SB 112, as introduced, Monning. Voter information: public examination.
Existing law sets forth the requirements and procedures for handling the voter registration card and for the specific voter information that is contained therein. Existing law provides that the home address, telephone number, e-mail address, precinct number or other specified number, and prior registration information shown on the voter registration card for all registered voters are confidential and prohibits the disclosure of that information to any person, except as specified.
This bill would require that the above-referenced voter registration card information be open for public examination if the information has been recorded more than 72 years prior to the date of the examination request. If the records are contained in the great registers of voters and the bound register contains information covering more than one year, the bill would prohibit the examination of the records until the entire contents of the register have been recorded for at least 72 years.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 2194 of the Elections Code is amended
2to read:
(a) The voter registration card information identified in
2subdivision (a) of Section 6254.4 of the Government Code:
3(1) Shall be confidential and shall not appear on any computer
4terminal, list, affidavit, duplicate affidavit, or other medium
5routinely available to the public at the county elections official’s
6office.
7(2) Shall not be used for any personal, private, or commercial
8purpose, including, but not limited to:
9(A) The harassment of any voter or voter’s household.
10(B) The advertising, solicitation, sale, or marketing of
products
11or services to any voter or voter’s household.
12(C) Reproduction in print, broadcast visual or audio, or display
13on the Internet or any computer terminal unless pursuant to
14paragraph (3).
15(3) Shall be provided with respect to any voter, subject to the
16provisions of Sections 2166.5, 2166.7, and 2188, to any candidate
17for federal, state, or local office, to any committee for or against
18any initiative or referendum measure for which legal publication
19is made, and to any person for election, scholarly, journalistic, or
20political purposes, or for governmental purposes, as determined
21by the Secretary of State.
22(4) Shall be open for examination by the public if the information
23has been recorded more than 72 years prior to the date of
the
24examination request. If records are contained in the great registers
25of voters and the bound register contains information covering
26more than one year, the records shall not be viewed until the entire
27contents of the register have been recorded for at least 72 years.
28(b) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
29California driver’s license number, the California identification
30card number, the social security number, and any other unique
31identifier used by the State of California for purposes of voter
32identification shown on a voter registration card of a registered
33voter, or added to voter registration records to comply with the
34requirements of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C.
35Sec. 15301 et seq.), are confidential and shall not be disclosed to
36any person.
37(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
signature
38of the voter shown on the voter registration card is confidential
39and shall not be disclosed to any person, except as provided in
40subdivision (c).
P3 1(c) (1) The home address or signature of any voter shall be
2released whenever the person’s vote is challenged pursuant to
3Sections 15105 to 15108, inclusive, or Article 3 (commencing
4with Section 14240) of Chapter 3 of Division 14. The address or
5signature shall be released only to the challenger, to elections
6officials, and to other persons as necessary to make, defend against,
7or adjudicate the challenge.
8(2) An elections official shall permit a person to view the
9signature of a voter for the purpose of determining whether the
10signature matches a signature on an affidavit of registration or a
11petition, but shall not permit a signature to be copied.
12(d) A governmental entity, or officer or employee thereof, shall
13not be held civilly liable as a result of disclosure of the information
14referred to in this section, unless by a showing of gross negligence
15or willfulness.
16(e) For the purposes of this section, “voter’s household” is
17defined as the voter’s place of residence or mailing address or any
18persons who reside at the place of residence or use the mailing
19address as supplied on the affidavit of registration pursuant to
20paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 2150.
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