Two bills by state Sen. Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) drafted “to advance voter equity” advanced in the state Assembly, his office announced. Senate Bill 503, which would implement a uniform statewide signature verification standard for mail-in ballots, passed the Assembly Elections Committee in a 6-1 vote and will head to the Appropriations Committee. SB 503 would require timely outreach to voters whose ballots are rejected. For a ballot to be rejected because of an invalid signature, elections officials would need to determine “beyond a reasonable doubt” when comparing signatures that they do not match. It would also prohibit elections officials from taking a voter’s party preference, race or ethnicity into consideration when comparing signatures. Senate Bill 504, which would take steps to ensure that those who have been released from incarceration would not inadvertently be removed from voter rolls, was approved by the committee unanimously...