Amended in Assembly January 4, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 887


Introduced by Assembly Member Ting

February 26, 2015


An act tobegin insert amend Sections 3104 and 3105 of, and toend insert addbegin delete Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 3050) to Division 3 ofend deletebegin insert Sections 3106.2 and 3106.5 to,end insert the Elections Code, relating to elections.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 887, as amended, Ting. begin deleteElectronic ballot transmission.end deletebegin insertMilitary and overseas voters: ballot submission by electronic mail: Internet voting.end insert

begin insert

Existing law requires that a vote by mail ballot be available to any registered voter and specifies the manner by which the ballot must be returned. Existing law permits a military or overseas voter who is temporarily living outside of the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia, or is called to military service, to return his or her vote by mail ballot by facsimile transmission to the elections official. The ballot must be received by the closing of the election day polls and accompanied by an identification envelope and an oath of voter declaration in a prescribed form. Existing law requires a military or overseas voter who returns a ballot by facsimile transmission to agree in an oath of voter declaration under penalty of perjury to waive his or her right to a secret ballot and that he or she has not applied for a vote by mail ballot from any other jurisdiction for the election. The elections official is required to determine the voter’s eligibility to vote by comparing the voter’s signature from the materials returned by facsimile transmission to the signature on the voter’s affidavit of registration.

end insert
begin insert

This bill would permit a military or overseas voter to return his or her ballot by electronic mail, as prescribed. The bill would require the ballot to be accompanied by a copy of an identification envelope and an oath of voter declaration in substantially the form described with respect to facsimile transmission of ballots. This bill would require the elections official to determine the voter’s eligibility to vote by comparing the signature on the scanned copy of the identification envelope with the signature on the voter’s affidavit of registration.

end insert
begin insert

This bill would permit a military or overseas voter to cast his or her vote on the Internet by electronically marking his or her ballot and securely transmitting the voted ballot to the appropriate elections official. To be counted, the voted ballot must be received by the voter’s elections official no later than the closing of the polls on election day. These provisions would become operative only if the Secretary of State certifies that he or she has identified and addressed all issues regarding the security of casting a vote using the Internet.

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begin insert

Because the bill requires elections officials to provide a higher level of service and expands the scope of the crime of perjury, it would impose a state-mandated local program.

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begin insert

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.

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begin insert

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

end insert
begin insert

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.

end insert
begin delete

Existing law requires that a vote by mail ballot be available to any registered voter. Under existing law, a voter may: (1) return the vote by mail ballot by mail or in person to the elections official from whom it came; (2) return the vote by mail ballot in person to a member of a precinct board at a polling place within the jurisdiction, or (3), if unable to return the vote by mail ballot, designate his or her spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, or a person residing in the same household as the vote by mail voter to return the ballot to the elections official from whom it came or to the precinct board at a polling place within the jurisdiction.

end delete
begin delete

This bill would authorize an elections official to send a voter a ballot by secure electronic transmission for an election conducted wholly within the county. This bill would also require a voter who receives a ballot in this manner to print the ballot for return to the elections official.

end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: begin deleteno end deletebegin insertyesend insert. State-mandated local program: begin deleteno end deletebegin insertyesend insert.

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

P3    1begin insert

begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

end insert

begin insertSection 3104 of the end insertbegin insertElections Codeend insertbegin insert is amended
2to read:end insert

3

3104.  

Applications for the ballots of military or overseas voters
4shall be received and, except as provided inbegin delete Section 3106,end deletebegin insert Sections
53106, 3106.2, and 3106.5,end insert
the ballots shall be received and
6canvassed, at the same time and under the same procedure as vote
7by mail ballots, insofar as that procedure is not inconsistent with
8this chapter.

9begin insert

begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

end insert

begin insertSection 3105 of the end insertbegin insertElections Codeend insertbegin insert is amended to read:end insert

10

3105.  

(a) begin deleteAny end deletebegin insertAn end insertapplication made pursuant to this chapter
11that is received by the elections official prior to the 60th day before
12the election shall be kept and processed on or after the 60th day
13before the election.

14(b) (1) The elections official shall send the ballot not earlier
15than 60 days but not later than 45 days before the election and
16shall include with the ballot a list of all candidates who have
17qualified for the ballot and a list of all measures that are to be
18submitted to the voters and on which the voter is qualified to vote.
19The voter shall be entitled to write in the name of any specific
20candidate seeking nomination or election to any office listed on
21the ballot.

22(2) The military or overseas voter may, in the alternative to the
23ballot provided pursuant to paragraph (1), use a federal write-in
24absentee ballot to vote in any election in which the military or
25overseas voter is qualified to vote.

26(c) Notwithstanding Section 15341 or any otherbegin delete provision ofend delete
27 law, any name written upon a ballot for a particular office pursuant
28to subdivision (b) shall be counted for the office or nomination,
29providing the candidate whose name has been written on the ballot
P4    1has, as of the date of the election, qualified to have his or her name
2placed on the ballot for the office, or has qualified as a write-in
3candidate for the office.

4(d) Except as provided inbegin delete Section 3106,end deletebegin insert Sections 3106, 3106.2,
5and 3106.5,end insert
the elections official shall receive and canvass military
6or overseas voter ballots described in this section under the same
7procedure as vote by mail ballots, insofar as that procedure is not
8inconsistent with this section.

9(e) In the event that a military or overseas voter executes a ballot
10pursuant to this section and an application for a vote by mail ballot
11pursuant to Section 3102, the elections official shall process the
12application and the ballot in accordance with this chapter.

13(f) Notwithstanding any otherbegin delete provision ofend delete law, a military or
14overseas voter who qualifies pursuant to this chapter may, by
15facsimile transmission, register to vote and apply for a ballot
16pursuant to this section or a vote by mail ballot. Upon request, the
17elections official shall send the ballot to the qualified military or
18overseas voter either by mail, facsimile, or electronic transmission,
19as requested by the voter.

20begin insert

begin insertSEC. 3.end insert  

end insert

begin insertSection 3106.2 is added to the end insertbegin insertElections Codeend insertbegin insert, to read:end insert

begin insert
21

begin insert3106.2.end insert  

(a) A military or overseas voter, as described in
22subdivision (b) of Section 300, may return his or her vote by mail
23ballot by electronic mail in the manner prescribed in subdivision
24(b). To be counted, the ballot returned by electronic mail must be
25received by the voter’s elections official no later than the closing
26of the polls on election day and must be accompanied by a copy
27of an identification envelope containing all of the information
28required by Section 3011 and an oath of voter declaration in
29substantially the form described in subdivision (a) of Section 3106.

30(b) To submit a ballot by electronic mail, the ballot and
31accompanying identification envelope and oath of voter declaration
32must be scanned to create electronic copies of the documents. The
33electronic copies of the documents shall be included in the
34electronic mail sent to the elections official as attachments. The
35Secretary of State shall adopt uniform regulations for the use of
36electronic mail in returning ballots.

37(c) Notwithstanding the voter’s waiver of the right to a secret
38ballot, each elections official shall adopt appropriate procedures
39to protect the secrecy of ballots returned by electronic mail.

P5    1(d) Upon receipt of a ballot returned by electronic mail, the
2elections official shall determine the voter’s eligibility to vote by
3comparing the signature on the scanned copy of the identification
4envelope with the signature on the voter’s affidavit of registration.
5The ballot shall be duplicated and all materials preserved
6according to procedures set forth in this code.

end insert
7begin insert

begin insertSEC. 4.end insert  

end insert

begin insertSection 3106.5 is added to the end insertbegin insertElections Codeend insertbegin insert, to read:end insert

begin insert
8

begin insert3106.5.end insert  

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a military or
9overseas voter, as described in subdivision (b) of Section 300, may
10cast his or her vote on the Internet by electronically marking his
11or her ballot and securely transmitting the voted ballot to the
12appropriate elections official using the Internet. To be counted,
13the voted ballot must be received by the voter’s elections official
14no later than the closing of the polls on election day.

15(b) The Secretary of State shall adopt uniform regulations for
16military and overseas voters to cast votes using the Internet.

17(c) This section shall become operative only if the Secretary of
18State certifies that he or she has identified and addressed all issues
19regarding the security of casting a vote using the Internet.

end insert
20begin insert

begin insertSEC. 5.end insert  

end insert
begin insert

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
21Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain
22costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
23because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction,
24eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
25or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
26Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
27meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
28Constitution.

end insert
begin insert

29However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that
30this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement
31to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
32pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
334 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

end insert
begin delete34

SECTION 1.  

Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 3050) is
35added to Division 3 of the Elections Code, to read:

 

P6    1Chapter  1.5. Electronic Ballot Transmission
2

 

3

3050.  

(a) An elections official may send a voter a ballot by
4secure electronic transmission if the election is conducted wholly
5within the county.

end delete


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