Plain English Breakdown
The official source does not specify an effective date for this law, only that it was chaptered on October 3, 2025.
AB-1249: Early Voting at Satellite Locations
This law allows voters with mail-in ballots to drop them off up to 29 days before an election and requires certain counties to open early voting sites on the Saturday before statewide elections.
What This Bill Does
- Allows voters using a vote-by-mail ballot to return it at an elections office or satellite location starting no later than 29 days before an election.
- Requires counties that do not mail ballots to all registered voters in a statewide election to open at least one early voting site on the Saturday before Election Day for at least six hours.
- Removes the rule requiring voters to use a special identification envelope when returning vote-by-mail ballots at satellite locations.
- Changes how officials announce satellite locations by removing the requirement for news releases and instead requiring notice be given no later than two weeks before voting occurs there.
Who It Names or Affects
- Registered voters who use vote-by-mail ballots
- County elections officials responsible for running early voting sites
Terms To Know
- Satellite location
- A place other than the main elections office where voters can return their mail-in ballots.
- Vote-by-mail ballot
- An official voting form sent to a voter's home address that they fill out and return by mail or in person.
Limits and Unknowns
- The requirement for Saturday early voting sites only applies to counties that do not conduct all-mailed ballot elections.
- State reimbursement for local costs depends on whether the Commission on State Mandates determines that new state-mandated costs exist.