BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1436
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1436 (Feuer)
As Amended May 25, 2012
Majority vote
ELECTIONS 4-2 APPROPRIATIONS 11-6
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|Ayes:|Fong, Bonilla, Allen, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Swanson | |Bradford, Charles |
| | | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| | | |Ammiano, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Donnelly, Logue |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Allows a person to register to vote and vote at the
office of the county elections official at any time, including
on election day, if certain requirements are met. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Defines "conditional voter registration" as a properly
executed affidavit of registration which is delivered by the
registrant to the county elections official during the 14 days
immediately preceding an election or on election day and which
may be deemed effective after the elections official processes
the affidavit, determines the registrant's eligibility to
register, and validates the registrant's information.
2)Permits an elector who is otherwise qualified to register to
vote, in addition to existing methods of voter registration,
to complete a conditional voter registration and cast a
provisional ballot during the 14 days immediately preceding an
election or on election day.
3)Provides that a conditional voter registration is effective
only if the county elections official is able to determine
before or during the canvass period for the election that the
registrant is eligible to register to vote and that the
information provided by the registrant on the registration
matches information contained in a database maintained by the
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California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), or other state
government agency, or the federal Social Security
Administration.
4)Provides that if the information provided by the registrant on
the registration affidavit cannot be verified by the databases
described above, but the registrant is otherwise eligible to
vote, the registrant shall be issued a unique identification
number in accordance with existing law.
5)Provides that conditional voter registration shall be
available at all permanent offices of the county elections
official.
6)Requires an elections official to notify registrants that a
conditional voter registration will be effective only if the
registrant is determined to be eligible to register to vote
for the election as specified by this bill.
7)Requires an elections official to conduct the receipt and
handling of each conditional voter registration and offer and
receive a corresponding provisional ballot in a manner that
protects the secrecy of the ballot and allows the elections
official to process the registration, determine the
registrant's eligibility to register, and validate the
registrant's information before counting or rejecting the
corresponding provisional ballot.
8)Requires an elections official, after receiving a conditional
voter registration, to process the registration, determine the
registrant's eligibility to register and attempt to validate
the information.
9)Requires an elections official, if a conditional registration
is deemed effective, to include the corresponding provisional
ballot in the official canvass.
10)Provides that if a conditional voter registration is not
deemed effective, the elections official shall process the
affidavit of registration in the same way that an affidavit of
voter registration would otherwise be processed pursuant to
existing law. Provides that if a registrant meets all other
eligibility requirements to register to vote, the registration
shall be deemed effective in forthcoming elections.
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11)Requires an elections official, if it appears that a
registrant may have committed fraud, to notify in writing both
the district attorney and the SOS.
12)Increases the fine that may be imposed for a felony
conviction of an election crime, for which no other penalty is
prescribed by law, from $10,000 to $25,000.
13)Requires the provisions of this bill to become operative when
VoteCal, the statewide voter registration database, is
implemented.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, moderate annual General Fund reimbursable costs of
$300,000, starting in 2015 upon implementation of VoteCal,
assuming $5,000 per county to accommodate voter registration,
principally on election day, at county elections offices. Costs
would be offset to an unknown extent by a reduction in counties'
existing workload associated with provisional ballots.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 1436 addresses
California's low voter participation rate through the creation
of a conditional voter registration process, which would provide
same-day registration and voting. Beginning 14 days prior to an
election and including Election Day, a county elections office
headquarters would offer conditional voter registration. This
should lead to greater voter participation rates, which will
provide election results that more fully reflect the will of the
people. Aside from benefitting first-time voters, this bill will
also benefit those who have outdated registration. California
counties vary greatly in geographic expanse and population. This
can have the effect of limiting access to a county elections
office headquarters. To increase the accessibility of same-day
registration and voting, AB 1436 authorizes counties to offer
same-day registration and voting at other sites in addition to
the central headquarters."
The concept of "same day" registration and voting raises a
number of issues which are pointed out in the policy committee
analysis. Implementing procedures to direct voters to the
elections official's office are important to the success of same
day voting. In addition, elections officials will need to make
preparations to serve a significantly larger number of voters in
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their offices on election day. For instance, in Los Angeles
County, if even one-half of 1% of the eligible voters in the
county attempted to register to vote and vote in the office of
the elections official on election day, the office would have to
process nearly 30,000 voters. Ensuring that elections
officials' offices have sufficient parking, voting equipment,
personnel, and ballots to handle the crowds on election day
could pose a significant challenge for many counties.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094
FN: 0003943