BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1140|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1140
Author: Yee (D), et al
Amended: 4/27/10
Vote: 21
SENATE ELECTIONS, REAP. & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 3-2, 4/6/10
AYES: Hancock, DeSaulnier, Liu
NOES: Denham, Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-3, 5/27/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Denham, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox
SUBJECT : Voter registration: one-stop voting
SOURCE : California Common Cause
DIGEST : This bill establishes one-stop voting whereby an
eligible elector would be permitted to register to vote and
immediately vote on election day or at any time prior to
election day.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that an eligible elector
may not vote in an election unless his/her affidavit of
registration is executed and received by the county
elections official on or before the 15th day prior to the
election. However, existing law also permits an individual
who becomes a new United States citizen between seven and
14 days before election day to register to vote up to seven
CONTINUED
SB 1140
Page
2
days prior to the election and to vote in that election.
Existing law, pursuant to the federal Help America Vote Act
of 2002, requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to
establish a statewide voter registration database (known as
VoteCal) that shall serve as the state's official voter
file. According to the SOS, VoteCal is scheduled for full
deployment no later than February, 2012 and will provide
for, among other things, real time voter registration
processing, checks of duplicate registrations, identity
authentication, and online voter registration. VoteCal is
currently designed and intended to be available and
accessible only at permanent offices of county elections
officials.
This bill establishes "one-stop voting" whereby an eligible
elector would be permitted to register to vote and
immediately vote on election day or at any time prior to
election day. Specifies that starting January 1 of the
year following the availability of VoteCal, one-stop voting
is to be available at every permanent office of a county
elections official.
Under the provisions of this bill, a person who wishes to
register and vote at the same time will need to complete an
affidavit of registration and present proof of identity and
current residence. If proof of identity and residence can
not be provided, the person will be able to register and
vote by provisional ballot.
This bill also requires each county elections official to
compile an index of voters who register to vote by one-stop
voting, and then to review the names on the index and
cancel duplicate registrations. It also requires counties
to notify the district attorney and the SOS if it appears
that a person has engaged in fraudulent voting.
The SOS would be authorized to adopt regulations to
implement one-stop registration and voting. For purposes
of one-stop registration and voting, proof of identity and
proof of current residence consists of either of the
following:
1. A photo identification with a current name and address
including one of the following: (a) Driver's license or
CONTINUED
SB 1140
Page
3
identification card issued by any state, (b) passport,
(c) military identification card, and (d) a photo
identification card designated in the regulations of the
SOS, as set forth in Section 20107 of Title 2 of the
California Code of Regulations.
2. A photo identification without a current address from
the above list, and proof of current resident based on a
document that includes the name and current address of
the individual presenting it.
A person who provides the required identification, and
whose personal information has been successfully verified
using VoteCal will be eligible to vote using a regular
ballot.
Otherwise, the elector must vote by provisional ballot and
the ballot will not be counted unless and until the
elector's voter registration is processed, verified and
completed.
Background
Other States . The following states have some form of
election day voter registration: Connecticut (for
presidential elections only), Idaho, Iowa, Maine,
Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina,
Wisconsin and Wyoming. North Dakota has no voter
registration requirement at all.
According to a study conducted by Dr. Michael McDonald,
Associate Professor at George Mason University, for the
United States Elections Project, nationwide turnout in the
2008 General Election among the voting-eligible population
(VEP) was 61.7 percent which was identical to turnout among
the VEP in California for that election. Among the states
that have some form of election day voter registration,
turnout among the VEP for that election ranged from a low
of 63.4 percent in Iowa to a high of 78.1 percent in
Minnesota with an overall average of 68.7 percent.
2002 Initiative Measure . Proposition 52, which appeared on
the 2002 General Election ballot, would have allowed
eligible citizens, upon presenting proof of current
residence, to register up to and including election day.
CONTINUED
SB 1140
Page
4
That measure failed by a margin of 40.9 percent to 59.1
percent.
Similar legislation . AB 1531 (Portantino), which is
pending in the Senate Elections, Reapportionment and
Constitutional Amendments Committee, authorizes a person
who qualifies to vote in the state to register or
reregister at the office of the local elections official
commencing 14 days prior to election day and continuing
through election day or at the person's precinct on
election day. A person who registers to vote prior to
election day and provides proof of current residence would
be permitted to cast a vote by mail ballot. A person who
registers to vote on election day would be permitted to
cast a provisional ballot. The bill also requires local
elections officials to compile a list or index of voters
who registered or reregistered to vote pursuant to these
provisions and to conduct a review no later than 30 days
after the canvass of the votes for the election.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
SOS regulations $25 General
County elections officials ------unknown, at least
$250----- General*
* State mandated local program
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/1/10)
California Common Cause (source)
American Civil Liberties Union
California Labor Federation
California Teachers Association
Disability Rights Legal Center
League of Women Voters of California
National Korean American Service and Education Consortium
CONTINUED
SB 1140
Page
5
New America Foundation
San Mateo County
The Greenlining Institute
Warren Slocum, San Mateo County Chief Elections Officer
OPPOSITION : (Verified 6/1/10)
Department of Finance
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
it is a fundamental principle of the United States that the
people should have access to our systems of democracy.
However, the voter registration process is often a barrier
to participation. California is ranked 41st out of 50
states in voter turnout. In 2006, only 76 percent of the
voting-age population was registered. Research has shown
that election-day registration can boost voter turnout
considerably -- up to seven percentage points. This bill
deletes the arbitrary timelines which prevent eligible
citizens from voting in elections. The bill will allow
eligible citizens to register and vote up to and including
on election day. California's registration procedures have
not kept up with available technology. This bill will be
phased-in in coordination with the introduction of VoteCal,
a statewide online database of all registered voters, which
will allow counties to verify new voters by accessing a
real-time database of voters. Eight other states allow
citizens to vote without pre-registration. Six states have
successfully used election-day registration for years and
have increased their voter turnout even as the national
average continues to fall: Idaho, New Hampshire, Maine,
Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. In North Carolina
during the early voting period you can register and vote at
any polling site. North Dakota requires no registration.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Department of Finance
opposes this bill because "it likely would create a
reimbursable state mandate and result in additional General
Fund costs that are not included in the Administration's
current fiscal plan."
DLW:mw 6/1/10 Senate Floor Analyses
CONTINUED
SB 1140
Page
6
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED