BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 113
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Date of Hearing: June 24, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
SB 113 (Jackson) - As Amended: June 17, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 24-8
SUBJECT : Elections: voter registration.
SUMMARY : Expands pre-registration by authorizing a 16 year old
to pre-register to vote once pre-registration is in effect,
provided he or she meets all other eligibility requirements, as
specified. Specifically, 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)Requires a county elections official, in lieu of sending a
voter notification card required by current law, to send a
voter pre-registration notice to a person under 18 years of
age who submits an affidavit of registration in accordance
with existing law or the provisions of this bill, upon the
determination that the affidavit of registration is properly
executed and that the person otherwise satisfies all
eligibility requirements to vote. Requires the county
elections official to send the voter pre-registration notice
by nonforwardable, first-class mail, address correction
requested.
3)Creates a pre-registration voter notification card and
requires the card to be sent to a person under 18 years of age
who submits an affidavit of registration in accordance with
existing law or the provisions of this bill. Requires the
pre-registration voter notification card to be in the
following form:
VOTER NOTIFICATION
Thank you for registering to vote. You may vote in any
election held on or after your 18th birthday.
Your party preference is: (Name of political party)
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Before any election in which you are eligible to vote, you
will receive a sample ballot and a voter pamphlet by mail.
If information on this card is incorrect, please contact our
office or update your registration at the Internet Web site of
the Secretary of State (SOS).
4)Provides that a county elections official is not required to
mail a residency confirmation postcard pursuant to existing
law to any person under 18 years of age who has submitted a
properly executed affidavit of registration pursuant to the
provisions of this bill and who will not be 18 years of age on
or before the primary election.
5)Makes other corresponding changes.
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
Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA).
3)Allows a person who is at least 17 years old and otherwise
meets all voter eligibility requirements to register to vote.
Provides that the registration will be deemed effective as
soon as the affiant is 18 years old at the time of the next
election. Requires the registrant to provide current
information to the county elections official before the
registration becomes effective if the information in the
current affidavit is incorrect. Provides that these
provisions of law shall become operative only if the SOS
certifies that the state has a statewide voter registration
database that complies with HAVA.
4)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.
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5)Requires the county elections official, upon receipt of a
properly executed affidavit of registration or address
correction notice or letter, as specified, to send the voter a
voter notification card. Requires the notification card to
state the party preference for which the voter has registered
in the following format: Party: (Name of political party).
Requires the notification card to be in the following form:
VOTER NOTIFICATION
You are registered to vote. The party preference you chose,
if any, is on this card. This card is being sent as a
notification of:
1. Your recently completed affidavit of registration.
OR,
2. A change to your registration because of an official
notice that you have moved. If your residence has not changed
or if your move is temporary, please call or write to our
office immediately.
OR,
3. Your recent registration with a change in party preference.
If this change is not correct, please call or write to our
office immediately.
You may vote in any election held 15 or more days after the
date on this card.
Your name will appear on the index kept at the polls.
Please contact our office if the information shown on the
reverse side of this card is incorrect.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, unknown, potentially less than $150,000 in
reimbursable mandated costs to county elections officials.
(General Fund) Partial offsetting costs from not registering
these same voters in later years. (General Fund)
Actual costs vary by county and will depend on whether youth
will pre-register to vote by mailing in voter registration
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cards, or by using the online voter registration process through
the SOS's website.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
California has one of the lowest voter registration rates
in the nation, and youth aged 18-24 years old stand out as
the group that is registering at a far lower rate than any
other age group.
Even in the presidential election year of 2012, while
nearly 80% of Californians were registered to vote, only
62% of 18-to-24-year-olds were registered.
Studies have shown that the earlier people are introduced
to voting, the more likely they are to become life-long
participants in democracy.
SB 113 would not change the voting age, which is 18. But it
would allow youth to pre-register to vote either online, by
mail, or at the DMV, beginning at age 16. Assuming they
meet all eligibility requirements, once they turn 18, their
registration would become active.
While many voter registration opportunities exist in
college, only half of all California adults attend college.
When incorporated into high school civics classes,
pre-registration provides an opportunity to engage a
diverse group of young people preparing to become voters.
2)VoteCal Status : The SOS has been in the process of
implementing a new statewide voter registration database for
several years, as required by the HAVA. 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. California's existing
pre-registration law and the provisions of this bill will not
go into effect until the SOS certifies that the VoteCal system
is complete.
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3)Notification Provided to Voters : Existing law requires a
county elections official to send a voter a voter notification
card upon registration or re-registration, as specified.
Existing law requires the notification to be sent by
nonforwardable, first-class mail, address correction
requested. Additionally, current law prescribes the
notification card form and specifically requires the card to
state that it is being sent as a notification of 1) a recent
completed affidavit of registration, 2) a change to
registration because of an official notice that the voter has
moved, as specified, or 3) a recent registration with change
in party preference. Additionally, the card states that if
any of the information on this card is incorrect to contact
the county elections official immediately.
This bill creates a new voter notification card, called a
voter pre-registration notice, and requires this notice to be
sent to those that are under the age of 18 and have
pre-registered to vote, as specified. This bill provides that
the voter pre-registration notice will be sent upon the
determination that the affidavit of registration is properly
executed and that the person otherwise satisfies all
eligibility requirements to vote. According to the proponents
of the bill, this bill aims to provide clearer notification to
individuals who have pre-registered to vote by requiring
county elections officials to send individuals that are under
the age of 18 and pre-registered to vote a separate
pre-registration notice that is different from the general
voter notification card sent to voters. The voter
notification card currently sent to a voter lists three
different reasons why the notice was sent - either the
notification was sent because the individual 1) recently
completed an affidavit of registration, 2) there was a change
to the voter's registration because of an official notice that
the voter has moved, as specified, or 3) the voter's recent
registration with change in party preference. Sending a
separate voter pre-registration notice is important because it
is vital that it is clear to the pre-registrant that he or she
is pre-registered to vote, but is not able to vote until an
election held on or after the registrant's 18th birthday.
While the author's intent to provide clearer notification to
pre-registered voters is laudable, it is unclear whether this
bill will place an extra burden on county elections officials
as it requires them to send out different notifications to
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pre-registrants.
4)Pre-Registration Efforts in Other States and in California :
California law permits a person who is at least 17 years old
and otherwise meets all voter eligibility requirements to
register to vote, as specified. Additionally, according to
the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), at least
10 other states allow 17 year olds to pre-register to vote
(Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska,
Oregon, Texas, and West Virginia). Moreover, at least seven
other states permit 16 year olds to pre-register to vote
(Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, North
Carolina, and Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia).
NCSL also reports that other states, including Kansas,
Minnesota, Nevada, and Wyoming, do not establish a specific
pre-registration age limit.
5)Technical Amendment : The author and sponsor of this bill
request a minor technical amendment to clarify that a county
elections official is required to send a voter
pre-registration notice upon the determination that the
affidavit of registration is properly executed and that the
person meets all eligibility requirements to vote except that
he or she is under 18 years of age. If this bill is approved
by this committee, the committee may wish to amend the bill as
follows:
On page 7, in line 32, after the word "vote," insert the
following: except that he or she is under 18 years of age.
6)Related Legislation . ACA 7 (Mullin), which is on suspense in
the Assembly Appropriations Committee, allows a person who is
17 years old and who will be 18 years old at the time of the
next general election to register and vote in that general
election and in any intervening primary or special election
that occurs after the person registers to vote.
7)Previous Legislation : AB 30 (Price), Chapter 364, Statutes of
2009, allows a person who is 17 years of age to pre-register
to vote, provided he or she would otherwise meet all
eligibility requirements. AB 30 will not go into effect until
the SOS certifies that the state has a statewide voter
registration database that complies with HAVA.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
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Support
Secretary of State Debra Bowen (sponsor)
California Common Cause
California Federation of Teachers
California State Student Association
CALPIRG
League of Women Voters of California
Rock the Vote
University of California Student Association
Opposition
Election Integrity Project, Inc.
One Individual
Analysis Prepared by : Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094