BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Alex Padilla, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1817 HEARING DATE: 6/24/14
AUTHOR: GOMEZ ANALYSIS BY: Frances Tibon
Estoista
AMENDED: 6/18/14
FISCAL: NO
SUBJECT
Voter registration: high school pupils
DESCRIPTION
Existing law provides for all the following:
a. 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 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
b. Provides that any person who is a registered voter qualifies
for appointment by a county elections official as a deputy
registrar of voters.
c. 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.
d. Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) 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.
e. Requires the SOS 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 SOS.
f. Requires every high school, community college, and
California State University campus to designate a contact
person and provide the address, telephone number, and e-mail
address, when possible, to the SOS in order to facilitate the
distribution of voter registration cards.
g. 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.
h. 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.
i. Authorizes a person who is at least 17 years of age and
otherwise meets all eligibility requirements to submit an
affidavit of registration.
This bill requires schools to allow any person authorized to
register voters to do so on high school campuses during
specified times, and authorizes the high school administrators
or their designees, to appoint students to be voter outreach
coordinators. Specifically, this bill :
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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 designated by the administrator
of the high school, or his or her designee, which are
reasonably accessible to all students during high school
voter weeks.
Authorizes the administrator of a high school or his or her
designee, to appoint one or more students who are enrolled at
that high school to be voter outreach coordinators.
Permits a voter outreach coordinator to coordinate voter
registration activities on his or her 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 Internet Web
site of the SOS.
Permits a voter outreach coordinator, with the approval of
the administrator of the high school, or his or her designee,
coordinate election-related activities on the high school
campus, including voter registration drives, mock elections,
debates, and other election-related student outreach
activities.
Does not preclude a person from registering to vote students
and school personnel on a high school campus as permitted.
BACKGROUND
Report on Student Voter Registration . Existing 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, 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 SOS's 2013 Report, of the 271 responses from
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high schools, 189 requested voter registration applications.
Further, 156 high schools indicated that the school's website
includes a link to the SOS'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, 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-reg.pdf
COMMENTS
1. According to the Author : AB 1817 will empower students to
lead their own connections to civic engagement and the
electoral process.
As a democracy, we depend on the civic knowledge and engagement
of all individuals, including our students. The importance
of civic learning and a vision of citizenship and social
efficacy must become the staples of every American's
education. The goal of the bill is to empower students, to
begin leading their own connections to civic engagement and
the electoral process. AB 1817 removes the term "Deputy
Registrar" from this section of code. This is a term the
Secretary of State's Office is moving away from and we have
taken their requested amendments to remove this term.
Further, AB 1817 will allow students to have the opportunity
to register and pre-register their peers to vote by defining
"Voter Outreach Coordinator" as an enrolled student who may
coordinate election-related activities on his or her high
school campus. This is also language we have taken as
amendments from the Secretary of State's Office.
The benefits of allowing a student to be a Voter Outreach
Coordinator are wide reaching. These students, who have been
identified by their school administration, will be able to
coordinate activities such as voter registration drives, mock
elections, debates, etc.
2. U.C. Davis Center for Regional Change . An October 2012
policy brief prepared by the California Civic Engagement
Project at U.C. Davis, examined the state's youth voter
registration rates for the 2002 through 2010 general
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elections and found that despite gains, the youth remain
underrepresented in California's electorate, and suggests the
following examples to removing barriers to youth voter
registration:
Registration itself actually involves multiple
steps that all necessitate information on how to
navigate elements of the system such as deadlines and ID
requirements. Earlier and greater inclusion of voters
when they are first age eligible leads to a more diverse
and participatory electorate (essential for a robust and
fully functioning democracy) as youth transition through
the life course.
Key areas of action also involve education and
outreach to youth prior to even turning eighteen.
Preregistration and high school civics education are
simple, yet critically effective ways to reach youth,
particularly underrepresented youth of color, before
they become eligible to vote. California is already one
of a handful of states allowing pre-registration of 17
year-olds but it is often a little known and utilized
option. Furthermore, research shows that involvement of
schools themselves in preregistration produces far more
successful registration results. Existing
preregistration programs, nationally, were most
successful when voter registration was included during
school activities, providing guidance on the voting
process.
Voter registration outreach programs for high
school students were established by California Elections
Code �2131 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002. In
addition, California is currently one of at least 10
states that have policies requiring schools to assist in
student voter registration on campus (California
Education Code �49040). However, resources actually
dedicated to registration outreach can vary greatly by
county, including limited youth out-reach efforts by
registrar's offices themselves.
A strong youth electoral participation is critical to
achieving a robust and fully representative democracy.
Pre-registration and high school civics education are highly
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effective ways to reach younger students, particularly
underrepresented youth, before they become eligible to vote.
1. Similar or Related Legislation : Senator Block has authored
SB 1061 which would create a system that automatically
registers individuals to vote when they apply for new or
renewed drivers' licenses, identification cards or permits,
and SB 1063 which requires county juvenile halls to provide
each juvenile who is 17 years of age or older and qualified
to vote with voter registration forms and information about
how to vote by mail while they are in the facility. SB 1061
was held under submission in Senate Appropriations Committee
and SB 1063 is scheduled for hearing in the Assembly
Elections and Redistricting Committee on June 24.
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 5-1
Assembly Floor: 54-20
Senate Education Committee: 5-2
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: State Bar of California
Oppose: None received
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