SACRAMENTO, Calif.,– Today, Assemblyman Bill Essayli was sworn in to represent the people of the 63rd Assembly District in the California State Legislature. As his first official act, Asm. Essayli introduced Assembly Bill 13 to clean up our elections.
“It is has been 27 days since Election Day and yet there are two legislative races yet to be called, denying the people of those districts a voice in their government. Elections should not take weeks or months or certify — it is wrong, and we can fix it,” remarked Assemblyman Bill Essayli.
“My bill, AB 13, will reform vote by mail, ensuring only those who request an absentee ballot in the mail receive one. It will return us to a system of in-person voting on Election Day as we have always done. To ensure every California will have the opportunity to vote, my bill would make Election Day a holiday. It will also ban the practice of ballot harvesting, which is currently illegal in most other states. These reforms will strengthen the integrity of our elections while ensuring the will of the voters is timely and accurately represented,” Asm. Essayli added.
A recent poll found that voters thought that “making sure that there is no cheating in elections” was more important than “making it easier to for everyone to vote” by a margin of 62% to 36%.
Assemblyman Bill Essayli brings with him to the Legislature a career of public service as a former state and federal prosecutor. Asm. Essayli is also a small business owner and practicing attorney.
AB 13 now awaits referral by the Assembly Rules Committee and will receive its first policy committee hearing in the new year.
Assemblyman Bill Essayli represents the 63rd Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes the whole cities of Norco, Menifee, Lake Elsinore, and Canyon Lake, as well as portions of the cities of Eastvale, Riverside, and Corona.
Editors Notes:
According to the Bill:
- This bill would add the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of any even-numbered year to the list of state holidays. By increasing the duties of local officials in connection with the creation of a new state holiday, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.
- This bill would repeal the provisions requiring county elections officials to mail a ballot to every registered voter and authorizing a county to conduct an all-mailed ballot election. The bill would instead authorize a voter who is not a military or overseas voter to request a vote by mail ballot only if the voter has an illness or disability that prevents the voter from going to the polls on the date of the election. To receive a vote by mail ballot, a voter who has an illness or disability would be required to submit an application, signed under penalty of perjury, that is received by the county elections official at least 7 days before the date of the election. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, the bill would create a state-mandated local program.
- This bill would restrict the persons a voter may authorize to return the voter’s ballot to only the voter’s spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or a person residing in the same household as the voter.
- This bill would reduce the deadline for receiving a ballot to 3 days after election day.
