BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1122
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Date of Hearing: April 9, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 1122 (Levine) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
SUBJECT : Voter registration: Department of Motor Vehicles.
SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in
coordination with the Secretary of State (SOS), to the extent
the State's Plan for implementation of the federal National
Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 is inconsistent with the
NVRA, to take additional steps to fully implement and further
comply with Section 1973gg-3 of the NVRA.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires each state to offer voter registration services at
motor vehicle agency offices, offices that provide public
assistance, offices that provide state-funded programs
primarily engaged in providing services to persons with
disabilities, Armed Forces recruitment offices, and other
state and local offices within the state designated as NVRA
voter registration agencies.
2)Requires the DMV to provide the opportunity to register to
vote to individuals who apply for, renew or change an address
for a driver's license or personal identification card issued
by the DMV.
3)Requires a driver's license or identification application to
be used as an application for voter registration, unless the
applicant fails to sign the application.
4)Requires change of address information received by the DMV to
be used for the purpose of updating voter registration
records, unless the registrant chooses otherwise.
5)Provides a person may not be registered to vote except by
affidavit of registration.
6)Provides that a properly executed affidavit of registration is
deemed to be effective upon receipt of the affidavit by the
county elections official if received on or before the 15th
day before election day, postmarked on or before the 15th day
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prior to the election and received by mail by the county
elections officials, or submitted to the DMV or accepted by
any other public agency designated as a voter registration
agency on or before the 15th day prior to the election.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
More than 500,000 California adults annually apply for a
new driver's license. Under the federal Motor Voter law
these Californians are to be afforded the opportunity of
using the driver's license application form as a voter
registration form. However, currently DMV asks motorists
to fill out a separate voter registration form, tear it
off, affix postage, address the form, and drop it into the
mail. This was never the intent of Motor Voter and it is
time that California began providing the ease in voter
registration as envisioned when Motor Voter was signed into
law 20 years ago.
In 1993, the technology did not exist for DMV and the
Secretary of State to comply easily with Motor Voter.
However, today, compliance is much easier and affordable.
In fact, DMV and the SOS are already working cooperatively
to allow Californians to register to vote on-line. This
same technology can be used to comply with Motor Voter.
Additionally, other states are currently in compliance with
Motor Voter. For example, in Arizona, the driver's license
application form is also used as a voter registration form.
The driver's license application includes all needed
information to register to vote.
2)National Voter Registration Act : On May 20, 1993, President
Bill Clinton signed into law the NVRA, which had an effective
date of January 1, 1995. Also known as the "Motor Voter
Act," the enactment of the NVRA was intended to enhance and
increase voting opportunities for eligible voters to register
to vote and maintain their registration. In addition to other
methods of voter registration, the NVRA requires states to
provide the opportunity to apply to register to vote for
federal elections through various methods. Section 5 of the
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NVRA requires states to offer voter registration opportunities
at motor vehicle agencies. Additionally, Section 6 of the
NVRA requires states to provide voter registration
opportunities by mail-in application. Finally, Section 7 of
the NVRA requires states to offer voter registration
opportunities at all offices that provide public assistance or
state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services
to persons with disabilities. Armed Forces recruitment
offices must also provide voter registration services.
Section 7 of the NVRA also requires a state to designate
"other offices" within the state as voter registration
agencies. In addition to expanding opportunities to register
to vote, the NVRA imposes requirements on states to protect
the integrity of the electoral process and ensure that
accurate and current voter registration rolls are maintained.
On August 12, 1994, the Governor Pete Wilson signed Executive
Order W-98-94 directing state and local agencies to implement
the NVRA only to the extent that federal funding was provided.
3)How Does The Current Process Work ? According to the SOS's
2011 NVRA Manual, every person who visits a DMV office to
apply for or renew a driver's license or identification card
or to change an address receives a voter registration card
(VRC). Every person who receives a driver's license or
identification renewal form by mail also receives a VRC. The
VRC can be used to register to vote or to re-register after a
change in name, address, or party preference. When voters
update their address with a DMV office, the new address is
sent electronically to the SOS's statewide voter registration
database, which then shares the information with county
elections officials who update voter registration records.
When voters move to a new county, the DMV instructs them to
complete a new VRC. The DMV accepts completed VRCs and
forwards them to the SOS or the county where the voter lives.
The NVRA clearly prohibits an individual who wants to register
to vote to be required to provide any information that
duplicates information already required on the driver's
license form, except for other information that is necessary
to determine an individual's eligibility to registration to
vote. Similarly, federal law requires a DMV change of address
form to serve as a notification of a change of address for
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voter registration, unless the individual states otherwise.
However, according the representatives from the DMV and the
SOS, the current process is a two-step process. For instance,
a person applying for a driver's license must fill out an
additional VRC to register to vote. Furthermore, a person
that moves to a new county is required to fill out a separate
VRC to change the address at which he or she is registered to
vote.
4)Implementing NVRA History : When the NVRA took effect in 1995,
several states failed to take the steps necessary to comply
with the law and several also challenged the constitutionality
of the federal mandate. States involved in the first round of
cases included California, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi,
Pennsylvania, New York, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia.
Three separate lawsuits concerning California's implementation
of the NVRA were filed in federal court: Voting Rights
Coalition v. Pete Wilson , Pete Wilson v. United States of
America , and United States of America v. Pete Wilson . All
three cases were combined into a single proceeding and were
heard before a federal district court in San Jose on March 2,
1995. The courts found the NVRA constitutional, despite the
lack of federal funding provided to states, and the court
ruled that California was obligated to implement the NVRA.
The court ordered the state to submit an implementation plan
to the court for review to ensure conformity of the
requirements of the NVRA.
The plan submitted by the state would have brought California
into compliance with the requirements of the NVRA, however,
there was one notable exception with respect to the method by
which a person may register to vote at the DMV.
As mentioned above, the NVRA explicitly requires a driver's
license or identification application to be used as an
application for voter registration, unless the applicant fails
to sign the application. Additionally, NVRA provides that the
voter registration portion of a driver's license application
may not require any information that duplicates information
required in the driver's license portion of the form, other
than a second signature or other information that is necessary
to determine an individual's eligibility to register to vote.
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Despite the NVRA's clear requirements, the state's
court-approved implementation plan instead called for a
two-page application - one page for the driver's license
application and one page for the voter registration form.
Prior bill analyses suggest the rationale for this two-page
plan was due to cost, as the NVRA did not provide states with
any direct funding or any mechanism for reimbursement of the
costs associated with its implementation. The cost to create
a single, computer generated form to serve as both a driver's
license and voter registration application would have been
significant.
5)Is This Bill Necessary ? According to the SOS's 2011 NVRA
Manual, the NVRA did not require the adoption of state law to
give it effect, thus California did not adopt implementing
statues or regulations under the NVRA. Furthermore, once the
federal court reviewed and approved the plan for conformity
with the requirements of the NVRA, it was confirmed that the
issue of Motor Voter had been decided by the federal court and
thus was moot.
However, as mentioned above, while California's NVRA
Implementation Plan was approved by a federal court, a strict
reading of the NVRA would suggest that the state does not
fully comply with the NVRA. This bill has the potential to
highlight this matter and finally bring California into full
compliance with Motor Voter.
6)Previous Legislation : SB 35 (Padilla), Chapter 505, Statutes
of 2012, added the California Health Benefit Exchange to the
list of public assistance agencies required by the NVRA to
provide voter registration opportunities and codified various
other provisions of the NVRA.
7)Double Referred : This bill has been doubled referred to the
Assembly Transportation Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Common Cause
Opposition
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None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094