BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 113 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 113 (Jackson) As Amended August 19, 2014 Majority vote SENATE VOTE : 24-8 ELECTIONS 5-1 APPROPRIATIONS 12-4 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |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 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 3)Creates a pre-registration voter notification card and requires the card to be sent to a person under 18 years of age SB 113 Page 2 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. 6)Provides that the provisions of this bill shall become operative only if 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 (HAVA). 7)Contains double-jointing language to avoid chaptering problems with AB 2562 (Fong) of the current legislative session. 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 SB 113 Page 3 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. 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 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. SB 113 Page 4 Analysis Prepared by : Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0004953