BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1038
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1038 (Pan)
As Introduced February 22, 2013
Majority vote
ELECTIONS 5-2 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Fong, Bocanegra, Bonta, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Hall, Perea | |Bradford, |
| | | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Eggman, Gomez, Hall, |
| | | |Holden, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ammiano |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Jones, Logue |Nays:|Harkey, Bigelow, |
| | | |Donnelly, Linder, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Prohibits a person from offering or providing
financial compensation or other valuable consideration to
another person, either directly or indirectly, to assist another
person to register to vote under a certain political party by
receiving the completed affidavit of registration. Provides any
person who violates the provisions of this bill is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor non-reimbursable costs, offset to some extent
by fine revenues for violations of the provisions of this bill.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "recently reports of
organized voter registration fraud taking place in Sacramento
County have come to light. Since then we have found that the
problem lies with 'Bounty Hunters' companies and organizations
that pay per-affidavit for switched voter registrations cards.
By changing the law so companies can no longer pay based on
voter party preference we eliminate an incentive to forge
affidavits while protecting the integrity of voters. This will
reduce the volume of voter cards that are invalid due to fraud
thereby reducing the amount of staff time the county registrars
need to spend validating them. Decreasing the backlog and strain
on the county registrars can save significant resources for
AB 1038
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county governments that are struggling in our difficult budget
climate."
In each of the last four election cycles, complaints have been
filed by voters who said they were misled into changing their
party affiliations. According to media reports of these
complaints, the voter registration workers who were accused of
misleading these voters were paid as much as $15 for each new
voter that the worker registered with a particular political
party.
In 2006, complaints were reported in Orange, Riverside, and San
Bernardino Counties. According to the Orange County Register,
11 individuals were eventually convicted of falsifying voter
registrations and other charges in connection with the
complaints in Orange County, and eight of those 11 served jail
time. In 2008, press reports focused on similar complaints in
Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties.
In 2010, complaints were filed in Orange and Sacramento
Counties. In 2012, complaints were reported once again in
Sacramento County. In every instance, media reports of the
complaints indicated that the firms that were conducting the
voter registration drives or the individuals who were
registering voters as part of those drives were being paid on a
per-registration basis.
AB 145 (Pan) of 2012, would have prohibited a person from paying
another person or receiving payment for registering voters if
that payment is on a per-affidavit basis. Governor Brown vetoed
the bill stating, that "[c]urrent California law provides
criminal penalties for voter registration fraud. Without more
convincing evidence that per-card incentives hurt the democratic
process, I am not prepared to ban them."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094
FN: 0000212
AB 1038
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