BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1436
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1436 (Feuer)
As Amended August 6, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |47-26|(May 31, 2012) |SENATE: |23-13|(August 23, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: E. & R.
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.
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 matches information
contained in a database maintained by the California
Department of Motor Vehicles 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
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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.
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, if a conditional registration
is deemed effective, to include the corresponding provisional
ballot in the official canvass.
9)Requires an elections official, if it appears that a
registrant may have committed fraud, to notify in writing both
the district attorney and the Secretary of State (SOS).
10)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.
The Senate amendments :
1)Delay the operative date of this bill to January 1 of the year
following the year in which the SOS certifies that the state
has a statewide voter registration database that complies with
the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002.
2)Provide that a person who commits fraud in the execution of a
conditional voter registration is punishable by imprisonment
in the county jail for up to one year, or a fine up to
$25,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. Provide that
in addition to these criminal penalties, a person who commits
fraud in the execution of a conditional voter registration is
subject to a civil fine of an amount up to $25,000. Permit an
action for a civil penalty under this bill to be brought by
the SOS or any public prosecutor with jurisdiction. Provide
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that the provisions in this bill do not preclude the
prosecution of a person under any other applicable provision
of law.
3)Make other technical changes.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was similar to the version
approved by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Unknown, potentially in excess of $1 million in reimbursable
local mandate costs to the General Fund (GF).
2)Actual costs to implement a conditional voter registration
program are unknown; however, if every county incurred
expenses of only $20,000, the total costs would be $1,160,000
at each election which would be reimbursed from the GF as a
local mandate. While this bill provides that implementation
will be contingent upon the SOS certifying that the state has
a statewide voter registration database that complies with the
requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act, counties
will still incur costs associated with additional labor,
overtime, computers, ballots, and security.
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 discussed in the Assembly Elections
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and Redistricting 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 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.
The Senate amendments significantly increase the criminal
penalties and add a civil penalty for someone who commits voter
fraud in the execution of a conditional voter registration, as
specified. Additionally, the amendments delay the
implementation of conditional voter registration until the year
after the SOS certifies that a new statewide voter registration
database is operational and make other technical and clarifying
changes. This bill, as amended in the Senate, is consistent
with the Assembly actions.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094
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