[EL] Quick question about provisional voting in California
Pedro Hernandez
pedro at fairvote.org
Mon Aug 17 15:03:34 PDT 2020
To add to what Justin and Lisa have said ...
In June, post governor's executive order, the CA SoS has provided some
guidance non-VCA/VCA counties:
https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/ccrov/pdf/2020/june/20135jl.pdf (see page
2, Voting Opportunities, In-Person voting opportunities) -- non-VCA
counties are to provide at least one polling place (it then clarifies that
it means a Vote Center) per 10k registered voters.
There are a lot of reasons why a person might want to vote in person
instead of VBM, which they are allowed to do. A voter might have made a
mistake on their ballot, so they might want to surrender their ballot and
vote in person if there isn't enough time to have a new ballot mailed to
them. Remember, HAVA requires machines to notify voters of an overvote
<https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/help-america-vote-act/hava-state-plan-2003/section-1/>
.... envelopes can't do that -- so my advice has been that voters should
make a plan, and double check their ballots for errors. In my limited study
of SF elections, most overvotes during our odd-year election occurred via
VBM ballots.
I haven't seen any language that modifies § 3015
<https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=ELEC&division=3.&title=&part=&chapter=1.&article=>
(a
VBM voter can cast a nonprovisional ballot if they surrender their VBM
ballot, and there are a few more exceptions listed in 3015 and explained
below in the SoS poll worker training standards
<https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-resources/voting-california/help-strengthen-our-democracy/poll-worker-info/poll-worker-training-standards/section-three/>
.
Hope that's helpful.
- Pedro
--------------
from
https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-resources/voting-california/help-strengthen-our-democracy/poll-worker-info/poll-worker-training-standards/section-three/
Vote-by-Mail Voting
- Vote-by-mail voters have three options if they decide not to mail
their ballots in. They can:
1. 1. Turn in the voted vote-by-mail ballot in person to the office
of the elections official, any polling place in the state, a
vote center, a
vote-by-mail drop-off location, or a drop box on or before 8:00 p.m. on
election day. (§§ 2300(a)(7), 3020, 14212);
2. 2. Appear at their designated polling place on Election Day, or
appear at a vote center or the regular or satellite office of their
elections official and,
- • Vote a nonprovisional ballot if either of the following
conditions is satisfied (§ 3015):
- (a) The voter surrenders their vote-by-mail ballot, or
- (b) The voter is unable to surrender their vote-by-mail
ballot, but the precinct board, vote center election
board, or elections
official does all of the following:
- (i)Verifies that the voter has not returned his or her
voted vote-by-mail ballot, and
- (ii)Notates the voter’s voter record to ensure that the
voter’s vote-by-mail ballot is not cast or tabulated
after they vote at the
polls.
- • Vote a provisional ballot if (§§ 3016, 14310(f)):
- (a) The voter is unable to surrender their vote-by-mail
ballot and
- (b) The precinct board, vote center election board, or
elections official cannot:
- (i) Verify if the voter has returned their voted
vote-by-mail ballot, and
- (i) Verify if the voter has returned their voted
vote-by-mail ballot, and
- -OR-
- (iii) The voter is unable to surrender their vote-by-mail
ballot and the precinct board or elections official (in
a non-VCA county)
cannot readily determine if the voter is in the correct
polling location.
- It is not uncommon for a voter to receive a vote-by-mail
ballot in the mail, then either forget to mail it back before Election Day
or decide to hand-deliver it to the polls. Poll workers must be informed
they must accept any vote-by- mail ballot issued to any voter in the state,
either from the voter or from a designated third party delivering it for
the voter. County elections officials will sort those vote by mail ballots
into the proper precinct or forward them to the appropriate California
county election official. Designated third parties are any person who is
not compensated based on the number of ballots returned if the voter
requested and received their ballot under late vote-by-mail conditions (7
or fewer days before Election Day), the voter can authorize any person to
return the ballot for them. (§§ 3017, 3021)
- Sometimes voters change their minds and want to vote at the polls
instead of by mail. Poll workers should be taught how to handle surrendered
vote-by-mail ballots brought in by these voters. Poll workers should be
trained how to record and handle voted and surrendered vote-by-mail ballots
(surrendered vote-by-mail ballot will not be counted), where to store them,
and how they should be handled after the polls close. (§§ 3015, 3017)
- In the event a vote-by-mail voter does not sign his or her
vote-by-mail envelope, the voter may fill out and timely return an
“Unsigned Ballot Envelope Statement” to the elections official, which
includes a polling place and a ballot dropoff box. The elections officials
should provide “Unsigned Ballot Envelope Statement” forms at all polling
places for use by voters. (§ 3019)
- When processing voted vote-by-mail ballots, elections officials are
required to compare the signature on the return envelope against the
signature(s) of the voter in the voter’s record. If the signatures do not
match, the elections officials must notify the voter, who may submit a
“Signature Verification Statement” to verify (cure) his or her signature
before certification of the election. The “Signature Verification
Statement” must be timely returned to the elections official, which
includes a polling place and a ballot dropoff box. The elections official
should provide “Signature Verification Statement” forms at all polling
places for use by voters. (§ 3019)
Pedro Hernandez
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Senior Policy Coordinator, Voting Rights & Ranked Choice Voting
http://fairvote.org
On Mon, Aug 17, 2020 at 2:32 PM Levitt, Justin <justin.levitt at lls.edu>
wrote:
> Thanks, Lisa, for the clarification.
>
>
>
> For those following the bouncing balls, I *believe* this means that
> voters in California counties with vote centers, as long as the e-pollbooks
> at those vote centers are working, those voting in person will usually get
> a “regular” ballot. The only time those voters get a provisional is if
> they’re not on the rolls, or if records show they have actually returned a
> mail ballot already. (If a mail ballot arrives at the county after a voter
> has already voted the regular ballot in person, the mail ballot will not
> count.)
>
>
>
> And for those voting in counties with traditional polling places, I
> believe those voting in person can get a regular ballot by surrendering
> their mail ballot. Those who do not surrender their mail ballot will vote
> a provisional.
>
>
>
> Given how many voters live in VCA counties, as Lisa says, I think that
> means the answer to Nate’s question is that most California voters who
> choose to vote in person will not be casting provisional ballots.
>
>
>
> And given the confusion (and the natural desire to facilitate information
> about “how it works in California” based on personal experience in one
> county), that speaks to the immense importance of communication to voters
> <https://redistricting.lls.edu/other/Levitt%20USCCR%20testimony%2020200708.pdf#page=16>
> about how the process works for them – not just in California, but
> everywhere. That’s best done locally by county administrators, who can
> speak to voters in their county without the all of the different
> combinations state officials may have to account for. And *that* brings
> me back to the familiar issue on this listserv of needing to make sure that
> the counties get the funding they’ve been begging for, to make that
> communication possible.
>
>
>
> Justin
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Law-election <law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> *On
> Behalf Of *Lisa Bryant
> *Sent:* Monday, August 17, 2020 1:45 PM
> *To:* Douglas Johnson <djohnson at ndcresearch.com>
> *Cc:* Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu>
> *Subject:* Re: [EL] Quick question about provisional voting in California
>
>
>
> Yes, "most counties" did not receive ballots automatically, but about 50%
> of CA voters lived in a VCA county where they automatically received a
> ballot in the mail for the primary election this year. In those counties,
> if they didn't take their ballot to the vote center with them the vote
> center printed a new ballot and voided the mailed ballot. They did not have
> to vote provisionally.
>
>
>
> Even prior to VCA, over 60% of registered voters in CA were registered for
> permanent absentee ballots, as high as 75% in some counties. CA also has a
> couple of counties that are were exclusively VBM prior to VCA due to small
> populations and their rural nature. CA, as a whole, is pretty familiar
> with VBM and absentee ballots.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
> Lisa
>
>
>
>
>
> Lisa Bryant, Ph.D.
>
> Associate Professor, Department of Political Science
>
> Survey Director, Institute for Leadership and Public Policy
>
> California State University, Fresno
>
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 17, 2020 at 1:28 PM Douglas Johnson <djohnson at ndcresearch.com>
> wrote:
>
> But that primary was an election where in most counties you actively
> requested a ballot (either for that election or as a permanent absentee).
> This November election millions will get mail ballots they never requested
> - will they know to bring them with them to surrender?
>
>
>
> Eric McGhee or Thad Kousser (or anyone from that team), has your research
> with the early “Vote Center” counties shown any indications of how much
> this is an issue?
>
>
>
> - Doug
>
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 17, 2020 at 12:04 PM Pamela S Karlan <pkarlan at stanford.edu>
> wrote:
>
> Dear Fred and Nate,
>
>
>
> If the primary is any indication, at my polling place, it seemed that most
> of us who were voting in person *did* hand in our VBM ballot.
>
>
>
> It's interesting that the Secretary of State's website doesn't say
> anything about this.:
> https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-info/ways-vote/
>
>
>
> Pamela S. Karlan
>
> Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law
>
> Co-Director, Supreme Court Litigation Clinic
>
> Stanford Law School
>
> karlan at stanford.edu
>
> 650-725-4851
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> *From:* Law-election <law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> on
> behalf of Fredric Woocher <fwoocher at strumwooch.com>
> *Sent:* Monday, August 17, 2020 11:52 AM
> *To:* Nate Persily <npersily at law.stanford.edu>; Election Law Listserv <
> law-election at uci.edu>
> *Subject:* Re: [EL] Quick question about provisional voting in California
>
>
>
> Nate,
>
>
>
> I do not know the answer for certain, but unless the voter hands in the
> unvoted VBM ballot, I don’t see how it could be otherwise. For those
> counties that will still be using traditional polling places, there is no
> other way for the pollworkers to know whether the voted VBM has already
> been returned prior to casting a ballot at the polling place.
>
>
>
> I believe some counties that have the ability to use electronic polling
> books, with real-time countywide information on who has voted and by what
> means, may be able to avoid the use of provisional ballots, but I don’t see
> how that can be avoided in other counties.
>
>
>
> And this has the potential to introduce an additional grounds for
> invalidating the voted ballot, because many people forget to sign their
> provisional ballots in every election.
>
>
>
> Fredric D. Woocher
>
> Strumwasser & Woocher LLP
>
> 10940 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 2000
> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/10940+Wilshire+Blvd.,+Ste.+2000+%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Los+Angeles,+CA+90024?entry=gmail&source=g>
>
> Los Angeles, CA 90024
> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/10940+Wilshire+Blvd.,+Ste.+2000+%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Los+Angeles,+CA+90024?entry=gmail&source=g>
>
> fwoocher at strumwooch.com
>
> (310) 576-1233 x105
>
>
>
> *IMPORTANT NOTICE**:* Pursuant to the Governor’s “Stay at Home” Order,
> Strumwasser & Woocher LLP is CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC. *Packages requiring
> signatures will be returned undelivered – do not serve papers by this
> method.* While our office is closed, *Strumwasser & Woocher LLP consents
> to electronic service in all of its matters*. Please serve by electronic
> mail to fwoocher at strumwooch.com AND to our Senior Legal Assistant,
> LaKeitha Oliver, at loliver at strumwooch.com. We reserve the right to
> object to any notice or delivery of any kind if not actually received by
> counsel before all statutory deadlines.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Law-election [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu]
> *On Behalf Of *Nate Persily
> *Sent:* Monday, August 17, 2020 11:45 AM
> *To:* Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu>
> *Subject:* [EL] Quick question about provisional voting in California
>
>
>
> Does anyone know if the voters who will choose to vote in person in
> California this November will need to vote a provisional ballot? That is,
> given that all active registrants will receive ballots in the mail, will
> those who opt for polling places necessarily be casting a provisional
> ballot, rather than a "normal" ballot?
>
> ----------------
>
> Nate Persily
>
> James B. McClatchy Professor of Law
> Stanford Law School
> 559 Nathan Abbott Way
> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/559+Nathan+Abbott+Way+%0D%0A+Stanford,+CA+94305-8610?entry=gmail&source=g>
> Stanford, CA 94305-8610
> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/559+Nathan+Abbott+Way+%0D%0A+Stanford,+CA+94305-8610?entry=gmail&source=g>
> (917) 570-3223
> npersily at stanford.edu
>
> www.persily.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> Law-election mailing list
> Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
> https://department-lists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/law-election
>
> --
>
> Douglas Johnson
> National Demographics Corporation
> djohnson at NDCresearch.com
> phone 310-200-2058
>
> _______________________________________________
> Law-election mailing list
> Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
> https://department-lists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/law-election
>
> _______________________________________________
> Law-election mailing list
> Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
> https://department-lists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/law-election
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20200817/a0ce6c25/attachment.html>
View list directory