Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom Strengthens California Elections

Sacramento, CA - Today, Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom has partnered with California's Secretary of State, Shirley Weber, to introduce AB 1610.

California's Elections Code currently provides no clear guidance for counties when they receive notice of a voter's mailing address that differs from their residence address. For that reason, each of California's 58 counties handles mailing address changes differently. Some resend ballots to old addresses. Others remove mailing addresses altogether. Some take no action at all.

There is no uniform process, no required notice to voters, and no guarantee ballots are delivered where voters asked them to be sent. AB 1610 puts an end to that inconsistency by providing guidance to counties on how to respond when confronted with this situation.

"AB 1610 will make sure voters receive their ballots on time to the right address. This is a commonsense solution to simplify a complicated process for our state's voters, and I am thankful to Secretary Weber for her partnership in bringing this bill forward."

-Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom

Providing Guidance to Counties

AB 1610 establishes a single statewide process for handling postal change of address data related to voter mailing addresses. Counties will be required to update records correctly, notify voters, and send ballots to the right address.

"There is currently no uniformity across the 58 counties when they receive change of address data for mailing addresses where those addresses differ from the voter's residence address," said Secretary of State Shirley Weber. "This bill will cure that deficiency by providing much needed guidance and clarity to the counties." AB 1610 closes a clear gap in election law that has allowed ballots to be misdirected and voters to be put at risk.