BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 30|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 30
Author: Price (D)
Amended: 9/1/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS, REAP. & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 3-2, 7/7/09
AYES: Hancock, DeSaulnier, Liu
NOES: Walters, Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-5, 8/27/09
AYES: Kehoe, Corbett, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza, Price, Wolk,
Yee
NOES: Cox, Denham, Runner, Walters, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 49-29, 5/21/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Elections: voter registration
SOURCE : New America Foundation
DIGEST : This bill allows a person who is 17 years of age
to pre-register to vote, provided he/she otherwise meets
all eligibility requirements. This bill double-joints with
AB 6 (Saldana).
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Permits a person who is a United States citizen, a
CONTINUED
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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 next election to register to vote.
2. Requires the local registrar of births and deaths to
notify the county elections official not later than the
15th day of each month of all deceased persons 18 years
of age and over, whose deaths were registered with
him/her or of whose deaths he/she was notified by the
state registrar of vital statistics during the preceding
month.
3. Establishes HAVA which, among other provisions, requires
states to implement a statewide voter registration
database.
This bill:
1. Authorizes a person who is at least 17 years of age and
who otherwise meets all eligibility requirements to vote
to submit his/her affidavit of registration. Specifies
that a properly executed registration shall be deemed
effective as of the date that the affiant will be 18
years of age, provided that the information in the
affidavit of registration is still current at that time.
Requires the registrant to provide current information
to the county elections official before the registration
becomes effective if the information in the current
affidavit is incorrect.
2. Requires 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 with him/her or of whose deaths he/she
was notified by the state registrar of vital statistics.
3. Provides that the bill shall become operative only if
the Secretary of State (SOS) certifies that the state
has a statewide voter registration database that
complies with the requirements of the federal Help
America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 (42 U.S.C. Section 15301
et seq.).
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4. Double-joints with AB 6 (Saldana).
Prior legislation . This bill is substantially similar to
AB 1819 (Price), 2007-08 Session, which was held on the
Senate Appropriations Suspense File.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/2/09)
New America Foundation (source)
California Common Cause
California Public Interest Research Group
California Young Democrats
City of Los Angeles
FairVote
League of Women Voters of California
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Loyola Marymount University
Project Vote
Rock the Vote
Secretary of State Debra Bowen
State Building and Construction Trades Council of
California
Stephanie Starks HOPE Foundation
OPPOSITION : (Verified 9/2/09)
Capitol Resource Family Impact
Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
"According to the Secretary of State, more than 7.2
million eligible voters in California are not registered
to vote - nearly one-third of California's eligible
voters. Among young voters, participation is even lower
- according to data from the U.S. Census, more than 45
percent of eligible voters in California between 18 and
24 years of age were not registered to vote in 2004 (the
most recent data available). Furthermore, while
participation by younger voters has increased in the last
few elections, California is ranked just 36th in the
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nation for turnout among young voters.
"Research shows that people who get involved in the
political process at a young age are much more likely to
become lifelong voters, so facilitating participation by
younger voters can have positive long term effects on
overall voter participation.
"The state has taken some important steps to encourage
participation by younger voters - for instance, the
Secretary of State worked with Rock the Vote to create a
'birthday card' program where voter registration cards
are mailed to more than 30,000 Californians each month on
their 18th birthday. However, it is imperative that the
state do everything possible to encourage participation
by California's young voters.
"AB 30 seeks to improve voter participation among younger
voters by allowing a person to pre-register to vote when
he or she becomes 16 years old, if they otherwise meet
all other eligibility requirements. Once a
'pre-registrant' reaches 18 years of age, their
registration would be activated and the voter would
receive a sample ballot and other election materials for
the first election in which they are eligible to vote.
"To minimize the costs of AB 30, this bill will not be
implemented until the Secretary of State certifies a
statewide voter registration database that complies with
the requirements of the federal HAVA."
The Los Angeles County Office of Education states: "There
has been an extraordinary level of enthusiasm by young
voters and young people who for the first time are engaged
in a political process. Exercising one's right to vote is
critical to a vibrant democracy, yet voter registration
among California's youth remains at abysmally low levels
with more than 45 percent eligible voters between the ages
of 18-24 unregistered in 2004. Other states have
implemented new registration rules to encourage greater
participation by youth. In Hawaii, 16-year-olds are
allowed to 'pre-register' to vote, with their voter
registration automatically being activated when they reach
18 years of age. At least seven other states currently
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allow pre-registration by 17-year olds. Increasing
registrations during this critical period can increase
long-term participation rates. As a state that encourages
diverse ideas and participation, inviting young people to
contribute to the political process is an essential
component to a strong government."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Capitol Resource Family Impact
writes, "One of the essential requirements for voting is
the Constitution's twenty-sixth amendment: voters must be
eighteen years of age. This bill is an attempt to get more
young people to vote. Instead of placing another burden on
local government of obtaining affidavits from every
sixteen-year-old, schools should encourage civic
responsibility including registering to vote at eighteen."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer,
Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones, Krekorian, Lieu,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, John A.
Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas,
Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Yamada, Bass
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill,
Blakeslee, Conway, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson,
Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,
Harkey, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, Silva, Smyth, Audra Strickland, Tran,
Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Buchanan, Saldana
DLW:mw 9/2/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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