BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          Date of Hearing:  September 9, 2015


                  ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING


                           Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, Chair


          AB 1020  
          (Ridley-Thomas) - As Amended September 1, 2015


                          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS


          


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          SUBJECT:  Elections: voter registration.


          SUMMARY:  Updates key Elections Code statutes and deletes  
          obsolete provisions in anticipation of the deployment of the  
          federally mandated VoteCal statewide voter registration  
          database.











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          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.


          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  









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            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 (SOS) 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  
            session.


          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Requires each state, pursuant to HAVA, to implement a single,  
            uniform, official, centralized, interactive computerized  
            statewide voter registration list defined, maintained, and  
            administered at the state level that contains the name and  
            registration information of every legally registered voter in  
            the state and assigns a unique identifier to each legally  
            registered voter in the state.

          2)Authorizes county elections officials, under specified  
            circumstances and in order to promote and encourage voter  
            registration, to deputize as registrars qualified citizens to  
            register voters anywhere within the county.











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          3)Sets forth the deadlines by which county elections officials  
            must accept affidavits of registration which is generally at  
            all times except during the 14 days immediately preceding an  
            election, except under forthcoming provisions permitting  
            "conditional" registration of voters in conjunction with  
            provisional voting after this deadline up to and including  
            election day.





          4)Specifies that conditional voter registration, as described  
            above, becomes operative on January 1 of the year following  
            the year in which the SOS certifies that the state has a  
            statewide voter registration database that complies with the  
            requirements of HAVA.  It is anticipated that this statewide  
            voter database will become operative in 2016, therefore  
            conditional voter registration will commence in 2017.



          5)Permits specified voters to apply for and receive confidential  
            voter status.



          6)Provides that a person who obtains signatures or other  
            information collected for an initiative, referendum, or recall  
            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.

          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.










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          COMMENTS:  


          1)Prior Committee Consideration of This Measure:  In May, this  
            committee considered and approved this measure on a 7-0 vote.   
            At the time, this measure required, when a voter reregistered  
            or transferred his or her registration from one precinct to  
            another, for the voter's address to be updated and the voter's  
            former address to be maintained with the voter's registration  
            record.  The bill was intended to be a vehicle to make  
            necessary statutory changes to ensure that the federally  
            mandated VoteCal statewide voter registration database can be  
            implemented effectively, but at the time this bill was heard  
            in this committee, elections officials were still identifying  
            the relevant statutes that needed to be updated.



          Subsequent to the committee's approval of this measure, it was  
            amended in the Senate to add substantive updates to state law  
            to ensure that the VoteCal database can be implemented  
            effectively.  As a result, this bill has been re-referred to  
            this committee for further consideration pursuant to Assembly  
            Rule 77.2.
          2)Purpose of the Bill: According to the author:


               California is in the process of developing a new  
               statewide voter registration system in order to fully  
               comply with requirements in federal law. The new  
               system, which is known as VoteCal, is currently on  
               track for full implementation in 2016. While  
               California must develop a statewide voter database  
               pursuant to federal law, multiple state statutes must  
               be changed to conform to federal requirements.










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               AB 1020 will ensure that the federally mandated  
               VoteCal statewide voter registration database can be  
               implemented effectively by updating key Elections Code  
               statutes and deleting obsolete provisions.


          3)VoteCal and HAVA Requirements:  On October 29, 2002, President  
            George W. Bush signed HAVA. Enacted partially in response to  
            the 2000 Presidential election, HAVA was designed to improve  
            the administration of federal elections. Among other  
            provisions, HAVA requires every state to implement a  
            computerized statewide voter registration list maintained at  
            the state level. This statewide voter registration list will  
            serve as the official list of eligible voters for any federal  
            election held within the state. 

          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 many 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.  
            Discussions between the United States Department of Justice  
            and the SOS led to the adoption of a memorandum of agreement  
            (MOA) between the two parties. In that MOA, the SOS committed  
            to further upgrades to the Calvoter system to achieve short  
            term interim compliance with the requirements of HAVA, and to  
            complete development and implementation of a longer term  
            solution for replacing the Calvoter system with a new  
            permanent statewide voter registration system. That new  
            permanent system is commonly known as VoteCal.










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          After a number of delays, the VoteCal system is being developed,  
            and has been rolled out in nine counties. VoteCal will  
            continue to roll out to counties in waves, with the last  
            counties scheduled to transition to VoteCal in March 2016.   
            After the final wave is completed, the SOS will certify  
            VoteCal as the system of record for voter registration  
            information in California.  The current project schedule  
            provides for that certification to occur by June 2016.

          The implementation of VoteCal will help streamline the voter  
            registration process, including allowing voters to update  
            their voter registration records seamlessly when they update  
            their address with the Department of Motor Vehicles or with  
            the state's Employment Development Department. VoteCal will  
            also make it easier and more efficient for elections officials  
            to do "list maintenance," including identifying and  
            eliminating duplicate registrations, transferring a voter's  
            record from one county to another when the voter moves, and  
            canceling the registrations of individuals who are no longer  
            eligible to vote.

          As noted above, one of the HAVA requirements that the Calvoter  
            system did not satisfy was a requirement that the state voter  
            registration database have the capability of storing a  
            complete voter registration history for every voter.  This  
            bill updates California law to ensure that when a California  
            voter reregisters or transfers his or her registration from  
            one precinct to another that the voter's registration history  
            is maintained and updated in the state voter registration  
            database, rather than requiring a voter's prior registration  
            to be canceled.  This change will ensure that the state's  
            statutory processes for maintaining voter registration records  
            is consistent with federal law and with the design of the  
            VoteCal system.

          VoteCal will include a number of new key features and upgrades  
            from the Calvoter system, including the following:









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          A Publicly Available Website.  VoteCal will provide improved  
            service to the voters of California through a publicly  
            available statewide customer service website.  At the website,  
            voters will be able to apply to register to vote or update  
            their existing voter registration record.  Voters will also be  
            able to review information in their voter record, including  
            their precinct and polling place, political party preference,  
            eligibility to vote in an upcoming election, and status as a  
            permanent vote-by-mail or one-time mail ballot voter.

          In addition, voters using the public VoteCal website will be  
            able to opt in or out of receiving physical copies of the  
            Voter Information Guide and county sample ballots, and may  
            instead request to receive the documents electronically.  A  
            voter will also be able to retrieve information from the new  
            website about whether their vote-by-mail or provisional ballot  
            is counted and, if it was not, the reason why it was not  
            counted.

          A Complete Index of Voter Registration Records.  The most  
            discussed portion of VoteCal is the statewide database, as  
            required under HAVA, that the SOS and county elections  
            officials will collectively use to manage the voter  
            information for all Californians.  VoteCal will store and  
            maintain voter registration information for the voters of  
            California in the 58 counties.  Moreover, VoteCal will allow  
            county elections officials to research a voter's registration,  
            voter activity, and voter participation history, store voter  
            affidavit and signature images, and much more.

          A Single Place for List Maintenance Functions.  As a central  
            source for list maintenance functions, VoteCal will help  
            ensure that the voter registration list is up-to-date and  
            accurate.  As part of list maintenance, VoteCal is designed to  
            check for duplicate registrations, check registration records  
            to ensure voters have not been convicted of a crime that would  









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            preclude them from voting, check for deceased voters, and  
            accommodate immediate updates of voter registration data in a  
            central system as it is entered by the counties.

          Local Elections Official Assistance.  VoteCal will work with  
            county Election Management Systems (EMS) to help county  
            elections officials set up and track their elections.  VoteCal  
            will be used to set up statewide elections, and VoteCal will  
            interact with the county EMS to track election information  
            such as a voter's districts and precincts and their political  
            party preference.

          This bill incorporates multiple federal VoteCal requirements  
            into voter registration and other related statutes by revising  
            and repealing relevant Elections Code sections as necessary.   
            These provisions were developed through collaboration between  
            the SOS and county elections officials to identify statutory  
            changes in preparation for implementing VoteCal, including the  
            following:

          Streamlining voter registration updates and voter file  
            maintenance, so that voters' registrations are seamlessly  
            updated using the real-time efficiencies of VoteCal.

          Eliminating outdated references and procedures, including  
            references to deputy registrars of voters and  
            technology-specific references to obsolete registration  
            systems, and requirements to maintain multiple paper copies of  
            registration records. 

          Codifying language necessary to prescribe the new VoteCal system  
            and procedures, including clarifying the roles of state and  
            county elections officials.

          Improving clarity in existing law by repealing code sections  
            that are no longer used and are irrelevant to VoteCal.










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          Consolidating obsolete voter registration management statutes  
            into fewer, more specific code sections.

          Ensuring the continued protection for confidential voters and  
            their personal information.
          4)Deputy Registrars of Voters:  Until 1976, someone who wanted  
            to register to vote in California was required to complete an  
            affidavit of voter registration in the presence of a county  
            elections official or a deputy elections official, with very  
            limited exceptions.  In order to ensure that there were ample  
            opportunities for people to register to vote, the Elections  
            Code established a process for individuals to be deputized to  
            register qualified citizens to vote.  Under current law,  
            however, a person can register to vote online, by mail, or in  
            person, and state law allows any person to register others to  
            vote, without the need to be deputized by the county elections  
            official.  



            In light of the changes in the way that voter registration is  
            conducted, there is no longer a need to have a process for  
            formally deputizing individuals to register others to vote.   
            In fact, a person who is deputized to register voters pursuant  
            to these provisions of existing law would have to comply with  
            a number of outdated requirements, including a requirement to  
            use voter registration forms that are bound into books or  
            pads.  





            This bill deletes all language in the Elections Code related  
            to deputy registrars, since that language causes significant  
            confusion and is no longer relevant to voter registration in  
            California.









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          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support


          Secretary of State Alex Padilla (sponsor)


          California Association of Clerks and Election Officials




          Opposition


          None on file.




          Analysis Prepared by:Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
















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