BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 131
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 131 (Williams)
As Introduced January 15, 2013
Majority vote
ELECTIONS 5-1
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|Ayes:|Fong, Bocanegra, Bonta, |
| |Hall, Perea |
| | |
|-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Donnelly |
| | |
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SUMMARY : Provides that a person's failure to identify his or
her place of birth on an affidavit of registration shall not
preclude the affidavit from being deemed complete.
FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "County election officials
must engage in the time consuming practice of contacting
potential voters when a piece of information is missing from a
voter registration form. While all information requested of
potential voters is important, a person's place of birth is not
used to confirm his or her eligibility to vote. Further,
counties have no clear authority to process incomplete
registration cards that omit place of birth.
"This measure will save county clerks valuable time and
resources by making it optional to answer a registration form
question that is not required by the federal government or by 39
other states. Further, the question of place of birth is
duplicative in nature because it is not utilized to verify
eligibility. The eligibility of the potential voter is verified
in the signature box under penalty of perjury.
"AB 131 clarifies that if a registrant fails to identify his or
her place of birth, it is presumed that he or she is eligible to
register to vote as long as he or she marked the box stating
that he or she is a citizen of the United States and signs the
AB 131
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affidavit under penalty of perjury.
"As a result, AB 131 protects voting rights and assists counties
with cost savings by removing the mandate to contact registrants
and obtain this information."
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-31),
also known as "Motor Voter," requires every state to accept a
uniform federal voter registration application by mail, among
other provisions. Under Motor Voter, the federal voter
registration application may require only such identifying
information and other information as is necessary to enable the
appropriate election official to assess the eligibility of the
applicant and to administer voter registration and other parts
of the election process. As a result, the federal voter
registration application, which is accepted for voter
registration in California pursuant to federal law, does not
request information about the applicant's place of birth.
Because the uniform federal voter registration application does
not contain a space for the applicant's place of birth, any
Californian who registers to vote using that form will have his
or her registration processed even though he or she has not
specified his or her place of birth on the voter registration
application. On the other hand, any voter who attempts to
register using the state's voter registration affidavit and who
leaves the space for "place of birth" blank does not have his or
her registration processed unless the county elections official
is able to contact that voter and obtain that information from
the voter.
Analysis Prepared by : Lori Barber / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0000047