BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: SB 113 HEARING DATE: 4/2/13
AUTHOR: JACKSON ANALYSIS BY: DARREN CHESIN
AMENDED: AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Voter registration: preregistration of 15, 16, and 17
year-olds
DESCRIPTION
Existing law permits a person who is 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 to register
to vote.
Existing law , pursuant to the federal Help America Vote Act
(HAVA), in part requires states to implement a statewide
voter registration database, as specified.
Existing law also permits a person who is at least 17 years
of age and who otherwise meets all eligibility requirements
to vote to submit his or her affidavit of registration.
Such a properly executed registration is deemed effective
as of the date that the affiant will be 18 years of age,
provided that the information in the affidavit of
registration is still current at that time. The registrant
must provide current information to the county elections
official before the registration becomes effective if the
information in the current affidavit is incorrect.
Existing law provides that the provisions regarding
preregistration of 17 year-olds become operative only if
the Secretary of State (SOS) certifies that the state has a
statewide voter registration database that complies with
the requirements of HAVA.
Existing law requires 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 with him or her or of whose deaths he or
she was notified by the state registrar of vital
statistics.
This bill would lower the minimum age for purposes of
submitting an affidavit of registration pursuant to these
provisions from 17 to 15 years of age. This bill would
make conforming changes to other related provisions of
existing law and would provide that this change will become
operative on January 1, 2014 and therefore not be
contingent upon certification of a HAVA compliant statewide
voter registration database.
BACKGROUND
Other States . According to the National Conference of
State Legislatures (NCSL), the following 14 states permit
voter registration before the age of 18, but none prior to
16 (and none permit voting until the age of 18): Alaska,
California, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana,
Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode
Island, and Wyoming.
NCSL also reports that the following 12 states permit 17
year-olds to vote in the primary election (presidential
caucuses in Iowa) if the voter will turn 18 before the
general election: Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky,
Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina,
Ohio, Vermont, and Virginia.
VoteCal Status . The SOS has been in the process of
implementing a new statewide voter registration database
for several years, as required by the Federal Help America
Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002. After difficulties with the prior
vendor and the termination of that contract, the SOS
recently announced the selection of a new contractor to
develop the new VoteCal statewide voter registration
database. The Department of General Services approved the
contract on March 6, 2013. The SOS estimates that VoteCal
will be fully implemented by 2016.
COMMENTS
SB 113 (JACKSON)
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1.According to the author , SB 113 would allow a person to
preregister to vote beginning at age 15, an age when
young people typically interact with state government for
the first time when they get their driver's permit at the
Department of Motor Vehicles. SB 113 accelerates a
provision in existing law that would allow 17-year-olds
to pre-register to vote and expands it to include 15- and
16-year-olds.
Since 1995, the federal Motor Voter Law has required states
to allow voter registration when applying for a driver's
license. Nearly one-quarter of all Californians who are
eligible to vote are not registered to vote.
Participation is even lower among young voters, with only
half of eligible voters registered.
In 2010, youth in the state made up 14.2% of the
population, but only 9.1% of registered voters. Studies
have shown that the earlier people are introduced to
voting, the more likely they are to become life-long
participants in democracy.
Preregistration allows young people receiving high school
civics education the opportunity to take concrete steps
towards becoming future voters. Numerous studies have
shown that when young voters are registered they turn out
in high numbers. A 2009 George Mason University study
found that pre-registration programs in Hawaii and
Florida encouraged young people to start voting and keep
voting.
SB 113 would not change the voting age, which is 18. But
it would allow youth to preregister to vote either
online, by mail, or at the DMV, beginning at age 15.
Assuming they meet all eligibility requirements, once
they turn 18, their registration would become active.
Prior to their first election, county elections officials
will be encouraged to mail each pre-registrant a card to
confirm that they still wish to be registered to vote at
the address on their original application. Addresses and
other changes can easily be updated online, at the DMV
using an address change form, or by mail.
SB 113 (JACKSON)
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2.But Will It Work Here ? According to the California
Association of Clerks and Election Officials (CACEO),
existing voter registration systems operated at the
county level have no way to administer preregistration.
CACEO further states that without a way to electronically
manage preregistrations, counties will be at risk of
erroneously qualifying an illegible registrant to receive
a ballot or sign a petition, or failing to keep the early
registrant's "current information" that is normally
obtained via a pre-election address confirmation or USPS
data.
However, SOS staff insists that both DFM and DIMS, the two
predominant election management systems used by
California counties can accommodate preregistration by
utilizing "pending folders."
CACEO counters that staff who work with the files maintain
that it does not work when a voter has more than one pend
code and these voters will have multiple pend codes.
3.Related Legislation . ACA 7(Mullin), which is pending in
the Assembly, would permit an otherwise eligible elector
who is 17 years old and will be at least 18 years of age
at the time of the next general election to register to
vote and vote in any intervening primary or special
election that occurs after the person registers to vote.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Secretary of State
Support: California Common Cause
California State Council of the Service Employees
International Union
CALPIRG
Rock the Vote
FairVote, The Center for Voting and Democracy
UCSB College Republicans
Vote Latino
Oppose: Numerous individuals
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SB 113 (JACKSON)
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