Bill Text: CA AB1817 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Voter registration: high school pupils.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-07-16 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 131, Statutes of 2014. [AB1817 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB1817-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1817	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Gomez

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2014

   An act to add Section 49041 to the Education Code, and to amend
Sections 2103 and 2109 of the Elections Code, relating to voter
registration.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1817, as introduced, Gomez. Voter registration: deputy
registrars of voters: high school pupils.
   Under existing law, a person who is a registered voter qualifies
for appointment as a deputy registrar of voters. Existing law states
that it is the intent of the Legislature that county elections
officials, in order to promote and encourage voter registration,
shall enlist the support and cooperation of interested citizens and
organizations, and shall deputize as registrars qualified citizens.
Existing law permits a person deputized as a registrar by the county
elections official to register voters. Existing law permits the
governing board of a county, city, city and county, district, or
other public agency to authorize and assign an officer or employee to
become a deputy registrar of voters and register qualified citizens
on any premise or facility owned or controlled by the agency.
   This bill would permit the governing board of a school district to
authorize a high school pupil 16 years of age or older to become a
deputy registrar of voters and to registrar to vote qualified pupils
on his or her high school campus.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 49041 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   49041.  The governing board of a school district may authorize a
high school pupil 16 years of age or older to become a deputy
registrar of voters, and to register to vote qualified pupils on his
or her high school campus, pursuant to Section 2103 of the Elections
Code.
  SEC. 2.  Section 2103 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
   2103.  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the election
board of each county, in order to promote and encourage voter
registrations, shall establish a sufficient number of registration
places throughout the county, and outside the county courthouse, for
the convenience of persons desiring to register, to the end that
registration may be maintained at a high level.
   (b) It is also the intent of the Legislature that county elections
officials, in order to promote and encourage voter registrations,
shall enlist the support and cooperation of interested citizens and
organizations, and shall deputize as registrars qualified citizens in
such a way as to reach most effectively every resident of the
county. The persons so deputized shall be permitted to register
voters anywhere within the county, including at the places of
residence of the persons to be registered, and the county elections
official shall not deny deputy registrars the right to register
voters anywhere in the county.
   (c) It is also the intent of the Legislature that
non-English-speaking citizens, like all other citizens, should be
encouraged to vote. Therefore, appropriate efforts should be made to
minimize obstacles to registration by citizens who lack sufficient
skill in English to register without assistance.
   (d)  Where   If  the county elections
official finds that citizens described in subdivision (c) approximate
 3   three  percent or more of the voting
age residents of a precinct, or  in the event that 
 if  interested citizens or organizations provide
information which   that  the county
elections official believes indicates a need for registration
assistance for qualified citizens described in subdivision (c), the
county elections official shall make reasonable efforts to recruit
deputy registrars who are fluent in a language used by citizens
described in subdivision (c) and in English. That recruitment shall
be conducted through the cooperation of interested citizens and
organizations and through voluntarily donated public service notices
in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television,
particularly those media that serve the non-English-speaking citizens
described in subdivision (c). Deputy registrars so appointed shall
facilitate registration in the particular precincts concerned and
shall have the right to register voters anywhere in the county.
   (e) In furtherance of the purposes of this section, the governing
board of  any   a  county, city, city and
county, district, or other public agency may authorize and assign any
of its officers or employees to become deputy registrars of voters
and to register qualified citizens on any premises and facilities
owned or controlled by those public agencies during the regular
working hours of the officers or employees. With the exception of
firefighters, any compensation to which the officer or employee may
be entitled in payment for the services of the officer or employee as
a deputy registrar may be paid by the authority that appointed the
officer or employee as a deputy registrar to the public agency that
regularly employs the officer or employee. 
   (f) In furtherance of the purposes of this section, the governing
board of a school district may authorize a high school pupil 16 years
of age or older to become a deputy registrar of voters and to
registrar to vote qualified pupils on his or her high school campus.
 
   (f) 
    (g)  It is the intent of the Legislature that no
limitation be imposed on the number of persons appointed to act as
deputy registrars of voters. 
   (g) 
    (h)  It is the intent of the Legislature that county
elections officials be permitted to distribute affidavits of
registration and voter registration cards, in all languages required
by Section 203 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973aa-1a) or Section 4(f)(4) (42
U.S.C. Sec. 1973b(f)(4)) of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, by
using the county's Internet Web site.
  SEC. 3.  Section 2109 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
   2109.   Any   A  person  who is
a registered voter  qualifies for appointment as a deputy
registrar of voters  if he or she is a registered voter or is a
person described in subdivision (f) of Section 2103  .