Stanislaus News

Today, Assemblymember Juan Alanis shared that two of his election-related bills have moved forward in the California State Assembly.

“Recent elections have shown just how critical it is to get results out quickly and accurately,” Assemblymember Alanis stated. He added, “AB 16 is a practical proposal that empowers election officials to start processing ballots earlier, freeing up resources and getting more of the results reported more quickly. This will help restore trust in the election process.”

Assembly Bill 16 was unanimously approved by the Assembly Elections Committee. The bill aims to improve the speed of election result reporting by allowing county officials to start processing vote-by-mail ballots as soon as they’re mailed. This change is designed to boost voter confidence and support the efforts of local election officials.

Alanis also discussed AB 17, which promotes accessibility to election information. “In the era of digital tools and modern elections, there is no reason the public should not have clear and easy access to precinct maps online and at no cost,” he said. “AB 17 helps eliminate confusion, promote civic engagement, and ensure every Californian—regardless of income or ZIP code—has the same access to essential information.”

AB 17 moved through the Assembly Appropriations Committee without dissent. This bill requires counties to make precinct boundary maps available online at no cost. These maps aim to help voters understand the precinct boundaries relevant to each election.

The next steps for the bills include AB 16 heading to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for more scrutiny, while AB 17 awaits a final floor vote in the Assembly. Alanis expressed his goal to have AB 17 voted on by the end of the month.

Assemblymember Juan Alanis represents California’s 22nd Assembly District, including communities such as Modesto, Turlock, and Ceres, among others.