BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 113
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          Date of Hearing:   August 6, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                    SB 113 (Jackson) - As Amended:  July 1, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                             ElectionsVote:5-1

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              Yes

           SUMMARY  

          This bill lowers the age at which a person may pre-register to  
          vote from 17 to 16, provided the person meets all other  
          eligibility requirements. Consistent with current law regarding  
          17-year-old pre-registrants, this provision will not be in  
          effect until the new statewide voter registration system  
          (VoteCal) is operational. This bill also:

          1)Requires county elections officials to mail to registrants  
            under age 18 a voter preregistration notice, as prescribed, in  
            lieu of sending the voter notification that is sent to  
            registrants over age 18.

          2)Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to print and make  
            available to county elections officials, as requested,  
            sufficient copies of the preregistration notice forms.

          3)Stipulates the county elections officials are not required to  
            mail residency confirmation postcards to any preregistered  
            person who will be under age 18 as of a primary election date.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor annual General Fund net costs, in the range of $50,000, to  
          the extent the availability of pre-registration to 16-year-olds  
          increases overall voter registration among those age 18 to 24 by  
          about 10%. This cost estimate includes sending Voter  
          Pre-registration notices and assumes 60% of preregistration  
          would occur online and the balance on paper, and that some of  
          these preregistrations would have otherwise occurred at age 17,  
          as allowed under current law once VoteCal is operational. 









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          County costs to process additional registrations will be covered  
          through the existing reimbursement formula for this activity.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . The author notes California has one of the nation's  
            lowest voter registration rates, and those age 18-24 register  
            at a far lower rate than any other age group. According to the  
            author, studies indicate the earlier people are introduced to  
            voting, the more likely they are to continue voting throughout  
            their lifetime. The author notes that, while many voter  
            registration opportunities exist in college, only half of all  
            California adults attend college, thus when incorporated into  
            high school classes, preregistration "provides an opportunity  
            to engage a diverse of younger people preparing to become  
            voters."

           2)VoteCal Status  . As noted above, California's existing  
            pre-registration law for 17 year-olds, as well as the  
            provisions of this bill, will not go into effect until the SOS  
            certifies the VoteCal system is complete. The SOS has been in  
            the process of implementing a new statewide voter registration  
            database for several years, as required by the federal Help  
            America Vote Act (HAVA). The SOS estimates VoteCal will be  
            fully implemented by 2016. 

           3)Other States  . 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).  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.

           4)Related Legislation  . In 2013, ACA 7 (Mullin), which would have  
            allowed a person who is 17-years-old and will be 18 at the  
            time of the next general election to register and vote in that  
            election and any intervening primary or special election, was  
            held on this committee's Suspense File.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081 









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