SB 113, as amended, Jackson. Elections: voter registration.
Existing law authorizes a person who is at least 17 years of age and otherwise meets all voter eligibility requirements to submit his or her affidavit of registration. The affidavit of registration is deemed effective as of the date the affiant will be 18 years of age. These provisions become operative when the Secretary of State certifies that the state has a statewide voter registration database that complies with the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002.
This bill would lower the minimum age for purposes of submitting an affidavit of registration pursuant to these provisions to 16 years of age. The bill also would make conforming changes to existing law.
Existing law requires that, upon receipt of a properly executed affidavit of registration or address correction notice or letter, the county elections official send the voter a voter notification containing specified information.
This bill would require that, if an affidavit of registration is submitted by a person who is at least 16 years of age and otherwise meets all voter eligibility requirements, the county elections official send a pre-registration notice to that voter upon a determination that the affidavit of registration is properly executed and that the person otherwise satisfies all eligibility requirements to votebegin insert, except that he or she is under 18 years of ageend insert. The bill would prescribe the format of the voter pre-registration notice and make conforming changes.
Existing law requires a county elections official to conduct a preelection residency confirmation procedure by the 90th day immediately prior to the primary election, and requires the official to mail a nonforwardable postcard to each registered voter of the county preceding the direct primary election. Existing law provides that the official, at his or her discretion, is not required to mail the residency confirmation postcard to any voter who has voted at an election held within the last 6 months preceding the start of the procedure.
This bill would provide that a county elections official is not required to mail a residency confirmation postcard to any person under 18 years of age who has submitted a properly executed affidavit of registration and who will not be 18 years of age on or before the primary election.
By imposing new requirements on local elections officials in processing voter registrations and sending voter notifications, the bill would create a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 2102 of the Elections Code, as amended
2by Section 2 of Chapter 364 of the Statutes of 2009, is amended
3to read:
(a) A person shall not be registered as a voter except by
2affidavit of registration. The affidavit shall be mailed or delivered
3to the county elections official and shall set forth all of the facts
4required to be shown by this chapter. A properly executed
5registration shall be deemed effective upon receipt of the affidavit
6by the county elections official if received on or before the 15th
7day prior to an election to be held in the registrant’s precinct. A
8properly executed registration shall also be deemed effective upon
9receipt of the affidavit by the county elections official if any of
10the following apply:
11(1) The affidavit is postmarked on or before the 15th day prior
12to the election and received by mail by the county elections official.
13(2) The affidavit is submitted to the Department of Motor
14Vehicles or accepted by any other public agency designated as a
15voter registration agency pursuant to the federal National Voter
16Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973gg) on or before the
1715th day prior to the election.
18(3) The affidavit is delivered to the county elections official by
19means other than those described in paragraph (1) or (2) on or
20before the 15th day prior to the election.
21(b) For purposes of verifying signatures on a recall, initiative,
22or referendum petition or signatures on a nomination paper or any
23other election petition or election paper, a properly executed
24affidavit of registration shall be deemed effective for verification
25purposes if both of the following conditions are satisfied:
26(1) The affidavit is signed on the same date or a date prior to
27the signing of the petition or paper.
28(2) The affidavit is received by the county elections official on
29or before the date on which the petition or paper is filed.
30(c) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the affidavit
31of registration required under this chapter may not be taken under
32sworn oath, but the content of the affidavit shall be certified as to
33its truthfulness and correctness, under penalty of perjury, by the
34signature of the affiant.
35(d) A person who is at least 16 years of age and otherwise meets
36all eligibility requirements to vote may submit his or her affidavit
37of registration as prescribed by this section. A properly executed
38registration made pursuant to this
subdivision shall be deemed
39effective as of the date the affiant will be 18 years of age, if the
40information in the affidavit of registration is still current at that
P4 1time. If the information provided by the affiant in the affidavit of
2registration is not current at the time that the registration would
3otherwise become effective, for his or her registration to become
4effective, the affiant shall provide the current information to the
5proper county elections official as prescribed by this chapter.
Section 2106 of the Elections Code, as amended by
7Section 3 of Chapter 364 of the Statutes of 2009, is amended to
8read:
A program adopted by a county pursuant to Section 2103
10or 2105, that is designed to encourage the registration of electors,
11shall, with respect to a printed literature or media announcement
12made in connection with these programs, contain this statement:
13“A person entitled to register to vote must be a United States
14citizen, a resident of California, not in prison or on parole for the
15conviction of a felony, and at least 18 years of age at the time of
16the election. A person may preregister to vote if he or she is a
17United States citizen, a resident of California, not in prison or on
18parole for the conviction of a felony, and at least 16 years of age.”
19A county elections official may continue to use existing materials
20before printing new or revised materials required by any changes
21to this section.
Section 2150 of the Elections Code, as amended by
23Chapter 364 of the Statutes of 2009, is amended to read:
(a) The affidavit of registration shall show:
25(1) The facts necessary to establish the affiant as an elector.
26(2) The affiant’s name at length, including his or her given
27name, and a middle name or initial, or if the initial of the given
28name is customarily used, then the initial and middle name. The
29affiant’s given name may be preceded, at affiant’s option, by the
30designation of Miss, Ms., Mrs., or Mr. A person shall not be denied
31the right to register because of his or her failure to mark a prefix
32to the given name and shall be so advised on the voter registration
33card. This subdivision shall not be construed as requiring the
34printing of prefixes on an affidavit of registration.
35(3) The affiant’s place of residence, residence telephone number,
36if furnished, and e-mail address, if furnished. A person shall not
37be denied the right to register because of his or her failure to furnish
38a telephone number or e-mail address, and shall be so advised on
39the voter registration card.
P5 1(4) The affiant’s mailing address, if different from the place of
2residence.
3(5) The affiant’s date of birth to establish that he or she will be
4at least 18 years of age on or before the date of the next election.
5In the case of an affidavit of registration submitted pursuant to
6subdivision (d) of Section 2102, the affiant’s date of birth to
7establish that he or she is at least 16 years of age.
8(6) The state or country of the affiant’s birth.
9(7) (A) In the case of an applicant who has been issued a current
10and valid driver’s license, the applicant’s driver’s license number.
11(B) In the case of any other applicant, other than an applicant
12to whom subparagraph (C) applies, the last four digits of the
13applicant’s social security number.
14(C) If an applicant for voter registration has not been issued a
15current and valid driver’s license or a social security number, the
16state shall assign the applicant a number that will serve to identify
17the applicant for voter registration purposes. To the extent that the
18state has a computerized list in effect under this subdivision and
19the list assigns unique identifying numbers to registrants, the
20number assigned under this subparagraph shall be the unique
21identifying number assigned under the list.
22(8) The affiant’s political party preference.
23(9) That the affiant is currently not imprisoned or on parole for
24the conviction of a felony.
25(10) A prior registration portion indicating whether the affiant
26has been registered at another address, under another name, or as
27preferring another party. If the affiant has been so registered, he
28or she shall give an additional statement giving that address, name,
29or party.
30(b) The affiant shall certify the content of the affidavit as to its
31truth and correctness, under penalty of perjury, with the signature
32of his or her name and the date of signing. If the affiant is unable
33to write he or she shall sign with a mark or cross.
34(c) The affidavit of
registration shall also contain a space that
35would enable the affiant to state his or her ethnicity or race, or
36both. An affiant shall not be denied the ability to register because
37he or she declines to state his or her ethnicity or race.
38(d) If a person, including a deputy registrar, assists the affiant
39in completing the affidavit, that person shall sign and date the
40affidavit below the signature of the affiant.
P6 1(e) The affidavit of registration shall also contain a space to
2permit the affiant to apply for permanent vote by mail status.
3(f) The Secretary of State may continue to supply existing
4affidavits of registration to county elections officials prior to
5printing new or revised forms that reflect the changes made to this
6section by the act that added this subdivision.
Section 2155.3 is added to the Elections Code, to read:
(a) In lieu of the voter notification required by Section
92155, a person under 18 years of age who submits an affidavit of
10registration pursuant to Section 2101 or subdivision (d) of Section
112102, as amended by the act adding this section shall be sent a
12voter preregistration notice upon a determination that the affidavit
13of registration is properly executed and that the person otherwise
14satisfies all eligibility requirements to votebegin insert, except that he or she
15is under 18 years of ageend insert. The county elections official shall send
16the voter preregistration notice by nonforwardable, first-class mail,
17address correction requested.
18(b) The voter
preregistration notice required by subdivision (a)
19shall be substantially in the following form:
23Thank you for registering to vote. You may vote in any election
24held on or after your 18th birthday.
25Your party preference is: (Name of political party)
26Before any election in which you are eligible to vote, you will
27receive a sample ballot and voter pamphlet by mail.
28If the information on this card is incorrect, please contact our
29office or update your registration at the Internet Web site of the
30Secretary of State.
Section 2156 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
The Secretary of State shall print, or cause to be printed,
33the blank forms of the voter notification prescribed by Section
342155 and the voter preregistration notice prescribed by Section
352155.3. The Secretary of State shall supply the forms to the county
36elections official in quantities and at times requested by the county
37elections official. The Secretary of State may continue to supply,
38and the county elections officials may continue to use, existing
39forms prior to printing new or revised forms as required by any
40changes to Section 2155 or 2155.3.
Section 2205 of the Elections Code, as amended by
2Section 5 of Chapter 364 of the Statutes of 2009, is amended to
3read:
The local registrar of births and deaths shall notify the
5county elections official not later than the 15th day of each month
6of all deceased persons 16 years of age and over, whose deaths
7were registered with him or her or of whose deaths he or she was
8notified by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics during the
9preceding month. This notification shall include at least the name,
10sex, age, birthplace, birth date, place of residence, and date and
11place of death of each decedent.
12The county elections official shall cancel the affidavit of
13registration of the deceased voter.
Section 2220 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
(a) The county elections official shall conduct a
16preelection residency confirmation procedure as provided in this
17article. This procedure shall be completed by the 90th day
18immediately prior to the primary election. The procedure shall be
19initiated by mailing a nonforwardable postcard to each registered
20voter of the county preceding the direct primary election. Postcards
21mailed pursuant to this article shall be sent “Address Correction
22Requested, Return Postage Guaranteed,” and shall be in
23substantially the following form:
24“We are requesting your assistance in correcting the addresses
25of voters who have moved and have not reregistered.
26“1. If you still live at the address noted
on this postcard, your
27voter registration will remain in effect and you may disregard this
28notice.
29“2. If the person named on this postcard is not at this address,
30please return this postcard to your mail carrier.”
31(b) The county elections official, at his or her discretion, shall
32not be required to mail a residency confirmation postcard pursuant
33to subdivision (a) to any voter who has voted at an election held
34within the last six months preceding the start of the confirmation
35procedure or to any person under 18 years of age who has
36submitted a properly executed affidavit of registration pursuant to
37subdivision (d) of Section 2102 and who will not be 18 years of
38age on or before the primary election.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
40this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
P8 1local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
2pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
34 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
O
96