Bill Text: CA AB1415 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Elections: voting procedures.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-02 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1415 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB1415-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1415 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Adams
( Principal coauthor: Senator
Runner )
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Sections 2101 and 3011 of, and to add Sections
3020.5 and 14216.5 to, the Elections Code, and to add Section 14902.5
to the Vehicle Code, relating to elections.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1415, as amended, Adams. Elections: voting procedures.
(1) Existing law specifies the qualifications for registration as
a voter and excludes from eligibility a person in prison or on parole
for the conviction of a felony. Under existing law, a person who
willfully allows himself or herself, or another person, to register
as a voter knowing that the registration qualifications are not met,
is guilty of a crime.
This bill would additionally make a person on probation for the
conviction of a felony not eligible to register to vote, and would
provide that a prohibition against voting is a condition of
imprisonment, parole, or probation for conviction of a felony
require elections officials to cancel the voter
registration of persons convicted of a felony upon notification of
the conviction from the court .
Because the bill would create new crimes, it would impose a
state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law requires that the identification envelope for
returning a vote by mail ballot contain specified information and
that a vote by mail ballot be received by the issuing elections
official or the precinct board no later than the close of polls on
election day.
This bill would additionally require that the identification
envelope include a verification panel, concealed during
mailing, setting forth the last 4 digits of the voter's
California driver's license or identification card number or, if
unavailable, the last 4 digits of the voter's social security number
and a security flap that would conceal voter's identification
information during mailing . The bill would require the
Department of Motor Vehicles to waive the fee for an identification
card requested to satisfy this provision. The bill would require the
elections official to verify the accuracy of the identification
information before counting the vote.
The bill would make an exception from the deadline for returning a
vote by mail ballot for specified members of the military stationed
outside of the United States, instead requiring that their vote by
mail ballot be postmarked on or before election day and received by
their elections official not later than 21 days after election day.
Because the bill would impose additional duties on elections
officials, it would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) Existing law requires that a person desiring to vote announce
his or her name and address to a precinct worker at the polling
place.
This bill would also require a person who desires to vote to show
specified proof of identification. The bill would authorize a person
who does not have proof of identification to vote a provisional
ballot after completing an affidavit under penalty of perjury that he
or she is a registered voter. The bill would require the Department
of Motor Vehicles to waive the fee for an identification card
requested for satisfying the voter identification requirement.
By imposing additional duties on elections officials and creating
new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(4) 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 with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be
cited as the Vote SAFE: Secure and Fair Elections Act.
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. Section 2101 of
the Elections Code is amended to read:
2101. (a) A person entitled to register to vote shall be a United
States citizen, a resident of California, not in prison or on parole
or probation for the conviction of a felony, and at least 18 years
of age at the time of the next election.
(b) A prohibition against voting while imprisoned for, or on
parole or probation for, the conviction of a felony shall be a
condition of that imprisonment, parole, or probation.
(b) "Conviction of a felony" for purposes of this section means
conviction of a felony offense which results in incarceration in
prison or parole or felony probation.
(c) The chief elections official of each county shall upon notice
of the clerk of the superior court cancel affidavits of registration
of all persons who have been convicted of a felony as defined in
subdivision (b).
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. Section 3011 of the
Elections Code is amended to read:
3011. (a) The identification envelope shall contain all of the
following information:
(1) A declaration, under penalty of perjury, stating that the
voter resides within the precinct in which he or she is voting and is
the person whose name appears on the envelope.
(2) The signature of the voter and the last four digits of
the voter's California driver's license number or California
identification card number, or if the voter has neither, the last
four digits of the voter's social security number. The signature and
numeric identifying information must be verified as consistent with
the voter's state or federal records, prior to counting
the ballot .
(3) The residence address of the voter as shown on the affidavit
of registration.
(4) The date of signing.
(5) A notice that the envelope contains an official ballot and is
to be opened only by the canvassing board if the signature and
numeric identifying information are verified .
(6) A warning plainly stamped or printed on it that voting twice
constitutes a crime.
(7) A warning plainly stamped or printed on it that the voter must
sign the verification panel, described in paragraph (12),
envelope in his or her own handwriting in order
for the ballot to be counted.
(8) A statement that the voter has neither applied, nor intends to
apply, for a vote by mail voter's ballot from any other jurisdiction
for the same election.
(9) The name of the person authorized by the voter to return the
vote by mail ballot pursuant to Section 3017.
(10) The relationship to the voter of the person authorized to
return the vote by mail ballot.
(11) The signature of the person authorized to return the vote by
mail ballot.
(12) A verification panel, concealed during mailing, requiring the
last four digits of the voter's California driver's license number
or California identification card number or, if neither is available,
the last four digits of the voter's social security number.
(12) A security flap or sleeve to conceal the voter's signature
and identifying information during mailing.
(b) Except at a primary election for partisan office, and
notwithstanding any other provision of law, the vote by mail voter's
party affiliation may not be stamped or printed on the identification
envelope.
(c) (1) An elections official
shall verify that the information provided pursuant to paragraph
(12) of subdivision (a) is from the California driver's license or
California identification card or social security number issued to
the voter submitting the vote by mail ballot before the vote may be
counted.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a valid ballot cast pursuant
to the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C.
Sec. 1973ff-1 et seq.).
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. Section 3020.5 is
added to the Elections Code, to read:
3020.5. Notwithstanding Section 3020, 3311, or 4103, or any other
provision of law, a vote by mail ballot of a member of the Armed
Forces of the United States or any auxiliary branch thereof
who is stationed outside of the territorial limits of the United
States or the District of Columbia shall be cast and postmarked by
the United States Postal Service or the Military Postal Service
Agency who is an "absent uniformed services voter," as
defined in subsection (1) of Section 1973ff-6 of Title 42 of the
United States Code, shall be timely cast if postmarked or signed and
dated on or before election day and shall be
received by the voter's elections official not later than 21 days
after election day.
SEC. 4. SEC. 5. Section 14216.5 is
added to the Elections Code, to read:
14216.5. (a) Prior to receiving a ballot, a voter shall present
to a member of the precinct board proof of identification that
satisfies all of the following requirements:
(1) The document shows the name of the individual to whom the
document was issued, and the name conforms to the name in the
individual's voter registration record.
(2) The document shows a photograph of the individual to
whom the document was issued presenting the
identification .
(3) The document includes an expiration date, and the document is
not expired at the time of voting or it expired after the
date of the most recent expired less than two years
prior to the general election.
(4) The document was issued by the United States or the State of
California or is a valid tribal member identification card
issued by an Indian tribe recognized by the United States government
.
(b) If a voter is unable to, or refuses to, provide proof of
identification pursuant to subdivision (a), he or she may execute a
declaration, certified as to its truthfulness and
correctness to be correct under penalty of
perjury, declaring that he or she is registered to vote. Upon
execution of the declaration, the voter shall be issued a provisional
ballot pursuant to Section 14310 and an envelope to be
completed in the same manner as a vote by mail envelope .
SEC. 5. SEC. 6. Section 14902.5 is
added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
14902.5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
The fee for an original or replacement
identification card shall be waived for a person who requests the
identification card for purposes of satisfying the requirement of
Section 3011 or 14216.5 of the Elections Code.
SEC. 6. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other 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.
