BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1817|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1817
Author: Gomez (D), et al.
Amended: 6/18/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 5-2, 6/11/14
AYES: Liu, Block, Correa, Hancock, Monning
NOES: Wyland, Huff
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 4-1, 6/24/14
AYES: Padilla, Hancock, Jackson, Pavley
NOES: Anderson
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 54-20, 5/19/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Voter registration: high school pupils
SOURCE : State Bar of California
DIGEST : This bill requires high schools to allow any person
authorized to register voters by the county election official to
do so on high school campuses during specified times, and
authorizes high schools to appoint students to be voter outreach
coordinators, as specified.
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ANALYSIS :
Existing 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/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.
2.Provides that any person who is a registered voter qualifies
for appointment by a county elections official as a deputy
registrar of voters.
High school voter week
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.
Voter registration forms at schools
1.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.
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2.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.
3.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.
4.States legislative intent that every high school student
receive a voter registration card with his/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.
2.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 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 designated by the administrator of
the high school, or his/her designee, during high school voter
weeks.
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2.Authorizes the administrator of a high school, or his/her
designee 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 SOS' Internet
Web site.
4.Authorizes a voter outreach coordinator, with the approval of
the administrator of the high school, or his/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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/26/14)
State Bar of California (source)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 54-20, 5/19/14
AYES: Alejo, Ammiano, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta,
Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau,
Chesbro, Cooley, Dababneh, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Garcia, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hall,
Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal,
Medina, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Pan, Perea, John A. P�rez, V.
Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber, Wieckowski,
Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NOES: Achadjian, Allen, Bigelow, Ch�vez, Conway, Dahle,
Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Gatto, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Jones,
Logue, Maienschein, Melendez, Olsen, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Linder, Mansoor, Nazarian, Nestande,
Patterson, Vacancy
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PQ:e 6/27/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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