Bill > SB503

This bill would make several changes to California's laws regarding the verification of signatures on vote-by-mail ballots and the handling of ballots with missing or non-matching signatures. Key provisions include: 1) Applying a presumption that the signature on a ballot is the voter's, and specifying that an exact signature match is not required for the signature to be deemed valid as long as it shares similar characteristics. 2) Prohibiting elections officials from considering a voter's party preference, race, or ethnicity when comparing signatures. 3) Requiring elections officials to notify voters within the next business day (or as soon as practicable) if their signature does not match, and providing them an opportunity to verify their signature. 4) Allowing a ballot to be rejected only if two officials determine beyond a reasonable doubt that the signature differs in multiple, significant, and obvious ways from the voter's registration record. 5) Removing the requirement for elections observers to be able to verify voter addresses on vote-by-mail ballot return envelopes. 6) Requiring elections officials to report to the Secretary of State the number of ballots rejected and the reasons for rejection for each election.

Budget and Finance, Government Affairs

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB503