BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          AB 44 (Mullin) - Elections: statewide recounts.
          
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          |Version: June 24, 2015          |Policy Vote: E. & C.A. 4 - 0    |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: Yes                    |
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          |Hearing Date: August 17, 2015   |Consultant: Robert Ingenito     |
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          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.




          Bill  
          Summary: AB 44 would, until January 1, 2023, create a  
          state-funded vote recount process, as specified.


          Fiscal  
          Impact:
           State costs to reimburse counties for a state-funded recount  
            would depend in part on the number of votes cast for the  
            particular office or measure, but could potentially reach the  
            low millions of dollars per recount.

           The Secretary of State's Office (SOS) would incur a one-time  
            cost of $55,000 (General Fund) to promulgate regulations.


          Background: Under current law, any registered voter can request a recount  
          within five days following the completion of the official  







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          canvass, and must specify on behalf of which candidate, slate of  
          electors, or position on a measure it is filed.  Additionally,  
          at any time during the conduct of a recount and for 24 hours  
          thereafter, current law allows any voter other than the original  
          requestor to request a recount of additional precincts.  The  
          voter filing the request for the recount is required to deposit,  
          before the recount commences and at the beginning of each day  
          following, sums as required by the elections official to cover  
          the cost of the recount for that day.  If upon completion of the  
          recount, the results are reversed, the deposit is returned.


          Proposed Law:  
          This bill would, among other things, do the following:
                 Permit any voter, within five days after SOS files a  
               statement of the vote, to request a state-funded manual  
               recount of all votes cast for a statewide office, as  
               specified, or state ballot measure if any of the following  
               occurs:


                  o         The official canvass of returns in a statewide  
                    primary election shows that the difference in the  
                    number of votes received by the second and third place  
                    candidates for a statewide office is less than or  
                    equal to the lesser of 1,000 votes or 0.00015 percent  
                    of the number of all votes cast.


                  o         The official canvass of returns in a statewide  
                    general election shows that the difference in the  
                    number of votes received by the two candidates  
                    receiving the greatest number of votes for a statewide  
                    office is less than or equal to the lesser of 1,000  
                    votes or 0.00015 percent of the number of all votes  
                    cast.


                  o         The official canvass of returns in a statewide  
                    election shows that the difference in the number of  
                    votes cast for and against a state ballot measure is  
                    less than or equal to the lesser of 1,000 votes or  
                    0.00015 percent of the number of all votes cast.









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                  o         Prohibit a voter from requesting a  
                    state-funded manual recount of all votes cast for the  
                    office of Superintendent of Public Instruction unless  
                    the official canvass of returns in a statewide primary  
                    election shows that the number of votes received by  
                    the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes  
                    was (1) between 0.49085 and 0.50015, inclusive, of the  
                    number of all votes cast, or (2) within 1,000 votes of  
                    50 percent of the number of all votes cast.


                 Permit any voter, within five days after the SOS files a  
               statement of the vote, to request a state-funded manual  
               recount of all votes cast for the office President of the  
               United States if the official canvass of returns in a  
               statewide general election shows that the difference in the  
               number of votes received by the two candidates receiving  
               the greatest number of votes for the office of President is  
               less than or equal to the lesser of 1,000 votes or 0.00015  
               percent of the number of all votes cast.


                 Prohibit another recount from being conducted if a  
               state-funded recount is conducted pursuant to the  
               provisions of this bill.


                 Require the State to reimburse counties for costs  
               resulting from conducting a manual recount, pursuant to  
               this bill, in an expeditious manner upon the certification  
               of those costs.


                 Require a county elections official, while conducting a  
               recount pursuant to the provisions of this bill, to also  
               review ballots rejected in accordance with existing law to  
               ensure that no ballots were improperly discarded during the  
               initial canvass.  Require the process for reviewing  
               rejected ballots to be open to members of the public,  
               including persons associated with a campaign or measure.


                 Require the elections official in each county to  








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               complete a state-funded recount according to specified  
               timelines. 


                 Permit SOS to adopt, amend, and repeal rules and  
               regulations necessary for the administration of the  
               provisions of this bill, and require SOS, no later than  
               January 1, 2018, to revise and adopt regulations specifying  
               procedures for recounting ballots, including regulations  
               establishing guidelines for charges a county elections  
               official may impose when conducting a manual recount.


                 Repeal provisions of law that permitted a voter who  
               files a declaration requesting a recount to select whether  
               the recount is conducted manually, or by means of the  
               voting system used originally, or both, and instead  
               requires if the votes subject to recount were cast or  
               tabulated by a voting system, the voter requesting the  
               recount shall, for each set of ballots cast or tabulated by  
               a type of voting system to only select whether the recount  
               is conducted manually, or by means of the voting system  
               used originally.  Only one method of recount may be used  
               for all ballots cast or tabulated by the same type of  
               voting system.


                 Provide that if an office, slate of presidential  
               electors, or measure are voted on statewide, the results of  
               any recount will be declared  null and void if each vote  
               cast statewide for the office, slates, or measure is not  
               recounted.


                 Contain a January 1, 2023 sunset date for the bill's  
               state-funded manual recount provisions. 







          Related  








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          Legislation: AB 2194 (Mullin, 2014) would have required SOS to  
          order an automatic manual recount of all votes cast for a  
          statewide office or state ballot measure if the difference in  
          the number of votes received is less than or equal to 0.1  
          percent. The bill failed the 2/3's vote requirement for rule  
          suspensions in order to be heard after the policy committee  
          hearing deadline.


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