BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 111
Author: Beall (D)
Amended: 3/6/13
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMENDMENTS COMMITTEE : 4-1, 4/2/13
AYES: Correa, Hancock, Padilla, Yee
NOES: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Elections: voter signature
SOURCE : Secretary of State
DIGEST : This bill authorizes 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 of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and
transmitted to the Secretary of State (SOS).
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Authorizes certain persons to use a signature stamp to affix a
signature to various elections documents.
2.Prohibits a voter from using a signature stamp until the
signature stamp is used by the voter to sign an affidavit of
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registration in the presence of a county elections official.
3.Requires DMV and 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 authorizes 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 DMV and transmitted to the SOS.
Background
The Warren Mattingly Signature Stamp Act was established by AB
18 (Blakeslee, Chapter 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/15/13)
Secretary of State (source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
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 Center
California State Council of the Service Employees International
Union
Disability Rights California
National Multiple Sclerosis Society-California Action Network
Silicon Valley Independent Living Center
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The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy in California
United Cerebral Palsy of Sacramento and Northern California
United Domestic Workers of America, AFSCME Local 3930
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, this
bill 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 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.
This bill 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.
RM:nl 4/16/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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