BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: SB 44 HEARING DATE: 3/19/13
AUTHOR: YEE ANALYSIS BY: Frances Tibon
Estoista
AMENDED: AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
State internet Web sites: online voter registration
DESCRIPTION
Existing law provides that 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 (SOS).
Existing federal law , the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of
2002 has required all states to implement a single,
uniform, centralized, computerized statewide voter
registration list and to define, maintain, and administer
this list at the state level.
This bill would require each Internet Web site maintained
by the state to include a hyperlink on the site's homepage
to the online voter registration page of the Internet Web
site of the SOS.
BACKGROUND
Chapter 561 of the Statutes of 2011 (SB 397 Yee),
authorized the SOS, in conjunction with the California
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to implement online
voter registration prior to the completion of a new
statewide voter registration database, also known as
VoteCal.
The program, developed in coordination with California's 58
county elections officials, the DMV, and SOS went live on
September 19, 2012. Online voter registration is providing
individuals the ability to register to vote through the
SOS's website, and was utilized by nearly 800,000 people
between its unveiling and the November General Election.
COMMENTS
1. According to the author : Last year California's online
voter registration law became effective and gave the
people of California the ability to register to vote
through the Secretary of State's website. The online
registration option has been utilized by over 1 million
people between its unveiling in September and now - many
of which were registering to vote for the first time. A
number of counties also reported a significantly higher
turnout rate for individuals that registered to vote
online in last November's elections. This much success
in a very short amount of time is strong evidence to
show that more people are likely to register to vote
(and potentially participate in elections) if it is made
easier for them to do so. By extending the voter
registration link to every state website, you are
ensuring that millions of people will see the link, many
that otherwise may be unaware that the online voter
registration option exists. This will promote the
system, and provide access to anyone seeking information
or services from the state.
2. What exactly is a hyperlink ? As defined by
wiseGEEK.org, a hyperlink is a graphic or a piece of
text in an Internet document that can connect readers to
another webpage, or another portion of a document. Web
users will usually find at least one hyperlink on every
webpage. The most simple form of these is called
embedded text or an embedded link. In this instance, a
hyperlink will show up as a single word or group of
words that will usually be marked as underlined, and are
frequently blue in color.
The HTML code for a hyperlink is relatively simple and
easy to duplicate.
3. Easy-Peasy. According to staff with the SOS, anyone
wishing to link to the Secretary of State's online voter
registration website may do so with a hyperlink to the
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online voter registration webpage, or they may use a
graphical button which links to that webpage. The
Secretary's Internet website provides the HTML code
needed to insert a graphical button for linking to the
online voter registration webpage. The HTML language
pulls the graphic image of a button from the Secretary's
website, displays it on the webpage, and activates a
link when a user clicks on the button.
4. Is this already being done ? Although staff was unable
to determine the exact number of state maintained web
sites already providing a hyperlink, the Governor,
Department of Finance, Health and Human Services Agency,
as well as 7 Senators all currently have a homepage
hyperlink button to the SOS's online voter registration
page.
5. Prior legislation : SB 397 (Yee), Ch. 561, Statutes of
2011, allowed online voter registration to begin prior
to the completion of a new statewide voter registration
database.
AB 1357 (Swanson), Ch. 192, Statutes of 2011, among other
things, requires the SOS in consultation with county
elections officials, to design and make available on
his/her Internet Web site an affidavit of registration.
AB 896 (Portantino), would have allowed a county
elections official to accept voter registration
affidavits signed with digital signatures and
transmitted electronically. The bill failed passage in
the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees,
(AFSCME), AFL-CIO
California Common Cause
California Church Impact
California Nurses Association
California Teachers Association
CALPIRG
SB 44 (YEE)
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League of Women Voters of California
Oppose: None on file
SB 44 (YEE)
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