A bill that would bring an all-mail voting pilot project to Yolo County has gone to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature. The bill overcame its last legislative hurdle Thursday, passing the Assembly Floor on a 50-19 vote.
“An important feature of this bill is the data that will be collected about the effects of all-mail ballot voting. The study element featured in this bill could help guide the future of elections in California,” said the bill’s sponsor Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada, D-Davis.
“I am proud to have received support on both sides of the aisle this year. This practical bill will give local governments an opportunity to save thousands of dollars per election.”
At the same time, with each election, more and more voters are choosing to exercise their right-to-vote by choosing permanent Vote by Mail status. Voting by mail is also emerging as a more efficient way to conduct an election. AB 413 continues Yolo County’s legacy of election integrity and reform led by Yolo County Clerk-Recorder’s office.
AB 413 will allow Yolo County Clerk-Recorder Freddie Oakley to conduct up to three local elections using mail ballots as the primary voting system. These elections would not be held on the same date as general or statewide elections. At least one polling location per jurisdiction would remain open to accommodate those who are unable or prefer not to vote using a mailed ballot. Ballot drop off locations would also be available to make it easy and
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convenient for the voter to deliver his or her ballot.
AB 413 also requires the county to report the outcomes of the all-mail ballot elections to the Legislature.
The report would include statistics on cost, the turnout of different populations, the number of ballots that were not counted and the reasons why they were rejected, any voter fraud problems and any other problems that became known to the county during the election.
The report would compare the success of the all-mailed ballot elections to similar elections not conducted as all-mailed ballot elections in Yolo County.
Full Article: Yamada bill for all-mail ballot voting goes to governor – Daily Democrat Online.