BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 113
Author: Jackson (D), et al.
Amended: 1/6/14
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 4-1, 4/2/13
AYES: Correa, Hancock, Padilla, Yee
NOES: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-1, 1/23/14
AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Gaines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
SUBJECT : Elections: voter registration
SOURCE : Secretary of State
DIGEST : This bill expands the voter pre-registration program
to authorize 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1. Permits a person who is a United States citizen, a resident
of California, not in prison or on parole for the conviction
of a felony, and at least 18 years of age at the time of the
next election to register to vote.
2. Requires states to implement a statewide voter registration
database, as specified, pursuant to the federal Help America
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Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA).
3. Permits a person who is at least 17 years of age and who
otherwise meets all eligibility requirements to vote to
submit his/her affidavit of registration. Such a properly
executed registration is deemed effective as of the date that
the affiant will be 18 years of age, provided that the
information in the affidavit of registration is still current
at that time. The registrant must provide current
information to the county elections official before the
registration becomes effective if the information in the
current affidavit is incorrect.
4. Provides that the provisions regarding preregistration of
17-year-olds become operative only if the Secretary of State
(SOS) certifies that the state has a statewide voter
registration database that complies with the requirements of
HAVA.
5. Requires the local registrar of births and deaths to notify
the county elections official monthly of all deceased persons
17 years of age and over whose deaths were registered with
him/her or of whose deaths he/she was notified by the state
registrar of vital statistics.
This bill:
1. Lowers the minimum age for submitting an affidavit of
registration for purposes of pre-registering to vote from 17
to 16 years of age.
2. Makes conforming changes to other related provisions of
existing law, and will not become operative until
certification of a HAVA compliant statewide voter
registration database.
3. Authorizes any person who is at least 16 years of age and
otherwise meets all eligibility requirements to vote to
submit an affidavit of registration. The person will then
become eligible to vote upon turning age 18 as long as the
information on the affidavit is still current, such as the
address. He/she will automatically begin receiving voting
materials and will be eligible to vote at the next election.
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Background
Other states . According to the National Conference of State
Legislatures (NCSL), the following 14 states permit voter
registration before the age of 18, but none prior to 16 (and
none permit voting until the age of 18): Alaska, California,
Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota,
Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wyoming.
NCSL also reports that the following 12 states permit
17-year-olds to vote in the primary election (presidential
caucuses in Iowa) if the voter will turn 18 before the general
election: Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine,
Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Vermont,
and Virginia.
VoteCal status . The SOS has been in the process of implementing
a new statewide voter registration database for several years,
as required by the Federal HAVA of 2002. After difficulties
with the prior vendor and the termination of that contract, the
SOS recently announced the selection of a new contractor to
develop the new VoteCal statewide voter registration database.
The Department of General Services approved the contract on
March 6, 2013. The SOS estimates that VoteCal will be fully
implemented by 2016.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Unknown, potentially less than $150,000 in reimbursable
mandated costs to county elections officials (General).
Partial offsetting costs from not registering these same
voters in later years. (General).
Actual costs vary by county and will depend on whether youth
will pre-register to vote by mailing in voter registration
cards, or by using the on-line voter registration process
through the SOS' Web site.
SUPPORT : (Verified 1/27/14)
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Secretary of State (source)
California Common Cause
League of Women Voters of California
Rock the Vote
SEIU California
Vote Latino
RM:k 1/27/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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