SB 323 added new Civil Code section 5105(g)(4), which provide that “[n]otwithstanding any other law" election rules shall "[r]equire the inspector or inspectors of elections to deliver, or cause to be delivered, at least 30 days before an election, to each member" the ballot and a copy of the election rules.
Civil Code section 5115(c) (was (a)), however, provides that "[b[allots and two preaddressed envelopes with instructions on how to return ballots shall be mailed by first-class mail or delivered by the association to every member not less than 30 days prior to the deadline for voting." Emphasis added.
As with the pop-fly of list corrections, SB 323's changes in regards to ballot distribution create a real risk of error, if not dangerous blind collisions. On the one hand, Section 5115(c) provides that associations must perform the distribution. On the other, Section 5105(g)(4) requires inspector(s) to do so. One can imagine a situation in which both perform the act, causing confusion and conflict, or neither, and the same. One wonders why the drafters of SB 323 failed to reconcile these duties, but then again, one wonders many things about SB 323.
As with the pop-fly of list corrections, SB 323's changes in regards to ballot distribution create a real risk of error, if not dangerous blind collisions. On the one hand, Section 5115(c) provides that associations must perform the distribution. On the other, Section 5105(g)(4) requires inspector(s) to do so. One can imagine a situation in which both perform the act, causing confusion and conflict, or neither, and the same. One wonders why the drafters of SB 323 failed to reconcile these duties, but then again, one wonders many things about SB 323.