BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1357
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Date of Hearing: May 3, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 1357 (Swanson) - As Introduced: February 18, 2011
SUBJECT : Voter registration.
SUMMARY : Permits county elections officials to provide voter
registration forms online. Specifically, this bill :
1)Declares the intent of the Legislature that county elections
officials be permitted to distribute affidavits of
registration and voter registration cards, in all languages
required under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, by using
the county's Internet web site.
2)Provides that nothing shall prevent the use of an affidavit of
registration form provided on a county's Internet web site,
provided that it is in a form prescribed by the Secretary of
State (SOS) and meets specific requirements in current law
that govern affidavits of registration.
3)Requires voter registration cards provided by the county
elections official at his or her office and in locations
throughout the county to be available in all languages
required under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
4)Permits the county elections official, in addition to
providing voter registration cards in his or her office and in
locations throughout the county, to provide cards on the
county's Internet web site for voters to print, complete,
sign, and return to the county elections office. Requires all
cards provided online to be available in all languages
required under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Declares the intent of the Legislature that voter registration
be maintained at a high level.
2)Requires the SOS to adopt regulations to prescribe a form of
the affidavit of registration, and requires the affidavit to
contain specific information.
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3)Requires the affidavit of registration be included on one
portion of a multipart card, to be known as a voter
registration card, the other portions of which shall include
information sufficient to facilitate completion and mailing of
the affidavit.
4)Requires the county elections official to provide voter
registration cards for the registration of voters at his or
her office and in a sufficient number of locations throughout
the county for the convenience of persons desiring to
register, to the end that registration be maintained at a high
level.
FISCAL EFFECT : Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
AB 1357 is an important cost saving measure that will allow
the creation and use of online voter registration �forms]
in California. Currently, California uses the federal
online voter registration form but it is missing critical
information that is required by California Elections Code.
There will be cost savings since election officials will
not have to follow-up with the voter to complete the
information required under California law. Also, since
many voters have been using the incomplete federal form, it
will help election officials process the voter's affidavit
timely, especially critical during the 15-day closing
period.
In 2010 Sacramento County received 5,856 new registrations
on federal forms. These forms must be hand entered into
the system, which doubles the processing time compared to
the state form.
The registering voter will still have to print, complete,
and mail the form as current law requires.
2)Current Use of Online Forms : The SOS currently provides voter
registration forms on her Internet web site; however, that
form is a federal voter registration form, which does not
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contain all of the information contained on the state voter
registration form, which is helpful for county data
collection.
Some counties currently provide state voter registration forms
online; however, because current law does not explicitly
authorize the use of online forms, many counties have been
hesitant to provide this means of voter registration. This
bill would grant clear authorization for counties to provide
voter registration cards and affidavits online.
3)Benefits of the Internet : Under current law county elections
officials are required to take several steps to encourage and
promote voter registration. However, counties are only
authorized to provide voter registration cards in their
offices and other locations throughout the county, which may
be inconvenient for voters, restricted to regular business
hours, or may not have all the required languages available.
This bill will allow a voter access to voter registration
forms in the required languages via the county's Internet web
site, which can be viewed 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
In addition, providing forms online will allow voters to
complete their affidavits via computer, as opposed to filling
it out manually, provided that they still sign the affidavit
before turning it in. The use of computers to fill out voter
registration forms is likely to benefit county elections
officials by resulting in more legible forms, which may speed
up the data entry process, ensure more accurate information on
the voter registration database, and enable counties to enter
voter registration information quicker during peak
registration periods.
4)Arguments in Support : The sponsor of the bill, the California
Association of Clerks and Election Officials (CACEO), notes
that it will allow voters and county election officials to
reduce their reliance on the current federal form provided on
the SOS's web site, which is missing critical information
required under state law, and registration forms missing
critical information cannot be completely processed, delaying
the eligibility of the voter and the voter's receipt of
essential voting materials.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
AB 1357
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Support
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
(Sponsor)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Maria Garcia / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094