Van De Kamp, 012683 CAAGO, AGO 82-1103

• Case Date: January 26, 1983
• Court: California

JOHN K. VAN DE KAMP Attorney General CLAYTON P. ROCHE Deputy Attorney General AGO 82-1103 No. 82-1103 California Attorney General Opinion Office of the Attorney General State of California January 26, 1983          THE HONORABLE DENNIS A. BARLOW, COUNTY COUNSEL, YUBA COUNTY, has requested an opinion on the following question:          Does section 1017 of the Elections Code, which permits issuance of absentee ballots to certain voters after the normal deadline for application therefor, relate only to conditions and circumstances which have arisen after such deadline, or does the section also relate to preexisting, ongoing conditions?          CONCLUSION          Section 1017 of the Elections Code relates not only to conditions and circumstances which have arisen after the normal deadline for applying for an absentee ballot, but also relates to preexisting, ongoing conditions.          ANALYSIS          Absentee voting is governed by the provisions of section 1000 et seq. of the Elections Code.1 Section 1002 provides and provided in 1978 that "[a]pplication for an absent voter's ballot, shall be made in writing to the elections official having jurisdiction over the election between the 29th and the 7th day prior to the election" and that applications received earlier be kept and processed during that period. Thus, a general deadline of 7 days before an election has been and is currently prescribed for such application.          Prior to its amendment in 1978, section 1003 provided the general eligibility requirements for applying for an absentee ballot. That section provided:

"The absentee ballot shall be available to any registered voter who is unable to appear at his polling place for any one of the following reasons: "(a) Illness. "(b) Absence from the precinct on the day of the election. "(c) Physical handicap. "(d) Conflicting religious commitments. "(e) The voter resides more than 10 miles from his polling place. "The absentee ballot shall also be available to any registered voter who resides within a precinct which is wholly on

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