BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 112|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 112
Author: Monning (D)
Amended: 4/4/13
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 5-0, 4/30/13
AYES: Correa, Anderson, Hancock, Padilla, Yee
SUBJECT : Voter information: public examination
SOURCE : Secretary of State
DIGEST : This bill requires that voter registration card
information be available to the public 100 years after the
creation of the record. If the records are contained in the
great registers of voters and the bound register contains
information covering more than one year, the records shall not
be available to the public until the entire contents of the
register have been recorded for at least 100 years.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Sets forth the requirements and procedures for handling voter
registration cards and for the specific voter information
that is contained therein.
2. Provides that the home address, telephone number, e-mail
address, precinct number or other specified number, and prior
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SB 112
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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 under
specified circumstances.
This bill requires that voter registration card information be
available to the public 100 years after the creation of the
record. If the records are contained in the great registers of
voters and the bound register contains information covering more
than one year, the records shall not be available to the public
until the entire contents of the register have been recorded for
at least 100 years.
Background
Historic county voter registration records are often contained
in books called "Great Registers." These books are valuable
sources of historic interest to researchers, historians,
archivists, and many others. However, access to these historic
treasures is severely limited because voter registration records
are, for the most part, not available public records.
The Elections Code allows voter registration records to be
accessed for election, scholarly, journalistic, governmental, or
political purposes, as determined by the Secretary of State.
These access provisions do not include one of the most common
reasons people want to access the historic rolls, which is to
learn about their genealogy, or family's history in California.
Historic voter records often show the date of birth, signature,
address, occupation, and in some cases, the country of origin,
birthplace, and physical characteristics of the voter such as
height, color of hair and eyes, and distinguishing marks.
Identifiers such as social security and driver's license numbers
were not used in voter registration cards until 1994.
For comparison purposes, the United States Census records
contain information similar to the historic voter rolls. Census
records are sealed for 72 years, and then released to the public
by the National Archives and Records Administration. In
accordance with the "72-Year Rule" (based upon the average life
expectancy for the U.S. population at the time), the National
Archives most recently released the 1940 records on April 2,
2012.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/1/13)
Secretary of State (source)
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
California Association of Museums
Common Cause
County of Santa Cruz County Clerk
National Coalition for History
Society of California Archivists
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, this
bill seeks to make historic voter rolls, including bound books
called "Great Registers," available to the public for the
purpose of historical and genealogical interests. These county
voter registration records contain valuable historical
information such as the date of birth, signature, address,
occupation, and in some cases, the country of origin,
birthplace, and physical characteristics of the voter, such as
height, color of hair and eyes, and distinguishing marks.
Access to this data, much of it from the late 19th and early
20th century, is currently restricted to official, scholarly,
and journalistic purposes and is not available to the public for
exploration of their genealogical roots. These historic
treasures should be available to anyone with interest in
California history.
RM:k 5/1/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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