BILL NUMBER: SB 397 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 2, 2011
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 1, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 26, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 15, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 31, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 11, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Yee
(Coauthor: Senator Calderon)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Blumenfield, Hall, Huffman,
Portantino, and Williams)
FEBRUARY 16, 2011
An act to amend Section 2196 of the Elections Code, relating to
online voter registration.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 397, Yee. Online voter registration.
Existing law prohibits any person from being registered as a voter
except by affidavit of registration and requires that the affidavit
be mailed or delivered to the county elections official. The
Secretary of State has certain administrative duties under existing
law in providing voter registration materials. The federal National
Voter Registration Act of 1993 provides for state departments of
motor vehicles to make voter registration information and materials
available to an applicant for a driver's license and other vehicular
documents. Existing state law requires licensed persons to provide to
the Department of Motor Vehicles a signature and the Department of
Motor Vehicles is required to digitize that signature and forward the
digitized signature to the Secretary of State if a person wishes to
register to vote. Under existing law, 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, a person who is qualified to register to
vote and who has a valid California driver's license or state
identification card is authorized to submit an affidavit of voter
registration electronically on the Internet Web site of the Secretary
of State. Under the above-described online voter registration
provisions, the Secretary of State, for each electronic affiant, is
required to obtain an electronic copy of the applicant's signature
from his or her driver's license or state identification card
directly from the Department of Motor Vehicles.
This bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles and the
Secretary of State to develop a process and the infrastructure to
allow electronic copies of the applicants' signatures and other
information required under the above provisions that is in the
possession of the department to be transferred to the Secretary of
State and to the county election management systems to allow a person
who is qualified to register to vote in California to register to
vote under the above provisions.
This bill would provide, as an alternative operative date, that
the above provisions shall become operative on the date the Secretary
of State either certifies that the state has a statewide voter
registration database that complies with the requirements of the
federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 or executes a declaration
stating that certain specified conditions have occurred. For purposes
of implementing the above provisions as expeditiously as possible,
if the provisions become operative under the latter, the Secretary of
State's office would be exempt from certain provisions relating to
information technology, as specified, in implementing the provisions.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature hereby finds the following:
(1) California should make every effort to maintain the integrity
of our democracy by ensuring that every eligible citizen has access
to a convenient and secure means of registering to vote.
(2) California should be at the forefront of technological
innovations that make registering to vote easy, accessible, and
secure.
(3) In the November 2010 statewide general election, an estimated
23,551,699 eligible citizens resided in California yet only
17,285,883, 73 percent of those eligible, were registered to vote.
That is lower than the national average.
(4) Online and electronic voter registration has increased voter
registration rates in states utilizing those technologies, including
Washington, Kansas, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Delaware, Florida,
Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Arizona.
(5) In those states, online voter registration has increased the
accuracy of voter registration processes while decreasing processing
times and has significantly decreased the costs associated with voter
registration.
(b) The Legislature, therefore, hereby declares that California
should implement a user-friendly, secure, and accessible online voter
registration system in time for the November 2012 statewide general
election.
SEC. 2. Section 2196 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
2196. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
person who is qualified to register to vote and who has a valid
California driver's license or state identification card may submit
an affidavit of voter registration electronically on the Internet Web
site of the Secretary of State.
(2) An affidavit submitted pursuant to this section is effective
upon receipt of the affidavit by the Secretary of State if the
affidavit is received on or before the last day to register for an
election to be held in the precinct of the person submitting the
affidavit.
(3) The affiant shall affirmatively attest to the truth of the
information provided in the affidavit.
(4) For voter registration purposes, the applicant shall
affirmatively assent to the use of his or her signature from his or
her driver's license or state identification card.
(5) For each electronic affidavit, the Secretary of State shall
obtain an electronic copy of the applicant's signature from his or
her driver's license or state identification card directly from the
Department of Motor Vehicles.
(6) The Secretary of State shall require a person who submits an
affidavit pursuant to this section to submit all of the following:
(A) The number from his or her California driver's license or
state identification card.
(B) His or her date of birth.
(C) The last four digits of his or her social security number.
(D) Any other information the Secretary of State deems necessary
to establish the identity of the affiant.
(7) Upon submission of an affidavit pursuant to this section, the
electronic voter registration system shall provide for immediate
verification of both of the following:
(A) That the applicant has a California driver's license or state
identification card and that the number for that driver's license or
identification card provided by the applicant matches the number for
that person's driver's license or identification card that is on file
with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
(B) That the date of birth provided by the applicant matches the
date of birth for that person that is on file with the Department of
Motor Vehicles.
(8) The Secretary of State shall employ security measures to
ensure the accuracy and integrity of voter registration affidavits
submitted electronically pursuant to this section.
(b) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall utilize the electronic
voter registration system required by this section to comply with its
duties and responsibilities as a voter registration agency pursuant
to the federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C.
Sec. 1973gg et seq.).
(c) The Department of Motor Vehicles and the Secretary of State
shall develop a process and the infrastructure to allow the
electronic copy of the applicant's signature and other information
required under this section that is in the possession of the
department to be transferred to the Secretary of State and to the
county election management systems to allow a person who is qualified
to register to vote in California to register to vote under this
section.
(d) If an applicant cannot electronically submit the information
required pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (a), he or she
shall nevertheless be able to complete the affidavit of voter
registration electronically on the Secretary of State's Internet Web
site, print a hard copy of the completed affidavit, and mail or
deliver the hard copy of the completed affidavit to the Secretary of
State or the appropriate county elections official.
(e) This chapter shall become operative upon the date that either
of the following occurs:
(1) 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.).
(2) The Secretary of State executes a declaration stating that all
of the following conditions have occurred:
(A) The United States Election Assistance Commission has approved
the use of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. Sec.
15301) funding to provide online voter registration in advance of the
deployment of the statewide voter registration database or other
federal funding is available and approved for the same purpose.
(B) The Department of Motor Vehicles and the Secretary of State
have developed a process and the infrastructure necessary to
implement paragraph (5) of subdivision (a).
(C) All county election management systems have been modified to
receive and store electronic voter registration information received
from the Secretary of State in order to allow a person who is
qualified to register to vote in California to register to vote under
this section.
(f) For purposes of implementing this chapter as expeditiously as
possible, if it becomes operative pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (d), the Secretary of State's office shall be exempt from
information technology requirements included in Sections 11545,
11546, and 11547 of the Government Code and Section 12100 of the
Public Contract Code, and from information technology project and
funding approvals included in any other provision of law.