California Assembly Bill AB780 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 780AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member John A. Perez FEBRUARY 26, 2009 An act to add Section 14310.1 to the Elections Code, relating to elections. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 780, as amended, John A. Perez. Elections: failsafe ballots. Existing law permits a voter whose qualifications or entitlement to vote cannot be immediately established, under specified circumstances, to cast a provisional ballot in an election. This bill would provide specified requirements to permit a voter who is unexpectedly away from his or her voting precinct on election day to cast a ballot at a county or precinct other than where the voter resides. Because this bill would increase the duties of local elections officials, it 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so 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. State-mandated local program: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 14310.1 is added to the Elections Code, to read: 14310.1. (a)  Any   A  qualified voter who has, due to unforeseen circumstances, been forced to leave the jurisdiction where he or she  is  registered to vote and is unable to request a vote by mail ballot,  shall be entitled to   may  vote a failsafe ballot for any statewide office or question appearing on the ballot for an election. (b) For the purposes of this section, "failsafe ballot" means a  ballot containing only state candidates or measures for the purposes of allowing a voter who meets the criteria set forth in this section to participate in a statewide election.   provisional ballot, as provided for in Section 14310, with which the voter may vote only for candidates for statewide office and statewide ballot initiatives appearing on the ballot.  (c) In order for a voter to meet the conditions set forth in subdivision (a), the following criteria must be met: (1) The voter must declare, under penalty of perjury, that he or she is a registered voter residing in the State of California. (2)  That unforeseen circumstances arose   Unforeseen circumstances must have arisen  precluding the voter from casting his or her ballot in the jurisdiction  wherein they are   in which the voter is  registered to vote. (3) The circumstances precluding the voter from  arose   casting his or her ballot must have arisen  suddenly and without warning after the period  where   in which  the voter  may   could  have requested a vote by mail ballot has passed, and  that  the voter did not request a vote by mail ballot  or requested a vote by mail ballot but the ballot did not arrive or arrived too late to be returned so as to be included in the statement of vote  . (d) The  County Clerk, Registrar of Voters   county clerk, registrar of voters,  or county elections  officials must maintain a reasonable number of ballots where only state candidates and measure appear. The County Clerk, Registrar of Voters, or a county elections official may, at his or her discretion, disburse ballots directly to precinct voting stations or require a voter seeking to cast a failsafe ballot do so at the county elections office   officials shall prepare and distribute forms containing the following statement: "I declare under penalty of perjury that I am a registered voter in the State of California and that I meet the criteria necessary to vote a failsafe ballot." The form shall include a description of the criteria necessary for a voter to exercise the option of voting a failsafe ballot, the address where the voter is registered, and a signature line for the voter to attest to his or her eligibility. The form shall be available at all polling stations within the county and shall be included in the failsafe ballot for transmittal to the county in which the voter is registered to vote  .  (e) When providing a failsafe ballot to a voter meeting the criteria of this section, the County Clerk, Registrar of Voters, or county elections official shall require the voter to sign a statement of qualification declaring, under penalty of perjury, that the voter meets the criteria set forth in this section, and shall retain the original form on file.   (f)   (e)  The completed failsafe ballot and statement of qualifications shall be enclosed in a provisional ballot envelope for transmittal to the appropriate jurisdiction.  (g) The County Clerk, Registrar of Voters   (f)     The county clerk, registrar of voters  , or county elections official shall transmit both the ballot and statement of qualification to the appropriate jurisdiction where the voter resides to be included in that jurisdiction's official statement of vote. Failsafe ballots shall be transmitted within one week of the election. SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution. However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other 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.