) Notwithstanding the voter’s waiver of the right to a secret ballot, each elections official shall adopt appropriate procedures to protect the secrecy of ballots returned by facsimile transmission.
(3) Upon receipt of a ballot returned by facsimile transmission, the elections official shall determine the voter’s eligibility to vote by comparing the signature on the return information with the signature on the voter’s affidavit of registration. The ballot shall be duplicated and all materials preserved according to procedures set forth in this code.
(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a special absentee voter who is permitted to return his or her ballot by facsimile transmission is, nonetheless, encouraged to return his or her ballot by mail or in person if possible. A special absentee voter should return a ballot by facsimile transmission only if doing so is necessary for the ballot to be received before the close of polls on election day.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2011, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2011, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 5.

 Section 3103.6 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

3103.6.
 A special absentee voter who is temporarily living outside of the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia, or is called for military service within the United States on or after the final date to make application for a vote by mail ballot, may return his or her ballot by mail. To be counted, the ballot shall meet both of the following criteria:
(a) Be postmarked on or before election day.
(b) Be received by the voter’s county elections official on or before the sixth day following the election.

SEC. 6.

 Section 3103.7 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

3103.7.
 (a) Not later than 30 days following the certification of an election held within his or her jurisdiction, an elections official shall report to the Secretary of State all of the following regarding special absentee voters, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 300:
(1) The total number of special absentee ballots for which an application was received for the election, including those with permanent vote by mail status.
(2) The total number of special absentee ballots delivered by the elections official for the election.
(3) The total number of voted special absentee ballots received by the elections official for the election.
(4) The total number of voted special absentee ballots received by the elections official for the election prior to 8 p.m. on election day.
(5) The total number of voted special absentee ballots received by the elections official for the election after 8 p.m. on election day through the sixth day following the election.
(6) The total number of voted special absentee ballots received by the elections official for the election after the sixth day following the election.
(7) The total number of voted special absentee ballots received by the elections official for the election that were not postmarked on or before election day.
(b) Not later than 60 days following the certification of the election, the Secretary of State shall compile the information reported pursuant to subdivision (a) and report to the appropriate policy committees of each house of the Legislature. The report by the Secretary of State shall include the reported totals for each affected jurisdiction as well as statewide totals, whenever applicable.
SEC. 7.
 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.