025-2006 Senate Committee To Hear on 222 Bill That Allows Vote By Mail Only Election.htm

CDCAN
CALIFORNIA DISABILITY COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK
DISABILITY RIGHTS NEWS REPORT
#0025-2006 February 21, 2006 Tuesday
Advocacy Without Borders:
Connecting people with disabilities & seniors to rights and unified action
1225 8th Street Suite 480 - Sacramento, CA 95814 916/446-0013 Fax: 916/446-0026
Marty Omoto - director email: martyomoto@rcip.com website: www.cdcan.us

CA STATE LEGISLATURE
* STATE SENATE ELECTIONS COMMITTEE TO HEAR VOTE BY MAIL BILL
* HEARING SET FOR FEBRUARY 22 AT 9:30 AM
* AB 707 AUTHORIZES ANY COUNTY TO HOLD MAIL ONLY ELECTIONS
* EMERGENCY BILL WOULD BE EFFECTIVE FOR JUNE 2006 PRIMARY
* IMPACT TO PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND SENIORS

SACRAMENTO - The State Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee is scheduled to hear on February 22, 2006, Wednesday at 09:30 AM at the State Capitol in Room 3191, AB 707 by Assemblymember Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley, 14th District) which would allow any California county to conduct the June 6, 2006 primary election completely by mailed-in ballots, providing that certain conditions are met. The bill is an "urgency" or emergency legislation which will take effect immediately should it receive 2/3rds votes in favor in both houses and approval by the Governor.

The issue is considered controversial because of the impact on people with disabilities and seniors. Some advocates have raised concerns about whether this would give certain counties a way not to comply with federal and state laws requiring accessible voting machines and equipment and also concerns about issues regarding accessibility, confidentiality of mail-in ballots for people with disabilities and seniors.

AB 707 originally dealt with public contracts. Those provisons were deleted and new provisions about the primary election and voting by mail were amended on February 14.

Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee
Total members: 5
Democrats (3): Chair - Sen. Debra Bowen (D-Marina Del Rey 28th District), Sen. Kevin Murray (D-Los Angeles, 26th District), and Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles, 24th District)
Republicans (2): Vice Chair - Sen. Jim Battin (R-La Quinta, 37th District), and Sen. Charles Poochigian (R-Fresno,. 14th District)
Committee Consultants: Darren Chesin (chief), and Fran Tibon-Estoista
Committee Office Phone: 916/651-4106
Committee Office: State Capitol - Room 2203

Background Of AB 707
AB 707 - Voting By Mail: June 6, 2006 Primary Election
Author: Assemblymember Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley, 14th District)
Introduced: 02/15/2005 [bill was substantively amended 2/.14/06]
Status: Amended 2/14/06 in Senate. Set for hearing in the Senate Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee on 02/22/06, 09:30 AM, State Capitol in Room 3191.
What The Bill Would Do:
* Would, until January 1, 2007, authorize any county in California to conduct the June 6, 2006, direct primary election completely by mailed ballots if specified conditions are met.
* Would provide that the tallied ballots include the absent voter's ballots, provisional ballots, and ballots cast at satellite location.
* Would also require the county elections official to use either a random number generator or other method specified by the Secretary of State to randomly choose the initial precincts subject to the public manual tally.
* Would take effect immediately as an urgency or emergency bill.
Background:
* Existing state law already allows counties to hold a local, special, or consolidated election conducted wholly by mail if the governing body of the
local agency authorizes the use of all mailed ballots for the election, the election is held on an established mailed ballot election date, and the election meets certain other specified requirements.
* Existing lstate aw requires the California Secretary of State to establish the specifications and the regulations governing voting machines, voting devices, and any software used, including the programs and procedures for vote tabulating and testing. Existing state law prohibits the Secretary of State from approving any voting system that does not meet requirements in state law and regulations.
Impact to People with Disabilities and Seniors: Very Important. Major questions of accessibility, etc of vote by mail ballots, and the larger issue of compliance of counties to have accessible and approved voting machines for the June primary election have been raised by many disability rights and senior advocates.
Next Steps: This bill is on a fast track. If the bill passes out of committee (needs simple majority of 3 votes), then it goes to Senate Appropriations, and then to the Senate Floor. It would then be returned to the Assembly Floor for a vote to agree on changes (the amendments) made in the Senate. Assembly leaders could require that the bill be sent to a policy committee,since the original legislation was about public contracts - though that is not likely.

REMINDER - IMPORTANT TOWNHALL ON MEDI-CAL TODAY!
* CDCAN Disability Rights Townhall Telemeeting - MONDAY! FEB 21, 1PM to 2:45 PM, sponsored by California NAELA and Santa Barbara County's CHANCE Inc (a housing coalition for people with developmental disabilities) on Medi-Cal issues, including update on SB 912, brief update on Medicare Part D, and major focus on impact of passage of the federal "Deficit Reduction Act" and its impact on Medi-Cal, and people with developmental and other disabilities and seniors, their families, workers, organizations. Will feature officials from California Department of Health Services, including Stan Rosenstein, head of the state's Medi-Cal program. Townhall telemeetings are free - and a means for people with disabilities, seniors, their families, workers, organizations and other advocates to participate in policy making no matter where they are. CDCAN says it is part of their "Advocacy without borders" program.
To participate:
* Step One: Dial toll-free 1-888-346-5716 (NO passcode!)
* Step Two: Tell the operator you want to join the CDCAN Townhall Telemeeting
* Step Three: The operator will connect you
Go to the CDCAN website at www.cdcan.us for more information.

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The California Disability Community Action Network is a non-partisan link to thousands of Californians with developmental and other disabilities, people with traumatic brain and other injures, seniors and their families, community organizations and providers, direct care and other workers, and other advocates. These action alerts and news reports is for all of them. If you would like to get on this distribution (and conversely, get off of it) please send an email with that request to: martyomoto@rcip.com OR sign up via the NEW CDCAN website at www.cdcan.us Sharing information is part of our organizing effort. Please feel free to forward or copy this (attribution is nice but not necessary). We're all in this together!