Bill Text

Bill Information


Add To My Favorites | print page

AB-30 Elections: voter registration.(2009-2010)

SHARE THIS: share this bill in Facebook share this bill in Twitter
AB30:v96#DOCUMENT

Assembly Bill No. 30
CHAPTER 364

An act to amend Sections 100, 2102, 2106, 2150, and 2205 of the Elections Code, relating to elections.

[ Approved by Governor  October 11, 2009. Filed with Secretary of State  October 11, 2009. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 30, Price. Elections: voter registration.
Existing law authorizes a person who will be 18 years of age at the time of the next election to register to vote by executing an affidavit of registration.
This bill would authorize a person who is at least 17 years of age and otherwise meets all voter eligibility requirements to submit his or her affidavit of registration. The affidavit of registration would be deemed effective as soon as the affiant would be 18 years of age at the time of the next election.
Existing law requires the local registrar of births and deaths to notify the county elections official monthly of all deceased persons 18 years of age and over whose deaths were registered the preceding month. Existing law further requires the county elections official to cancel the affidavit of registration of a deceased voter.
This bill would require the local registrar of births and deaths to notify the county elections official monthly of all deceased persons 17 years of age and over whose deaths were registered the preceding month.
This bill would also make conforming changes to existing law.
The above provisions of the bill would become operative when the Secretary of State certifies that the state has a statewide voter registration database that complies with the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002.
By requiring local elections officials to process voter registrations submitted by persons 17 years of age or older, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
This bill would incorporate changes to Section 2150 of the Elections Code made by SB 6, to become operative only if both this bill and SB 6 become operative.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 100 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

100.
 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever an initiative, referendum, recall, nominating petition or paper, or any other petition or paper, is required to be signed by voters of a county, city, school district, or special district subject to petitioning, only a person who is an eligible registered voter at the time of signing the petition or paper is entitled to sign the petition or paper. A person who submits his or her affidavit of registration pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 2102 is not eligible to sign a petition or paper unless at the time of the signing of the petition or paper he or she is 18 years of age.
(b) A signer shall at the time of signing the petition or paper personally affix his or her signature, printed name, and place of residence, including the street and number of the place of residence, and if no street or number for the place of residence exists, then a designation of the place of residence that will enable the location to be readily ascertained. A space at least one inch wide shall be left blank after each name for the use of the elections official in verifying the petition or paper.
(c) The part of a petition for the signatures, printed names, and residence addresses of the voters and for the blank spaces for verification purposes shall be numbered consecutively commencing with the number one and continuing through the number of signature spaces allotted to each section. The petition format shall be substantially in the following form:





Official
Use
Only

(Print Name)

 
 1.
(Signature)

 

(Residence Address
ONLY)
 
 
(City)

 
 

(Print Name)

 
 2.
(Signature)
 

(Residence Address
ONLY)
 
 
(City)
 
 

SEC. 2.

 Section 2102 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

2102.
 (a) A person may not be registered as a voter except by affidavit of registration. The affidavit shall be mailed or delivered to the county elections official and shall set forth all of the facts required to be shown by this chapter. A properly executed registration shall be deemed effective upon receipt of the affidavit by the county elections official if received on or before the 15th day prior to an election to be held in the registrant’s precinct. A properly executed registration shall also be deemed effective upon receipt of the affidavit by the county elections official if any of the following apply:
(1) The affidavit is postmarked on or before the 15th day prior to the election and received by mail by the county elections official.
(2) The affidavit is submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles or accepted by any other public agency designated as a voter registration agency pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973gg) on or before the 15th day prior to the election.
(3) The affidavit is delivered to the county elections official by means other than those described in paragraphs (1) or (2) on or before the 15th day prior to the election.
(b) For purposes of verifying signatures on a recall, initiative, or referendum petition or signatures on a nomination paper or any other election petition or election paper, a properly executed affidavit of registration shall be deemed effective for verification purposes if both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The affidavit is signed on the same date or a date prior to the signing of the petition or paper.
(2) The affidavit is received by the county elections official on or before the date on which the petition or paper is filed.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the affidavit of registration required under this chapter may not be taken under sworn oath, but the content of the affidavit shall be certified as to its truthfulness and correctness, under penalty of perjury, by the signature of the affiant.
(d) A person who is at least 17 years of age and otherwise meets all eligibility requirements to vote may submit his or her affidavit of registration as prescribed by this section. A properly executed registration made pursuant to this subdivision shall be deemed effective as of the date the affiant will be 18 years of age, if the information in the affidavit of registration is still current at that time. If the information provided by the affiant in the affidavit of registration is not current at the time that the registration would otherwise become effective, for his or her registration to become effective, the affiant shall provide the current information to the proper county elections official as prescribed by this chapter.

SEC. 3.

 Section 2106 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

2106.
 A program adopted by a county pursuant to Section 2103 or 2105, that is designed to encourage the registration of electors, shall, with respect to a printed literature or media announcement made in connection with these programs, contain this statement: “A person entitled to register to vote must be 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 election. A person may preregister to vote if he or she is a United States citizen, a resident of California, not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony, and at least 17 years of age.” A county elections official may continue to use existing materials prior to printing new or revised materials required by any changes to this section.

SEC. 4.

 Section 2150 of the Elections Code, as amended by Chapter 508 of the Statutes of 2007, is amended to read:

2150.
 (a) The affidavit of registration shall show:
(1) The facts necessary to establish the affiant as an elector.
(2) The affiant’s name at length, including his or her given name, and a middle name or initial, or if the initial of the given name is customarily used, then the initial and middle name. The affiant’s given name may be preceded, at affiant’s option, by the designation of Miss, Ms., Mrs., or Mr. A person shall not be denied the right to register because of his or her failure to mark a prefix to the given name and shall be so advised on the voter registration card. This subdivision shall not be construed as requiring the printing of prefixes on an affidavit of registration.
(3) The affiant’s place of residence, residence telephone number, if furnished, and e-mail address, if furnished. No person shall be denied the right to register because of his or her failure to furnish a telephone number or e-mail address, and shall be so advised on the voter registration card.
(4) The affiant’s mailing address, if different from the place of residence.
(5) The affiant’s date of birth to establish that he or she will be at least 18 years of age on or before the date of the next election. In the case of an affidavit of registration submitted pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 2102, the affiant’s date of birth to establish that he or she is at least 17 years of age.
(6) The state or country of the affiant’s birth.
(7) (A) In the case of an applicant who has been issued a current and valid driver’s license, the applicant’s driver’s license number.
(B) In the case of any other applicant, other than an applicant to whom subparagraph (C) applies, the last four digits of the applicant’s social security number.
(C) If an applicant for voter registration has not been issued a current and valid driver’s license or a social security number, the state shall assign the applicant a number that will serve to identify the applicant for voter registration purposes. To the extent that the state has a computerized list in effect under this subdivision and the list assigns unique identifying numbers to registrants, the number assigned under this subparagraph shall be the unique identifying number assigned under the list.
(8) The affiant’s political party affiliation.
(9) That the affiant is currently not imprisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony.
(10) A prior registration portion indicating whether the affiant has been registered at another address, under another name, or as intending to affiliate with another party. If the affiant has been so registered, he or she shall give an additional statement giving that address, name, or party.
(b) The affiant shall certify the content of the affidavit as to its truth and correctness, under penalty of perjury, with the signature of his or her name and the date of signing. If the affiant is unable to write he or she shall sign with a mark or cross.
(c) The affidavit of registration shall also contain a space that would enable the affiant to state his or her ethnicity or race, or both. An affiant may not be denied the ability to register because he or she declines to state his or her ethnicity or race.
(d) If a person, including a deputy registrar, assists the affiant in completing the affidavit, that person shall sign and date the affidavit below the signature of the affiant.
(e) The affidavit of registration shall also contain a space to permit the affiant to apply for permanent vote by mail status.
(f) The Secretary of State may continue to supply existing affidavits of registration to county elections officials prior to printing new or revised forms that reflect the changes made to this section by the act that added this subdivision.

SEC. 4.5.

 Section 2150 of the Elections Code, as amended by Chapter 1 of the Statutes of 2009, is amended to read:

2150.
 (a) The affidavit of registration shall show:
(1) The facts necessary to establish the affiant as an elector.
(2) The affiant’s name at length, including his or her given name, and a middle name or initial, or if the initial of the given name is customarily used, then the initial and middle name. The affiant’s given name may be preceded, at affiant’s option, by the designation of Miss, Ms., Mrs., or Mr. A person shall not be denied the right to register because of his or her failure to mark a prefix to the given name and shall be so advised on the voter registration card. This subdivision shall not be construed as requiring the printing of prefixes on an affidavit of registration.
(3) The affiant’s place of residence, residence telephone number, if furnished, and e-mail address, if furnished. No person shall be denied the right to register because of his or her failure to furnish a telephone number or e-mail address, and shall be so advised on the voter registration card.
(4) The affiant’s mailing address, if different from the place of residence.
(5) The affiant’s date of birth to establish that he or she will be at least 18 years of age on or before the date of the next election. In the case of an affidavit of registration submitted pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 2102, the affiant’s date of birth to establish that he or she is at least 17 years of age.
(6) The state or country of the affiant’s birth.
(7) (A) In the case of an applicant who has been issued a current and valid driver’s license, the applicant’s driver’s license number.
(B) In the case of any other applicant, other than an applicant to whom subparagraph (C) applies, the last four digits of the applicant’s social security number.
(C) If an applicant for voter registration has not been issued a current and valid driver’s license or a social security number, the state shall assign the applicant a number that will serve to identify the applicant for voter registration purposes. To the extent that the state has a computerized list in effect under this subdivision and the list assigns unique identifying numbers to registrants, the number assigned under this subparagraph shall be the unique identifying number assigned under the list.
(8) The affiant’s political party preference.
(9) That the affiant is currently not imprisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony.
(10) A prior registration portion indicating whether the affiant has been registered at another address, under another name, or as preferring another party. If the affiant has been so registered, he or she shall give an additional statement giving that address, name, or party.
(b) The affiant shall certify the content of the affidavit as to its truth and correctness, under penalty of perjury, with the signature of his or her name and the date of signing. If the affiant is unable to write he or she shall sign with a mark or cross.
(c) The affidavit of registration shall also contain a space that would enable the affiant to state his or her ethnicity or race, or both. An affiant may not be denied the ability to register because he or she declines to state his or her ethnicity or race.
(d) If a person, including a deputy registrar, assists the affiant in completing the affidavit, that person shall sign and date the affidavit below the signature of the affiant.
(e) The affidavit of registration shall also contain a space to permit the affiant to apply for permanent vote by mail status.
(f) The Secretary of State may continue to supply existing affidavits of registration to county elections officials prior to printing new or revised forms that reflect the changes made to this section by the act that added this subdivision.

SEC. 5.

 Section 2205 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

2205.
 The local registrar of births and deaths shall notify the county elections official not later than the 15th day of each month of all deceased persons 17 years of age and over, whose deaths were registered with him or her or of whose deaths he or she was notified by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics during the preceding month. This notification shall include at least the name, sex, age, birthplace, birth date, place of residence, and date and place of death of each decedent.
The county elections official shall cancel the affidavit of registration of the deceased voter.

SEC. 6.

 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SEC. 7.

 Sections 1 to 6, inclusive, of this bill shall become operative only if the Secretary of State certifies that the state has a statewide voter registration database that complies with the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 15301 et seq.).

SEC. 8.

 Section 4.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 2150 of the Elections Code proposed by both this bill and SB 6. It shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2011, but this bill becomes operative first, (2) each bill amends Section 2150 of the Elections Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after SB 6, in which case Section 2150 of the Elections Code, as amended by Section 4 of this bill, shall remain operative only until the operative date of SB 6, at which time Section 4.5 of this bill shall become operative.