September 19, 2017 Co-hosted by: Co-sponsored by: What is the - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

California Voter’s Choice Act Implementation in Sacramento County September 19, 2017 Co-hosted by: Co-sponsored by:

• Legislature passed SB 450, also known as

the Voter’s Choice Act (VCA) in 2016.

• Law was modeled after Colorado reform
• Law authorized 14 counties to participate in

2018

• 4 counties have opted to participate
• Sacramento is the largest and most diverse

county participating

• In 2020, all counties are authorized to

participate.

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What is the Voter’s Choice Act?

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What changes will the VCA make?

• All voters will receive a vote by mail ballot
• Local polling sites will be replaced by “vote

centers”

• Approximately 85% fewer in-person

voting sites on Election Day

• New opportunities at vote centers:
• Early voting:
• Approximately 16 vote centers

will be open beginning 10 days before Election Day

• Another 62 will open

beginning three days before Election Day

• Freedom to vote at any vote center
• Same day registration
• The county will also open 52 ballot dropoff

sites

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Where will the vote centers go?

• The county will be considering 14 factors in the placement of dropoff

locations and vote centers, including:

• 1. Proximity to public transportation.
• 2. Proximity to communities with historically low vote by mail usage.
• 3. Proximity to population centers.
• 4. Proximity to language minority communities.
• 5. Proximity to voters with disabilities.
• 6. Proximity to communities with low rates of household vehicle
• wnership.
• 7. Proximity to low-income communities.
• 8. Proximity to communities of eligible voters who are not registered to

vote and may need access to same day voter registration.

• 9. Proximity to geographically isolated populations, including Native

American reservations. 10.Access to accessible and free parking. 11.The distance and time a voter must travel by car or public transportation to a vote center and ballot drop-off location. 12.The need for alternate methods for voters with disabilities for whom vote by mail ballots are not accessible to cast a ballot. 13.Traffic patterns near vote centers and ballot drop-off locations. 14.The need for mobile vote centers in addition to the number of vote centers established pursuant to this section.

• The county will also consider public input on placements

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Election Administration Plan (EAP)

• County will develop an Election

Administration Plan that must include the locations of vote centers and drop off sites.

• The county will release an Election

Administration plan and the public will have at least 14 days to comment

• After 14 days, the county must hold at

least one public hearing

• The county will then decide whether to

make changes to the plan

• The plan will also include the county’s

multi-language education and outreach plan

• The education and outreach plan is

subject to approval by the Secretary of State’s office

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W W W . S O S . C A . G O V

THE CALIFORNIA VOTER’S CHOICE ACT THE FUTURE IS NOW!

ELECTION PERFORMANCE INDEX

• CA Near Last
• Turnout
• Provisionals
• Registration

LOOKING FOR BEST PRACTICES

• PCEA 2014
• County Research

Group

• Colorado Visits
• SB 450

BEST PRACTICES

• Public Input
• Auto VBM
• Drop Boxes
• Early Voting
• SDR
• Vote Centers
• Accessibility

THE CALIFORNIA VOTER’S CHOICE ACT

Public Participation Ballot Delivery Ballot Drop-Off Locations Vote Centers In-Person Voting Early Voting Same Day Voter Registration Use any Center

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

• WWW.SOS.CA.GOV/ELECTIONS/VOTERS-CHOICE-ACT/

FOR QUESTIONS CONTACT: JAMES SCHWAB JAME.SCHWAB@SOS.CA.GOV

Why did Sacramento County adopt the VCA?

 Expansion of voting opportunities to fit modern

lifestyles

 Conditional Voter Registration  Reduction of Provisional Ballots & “partial” counts  Cost Savings  Improved efficiency and use of resources  64% of active voters are already Permanent Vote by

Mail voters

Sacramento County’s VBM Trend

Sacramento County’s Minimum Location Requirements

 11 Day Vote Centers: 16  4 Day Vote Centers: 62  Total Vote Centers: 78  29 Day Ballot Drop-off Sites: 52

Outreach and Education

Website

Notices Brochures/flyers

Community Events High Schools Voter Education Presentations City Council Meetings

Outreach and Education

Libraries

 Hosting Public Education Workshops

Media

 Videos  PSA  Social Media (Facebook, Twitter)  Radio, Television, Newspaper (languages)

Goals of the LAAC

 Assist and advise county elections officials on existing

programs to reach voters with limited-English proficiency, including:

 Recruitment and staffing of bilingual Election Officers  Provide feedback on election and voter education

materials

 Enhance website usability

 Provide expertise on language accessibility issues  Promote language accessibility initiatives  Respond to the County’s questions regarding language

accessibility issues

Goals of the VAAC

 Assist and advise county elections officials on existing

programs to reach people with disabilities, including:

 Recruitment of Election Officers  Provide feedback on election and voter education

materials

 Enhance website accessibility

 Advise county elections officials on where to set up

voting equipment and how to recognize barriers

 Evaluate polling places for compliance with state and

federal accessibility guidelines

Scheduled Meetings

 VAAC Meetings are held at:

 7000 65th Street, Community Room

Sacramento, CA 95823

 Next scheduled VAAC meetings:

 Tuesday, September 26th at 6:00 p.m.  Tuesday, October 10th at 6:00 p.m.  Tuesday, November 7th at 6:00 p.m.

 LAAC Meeting schedule coming soon

Election Administration Plan

Discussion plan on website Public Consultation meetings

held September 15

Additional Public Consultation

meetings TBA

Share Your Comments Now:

 We welcome your feedback!

 Visit www.elections.saccounty.net and click on the

banner shown below:

Share Your Comments Now:

Email your comments:

VoterInfo@SacCounty.net

Call us: (916) 875-6451

VAAC and VCA Implementation Sacramento County Paul Spencer, Disability Rights California

• A Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee
• Community members

and

• County elections officials
• Sacramento’s VAAC benefits your community in

many ways, providing a forum for the disability and senior communities to voice their concerns and provide advice.

• The VAAC helps election officials plan and

brainstorm.

• The VAAC creates opportunities for collaboration

and community outreach.

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What is a VAAC? What is its purpose?

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How can the VAAC help with making a VCA election accessible?

• Vote Center and ballot drop off locations:
• “proximity to voters with disabilities”

and

• “proximity to public transportation”
• Outreach and media plans
• Planning public workshop(s) for voters

with disabilities

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What is the status of Sacramento County’s VAAC? How can I participate?

• The next meetings are:
• 9/26 @ 6pm
• 10/10 @ 6pm
• 11/7 @ 6pm
• Meetings are open to the public
• Check out the County website for meeting

times and announcements: http://www.elections.saccounty.net/VoteCe nters/Pages/Public-Notices.aspx

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Consultation meeting with the disability community

• The County must draft an Election

Administration Plan (EAP) There will be

• pportunities to:
• Provide input before the EAP is

drafted

• Provide feedback after the EAP is

drafted

• Under the VCA there are special

requirements to consult with the disability and language communities

• Recap of last week consultation meeting

with the disability community on the EAP

LAAC and VCA Implementation Sacramento County Michelle Lim, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - California

What is a LAAC? What is its purpose?

• Language Accessibility Advisory

Committee (“LAAC”)

• Importance of language assistance
• What a LAAC can do:
• Provide input and assistance on

reviewing translations

• Help plan community outreach and

education

• Recruit bilingual poll workers
• Advise where language-minority

communities frequent (identify vote center locations), among many other issues

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What are the languages covered in Sacramento County?

Under Federal Law (comprehensive assistance)

• Spanish and Chinese

Under California State Law

• Tagalog, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese

and Hindi

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How can the LAAC participate according to the EAP?

• Bilingual poll worker placements
• Bilingual voter education workshop
• Language-minority media campaign
• Public service announcements in minority

languages

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What is the status

• f Sacramento

County's LAAC? How can I participate?

• Next meeting TBD
• Representation from all languages are

needed

• Open call for membership here:

http://www.elections.saccounty.net/VoteCe nters/Documents/LAAC%20Cover%20Lett er.pdf

• For more information you can also contact

voter-outreach@saccounty.net

Getting Involved with the VCC Sacramento County Nicolas Heidorn, California Common Cause

• Who We Are:

+ Local Hub

• Our Goal: Successful implementation of

the VCA (SB 450)

• Local Hub Support:
• Notifications of VCA Updates &

Engagement Points

• Toolkits, educational documents,

resources, speakers

• Build a local network for effective

implementation

• Community engagement funding

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What is Voters Choice California (VCC)?

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Getting involved in VCA Implementation – Some Next Steps

• Sign-up for the local hub (see sign-in)
• Attend the next LAAC or VAAC:
• Review & comment on the EAP

Discussion Document: www.elections.saccounty.net/VoteCen ters/Documents/EAP-Discussion-and- Consultation-Document-Web.pdf

• Attend the EAP public hearing: TBD
• Host a community forum to discuss

vote center and dropoff sites in your community

• Apply for a VCC Community

Engagement small grant

• Urge the county to allocate more $ for

voter outreach

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VCC Community Engagement Grants - How can I participate?

• VCC anticipates awarding 20-40

Community Engagement Grants statewide

• Likely Application Period: end of

September – end of October

• To learn more:
• Sign up for the Local Hub
• Visit: www.voterschoice.org (visit 9/25

for details)

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QUESTIONS?