BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 554
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
554 (Mullin)
As Introduced February 23, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Elections |5-2 |Ridley-Thomas, |Grove, Travis Allen |
| | |Gatto, Gordon, | |
| | |Mullin, Perea | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Authorizes an elections official to appoint a pupil, who
is a lawful permanent resident of the United States (U.S.), to
serve as a precinct board member. Specifically, this bill provides
that a pupil who is a legal permanent resident may be appointed to
serve as a precinct board member if the pupil otherwise possesses
the qualifications required for a pupil to serve as a precinct
board member.
FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "In 2013 the Legislature passed
AB 817 (Bonta), [Chapter 162, Statutes of 2013,] which was signed
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into law by Governor Brown, to allow legal permanent residents to
serve as poll workers in California. The bill did not, however,
similarly amend the section of law that allows high school students
who are at least 16 years of age to serve as poll workers. AB 554
fixes this oversight by allowing high school students who are legal
permanent residents to serve as poll workers in California
elections.
"This change is critical because elections officials have
experienced a shortage of poll workers who can speak languages
other than English. With over 2.6 million eligible voters in
California who are not yet fully proficient in English, this poses
a problem for elections officials who are charged with ensuring all
voters have access to the polls. By further expanding the pool of
bilingual poll workers to include high school students who are
legal permanent residents, AB 554 helps address this issue.
"Additionally, the bill provides an educational opportunity for
high school-aged legal permanent residents who want to learn about
the United States' democratic process, a privilege that already
exists for legal permanent residents who are over 18. This
opportunity is especially relevant for high school students, as
they are already learning about government in civics classes. AB
554 would provide high school-aged legal permanent residents the
opportunity to experience American democracy firsthand, potentially
inspiring them to become naturalized voting citizens in the
future."
AB 817 (Bonta), Chapter 162, Statutes of 2013, authorized county
elections officials to appoint a person who is lawfully admitted
for permanent residence in the United States, and who is otherwise
eligible to register to vote except for his or her lack of United
States citizenship, to serve as a precinct board member.
AB 1856 (McPherson), Chapter 337, Statutes of 1996, authorized
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elections officials to appoint not more than two high school
seniors to work in a polling place on election day. SB 610
(Escutia), Chapter 530, Statutes of 2003, created a task force to
develop uniform training standards for poll workers and increased
the maximum number of student poll workers from two to five. AB
2671 (Salinas), Chapter 576, Statutes of 2006, deleted the
restriction that a student must be a senior to work as a member of
a precinct board.
Analysis Prepared by:
Lori Barber / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0000401