BILL NUMBER: AB 1357 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Swanson
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Sections 2103, 2157, and 2158 of the Elections
Code, relating to voter registration.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1357, as introduced, Swanson. Voter registration.
Under existing law, a person may not be registered to vote except
by affidavit of registration. Existing law provides for an affidavit
of registration to be included on a multipart card, to be known as a
voter registration card. Existing law also expresses the Legislature'
s intent to promote and encourage voter registration.
This bill would state the Legislature's intent to permit, and
would permit, county elections officials to provide affidavit of
registration forms and voter registration cards online.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2103 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
2103. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the election
board of each county, in order to promote and encourage voter
registrations, shall establish a sufficient number of registration
places throughout the county, and outside the county courthouse, for
the convenience of persons desiring to register, to the end that
registration may be maintained at a high level.
(b) It is also the intent of the Legislature that county elections
officials, in order to promote and encourage voter registrations,
shall enlist the support and cooperation of interested citizens and
organizations, and shall deputize as registrars qualified citizens in
such a way as to reach most effectively every resident of the
county. The persons so deputized shall be permitted to register
voters anywhere within the county, including at the places of
residence of the persons to be registered, and the county elections
official shall not deny deputy registrars the right to register
voters anywhere in the county.
(c) It is also the intent of the Legislature that
non-English-speaking citizens, like all other citizens, should be
encouraged to vote. Therefore, appropriate efforts should be made to
minimize obstacles to registration by citizens who lack sufficient
skill in English to register without assistance.
(d) Where the county elections official finds that citizens
described in subdivision (c) approximate 3 percent or more of the
voting age residents of a precinct, or in the event that interested
citizens or organizations provide information which the county
elections official believes indicates a need for registration
assistance for qualified citizens described in subdivision (c), the
county elections official shall make reasonable efforts to recruit
deputy registrars who are fluent in a language used by citizens
described in subdivision (c) and in English. That recruitment shall
be conducted through the cooperation of interested citizens and
organizations and through voluntarily donated public service notices
in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television,
particularly those media that serve the non-English-speaking citizens
described in subdivision (c). Deputy registrars so appointed shall
facilitate registration in the particular precincts concerned and
shall have the right to register voters anywhere in the county.
(e) In furtherance of the purposes of this section, the governing
board of any county, city, city and county, district, or other public
agency , may authorize and assign any of its
officers or employees to become deputy registrars of voters and to
register qualified citizens on any premises and facilities owned or
controlled by those public agencies during the regular working hours
of the officers or employees. With the exception of firemen
firefighters , any compensation to which the
officer or employee may be entitled in payment for the services of
the officer or employee as a deputy registrar may be paid by the
authority that appointed the officer or employee as a deputy
registrar to the public agency that regularly employs the officer or
employee.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that no limitation be
imposed on the number of persons appointed to act as deputy
registrars of voters.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that county elections
officials be permitted to distribute affidavits of registration and
voter registration cards, in all languages required by Section 203
(42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973aa-1a) or Section 4(f)(4) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973b
(f)(4)) of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, by using the county'
s Internet Web site.
SEC. 2. Section 2157 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
2157. (a) Subject to this chapter, the affidavit of registration
shall be in a form prescribed by regulations adopted by the Secretary
of State. The affidavit shall:
(1) Contain the information prescribed in Section 2150.
(2) Be sufficiently uniform among the separate counties to allow
for the processing and use by one county of an affidavit completed in
another county.
(3) Allow for the inclusion of informational language to meet the
specific needs of that county, including, but not limited to, the
return address of the elections official in that county, and a
telephone number at which a voter can obtain elections information in
that county.
(4) Be included on one portion of a multipart card, to be known as
a voter registration card, the other portions of which shall include
information sufficient to facilitate completion and mailing of the
affidavit. The affidavit portion of the multipart card shall be
numbered according to regulations adopted by the Secretary of State.
For purposes of facilitating the distribution of voter registration
cards as provided in Section 2158, there shall be attached to the
affidavit portion a receipt. The receipt shall be separated from the
body of the affidavit by a perforated line.
(5) Contain, in a type size and color of ink that is clearly
distinguishable from surrounding text, a statement identical or
substantially similar to the following:
"Certain voters facing life-threatening situations may qualify for
confidential voter status. For more information, please contact the
Secretary of State's Safe At Home program or visit the Secretary of
State's Web site."
(6) Contain, in a type size and color of ink that is clearly
distinguishable from surrounding text, a statement that the use of
voter registration information for commercial purposes is a
misdemeanor pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 2194, and any
suspected misuse shall be reported to the Secretary of State.
(7) Contain a toll-free fraud hotline telephone number maintained
by the Secretary of State that the public may use to report suspected
fraudulent activity concerning misuse of voter registration
information.
(8) Be returnable to the county elections official as a
self-enclosed mailer with postage prepaid by the Secretary of State.
(b) Nothing contained in this division shall prevent the use of
voter registration cards and affidavits of registration in existence
on the effective date of this section and produced pursuant to
regulations of the Secretary of State, and all references to voter
registration cards and affidavits in this division shall be applied
to the existing voter registration cards and affidavits of
registration.
(c) The Secretary of State may continue to supply existing
affidavits of registration prior to printing new or revised forms
that reflect the changes required pursuant to this section, Section
2150, or Section 2160.
(d) Nothing in this division shall prevent the use of an affidavit
of registration form provided on a county's Internet Web site,
provided that the affidavit is in a form prescribed by regulations
adopted by the Secretary of State and meets the requirements of
paragraphs (1), (3), and paragraphs (5) to (7), inclusive.
SEC. 3. Section 2158 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
2158. In addition to registration conducted by deputy registrars
of voters, the county elections official shall ,
do all of the following:
(a) Provide voter registration cards for the registration of
voters at his or her office and in a sufficient number of
locations throughout the county for the convenience of persons
desiring to register, to the end that registration may be maintained
at a high level. The cards shall be available in all languages
required by Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973aa-1a) or
Section 4(f)(4) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973b(f)(4)) of the federal Voting
Rights Act of 1965.
(b) Provide voter registration cards in sufficient quantities to
any citizens or organizations who wish to distribute the cards other
than to persons who have been convicted of violating this section
within the last five years. Citizens and organizations shall be
permitted to distribute voter registration cards anywhere within the
county.
(1) If, after completing his or her voter registration affidavit,
an elector entrusts it to another person, the latter shall sign and
date the attached, numbered receipt indicating his or her address and
telephone number, if any, and give the receipt to the elector.
Failure to comply with this paragraph shall not cause the
invalidation of the registration of a voter.
(2) Any citizen or organization that distributes voter
registration cards shall give a voter registration card to any
elector requesting it, provided that the citizen or organization has
a sufficient number of cards.
(3) If distribution of voter registration cards pursuant to this
subdivision is undertaken by mailing cards to persons who have not
requested the cards, the person mailing the cards shall enclose a
cover letter or other notice with each card instructing the
recipients to disregard the cards if they are currently registered
voters.
(c) Mail a voter registration card immediately to any person who
wishes to register to vote and requests a voter registration card.
(d) In addition to providing voter registration cards in his or
her office, the county elections official may provide cards on the
county's Internet Web site for voters to print, complete, sign, and
return to the county elections office. Cards provided online shall be
available in all languages required by Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec.
1973aa-1a) or Section 4(f)(4) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973b(f)(4)) of the
federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.