BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: SB 111 HEARING DATE: 4/2/13
AUTHOR: BEALL ANALYSIS BY: Frances Tibon
Estoista
AMENDED: 3/6/13
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Elections: voter signature
DESCRIPTION
Existing law authorizes certain persons to use a signature
stamp to affix a signature to various elections documents.
Existing law prohibits a voter from using a signature stamp
until the signature stamp is used by the voter to sign an
affidavit of registration in the presence of a county
elections official.
Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV) and the Secretary of State (SOS) to develop a process
and infrastructure to allow the electronic copy of a
person's signature and other information to be transferred
to the SOS for the purpose of allowing a person to register
to vote electronically on the SOS's Internet Web site.
This bill would, additionally authorize certain registered
voters to use a signature stamp if the voter submits an
affidavit of registration electronically utilizing a
signature stamp that has been approved by the department
DMV and transmitted to the secretary SOS.
BACKGROUND
The Warren Mattingly Signature Stamp Act was established by
AB 18 (Blakeslee), Ch. 485 Statutes of 2007, and enabled a
person who, due to a disability, is unable to provide a
handwritten signature, to use a signature stamp in
situations where the California Elections Code requires a
signature, e.g., on a vote-by-mail ballot or an initiative
petition.
Currently, after the DMV confirms an applicant's identity,
it stores an electronic copy of the signature stamp just as
it stores traditional signatures.
COMMENTS
1. According to the author , SB 111 updates the law by
allowing a person who is unable to sign their name, due
to a disability, to use a signature stamp that is filed
with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to complete
their online voter registration application.
According to Disability Rights California, over 30,000
Californians have a signature stamp approved for use
by, and on file with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The DMV currently allows people who cannot sign their
names to use a signature stamp when applying for a
driver's license or California identification card.
After the DMV confirms the applicant's identity, it
stores an electronic copy of the signature stamp just
as it stores traditional signatures.
Under current law, people who use a signature stamp to
sign a voter registration affidavit must do so in the
presence of an election official, necessitating a trip
to the local elections office -- a task that may be
burdensome for a person with a disability.
SB 111 will streamline the voter registration process for
people who cannot sign their name by allowing them to
register to vote online, thus creating equal access to
online voter registration for people using signature
stamps.
2. Similar and related legislation : AB 5 (Ammiano)
contains related language to the same provision of law.
SB 397 (Yee), Ch. 561, Statutes of 2011 permits online
voter registration to begin prior to the completion of
a new statewide voter registration database.
SB 111 (BEALL)
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AB 18 (Blakeslee) Ch. 485, Statutes of 2007 provided that
a person with a disability, as defined, who, by reason
of the disability, is unable to write may use a
signature stamp, or authorize another person to use the
stamp, to serve as his or her signature for any purpose
specified in the Elections Code.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Secretary of State
Support: American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees
(AFSCME), AFL-CIO
Association of Regional Center Agencies
California Association of Clerks and Election
Officials
California Common Cause
California Council of the Blind
California Foundation for Independent Living
Centers (CFILC)
California State Council of the Service Employees
International Union
(SEIU)
Disability Rights California
National Multiple Sclerosis Society-California
Action Network
Silicon Valley Independent Living Center
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy in California
United Cerebral Palsy of Sacramento and Northern
California
United Domestic Workers of America, AFSCME Local
3930
Oppose: None received
SB 111 (BEALL)
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