(KGTV) — California has signed into law a requirement that a vote-by-mail ballot is sent to every active registered voter for elections.
The bill, AB 37 authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday, one of several voting bills signed into law. AB 37 makes the trend of sending voters a ballot by mail during the pandemic permanent.
"When voters get a ballot in the mail, they vote," said Berman. "We saw this in the 2020 General Election when, in the middle of a global health pandemic, we had the highest voter turnout in California since Harry Truman was president. I want to thank Governor Newsom for signing AB 37, ensuring that every active registered voter in California will receive a ballot in the mail before every future election. As other states actively look for ways to make it harder for people to vote, California is expanding access to an already safe and secure ballot."
The bill's text can be read online here.
Newsom also signed bills on changing the distance within which electioneering and specific political activities near a voting site are prohibited (SB 35), increasing penalties for the personal use of campaign funds to up to two times the amount of unlawful spending (AB 1367), and requiring a limited liability company (LLC) that is involved in campaign activity to provide additional information on members and capital contributors (SB 686).
