BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 1817
AUTHOR: Gomez
AMENDED: June 5, 2014
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: June 11, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber
NOTE: This bill has been referred to the Committees on
Education and Elections and Constitutional Amendments. A "do
pass" motion should include referral to the Committee on
Elections and Constitutional Amendments.
SUBJECT : Voter registration.
SUMMARY
This bill requires schools to allow any person authorized to
register voters to do so on high school campuses during
specified times, and authorizes high schools to appoint
students to be voter outreach coordinators.
BACKGROUND
Current law:
Authorization to register voters
1) Requires the county elections official to provide
voter registration cards to any citizens or
organizations who wish to distribute the cards, other
than to people who have been convicted of violating
specified laws within the last five years. Citizens and
organizations are permitted to distribute voter
registration cards anywhere within the county. If the
person registering to vote allows another person to
submit the application to the county election office,
the person submitting the application is required to
sign and date the attached, numbered receipt indicating
his or her address and telephone number and give the
receipt to the elector. Submission of another person's
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voter registration form to the elections official or by
mail must be within three days of receipt from a voter,
excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and state holidays.
(Elections Code � 2158 and � 2138)
2) Provides that any person who is a registered voter
qualifies for appointment by a county elections official
as a deputy registrar of voters.
(Elections Code � 2109)
High school voter weeks
Establishes the last two full weeks in April and the last two
full weeks in September as "high school voter weeks," during
which time deputy registrars of voters must be allowed to
register students and school personnel on any high school
campus in areas designated by the school administration,
which are reasonably accessible to all students. (Education
Code � 49040)
Voter registration forms at schools
1) Requires the Secretary of State provide every high
school, community college, and California State
University and University of California campus with
voter registration forms, and requires the number of
forms to be consistent with the number of students
enrolled at each school who are of voting age or will be
of voting age by the end of the year.
(Elections Code � 2146)
2) Requires the Secretary of State to include with the
registration forms information describing eligibility
requirements and that the completed form may be returned
in person or by mail to the elections official of the
county in which the student resides or to the Secretary
of State.
(Elections Code � 2146)
3) Requires every high school, community college, and
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California State University campus to designate a
contact person and provide the address, telephone
number, and e-mail address, when possible, to the
Secretary of State in order to facilitate the
distribution of voter registration cards. (Elections
Code � 2148)
4) States legislative intent that every high school
student receive a voter registration card with his or
her diploma and that every school do everything in its
power to ensure that students are provided the
opportunity and means to register to vote, including
providing voter registration forms at the start of the
school year, including voter registration forms with
orientation materials, placing voter registration forms
at central locations, and including voter registration
forms with graduation materials.
Eligibility to register to vote
1) Provides that a person is entitled to register to
vote if they are a United States citizen, a resident of
California, not in prison or on parole for the
conviction of a felony, and at least 18 years of age at
the time of the next election. (Elections Code � 2101)
2) Authorizes a person who is at least 17 years of age
and otherwise meets all eligibility requirements to
submit an affidavit of registration.
(Elections Code � 2102)
ANALYSIS
This bill requires schools to allow any person authorized to
register voters to do so on high school campuses during
specified times, and authorizes high schools to appoint
students to be voter outreach coordinators. Specifically,
this bill:
1) Expands the individuals, from deputy registrars of
voters to people authorized by the county elections
official, who must be allowed to register students and
school personnel on any high school campus in areas
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designated by the school administration during high
school voter weeks.
2) Authorizes the administration of a high school to
appoint one or more students who are enrolled at that
high school to be voter outreach coordinators.
3) Authorizes a voter outreach coordinator to coordinate
voter registration activities on the high school campus
that encourage people who are eligible to register to
vote, or other people who may submit an affidavit of
registration, to apply to register to vote by submitting
an affidavit of registration on paper or electronically
on the Secretary of State's electronic voter
registration system.
4) Authorizes a voter outreach coordinator, with the
approval of the school administration, coordinate
election-related activities on the high school campus,
including voter registration drives, mock elections,
debates, and other election-related student outreach
activities.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Necessary ? Current law specifically permits citizens
and organizations to distribute voter registration cards
anywhere within the county. People who register voters
are not required to be a registered voter, be a
particular age, or be a resident of the county. Nothing
in current law prohibits a student, of any age, from
registering eligible voters, at any location. Current
law requires schools to allow deputy registrars to
register voters on high school campuses during voter
weeks, but does not require schools to allow people who
are not deputy registrars from registering voters on
high school campuses.
2) How to register a voter . Citizens or organizations that
are not deputy registrars are specifically authorized to
distribute as many voter registration cards as desired
within the county. Registrants may submit the completed
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application to the county elections office in person or
by mail, or the registrant may allow another person to
submit the completed form. If a person other than the
registrant submits the application, the person
submitting the application is required to sign and date
the attached, numbered receipt indicating his or her
address and telephone number and give the receipt to the
registrant. Submission of another person's voter
registration form to the elections official or by mail
must be within three days of receipt from a voter,
excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and state holidays.
3) Restrictive ? While current law does not require schools
to allow students to register voters on campus, students
do not need statutory authority to register voters
regardless of location or dates. It is possible that
this bill could inadvertently restrict the ability of
students to register voters on campus at times other
than during voter weeks and therefore, staff recommends
an amendment to state that students are not precluded
from registering voters on campus at any time, pursuant
to current law.
4) Report on student voter registration . Current law
requires the Secretary of State to submit an annual
report to the Legislature on its student voter
registration efforts, including estimates as to how many
voter registration forms were sent to high schools,
community colleges, and California State University
(CSU) and University of California campuses, how many
voter registration forms were returned, and how many
voter registration forms were sent out to students
through a community college or CSU automated class
registration program. According to the 2013 report, of
the 271 responses from high schools, 189 requested voter
registration applications. Further, 156 high schools
indicated that the school's website includes a link to
the Secretary of State's online voter registration
application, and an additional 24,197 paper voter
registration applications were sent to high schools in
2013. Data relative to the number of completed forms
returned is not disaggregated between high schools,
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community colleges, CSU campuses and University of
California campuses; overall rates of return are very
low.
http://www.sos.ca.gov/admin/reports/2013/student-voter-re
g.pdf
5) Technical amendments . This bill authorizes the
administration of a high school to appoint one or more
students who are enrolled at that high school to be
voter outreach coordinators, and makes other references
to school administration. Staff recommends amendments
to strike reference to the school administration and
instead reference the school principal or principal's
designee.
This bill references the submission of affidavits of
registration on the Secretary of State's electronic
voter registration system. Staff recommends an
amendment to instead reference submissions on the
Internet website of the Secretary of State.
SUPPORT
None on file.
OPPOSITION
None on file.