BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 817
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          Date of Hearing:   May 7, 2013

                  ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
                                  Paul Fong, Chair
                     AB 817 (Bonta) - As Amended:  April 29, 2013
           
          SUBJECT  :   Elections officials.

           SUMMARY  :   Authorizes county elections officials to appoint a  
          person who is a lawful permanent resident of the United States  
          (U.S.) and who is otherwise eligible to register to vote, except  
          for his or her lack of U.S. citizenship, to serve as a precinct  
          board member.  Specifically,  this bill  :  Provides that in order  
          to promote civic engagement among residents of the state and to  
          provide additional members of precinct boards, an elections  
          official may appoint not more than five nonvoters per precinct  
          to serve as precinct board members.  Permits a nonvoter to be  
          appointed, notwithstanding their lack of eligibility to vote, if  
          the nonvoter possesses the following qualifications:

          1)Is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S.; and, 

          2)Is otherwise eligible to register to vote pursuant to existing  
            law except for his or her lack of U.S. citizenship.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Provides that a person is entitled to register to vote if that  
            person is be a U.S. citizen, a resident of California, not in  
            prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony, and at  
            least 18 years of age at the time of the next election.

          2)Requires a member of a precinct board to be a voter of the  
            state, except if the precinct board member is a pupil.  

          3)Provides that in order to provide for greater awareness of the  
            election process, the rights and responsibilities of voters,  
            and the importance of participating in the electoral process,  
            as well as to provide additional members of precinct boards,  
            an elections official may appoint no more than five pupils per  
            precinct to serve under the direct supervision of precinct  
            board members designated by the elections official.  Prohibits  
            a pupil appointed to serve as a precinct board member from  
            tallying votes.  Provides that a pupil may be appointed,  
            notwithstanding his or her lack of eligibility to vote,  








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            subject to the approval of the governing board of the  
            educational institution in which the pupil is enrolled, if the  
            pupil possesses the following qualifications:

             a)   Is at least 16 years of age at the time of the election  
               to which he or she is serving as a member of the precinct  
               board;

             b)   Is a U.S. citizen or will be a citizen at the time of  
               the election to which he or she is serving as a member of  
               the precinct board; 

             c)   Is a pupil in good standing attending a public or  
               private secondary educational institution; and,

             d)   Is a pupil who has a grade point average of at least 2.5  
               on a 4.0 scale.

          4)Requires elections officials to make reasonable efforts to  
            recruit election officers who are fluent in a language if  
            three percent or more of the voting age residents in any  
            precinct are fluent in that language and lack sufficient skill  
            in English to vote without assistance.  Requires an elections  
            official, at least 14 days before an election, to prepare and  
            make available to the public a list of the precincts to which  
            officials were appointed as described above and the language  
            or languages other than English in which they will provide  
            assistance. 
           
           5)Requires each precinct board to post, in a conspicuous  
            location in the polling place, at least one copy of the ballot  
            with ballot measures and ballot instructions printed in  
            Spanish in counties where the Secretary of State (SOS) has  
            determined it is appropriate.  Requires the ballot to be  
            posted in other languages if a significant and substantial  
            need is found by the SOS.  
           
          FISCAL EFFECT  :   Keyed non-fiscal by Legislative Counsel. 

           COMMENTS  :   

           1)Purpose of the Bill  :  According to the author:

               Over 2.6 million eligible voters in California are not yet  
               fully proficient in English, including 47% of eligible  








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               voters who are naturalized.  Without language assistance,  
               these citizens face challenges in asserting their right to  
               vote and casting an informed ballot.  This assistance  
               includes the recruitment of bilingual individuals to serve  
               as poll workers on Election Day.  Many voters with language  
               barriers rely on bilingual poll workers to navigate the  
               voting process.

               However, for large counties or counties with new language  
               obligations, the task of recruiting bilingual poll workers  
               can be daunting.  As the diversity of the state increases,  
               new tools are needed to ensure that language assistance is  
               available at the polling place and in the voter  
               registration process.  AB 817 addresses this need by  
               expanding the pool of available bilingual speakers to serve  
               as poll workers and other election volunteers.  AB 817  
               seeks to replicate the successful high school student poll  
               worker program which a number of counties have used to  
               bolster their poll worker recruitment.  AB 817 does not  
               impose any mandates on counties.

          2)Voting Rights Act of 1965  :  The 15th Amendment to the U.S.  
            Constitution provides, in part, "[t]he right of citizens of  
            the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by  
            the United States or by any state on account of race, color,  
            or previous condition of servitude."  Additionally, the 15th  
            Amendment authorizes Congress to enact legislation to enforce  
            its provisions.  

            Congress determined that the existing federal  
            anti-discrimination laws were not sufficient to overcome the  
            resistance by state officials to enforce the 15th Amendment.   
            As a result, Congress passed and President Johnson signed the  
            Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA). The VRA provides, among other  
            provisions, that "[n]o voting qualification or prerequisite to  
            voting, or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed  
            or applied by any State or political subdivision to deny or  
            abridge that right of any citizen of the United States to vote  
            on account of race or color."

            In 1975, Congress adopted the language minority provisions of  
            Sections 4(f)(4) and 203 of the VRA.  Congress extended these  
            provisions in 1982, 1992, and 2006.  Sections 4(f)(4) and 203  
            of the VRA require certain jurisdictions with significant  
            populations of voting age citizens who belong to a language  








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            minority community to provide voting materials in a language  
            other than English.   These determinations are based on data  
            from the most recent Census.

            Specifically, Sections 4(f)(4) and 203 require that when a  
            covered state or political subdivision "[p]rovides  
            registration or voting notices, forms, instructions,  
            assistance, or other materials of information relating to the  
            electoral process, including ballots, it shall provide them in  
            the language of the applicable minority group as well as in  
            the English language."

           3)New Census Data :  On October 13, 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau  
            released a notice of determination of minority language status  
            following the 2010 census.  Pursuant to Section 203, the State  
            of California is required to provide bilingual voting  
            assistance to Spanish speakers.  Additionally, pursuant to  
            Section 203, 27 of California's 58 counties are individually  
            required to provide bilingual voting assistance to Spanish  
            speakers, and eight counties (Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange,  
            Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa  
            Clara) are required to provide voting materials in at least  
            one language other than English and Spanish.  Pursuant to  
            Section 4(f)(4) of the VRA, three counties are required to  
            provide bilingual voting assistance to Spanish speakers,  
            though two of those counties are also required to provide  
            assistance pursuant to Section 203.  In total, 28 of  
            California's 58 counties are required to provide voting  
            materials in at least one language other than English.

            In addition, existing state law requires the SOS, in each  
            gubernatorial election year, to determine the precincts where  
            three percent or more of the voting age residents are members  
            of a single language minority and lack sufficient skills in  
            English to vote without assistance.  According to a January 4,  
            2013, memo from the SOS's office, the SOS has contracted with  
            U.C. Berkeley for a preliminary analysis of county language  
            requirements for the June 2014 gubernatorial primary election.  
             According to the memo, based on a preliminary analysis of the  
            data, the SOS has determined that most counties show an  
            increase in the number of precincts with individuals who speak  
            the nine languages that are covered in California under  
            federal law (Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean,  
            Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese).  Depending on the data, the  
            county elections officials will be required to translate a  








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            copy of the ballot and related instructions into the languages  
            indicated and post them at the appropriate polling places. 

            Below is a preliminary breakdown of the counties that will  
            have additional languages required under state law (new  
            languages are indicated in bold).

            Statewide: Spanish
            Alameda: Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Hindi,  
            Japanese, Khmer, Korean
            Amador: Spanish
            Alpine: None
            Butte: Spanish
            Calaveras: Spanish
            Colusa: Spanish
            Contra Costa: Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Japanese, Korean
            Del Norte:  Spanish
            El Dorado:  Spanish, Tagalog
            Fresno: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Khmer
            Glenn: Spanish
            Humboldt:  Spanish
            Imperial: Spanish
            Inyo: Spanish
            Kern: Spanish, Tagalog
            Kings: Spanish, Tagalog
            Lake: Spanish
            Lassen:  Spanish
            Los Angeles: Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean,  
            Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese
            Madera: Spanish
            Marin:  Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean
            Mariposa:  Spanish
            Mendocino:  Spanish, Chinese 
            Merced: Spanish
            Modoc: Spanish
            Mono: Spanish
            Monterey:  Spanish, Korean, Tagalog, Chinese
            Napa: Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese
            Nevada: Spanish
            Orange: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog,  
            Vietnamese, Khmer
            Placer: Spanish, Tagalog
            Plumas: Spanish
            Riverside: Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese
            Sacramento: Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Hindi,  








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            Japanese, Korean
            San Benito: Spanish
            San Bernardino: Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Khmer
            San Diego: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Tagalog,  
            Vietnamese, Khmer, Korean
            San Francisco: Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese,  
            Japanese
            San Joaquin: Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Khmer
            San Luis Obispo: Spanish, Tagalog
            San Mateo: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Tagalog, Korean
            Santa Barbara: Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese
            Santa Clara: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog,  
            Vietnamese, Hindi, Khmer
            Santa Cruz: Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog
            Shasta: Spanish
            Sierra: Spanish 
            Siskiyou: Spanish
            Solano: Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese 
            Sonoma: Spanish
            Stanislaus: Spanish
            Sutter: Spanish, Hindi
            Tehama: Spanish
            Trinity: Spanish
            Tulare: Spanish, Tagalog
            Tuolumne: Spanish
            Ventura: Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog
            Yolo: Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog
            Yuba: Spanish

           4)Standard for Bilingual Precinct Workers  :  Existing law  
            requires an elections official to make reasonable efforts to  
            recruit elections officers who are fluent in a language if  
            three percent or more of the voting age residents in the  
            precinct are fluent in that language and lack sufficient skill  
            in English to vote without assistance.  Additionally, existing  
            law requires each precinct board to post a copy of the ballot  
            in a language other than English at the polling place if the  
            SOS determines that the number of residents of voting age in  
            the precinct who are members of a single language minority and  
            who lack sufficient skills in English to vote without  
            assistance equals three percent or more of the voting age  
            residents in the precinct.  The author contends that due to  
            the new language obligations, as shown above, it may be  
            challenging for county elections officials to find elections  
            officers who are fluent in the new languages to assist voters.  








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           5)Students Serve as Precinct Board Members  :  Existing law allows  
            a high school student to serve as a precinct board member,  
            despite his or her lack of eligibility to vote, as long as the  
            student is 16 years old at the time of the election, is a U.S.  
            citizen at the time of the election, is in good standing at  
            his or her high school, and has a grade point average of at  
            least 2.5.  County elections officials are allowed to recruit  
            up to five student poll workers at each precinct.  The  
            provisions of this bill are similar to the requirements in  
            place for student poll workers.  This bill seeks to promote  
            civic engagement among residents of the state and provide for  
            additional precinct board members by allowing the elections  
            official to appoint up to five nonvoters per precinct to serve  
            as precinct board members.  A nonvoter may be appointed,  
            despite his or her lack of eligibility to vote, as long as the  
            nonvoter is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. and is  
            otherwise eligible to register to vote, except for his or her  
            lack of U.S. citizenship. 

          Current law, however, prohibits student precinct board members  
            from tallying votes.  This bill does not apply that same  
            prohibition to nonvoters.  In order to be consistent, the  
            committee may wish to consider whether nonvoters should be  
            prohibited from tallying votes.   

           6)Technical Amendment  :  This bill, which permits a nonvoter to  
            be appointed to serve as a precinct board member as long he or  
            she is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. and is  
            otherwise eligible to register to vote, except for his or her  
            lack of U.S. citizenship, does not define the term lawful  
            permanent resident, nor does it refer back to an existing code  
            section in which the term is defined.  While the term is  
            fairly self-explanatory, it may be helpful to reference  
            existing law.  The committee staff recommends amending the  
            bill as follows: 

              On page 3, lines 7, after the word "States," insert the  
            following: 

               ", in accordance with the provisions of Section 245A of the  
               federal Immigration and Nationality Act."

           7)Arguments in Support  :  The National Association of Latino  








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            Elected and Appointed Officials, a co-sponsor of this measure,  
            writes in support:

               Latino voters and all California voters would benefit from  
               the civic integration promoted by AB 817.  The population  
               of Californians who are not yet fully proficient in English  
               is diverse and widespread.  Currently, there are more than  
               2.6 million eligible Californians who identify as  
               limited-English proficient, from Del Norte County in  
               Northern California to San Diego County in Southern  
               California.

               Nearly half (48.3%) of these citizens are Latino.  AB 817  
               would ensure that limited-English proficient citizens can  
               cast an informed ballot and allows future citizens to serve  
               their community?

               For the first time in California history, nearly the entire  
               state - 57- 58 California counties - will be required to  
               provide some form of language assistance to limited-English  
               proficient voters.  AB 817 would help these jurisdictions  
               comply with federal and state law by enabling them to  
               recruit from a much larger pool of potential bilingual poll  
               workers.  Additionally, AB 817 would ensure all eligible  
               voters can participate fully in the electoral process  
               regardless of their English proficiency and also promote  
               civic integration of future California voters. 

           8)Previous Legislation  : SB 1233 (Padilla) of 2012, would have  
            required the title and summary of proposed statewide ballot  
            measures to be translated into the applicable languages  
            covered in that county.  SB 1233 was vetoed by Governor Brown.  
             In his veto message, Governor Brown stated that "[t]he  
            provisions of this bill are well intended?however, they add  
            substantial burdens to the petition process without  
            commensurate benefit."

            AB 1814 (Eng) of 2012, would have required counties to submit  
            a report to the SOS describing the county's plan for  
            compliance with state and federal laws enacted to assist  
            voters with limited English proficiency, no later than 120  
            days before the first statewide election, among other  
            provisions.  AB 1814 was held on suspense in the Senate  
            Appropriations Committee.









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           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Asian Law Caucus (co-sponsor)
          Asian Pacific American Legal Center (co-sponsor)
          National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials  
          (co-sponsor)
          American Civil Liberties Union of California
          API Equality - Northern California
          Asian American Center for Advancing Justice
          Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality
          Asian Pacific Environmental Network
          API-Equality-LA
          California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
          California Immigrant Policy Center 
          Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment
          Chinese for Affirmative Action
          Filipina Women's Network
          Filipino American Service Group, Inc. 
          Gay Asian Pacific Alliance
          Greenlining Institute
          Khmer Girls in Action
          Korean Resource Center
          Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance
          League of Women Voters of California
          Little Tokyo Service Center
          Search To Involve Pilipino Americans
          South Asian Network
          Tenderloin Housing Clinic
          Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation
          Thai Community Development Center

           Opposition 
           
          None on file.
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916)  
          319-2094