BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2466
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
2466 (Weber)
As Amended May 3, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Elections |5-2 |Weber, Gordon, Low, |Harper, Travis |
| | |Mullin, Nazarian |Allen |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |13-6 |Gonzalez, Bloom, |Bigelow, Chang, |
| | |Bonilla, Bonta, |Gallagher, Jones, |
| | |Calderon, Daly, |Obernolte, Wagner |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Conforms state law to a recent Superior Court ruling
in Scott v. Bowen, in which the court found that individuals on
post-release community supervision (PRCS) and mandatory
supervision are eligible to vote under California Constitution
AB 2466
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Article II, Section 2, as specified. Makes other significant
changes to voter eligibility provisions of law, as specified.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Provides that a person who is not imprisoned or on parole for
the conviction of a felony, instead of a person who is not in
prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony, is
eligible to register to vote, as specified. Provides that the
following definitions apply to these provisions:
a) Defines "imprisoned" to mean currently serving a state
or federal prison sentence.
b) Defines "parole" to mean a term of supervision by the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
c) Provides that "conviction" does not include a juvenile
adjudication made pursuant existing law.
2)Makes changes to statements required to be included in printed
literature and media announcements used in county programs
designed to encourage registration of electors, as specified.
3)Makes changes to statements required to be sent from the clerk
of the county superior court to the county elections
officials, that show the names, addresses, and dates of birth
of all persons who have been convicted of felonies, as
specified.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, any costs to the courts and county elections
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officials to modify existing reporting and notification
requirements will be minor and absorbable.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "The Criminal Justice
Realignment Act of 2011 (CJRA) created three new categories of
sentencing for people convicted of low-level felonies: mandatory
supervision, [PRCS], and a term in county jail. These new
categories caused confusion for local elections officials and
voters. Last year, in Scott v. Bowen, the issue of the voting
rights of people sentenced under the first two categories of
local supervision was finalized, and with the support of the
Secretary of State, more than 50,000 people under mandatory and
post-release community supervision had their voting rights
restored.
"AB 2466 amends the Elections Code to reflect the decision in
Scott v. Bowen and clarifies that the third category of CJRA
sentencing - a term in county jail - likewise does not strip
people of their constitutional right to vote. This
clarification completes the restoration of the law prior to the
CJRA: only those serving a state-prison sentence or on parole
and under CDCR supervision lose the right to vote?"
The Secretary of State's (SOS) office, at the request of county
elections officials, issued a memorandum on December 5, 2011
which analyzed CJRA and its effect on voter eligibility. The
SOS's office concluded that realignment "does not change the
voting status of offenders convicted of CJRA-defined low-level
felonies, either because they serve their felony sentences in
county jail instead of state prison or because the mandatory
supervision that is a condition of their release from prison is
labeled something other than 'parole.' Offenders convicted of
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CJRA-defined low-level felonies continue to be disqualified from
voting while serving a felony sentence in county jail, while at
the discretion of the court serving a concluding portion of that
term on county-supervised probation, or while they remain under
mandatory 'post release community supervision' after release
from state prison."
In February of 2014, a lawsuit was filed in the Alameda Superior
Court challenging the SOS's memorandum, claiming that
individuals on PRCS and mandatory supervision are eligible to
vote under California Constitution Article II, Section 4 (Scott
et al. v. Bowen (2014) No. RG14-712570).
In May of 2014, the Superior Court issued a final judgment
rejecting the interpretation of Realignment in SOS's memorandum.
The Superior Court held "as a matter of law that California
Constitution Article II, Section 2 and Elections Code [Section]
2101, require the State of California to provide all otherwise
eligible persons on [mandatory supervision and PRCS] the same
right to register to vote and to vote as all otherwise eligible
persons." The court concluded that restoring voting rights of
persons under PRCS and or mandatory supervision is consistent
with the Realignment policy goal to promote reintegration of
low-level offenders back into the community. In addition, the
court relied upon the long-held principle in California law
requiring courts "to give every reasonable presumption in favor
of the right of people to vote" and to "not engage in any
construction of an election law that would disenfranchise any
voter if the law is reasonably susceptible of any other
meaning." The Superior Court decision, however, did not address
the conclusion in SOS's memorandum that persons convicted of a
felony and serving time in county jail under Realignment are
ineligible to vote.
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Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
on this bill.
Analysis Prepared by:
Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0002868