BILL NUMBER: AB 30 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Price
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Swanson)
DECEMBER 1, 2008
An act to amend Sections 100, 2102, 2106, 2150, and 2205 of the
Elections Code, relating to elections.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 30, as introduced, Price. Elections: voter registration.
Existing law authorizes a person who will be 18 years of age at
the time of the next election to register to vote by executing an
affidavit of registration.
This bill would authorize a person who is at least 16 years of age
and otherwise meets all voter eligibility requirements to submit his
or her affidavit of registration. The affidavit of registration
would be deemed effective as soon as the affiant would be 18 years of
age at the time of the next election.
Existing law requires the local registrar of births and deaths to
notify the county elections official monthly of all deceased persons
18 years of age and over whose deaths were registered the preceding
month. Existing law further requires the county elections official to
cancel the affidavit of registration of a deceased voter.
This bill would require the local registrar of births and deaths
to notify the county elections official monthly of all deceased
persons 16 years of age and over whose deaths were registered the
preceding month.
This bill would also make conforming changes to existing law.
The above provisions of the bill would become operative when the
Secretary of State certifies that the state has a statewide voter
registration database that complies with the requirements of the
federal Help America Vote Act of 2002.
By requiring local elections officials to process voter
registrations submitted by persons 16 years of age or older, the bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 100 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
100. (a) Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, whenever any an
initiative, referendum, recall, nominating petition or paper, or any
other petition or paper, is required to be signed by voters of
any a county, city, school district, or
special district subject to petitioning, only a person who is an
eligible registered voter at the time of signing the petition or
paper is entitled to sign it the petition or
paper. A person who submits his or her affidavit of registration
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 2102 is not eligible to sign a
petition or paper unless at the time of the signing of the petition
or paper he or she is 18 years of age . Each
(b) A signer shall at the time of
signing the petition or paper personally affix his or her signature,
printed name, and place of residence, giving
including the street and number of the place of residence
, and if no street or number for the place of residence
exists, then a designation of the place of residence
which that will enable the location to be
readily ascertained. A space at least one inch wide shall be left
blank after each name for the use of the elections official in
verifying the petition or paper. The
(c) The part of a petition for
the voters' signatures, printed names, and
residence addresses of the voters and for the blank spaces
for verification purposes shall be numbered consecutively commencing
with the number one and continuing through the number of signature
spaces allotted to each section. The petition format shall be
substantially in the following form:
OfficialUseOnly
---------------------------------------------------
| (Residence |
| (Print Name) Address |
|1. __________________ ONLY) |
| (Signature) ___________________ |
| (City) |
| |
| (Residence |
| Address |
| (Print Name) ONLY) |
|2. __________________ ___________________ |
| (Signature) (City) |
---------------------------------------------------
SEC. 2. Section 2102 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
2102. (a) A person may not be registered as a voter except by
affidavit of registration. The affidavit shall be mailed or delivered
to the county elections official and shall set forth all of the
facts required to be shown by this chapter. A properly executed
registration shall be deemed effective upon receipt of the affidavit
by the county elections official if received on or before the 15th
day prior to an election to be held in the registrant's precinct. A
properly executed registration shall also be deemed effective upon
receipt of the affidavit by the county elections official if any of
the following apply:
(1) The affidavit is postmarked on or before the 15th day prior to
the election and received by mail by the county elections official.
(2) The affidavit is submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles
or accepted by any other public agency designated as a voter
registration agency pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act
of 1993 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973gg) on or before the 15th day prior to
the election.
(3) The affidavit is delivered to the county elections official by
means other than those described in paragraphs (1) or (2) on or
before the 15th day prior to the election.
(b) For purposes of verifying signatures on a recall, initiative,
or referendum petition or signatures on a nomination paper or any
other election petition or election paper, a properly executed
affidavit of registration shall be deemed effective for verification
purposes if both (a) the of the following
conditions are satisfied:
(1) The affidavit is signed on
the same date or a date prior to the signing of the petition or paper
, and (b) the .
(2) The affidavit is received by
the county elections official on or before the date on which the
petition or paper is filed.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
the affidavit of registration required under this chapter may not be
taken under sworn oath, but the content of the affidavit shall be
certified as to its truthfulness and correctness, under penalty of
perjury, by the signature of the affiant.
(d) A person who is at least 16 years of age and otherwise meets
all eligibility requirements to vote may submit his or her affidavit
of registration as prescribed by this section. A properly executed
registration made pursuant to this subdivision shall be deemed
effective as of the date the affiant will be 18 years of age, if the
information in the affidavit of registration is still current at that
time. If the information provided by the affiant in the affidavit of
registration is not current at the time that the registration would
otherwise become effective, for his or her registration to become
effective, the affiant shall provide the current information to the
proper county elections official as prescribed by this chapter.
SEC. 3. Section 2106 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
2106. Any A program adopted by a
county pursuant to Section 2103 or 2105, that is designed to
encourage the registration of electors, shall, with respect to
any a printed literature or media
announcements announcement made in
connection with these programs, contain this statement: "A person
entitled to register to vote must be a United States citizen, a
resident of California, not in prison or on parole for the conviction
of a felony, and at least 18 years of age at the time of the
election." election. A person may preregister
to vote if he or she is a United States citizen, a resident of
California, not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a
felony, and at least 16 years of age." A county elections official
may continue to use existing materials prior to printing new or
revised materials required by any changes to this section.
SEC. 4. Section 2150 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
2150. (a) The affidavit of registration shall show:
(1) The facts necessary to establish the affiant as an elector.
(2) The affiant's name at length, including his or her given name,
and a middle name or initial, or if the initial of the given name is
customarily used, then the initial and middle name. The affiant's
given name may be preceded, at affiant's option, by the designation
of Miss, Ms., Mrs., or Mr. A person shall not be denied the right to
register because of his or her failure to mark a prefix to the given
name and shall be so advised on the voter registration card. This
subdivision shall not be construed as requiring the printing of
prefixes on an affidavit of registration.
(3) The affiant's place of residence, residence telephone number,
if furnished, and e-mail address, if furnished. No person shall be
denied the right to register because of his or her failure to furnish
a telephone number or e-mail address, and shall be so advised on the
voter registration card.
(4) The affiant's mailing address, if different from the place of
residence.
(5) The affiant's date of birth to establish that he or she will
be at least 18 years of age on or before the date of the next
election. In the case of an affidavit of registration submitted
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 2102, the affiant's date of
birth to establish that he or she is at least 16 years of age.
(6) The state or country of the affiant's birth.
(7) (A) In the case of an applicant who has been issued a current
and valid driver's license, the applicant's driver's license number.
(B) In the case of any other applicant, other than an applicant to
whom subparagraph (C) applies, the last four digits of the applicant'
s social security number.
(C) If an applicant for voter registration has not been issued a
current and valid driver's license or a social security number, the
state shall assign the applicant a number that will serve to identify
the applicant for voter registration purposes. To the extent that
the state has a computerized list in effect under this subdivision
and the list assigns unique identifying numbers to registrants, the
number assigned under this subparagraph shall be the unique
identifying number assigned under the list.
(8) The affiant's political party affiliation.
(9) That the affiant is currently not imprisoned or on parole for
the conviction of a felony.
(10) A prior registration portion indicating whether the affiant
has been registered at another address, under another name, or as
intending to affiliate with another party. If the affiant has been so
registered, he or she shall give an additional statement giving that
address, name, or party.
(b) The affiant shall certify the content of the affidavit as to
its truth and correctness, under penalty of perjury, with the
signature of his or her name and the date of signing. If the affiant
is unable to write he or she shall sign with a mark or cross.
(c) The affidavit of registration shall also contain a space that
would enable the affiant to state his or her ethnicity or race, or
both. An affiant may not be denied the ability to register because he
or she declines to state his or her ethnicity or race.
(d) If any a person, including a
deputy registrar, assists the affiant in completing the affidavit,
that person shall sign and date the affidavit below the signature of
the affiant.
(e) The affidavit of registration shall also contain a space to
permit the affiant to apply for permanent vote by mail status.
(f) The Secretary of State may continue to supply existing
affidavits of registration to county elections officials prior to
printing new or revised forms that reflect the changes made to this
section by the act that added this subdivision.
SEC. 5. Section 2205 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
2205. The local registrar of births and deaths shall notify the
county elections official not later than the 15th day of each month
of all deceased persons 18 16 years of
age and over, whose deaths were registered with him or her or of
whose deaths he or she was notified by the state registrar
of vital statistics State Registrar of Vital
Statistics during the preceding month. This notification shall
include at least the name, sex, age, birthplace, birthdate
birth date , place of residence, and
date and place of death of each decedent.
The county elections official shall cancel the affidavit of
registration of each the deceased
voter.
SEC. 6. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.
SEC. 7. Sections 1 to 6, inclusive, of this bill shall become
operative only if the Secretary of State certifies that the state has
a statewide voter registration database that complies with the
requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C.
Sec. 15301 et seq.).