Bill Text: CA AB2883 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 2883 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Vote by mail ballots.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)

Status: (Failed) 2018-05-23 - From committee: Without further action pursuant to Joint Rule 62(a). [AB2883 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB2883-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2883

Introduced by Assembly Member Harper
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Lackey and Mathis)

February 16, 2018

An act to amend Section 3017 of the Elections Code, relating to elections.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2883, as introduced, Harper. Vote by mail ballots.

Existing law requires a vote by mail voter to return his or her voted vote by mail ballot (1) by mail or in person to the elections official, (2) in person to a member of a precinct board at a polling place or vote center, or (3) to a vote by mail ballot dropoff location, as specified. Existing law permits a vote by mail voter who is unable to return his or her ballot to designate another person to return the ballot.

This bill would require the designated person to offer to give a receipt to the voter when the designated person receives the ballot, and to provide a receipt to the voter upon request. The bill would require the Secretary of State to prescribe a form for that receipt, and would specify the information to be included on the receipt.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

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

SECTION 1.

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: ~~(1) return~~

(A) Return the ballot by mail or in person to the elections official who issued the ~~ballot, (2) return~~ ballot.

(B) Return the ballot in person to a member of a precinct board at a polling place or vote center within the ~~state, or (3) return~~ 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. ~~However, a~~

(2) (A) A vote by mail voter who is unable to return the ballot may designate any 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 ballot must, however,~~ The person designated by the voter shall offer to give the voter a receipt in the form described in subparagraph (B) when the designated person receives the ballot, and shall provide a receipt to the voter upon request.

(B) The Secretary of State shall prescribe a form for a receipt required by subparagraph (A). The receipt shall include all of the following information:
(i) The name and address of the person designated to return the ballot.
(ii) The telephone number at which the designated person may be contacted.
(iii) The driver’s license or California identification card number of the designated person.
(iv) The date and time the ballot was received by the designated person from the voter.
(v) The name of the political party, candidate, or committee for which the designated person is acting as an actual or implied agent, if applicable.
(vi) A statement that the designated person must 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 no later than two days after receiving the ballot from the voter or before the close of the polls on election day, whichever time period is shorter.

(C) 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 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 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 has returned 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) Any 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.