Senate Joint Resolution No. 6

Introduced by Senator Yee

February 25, 2013

Senate Joint Resolution No. 6—Relative to the Lines Interfere with National Elections Act of 2013.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SJR 6, as introduced, Yee. The Lines Interfere with National Elections Act of 2013.

This measure would proclaim the Legislature’s support for the federal Lines Interfere with National Elections Act of 2013, and would memorialize the Congress of the United States to promptly pass the act and President Barack Obama to sign the act.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, The right to vote is a fundamental right of citizens
of the United States; and

WHEREAS, It is a fundamental principle of our representative
democracy that citizens shall not be required to overcome
unreasonable obstacles in order to exercise their right to vote; and

WHEREAS, At the presidential election on November 6, 2012,
voters in Florida, Virginia, Ohio, and other states waited in line
for up to seven hours to cast ballots, and some voters were required
to wait in line well after the polls were closed; and

WHEREAS, More than 200,000 voters in Florida likely decided
not to vote in the election held on November 6, 2012, because of
their frustration with long lines; and

WHEREAS, United States Senator Barbara Boxer has introduced
in Congress the Lines Interfere with National Elections Act of
2013, which would amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002
(42 U.S.C. Sec. 15301 et seq.) to ensure that voters in elections
for federal office do not wait in long lines in order to vote; and

WHEREAS, The Lines Interfere with National Elections Act
of 2013 would require the United States Attorney General, in
consultation with the Election Assistance Commission, to issue
standards by January 1, 2014, regarding the minimum number of
voting systems, poll workers, and other election resources needed
on election day and during early voting periods to prevent a waiting
time of more than one hour at any polling place; and

WHEREAS, The Lines Interfere with National Elections Act
of 2013 would require states where a substantial number of voters
waited longer than 90 minutes to cast a vote in the presidential
election held on November 6, 2012, or any election for federal
office held after that date, to comply with a remedial plan to
minimize the waiting times of voters and to ensure voters do not
face similar delays in the future; and

WHEREAS, An election system with fair access provides the
greatest guard to our rights and liberties; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California
supports the Lines Interfere with National Elections Act of 2013
and respectfully memorializes the Congress of the United States
to promptly pass the act and President Barack Obama to sign the
act; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the United States Senate, to each Senator and
Representative from California in the Congress of the United
States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.