BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1020
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1020 (Ridley-Thomas)
As Amended September 1, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |74-0 |(May 22, 2015) |SENATE: |38-1 |(September 3, |
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Original Committee Reference: E. & R.
SUMMARY: Updates key Elections Code statutes and deletes
obsolete provisions in anticipation of the deployment of the
federally mandated VoteCal statewide voter registration
database.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,
and instead:
1)Update numerous sections of the Elections Code and delete
numerous obsolete sections in anticipation of the deployment
of the federally mandated VoteCal statewide voter registration
database.
2)Repeal references in law to deputy registrars of voters and
make conforming changes to related provisions of law.
AB 1020
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3)Delete various existing provisions of law regarding the timing
of acceptance of affidavits of registration and consolidate
these and other related code sections into a single section
that consolidates deadlines for voter registration,
re-registration, and updating of registrations that also
reflects anticipation of the start of conditional voter
registration.
4)Make corresponding changes to the process whereby specified
voters may apply for and receive confidential voter status in
anticipation of VoteCal.
5)Provide that a person who obtains signatures or other
information collected for a political party qualification
petition shall not send that information outside of the United
States or make it available in any way electronically to
persons outside the United States, including, but not limited
to, access over the Internet.
6)Make conforming changes to state law relating to
preregistration, under which a person who is at least 16 years
of age can preregister to vote, with the registration becoming
effective once that person is 18 years of age.
7)Correct incorrect cross-references and delete numerous
obsolete provisions of law.
8)Provide that this bill becomes operative only if the Secretary
of State certifies that the state has a statewide voter
registration database that complies with the federal Help
America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002.
9)Add double-jointing language to avoid chaptering problems with
AB 477 (Mullin) and SB 589 (Block) of the current Legislative
AB 1020
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session.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS: HAVA requires every state to implement a computerized
statewide voter registration list defined, maintained, and
administered at the state level. At the time HAVA was approved,
California was already using a statewide voter registration
system, known as Calvoter, which achieved some of the goals of
the voter registration list required by HAVA. However, Calvoter
did not satisfy all of the requirements in that law, including
requirements that the database be fully interactive and have the
capability of storing a complete voter registration history for
every voter.
In order to meet the statewide voter registration requirements
outlined in HAVA, California made upgrades to the Calvoter
system to achieve interim compliance while the state developed a
new permanent statewide voter registration system. The new
system, which is currently in development, is known as VoteCal.
The VoteCal system is currently on track for full implementation
in 2016.
This bill prepares for the deployment of the federally mandated
VoteCal statewide voter registration database by updating key
Elections Code statutes and deleting obsolete provisions of
state law.
This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the
Assembly-approved provisions of this bill were deleted. This
bill, as amended in the Senate, is inconsistent with Assembly
actions.
Analysis Prepared by:
Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN:
AB 1020
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