California 2021-2022 Regular Session Status: Enacted

AB 1591 — Elections omnibus bill.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 100, Statutes of 2021.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced March 18, 2021. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 70% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 4 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

(1) Existing law requires a ballot to direct voters, with respect to candidates for Justice of the California Supreme Court or the California Court of Appeal, as further specified, to mark the voting target next to the word "Yes" or "No," to the right of the name of the candidate. Existing law also requires a ballot to direct voters, with respect to voting on any measure, to mark the voting target next to the word "Yes" or after the word "No." This bill would remove the part of the above-described direction regarding voting for a Justice of the California Supreme Court or the California Court of Appeal that requires voters to mark the voting target to the right of the name of the candidate. The bill would require a ballot to direct voters, with respect to voting on any measure, to mark the voting target next to the word "Yes" or next to the word "No." (2) Existing law authorizes county and city elections officials to establish procedures designed to permit a voter to opt out of receiving the voter's county voter information guide, state voter information guide, notice of polling place, and associated materials by mail, and instead obtain them electronically if specified conditions are satisfied. Existing law requires these procedures to include a verification process to confirm a voter's identity, either in writing, as specified, or electronically by submitting the voter's California driver's license number, California identification number, or a partial social security number. This bill would also require the verification process to confirm the identity of a voter by telephone or in person, upon confirmation of the voter's date of birth, residence address, and California driver's license number, California identification number, or a partial social security number. (3) Existing law requires a local precinct board to maintain at least one printed copy of the voter list, and to post a notice stating that only a member of the precinct board may mark the list, and that it is a misdemeanor to remove, tear, mark, or otherwise deface the list with the intent to falsify or prevent others from ascertaining specified information about a voter. Existing law requires a similar notice to be posted if an electronic poll book is used. This bill would revise the notice required if an electronic poll book is used to state that only a member of the precinct board may operate the device, and that it is a misdemeanor to tamper with, manipulate, or otherwise operate or interact with the device with the intent to falsify or prevent others from ascertaining specified information about a voter. (4) Existing law requires an elections official to preserve all voter rosters or combined rosters and voter lists, if applicable, until 5 years after the date of the election, after which they may be destroyed by the official. This bill would specify that if an electronic poll book is used, a copy of the electronic data file may be preserved in lieu of preserving a paper copy of the rosters or combined rosters and voter lists, if applicable. (5) Existing law provides that for specified elections, the elections official shall preserve, among other items, a copy of the roster used as the voting record or, if an electronic poll book is used, a copy of the electronic data file, for a period of 22 months. This bill would eliminate the elections official's duty to preserve a copy of the roster used as the voting record or, if an electronic poll book is used, a copy of the electronic data file.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 100, Statutes of 2021.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 1 p.m.

  4. In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling.

  5. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 1805.).

  6. Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.

  7. From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 1692.) (June 28).

  8. Referred to Com. on E. & C.A.

  9. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  10. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 1340.)

  11. Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.

  12. From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 29).

  13. Coauthors revised.

  14. Referred to Com. on ELECTIONS.

  15. From printer. May be heard in committee April 18.

  16. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

  • Committee on Elections · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

  • Committee on Elections

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 121 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Consent Calendar AB1591 ELECTIONS

Passed 38 Yea · 0 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 12001
Unaffiliated 22001
Republican 4000
Total 38002
% of votes cast 95%0%0%5%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Wieckowski — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Wilk — Yea
Roth — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Pan — Yea
Min — Yea
Kamlager — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Rubio — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Borgeas — Yea
Melendez — Yea
Bates — Yea
Hertzberg — Not Voting
Glazer — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Newman — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Yea
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Becker, Josh Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Cortese, Dave Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Not Voting
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Yea
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Grove, Shannon Republican Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea
Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie Republican Yea

Official roll call →

AB 1591 E. & R. Consent Calendar Second Day

Passed 77 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 27000
Unaffiliated 40001
Republican 10000
Total 77001
% of votes cast 99%0%0%1%
How each member voted (78)
Member Party Vote
Bloom — Yea
Holden — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Wood — Yea
Smith — Yea
Cunningham — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Voepel — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Kiley — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Ting — Yea
O'Donnell — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Medina — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Bigelow — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Villapudua — Yea
Salas — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Low — Yea
Levine — Yea
Daly — Yea
Gray — Yea
Burke — Yea
Mathis — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Mayes — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Chau — Yea
Mullin — Not Voting
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Lorena Gonzalez — Yea
Luz Rivas — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Yea
Bennett, Steve Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Carrillo, Juan Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Lee, Alex Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Ramos, James C. Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Yea
Ward, Christopher M. Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Yea
Choi, Steven S. Republican Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Davies, Laurie Republican Yea
Flora, Heath Republican Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Yea
Lackey, Tom Republican Yea
Patterson, Joe Republican Yea
Seyarto, Kelly Republican Yea
Valladares, Suzette Martinez Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

elections
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does AB 1591 do?
(1) Existing law requires a ballot to direct voters, with respect to candidates for Justice of the California Supreme Court or the California Court of Appeal, as further specified, to mark the voting target next to the word "Yes" or "No," to the right of the name of the candidate. Existing law also requires a ballot to direct voters, with respect to voting on any measure, to mark the voting target next to the word "Yes" or after the word "No." This bill would remove the part of the above-described direction regarding voting for a Justice of the California Supreme Court or the California Court of Appeal that requires voters to mark the voting target to the right of the name of the candidate. The bill would require a ballot to direct voters, with respect to voting on any measure, to mark the voting target next to the word "Yes" or next to the word "No." (2) Existing law authorizes county and city elections officials to establish procedures designed to permit a voter to opt out of receiving the voter's county voter information guide, state voter information guide, notice of polling place, and associated materials by mail, and instead obtain them electronically if specified conditions are satisfied. Existing law requires these procedures to include a verification process to confirm a voter's identity, either in writing, as specified, or electronically by submitting the voter's California driver's license number, California identification number, or a partial social security number. This bill would also require the verification process to confirm the identity of a voter by telephone or in person, upon confirmation of the voter's date of birth, residence address, and California driver's license number, California identification number, or a partial social security number. (3) Existing law requires a local precinct board to maintain at least one printed copy of the voter list, and to post a notice stating that only a member of the precinct board may mark the list, and that it is a misdemeanor to remove, tear, mark, or otherwise deface the list with the intent to falsify or prevent others from ascertaining specified information about a voter. Existing law requires a similar notice to be posted if an electronic poll book is used. This bill would revise the notice required if an electronic poll book is used to state that only a member of the precinct board may operate the device, and that it is a misdemeanor to tamper with, manipulate, or otherwise operate or interact with the device with the intent to falsify or prevent others from ascertaining specified information about a voter. (4) Existing law requires an elections official to preserve all voter rosters or combined rosters and voter lists, if applicable, until 5 years after the date of the election, after which they may be destroyed by the official. This bill would specify that if an electronic poll book is used, a copy of the electronic data file may be preserved in lieu of preserving a paper copy of the rosters or combined rosters and voter lists, if applicable. (5) Existing law provides that for specified elections, the elections official shall preserve, among other items, a copy of the roster used as the voting record or, if an electronic poll book is used, a copy of the electronic data file, for a period of 22 months. This bill would eliminate the elections official's duty to preserve a copy of the roster used as the voting record or, if an electronic poll book is used, a copy of the electronic data file.
Who sponsors AB 1591?
AB 1591 is sponsored by Committee on Elections.
What is the current status of AB 1591?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced March 18, 2021. Enacted.
Where can I track AB 1591?
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