Dear Mr. Stepanian:
I share your sentiment about the advent of
voting by mail rather than going to the polls on Election Day. That is
why I have been a proponent of polling locations and have worked hard to ensure
that we have accessible, well staffed polling places with multiple language
assistance for voters. Having said that, I would refer you to the
following two sections of the
3017. (a) All vote by mail ballots cast under this division shall
be voted on or before the day of the election. After marking the
ballot, the vote by mail voter shall do either of the following: (1)
return the ballot by mail or in person to the elections official from
whom it came or (2) return the ballot in person to any member of a
precinct board at any polling place within the jurisdiction. However,
a vote by mail voter who, because of illness or other physical
disability, is unable to return the ballot, may designate his or her
spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, or a
person residing in the same household as the vote by mail voter to
return the ballot to the elections official from whom it came or to
the precinct board at any polling place within the jurisdiction. The
ballot must, however, be received by either the elections official
from whom it came or the precinct board before the close of the polls
on election day.
2300. (a)
All voters, pursuant to the
this
code, shall be citizens of the
Voter Bill of Rights for voters,
available to the public, which shall
read:
(1) (A) You
have the right to cast a ballot if you are a valid
registered
voter.
(B) A valid registered
voter means a
a resident in this state,
who is at least 18 years of age and not in
prison
or on parole for conviction of a felony, and who is registered
to vote at his or her
current residence address.
(2) You have the right to
cast a provisional ballot if your name
is not listed on the voting
rolls.
(3) You have the right to
cast a ballot if you are present and in
line
at the polling place prior to the close of the polls.
(4) You have the right to
cast a secret ballot free from
intimidation.
(5) (A) You
have the right to receive a new ballot if, prior to
casting
your ballot, you believe you made a mistake.
(B) If at any time before
you finally cast your ballot, you feel
you
have made a mistake, you have the right to exchange the spoiled
ballot
for a new ballot. Vote by mail voters may also request and
receive
a new ballot if they return their spoiled ballot to an
elections
official prior to the closing of the polls on election day.
(6) You have the right to
receive assistance in casting your
ballot,
if you are unable to vote without assistance.
(7) You have the right to
return a completed vote by mail ballot
to any precinct in the
county.
(8) You have the right to
election materials in another language,
if there are sufficient
residents in your precinct to warrant
production.
(9) (A) You
have the right to ask questions about election
procedures
and observe the election process.
(B) You have the right to
ask questions of the precinct board and
elections
officials regarding election procedures and to receive an
answer
or be directed to the appropriate official for an answer.
However, if persistent questioning
disrupts the execution of their
duties,
the board or election officials may discontinue responding to
questions.
(10) You have the right to
report any illegal or fraudulent
activity
to a local elections official or to the Secretary of State's
office.
(b) Beneath the Voter Bill
of Rights there shall be listed a
toll-free
telephone number to call if a person has been denied a
voting
right or to report election fraud or misconduct.
(c) The Secretary of State
may develop regulations to implement
and
clarify the Voter Bill of Rights set forth in subdivision (a).
(d) The Voter Bill of
Rights set forth in subdivisions (a) and (b)
shall
be made available to the public before each election and on
election
day, at a minimum, as follows:
(1) The Voter Bill of
Rights shall be printed in the statewide
voter
pamphlet, pursuant to Section 9084, in a minimum of 12-point
type.
Subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a),
subparagraph
(B) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (a), and
subparagraph
(B) of paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) may be printed
in a smaller point type than
the rest of the Voter Bill of Rights.
(2) Posters or other
printed materials containing the Voter Bill
of Rights shall be included
in precinct supplies pursuant to Section
14105.
I hope you found this information
helpful. For more information from the CA Elections Code, please visit www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html .
Regards,
ak
____________________________________________________________________________
Ardashes "Ardy" Kassakhian
City Clerk, City of
613 E. Broadway, RM 110
Office:
(818) 548-2090
Fax:
(818) 241-5386
P Save trees. Please only print this e-mail if
absolutely necessary.
-----Original Message-----
From: Aramazd
Stepanian [mailto:aramazd@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sunday, April 05, 2009
9:16 PM
To: Yousefian,
Bob; AJN51ESQ@yahoo.com; Barry Allen; ARAMK@earthlink.net; Unified Young
Armenians; Brcphilpott1@aol.com; CKEU
Subject: A Serious Concern
|
I understand that there is going to be "Early
Voting", and that this voting is going to be at the City Clerk's Office
on Monday April 6th. I don't know whether this is legal or a common
practice, but I strongly object to it and firmly believe that it will cast
serious new doubts over the fairness or even the legitimacy of the elections.
This is in main due to the fact that members of the ANC will almost certainly
be there, as they have been before (as recently as a very few days ago),
causing controversy with their interjections with voters. The so-called
Armenian National Committee- a name most undeserving to be used by a group
that is unrepresentative of Armenians and subject to no open
examination at any time by anyone- should not be allowed at the Clerk's
office the same way that they should not be allowed inside a polling station.
The City Clerk himself, being a prominent former employee of the ANC, must be
aware that allowing third parties to be present in such close proximity of
what would be a 'voting booth' is bound to cast a shadow over the whole
process and bring the City of Glendale itself into possible disrepute. I urge the Mayor, Council Members and all others
concerned to do whatever is necessary in preventing any contact that will
taint the elections and the very name of Aramazd Stepanian P.S. In my opinion and for future reference: The
practice of allowing so many people to vote either by absentee ballots, or
early and outside of official polling stations and on other days than the
election day, diminishes the importance of the act of voting. Among other
things, it gives the distinct impression that casting the ballot is
something one does at his or her convenience and need not be regarded as
anything more than a chore that one does when one gets the chance to do it. |