BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1357
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1357 (Swanson)
As Amended June 2, 2011
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |70-0 |(May 12, 2011) |SENATE: |37-0 |(July 11, |
| | | | | |2011) |
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Original Committee Reference: E. & R.
SUMMARY : Permits county elections officials to provide voter
registration forms online and requires the Secretary of State (SOS)
to design and make available on his or her Internet Web site an
affidavit of registration, as specified. 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 (VRA), by using the county's
Internet Web site.
2)Requires that 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 VRA.
3)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 VRA.
The Senate amendments :
1)Provide that nothing shall prevent the lawful use of an affidavit
of registration form provided on a county's Internet Web site,
provided that the county offered the form on the county's Internet
Web site on or before January 1, 2012, and the affidavit meets
specific requirements in current law that govern affidavits of
registration. Provide that this provision shall be in effect
until the SOS designs and makes available an affidavit of
registration on his or her Internet Web site.
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2)Require the SOS, in consultation with county elections officials,
to design and make available on his or her Internet Web site an
affidavit of registration. Require the affidavit to comply with
the following:
a) Contain information specified in current law that governs
affidavits of registration;
b) Contain, in a type size that is clearly distinguishable from
surrounding text, statements to notify voters of the potential
ability to qualify for confidential voter status, and that the
use of voter registration information for commercial purposes
is a crime, as specified;
c) Contain a toll-free fraud hotline telephone number
maintained by the SOS that the public may use to report
suspected fraudulent activity concerning misuse of voter
registration information; and,
d) Be returnable to the county elections official.
3)Provide that affidavits of registration provided on the Internet
Web site of a county or of the SOS shall be for individual use
only and not for use by organizations seeking to register people
to vote.
4)Make other conforming changes.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was similar to the current
version of the bill except that it did not require the SOS to make
affidavits of registration available on the Internet. The Senate
amendments establish a uniform process to govern the availability of
affidavits of registration online.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative
Counsel.
COMMENTS : 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
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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.
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 Internet, which can be accessed 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.
The sponsor of the bill, the California Association of Clerks and
Election Officials (CACEO), notes that this bill 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.
Analysis Prepared by : Maria Garcia / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0001366
AB 1357
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