BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 44 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 44 (Mullin) As Amended August 31, 2015 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |74-4 |(June 2, 2015) |SENATE: |35-4 |(September 3, | | | | | | |2015) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: E. & R. SUMMARY: Creates a new state-funded recount process, as specified. Specifically, this bill: 1)Permits the Governor to order a state-funded manual recount of all votes cast for a statewide office or state ballot measure, as specified, if any of the following occurs: a) 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 of the number of all votes cast for that office; AB 44 Page 2 b) 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 of the number of all votes cast for that office; or, c) 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 of the number of all votes cast on the measure. 2)Prohibits another recount from being conducted if a state-funded recount is conducted pursuant to the provisions of this bill. 3)Requires 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. 4)Requires 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. 5)Requires the Secretary of State (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. 6)Requires a county elections official, if more than one voter requests a recount for the same office, slate of presidential AB 44 Page 3 electors, or measure, and at least one request is for a manual recount, to conduct only one manual recount of the ballots subject to recount, the result of which shall be controlling. 7)Provides 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. 8)Prohibits the SOS from certifying or conditionally approving a voting system that cannot facilitate the conduct of a ballot level comparison risk-limiting audit, as specified. The Senate amendments: 1)Delete provisions of the bill that permitted any voter to request a state-funded manual recount and instead authorizes the Governor to order a state-funded manual recount, as specified. 2)Prohibit the Governor from ordering a state-funded manual recount of all votes cast for the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) pursuant to the provisions of this bill unless the official canvass of returns in a statewide primary election shows either of the following: a) The number of votes received by the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes was either of the following: i) Between 0.49985 and 0.50015, inclusive, of the number of all votes cast; or, ii) Within 1,000 votes of 50% of the number of all votes cast. AB 44 Page 4 b) No candidate for the office of SPI received votes on a majority of all the ballots cast for candidates for that office and the difference in the number of votes received by the second and third place candidates for that office was less than or equal to the lesser of 1,000 votes or 0.00015 of the number of all votes cast for that office. 3)Permit the SOS, not the Governor, to order a state-funded manual recount of all votes cast for the office of the Governor, as specified. 4)Provide that a county elections official shall only be required to conduct a state-funded manual recount pursuant to the provisions of this bill to the extent that funds are appropriated for the purposes of a state-funded manual recount in the annual Budget Act or other statute. 5)Delete provisions of the bill that required the state-funded manual recount provisions to sunset on January 1, 2023. 6)Make other technical conforming changes. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: 1)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 and whether or not a recount is ordered, but could potentially reach the low millions of dollars per recount. 2)The SOS would incur a one-time cost of $55,000 (General Fund) to promulgate regulations. AB 44 Page 5 COMMENTS: According to the author, "In the June 2014 primary, former Assembly Speaker John Pérez trailed Board of Equalization Member Betty Yee by only 481 votes out of roughly four million. This very narrow margin prompted him to request a recount, which current law permits. When he did so, deep flaws in California's existing recount process were revealed: it allows statewide results to be overturned by a partial recount and it favors candidates who can afford to pay?" The Senate amendments make substantive and technical changes to the bill. First, the Senate amendments delete provisions of the bill that permitted any voter to request a state-funded manual recount and instead permit the Governor to order a state-funded manual recount, as specified. Second, the amendments permit the SOS, instead of the Governor, to order a state-funded manual recount of all votes cast for the office of the Governor. Third, the amendments clarify when a state-funded manual recount for the office of SPI may be ordered by the Governor. Fourth, the amendments delete provisions of the bill that required the state-funded manual recount provisions to sunset on January 1, 2023. In addition, the amendments provide that a county elections official shall only be required to conduct a state-funded manual recount pursuant to the provisions of this bill to the extent that funds are appropriated for the purposes of a state-funded manual recount in the annual Budget Act or other statute. Finally, the amendments make other technical conforming changes. Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill. Analysis Prepared by: Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0001800 AB 44 Page 6