Legislation would send mail ballots straight to county registrar

DOWNEY – A proposed law that would require all completed vote-by-mail applications to be mailed directly to the county registrar’s office and not to middlemen or political campaign organizations passed the Senate floor this week. AB 1596 passed 35-0 and now heads to the governor’s desk awaiting a signature.

The legislation was introduced by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia in response to reports of alleged tampering, interference and loss of vote-by-mail applications.

“We need to make sure there is no tampering or delays in the voting procedure so that we can ensure the public’s trust in the process,” Garcia said.

AB 1596 requires that all vote-by-mail applications be addressed and mailed directly to the county registrar’s office.

The measure was originally proposed by Bell Gardens residents Sally and Ron Hoyt, the winners of Garcia’s 58th Assembly District “There Ought to Be a Law” contest.

The bill is part of Garcia’s “Political Conduct, Ethics and Public Trust Acts of 2014,” a package of six bills that are a wide ranging package of legislation written against a background of state and local corruption and political misdeeds.

“It’s exciting to have the first of my ethics package legislation to the governor’s desk,” Garcia said. “I’m hopeful he will agree to sign this and any of my additional ethics bills that make it to his desk. I encourage the public to reach out to the governor’s office in support of this measure and the rest of my ethics package.”

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Published: Aug. 14, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 18