BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1020
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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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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 22, 2015) |SENATE: | 38-1 |(September 3, |
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(vote not relevant)
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.
AB 1020
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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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