Elections: voting.

Existing law permits vote by mail voters who return to their home precincts on election day to vote if they surrender their vote by mail ballots, as specified. Existing law requires the precinct board to return these surrendered ballots to the elections official in a designated envelope. This bill would permit vote by mail voters who return to their home precincts or go to another voting location, as specified, to vote nonprovisional ballots if they surrender their ballots to the relevant voting authority or, if they are unable to surrender their vote by mail ballots, if the voting authority verifies that they have not returned their vote by mail ballots and notates their voter records accordingly. By increasing the duties of local elections officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law, the California Voter's Choice Act, authorizes certain counties to conduct any election, after a specified date, as an all-mailed ballot election if certain conditions are satisfied, including conditions related to ballot dropoff locations, vote centers, and plans for the administration of all-mailed ballot elections. This bill would make conforming and other nonsubstantive changes to provisions affected by that act. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 3108 of the Elections Code, proposed by AB 1403, Section 14200 of the Elections Code, proposed by AB 918, and Section 14105 of the Elections Code, proposed by AB 837, and would provide that these changes be operative only if this bill and AB 1403, AB 918, or AB 837 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.