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SB-1480 Remote accessible vote by mail systems. (2021-2022)

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Date Published: 04/06/2022 09:00 PM
SB1480:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  April 06, 2022
Amended  IN  Senate  March 15, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1480

Introduced by Senator Glazer
(Coauthor: Senator Becker)

February 18, 2022

An act to amend Sections 3016.7, 3017, 3019, 19205, and 19295 of, and to add Section 19296 to, the Elections Code, relating to voting.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1480, as amended, Glazer. Remote accessible vote by mail systems.
(1) Existing law requires a county elections official to permit any voter to cast a ballot using a certified remote accessible vote by mail system. Existing law prescribes standards and procedures for the Secretary of State to certify remote accessible vote by mail systems. Existing law prescribes standards and procedures for an elections official to compare a voter’s signature submitted with the voter’s vote by mail ballot to a signature in the voter’s registration record.
This bill would require a county elections official to permit a voter with a qualifying disability, as defined, to use a certified remote accessible vote by mail system that enables the voter to return a completed ballot electronically. The bill would permit the Secretary of State to certify this type of remote accessible vote by mail system and to develop procedures for a voter using the system to submit a signature electronically.
(2) Existing law imposes various restrictions on voting systems, generally, including that no part of the voting system shall be connected to the internet at any time. Existing law specifically prohibits a remote accessible vote by mail system from having the capability to use a remote server to mark a voter’s selection transmitted to the server from the voter’s computer via the internet, to store any voter identifiable selections on any remote server, or to tabulate votes.
This bill would exempt the aforementioned remote accessible vote by mail system from these prohibitions only if, and to the extent that, these features are necessary for the operation of the system.
By imposing additional duties on county elections officials, 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.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 3016.7 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

3016.7.
 (a) The county elections official shall permit any voter to cast a ballot using a certified remote accessible vote by mail system, regardless of whether the voter is a voter with disabilities or a military or overseas voter.
(b) (1) Upon certification of the system described in Section 19296, the county elections official shall permit a voter with a qualifying disability to use a certified remote accessible vote by mail system that enables the voter to return a ballot by electronic means and in a private and independent manner.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “qualifying disability” means a disability that prevents a voter from reading, marking, holding, handling, or manipulating a ballot, including blindness, visual impairment, an intellectual or developmental disability, or impairment in dexterity, such that the voter is unable to return a ballot privately and independently.

SEC. 2.

 Section 3017 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

3017.
 (a) (1) All vote by mail ballots 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 of the following:
(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.

(D)Return the ballot by electronic means using the remote accessible vote by mail system certified pursuant to Section 19296.

(D) If the vote by mail voter has a qualifying disability as specified in Section 19296, return the ballot electronically by one of the following methods:
(i) The voter may use the remote accessible vote by mail system certified pursuant to Section 19296.
(ii) If a remote accessible vote by mail system certified pursuant to Section 19296 is not available for use in the voter’s county, the voter may return a copy of a complete remote accessible vote by mail ballot by facsimile transmission. To be counted, the ballot must be received by the elections official by the close of polls on election day and be accompanied by a signed oath of voter declaration containing all of the information required by Section 3011.
(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 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 website. If the county does not have an elections division internet website, 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 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. 3.

 Section 3019 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

3019.
 (a) (1) Upon receiving a vote by mail ballot, the elections official shall compare the signature on the identification envelope with either of the following to determine if the signatures compare:
(A) The signature appearing on the voter’s affidavit of registration or any previous affidavit of registration of the voter.
(B) The signature appearing on a form issued by an elections official that contains the voter’s signature and that is part of the voter’s registration record.
(2) All of the following apply to the comparison of signatures pursuant to this section:
(A) A presumption exists that the signature on the identification envelope, signature verification statement, unsigned ballot statement, or provisional ballot envelope is the voter’s signature.
(B) An exact match is not required for an elections official to determine that a voter’s signature is valid. The fact that signatures share similar characteristics is sufficient to determine that a signature is valid.
(C) Except as provided in subparagraph (D), the elections official shall consider explanations for discrepancies between signatures that are specified in regulations promulgated by the Secretary of State. For purposes of this subparagraph, explanations include a variation in signature style over time and the haste with which a signature is written.
(D) When comparing signatures, an elections official shall not review or consider a voter’s party preference, race, or ethnicity.
(E) The elections official may consider characteristics of the written signature that are specified in regulations promulgated by the Secretary of State. For purposes of this subparagraph, characteristics include the slant of the signature, letter formation, and whether the signature is printed or written in cursive.
(F) The elections official may use facsimiles of voters’ signatures, provided that the method of preparing and displaying the facsimiles complies with the law.
(G) In comparing signatures pursuant to this section, an elections official may use signature verification technology. If signature verification technology determines that the signatures do not compare, the signature is subject to the additional procedures described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c).
(H) The variation of a signature caused by the substitution of initials for the first or middle name, or both, is not grounds for the elections official to determine that the signatures do not compare.
(I) A signature made using a mark such as an “X”, or made by a signature stamp, shall be presumed valid and shall be accepted if the signature meets the requirements of Section 354.5.
(b) If upon conducting the comparison of signatures pursuant to subdivision (a) the elections official determines that the signatures compare, the elections official shall deposit the ballot, still in the identification envelope, in a ballot container in the elections official’s office.
(c) (1) If upon conducting the comparison of signatures pursuant to subdivision (a) the elections official determines that the signature possesses multiple, significant, and obvious differing characteristics when compared to all signatures in the voter’s registration record, the signature is subject to the additional procedures described in paragraph (2).
(2) If the elections official makes the determination described in paragraph (1), the 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. If the officials determine that the signatures do not compare, the identification envelope shall not be opened and the ballot shall not be counted. The elections official shall write the cause of the rejection on the face of the identification envelope only after completing the procedures described in subdivision (d).
(d) (1) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (D), on or before the next business day after a determination that a voter’s signature does not compare pursuant to subdivision (c), but not later than eight days prior to the certification of the election, the elections official shall send by first-class mail notice to the voter of the opportunity to verify the voter’s signature no later than 5 p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election. The notice shall include a return envelope, with postage paid, for the voter to return a signature verification statement.
(B) Unless required pursuant to Section 3026, the elections official may send additional written notices to a voter identified pursuant to subdivision (c), and may also notify the voter in person, by telephone or email, or by other means of the opportunity to verify the voter’s signature.
(C) Unless required pursuant to Section 3026, the elections official may use any information in a county’s election management system, or otherwise in the election official’s possession, for the purpose of notifying the voter of the opportunity to verify the voter’s signature.
(D) If it is impracticable under the circumstances for the elections official to send the notice described in subparagraph (A) on or before the next business day, including in the event of technological failure, the elections official shall send the notice as soon as practicable, but not later than eight days prior to the certification of the election.
(2) The notice and instructions shall be in substantially the following form:
“READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS MAY CAUSE YOUR VOTE BY MAIL BALLOT NOT TO COUNT.
1. We have determined that the signature you provided on your vote by mail ballot does not compare with the signature(s) on file in your voter record. In order to ensure that your vote by mail ballot will be counted, the signature verification statement must be completed and returned as soon as possible.
2. The signature verification statement must be received by the elections official of the county where you are registered to vote no later than 5 p.m. two days prior to certification of the election.
3. You must sign your name where specified on the signature verification statement (Voter’s Signature).
4. Place the signature verification statement into the postage-paid return envelope if it is included with these instructions. If a return envelope is not included with these instructions, use your own mailing envelope addressed to your local elections official. Mail, deliver, or have the completed statement delivered to the elections official. If you mail your completed statement using your own envelope, be sure there is sufficient postage and that the address of the elections official is correct.
5. If you do not wish to send the signature verification statement by mail or have it delivered, you may submit your completed statement by email or facsimile transmission to your local elections official, or submit your completed statement to a polling place within the county or a ballot dropoff box before the close of the polls on election day.”
(3) The notice and instructions shall be translated in all languages required in that county by Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10503).
(4) The elections official shall not reject a vote by mail ballot identified pursuant to subdivision (c) if each of the following conditions is satisfied:
(A) The voter delivers, in person, by mail, by fax, or by email, a signature verification statement signed by the voter and the elections official receives the statement no later than 5 p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election, or the voter, before the close of the polls on election day, completes and submits a signature verification statement to a polling place within the county or a ballot dropoff box.
(B) Upon receipt of the signature verification statement, the elections official shall compare the signature on the statement with the signature on file in the voter’s record.
(i) If upon conducting the comparison of signatures the elections official determines that the signatures compare, the elections official shall deposit the ballot, still in the identification envelope, in a ballot container in the elections official’s office.
(ii) If, under the standards and procedures of subdivision (c), a determination is made that the signatures do not compare, the identification envelope shall not be opened and the ballot shall not be counted. The elections official shall write the cause of the rejection on the face of the identification envelope.
(5) The signature verification statement shall be in substantially the following form and may be included on the same page as the notice and instructions specified in paragraph (2):
“SIGNATURE VERIFICATION STATEMENT
I,, am a registered voter of __________ County,
State of California. I declare under penalty of perjury that I requested (or I received) and returned a vote by mail ballot. I am a resident of the precinct in which I have voted, and I am the person whose name appears on the vote by mail ballot envelope. I understand that if I commit or attempt any fraud in connection with voting, or if I aid or abet fraud or attempt to aid or abet fraud in connection with voting, I may be convicted of a felony punishable by imprisonment for 16 months or two or three years. I understand that my failure to sign this statement means that my vote by mail ballot will be invalidated.
Voter’s Signature
Address”
(6) An elections official shall include the vote by mail ballot signature verification statement and instructions provided in this subdivision on the elections official’s internet website and shall provide the elections official’s mailing address, email address, and facsimile transmission number on the internet web page containing the statement and instructions.
(7) If the elections official determines that the signatures compare, the official shall use the signature in the signature verification statement, even if returned untimely, to update the voter’s signature for future elections.
(e) (1) (A) Notwithstanding any other law, if an elections official determines that a voter has failed to sign the identification envelope, the elections official shall not reject the vote by mail ballot if the voter does any of the following:
(i) Signs the identification envelope at the office of the elections official during regular business hours no later than 5 p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election.
(ii) No later than 5 p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election, completes and submits an unsigned ballot statement in substantially the following form:
“UNSIGNED BALLOT STATEMENT
I,, am a registered voter of __________ County,
State of California. I declare under penalty of perjury that I requested (or I received) and returned a vote by mail ballot and that I have not and will not vote more than one ballot in this election. I am a resident of the precinct in which I have voted, and I am the person whose name appears on the vote by mail ballot envelope. I understand that if I commit or attempt any fraud in connection with voting, or if I aid or abet fraud or attempt to aid or abet fraud in connection with voting, I may be convicted of a felony punishable by imprisonment for 16 months or two or three years. I understand that my failure to sign this statement means that my vote by mail ballot will be invalidated.
Voter’s Signature
Address”
(iii) Before the close of the polls on election day, completes and submits an unsigned ballot statement, in the form described in clause (ii), to a polling place within the county or a ballot dropoff box.
(B) (i) Except as provided in clause (iv), or before the next business day after discovering that a voter has failed to sign the identification envelope, but not later than eight days prior to the certification of the election, the elections official shall send by first-class mail notice and instructions to the voter of the opportunity to provide a signature no later than 5 p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election. The notice shall include a return envelope, with postage paid, for the voter to return the unsigned ballot statement.
(ii) Unless required pursuant to Section 3026, the elections official may send additional written notices to a voter identified pursuant to this subdivision, and may also notify the voter in person, by telephone or email, or by other means of the opportunity to provide a signature.
(iii) Unless required pursuant to Section 3026, the elections official may use any information in the county’s election management system, or otherwise in the election official’s possession, for the purpose of notifying the voter of the opportunity to provide a signature.
(iv) If it is impracticable under the circumstances for the elections official to send the notice described in clause (i) on or before the next business day, including in the event of technological failure, the elections official shall send the notice as soon as practicable, but not later than eight days prior to the certification of the election.
(C) If timely submitted, the elections official shall accept any completed unsigned ballot statement. Upon receipt of the unsigned ballot statement, the elections official shall compare the voter’s signature on the statement in the manner provided by this section.
(i) If the elections official determines that the signatures compare, the elections official shall attach the unsigned ballot statement to the identification envelope and deposit the ballot, still in the identification envelope, in a ballot container in the elections official’s office.
(ii) If, under the standards and procedures of subdivision (c), a determination is made that the signatures do not compare, the identification envelope shall not be opened and the elections official shall provide notice to the voter pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d).
(D) An elections official may use methods other than those described in subparagraph (A) to obtain a voter’s signature on an unsigned identification envelope.
(2) Instructions shall accompany the unsigned ballot statement in substantially the following form:
“READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE COMPLETING THE STATEMENT. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS MAY CAUSE YOUR BALLOT NOT TO COUNT.


1. In order to ensure that your vote by mail ballot will be counted, your statement should be completed and returned as soon as possible, but no later than 5 p.m. two days prior to the certification of the election.
2. You must sign your name on the line above (Voter’s Signature).
3. Place the statement into the postage-paid return envelope if it is included with these instructions. If a return envelope is not included with these instructions, use your own mailing envelope addressed to your local elections official. Mail, deliver, or have delivered the completed statement to the elections official. If you mail your completed statement using your own envelope, be sure there is sufficient postage and that the address of the elections official is correct.
4. If you do not wish to send the statement by mail or have it delivered, you may submit your completed statement by facsimile or email transmission to your local elections official, or submit your completed statement to a polling place within the county or a ballot dropoff box before the close of the polls on election day.”
(3) The notice and instructions shall be translated in all languages required in that county by Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10503).
(4) An elections official shall include the unsigned ballot statement and instructions described in this subdivision on the elections official’s internet website and shall provide the elections official’s mailing address, email address, and facsimile transmission number on the internet web page containing the statement and instructions.
(f) A ballot shall not be removed from its identification envelope until the time for processing ballots. A ballot shall not be rejected for cause after the identification envelope has been opened.
(g) For purposes of this section, “certification of the election” means the date the particular elections official submits a certified statement of the results of the election to the governing body pursuant to Section 15372, even if that occurs before the deadline to submit the certified statement of the election results set forth in Section 15372.
(h) In comparing signatures pursuant to this section, including when using signature verification software or other technology, an elections official shall adhere to all applicable regulations promulgated by the Secretary of State.
(i) The standards and conditions in subdivisions (a) and (c) apply to the comparison, acceptance, and rejection of signatures submitted electronically by means of the system certified pursuant to Section 19296, including that a signature may 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.

SEC. 4.

 Section 19205 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

19205.
 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a voting system shall comply with all of the following:
(1) No part of the voting system shall be connected to the internet at any time.
(2) No part of the voting system shall electronically receive or transmit election data through an exterior communication network, including the public telephone system, if the communication originates from or terminates at a polling place, satellite location, or counting center.
(3) No part of the voting system shall receive or transmit wireless communications or wireless data transfers.
(b) A remote accessible vote by mail system certified pursuant to Section 19296 is not required to comply with subdivision (a) only if, and to the extent that, noncompliance is necessary for the operation of that system.

SEC. 5.

 Section 19295 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

19295.
 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a remote accessible vote by mail system or part of a remote accessible vote by mail system shall not do any of the following:
(1) Have the capability, including an optional capability, to use a remote server to mark a voter’s selections transmitted to the server from the voter’s computer via the internet.
(2) Have the capability, including an optional capability, to store any voter identifiable selections on any remote server.
(3) Have the capability, including the optional capability, to tabulate votes.
(b) A remote accessible vote by mail system certified pursuant to Section 19296 may have one or more of the capabilities described in subdivision (a) only if, and to the extent that, the capability is necessary for the operation of that system.

SEC. 6.

 Section 19296 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

19296.
 (a) The Secretary of State may do any of the following:
(1) Certify a remote accessible vote by mail system that allows a voter with a qualifying disability to return a ballot by electronic means and in a private and independent manner.
(2) Develop, either as part of the system described in paragraph (1) or by another means, procedures for a voter with a qualifying disability to submit a signature electronically, including procedures to correct or submit an absent signature, in order for signature comparison to occur pursuant to Section 3019.
(b) For purposes of this section, “qualifying disability” means a disability that prevents a voter from reading, marking, holding, handling, or manipulating a ballot, including blindness, visual impairment, an intellectual or developmental disability, or impairment in dexterity, such that the voter is unable to return a ballot privately and independently.

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.