BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 113
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB 113 (Jackson)
As Amended July 1, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :24-8
ELECTIONS 5-1 APPROPRIATIONS 12-4
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|Ayes:|Fong, Bonta, Hall, Perea, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Rodriguez | |Bradford, |
| | | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Eggman, Gomez, Holden, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Donnelly |Nays:|Bigelow, Donnelly, Jones, |
| | | |Wagner |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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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, except that he or she is
under 18 years of age. Requires the county elections official
to send the voter pre-registration notice by nonforwardable,
first-class mail, address correction requested.
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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)
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.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, 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
pre-registration would occur online and the balance on paper,
and that some of these pre-registrations would have otherwise
occurred at age 17, as allowed under current law once VoteCal is
operational.
County costs to process additional registrations will be covered
through the existing reimbursement formula for this activity.
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COMMENTS : 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 [Department of Motor Vehicles], beginning at
age 16. Assuming they meet all eligibility requirements, once
they turn 18, their registration would become active?"
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). 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
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.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094 FN:
0004388
SB 113
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