Plain English Breakdown
The official text does not specify an effective date beyond stating the bill was enacted and chaptered on October 1, 2025.
AB-16: Earlier Processing of Vote-by-Mail Ballots
This law allows election officials to start processing vote-by-mail ballots on the day they are mailed instead of waiting until 29 days before an election.
What This Bill Does
- Allows elections officials to begin processing returned mail-in ballot envelopes and actual ballots starting on the date those ballots are sent out to voters.
- Removes the previous rule that required waiting until 29 days before an election to start this work.
Who It Names or Affects
- Elections officials in local jurisdictions
- Registered voters who receive ballots by mail
Terms To Know
- Processing vote-by-mail ballots
- The steps election workers take to check and prepare a returned ballot for counting.
- Jurisdiction
- A local area or government office that manages elections in its community.
Limits and Unknowns
- The law only takes effect if SB 3 is also passed and AB-16 becomes law after it.
- Local offices must still have the right computer equipment to process ballots early, as required by existing rules.