Bill Text: OR HB3521 | 2013 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Relating to elections; declaring an emergency.
Sponsorship: Committee Bill
Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2013-07-07 - Rosenbaum served notice of possible reconsideration. [HB3521 Detail]
Download: Oregon-2013-HB3521-Engrossed.html
77th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2013 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 3940
B-Engrossed
House Bill 3521
Ordered by the House June 24
Including House Amendments dated May 24 and June 24
Sponsored by COMMITTEE ON RULES
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure.
Defines 'qualified designated voter registration agency. '
Directs qualified designated voter registration agencies to
provide Secretary of State with age, residence and citizenship
data and digital signature of each person who meets
qualifications set by secretary by rule. Directs secretary to
register to vote each nonregistered person who is qualified to
vote and to notify persons how to cancel registration and how to
adopt or change political party affiliation.
Increases maximum number of electors in precinct from 5,000 to
10,000.
Establishes July 1, 2013, as date for determination of total
number of registered electors in this state for purpose of
maintaining status as minor political party for 2014 general
election.
Prohibits public record disclosure of voter registration
information for persons under 18 years of age who are registered
to vote.
{ + Limits biennial expenditures of Secretary of State from
federal funds. + }
Declares emergency, effective on passage.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to elections; creating new provisions; amending ORS
246.410, 247.012, 247.016, 247.017, 247.292 and 247.302;
limiting expenditures; and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. { + Section 2 of this 2013 Act is added to and made
a part of ORS chapter 247. + }
SECTION 2. { + (1) For purposes of this section, 'qualified
designated voter registration agency' means a voter registration
agency designated under ORS 247.208 that:
(a) Records and stores digital copies of signatures;
(b) Collects age and residence data; and
(c) Processes citizenship documentation.
(2) Each qualified designated voter registration agency shall
provide to the Secretary of State the age, residence and
citizenship data for, and a digital copy of the signature of,
each person who meets qualifications set by the secretary by
rule.
(3) Upon receiving the data for, and a digital copy of the
signature of, a person described in subsection (2) of this
section, the Secretary of State shall register the person to vote
if the person is qualified to vote under Article II, section 2,
of the Oregon Constitution, and is not already registered to
vote.
(4) For purposes of this chapter, data submitted with a digital
copy of a person's signature under this section constitutes a
completed registration card upon receipt by the Secretary of
State.
(5) The Secretary of State shall notify each person who is
registered to vote under this section of the registration and of
the process to:
(a) Cancel the registration; and
(b) Adopt or change political party affiliation.
(6) The Secretary of State may not send a ballot to, or add to
public voter registration lists, a person who is registered to
vote under this section until at least 14 calendar days after the
secretary has provided notification to the person as described in
subsection (5) of this section.
(7) The Secretary of State shall adopt rules required to
implement this section. + }
SECTION 3. ORS 247.012 is amended to read:
247.012. (1) A qualified person may register to vote or update
a registration to vote by:
(a) Delivering by mail or otherwise a completed registration
card to any county clerk, the Secretary of State, any office of
the Department of Transportation or any designated voter
registration agency as described in ORS 247.208;
(b) Personally delivering the card to an official designated by
a county clerk under subsection (7) of this section;
(c) Completing the voter registration portion of the
application for issuance or renewal of a driver license, issuance
of a state identification card under ORS 807.400 or a change of
address at an office of the Department of Transportation under
ORS 247.017; { - or - }
(d) Completing a registration card using the electronic voter
registration system described in ORS 247.019 { - . - } { + ; or
(e) Submitting age, residence and citizenship data and a
signature to a qualified designated voter registration agency
described in section 2 of this 2013 Act. + }
(2) If a registration card is mailed or delivered to:
(a) Any person other than a county clerk or the Secretary of
State, the person shall forward the card to a county clerk or the
Secretary of State not later than the fifth day after receiving
the card; or
(b) The Secretary of State or a county clerk for a county other
than the county in which the person applying for registration
resides, the Secretary of State or county clerk shall forward the
card to the county clerk for the county in which the person
resides not later than the fifth day after receiving the card.
(3) Registration of a qualified person occurs:
(a) When a legible, accurate and complete registration card is
received in the office of any county clerk, the Office of the
Secretary of State, an office of the Department of
Transportation, a designated voter registration agency under ORS
247.208 or at a location designated by a county clerk under
subsection (7) of this section;
(b) On the date a registration card is postmarked if the card
is received after the 21st day immediately preceding an election
but is postmarked not later than the 21st day immediately
preceding the election and is addressed to an office of any
county clerk, the Office of the Secretary of State, an office of
the Department of Transportation or any designated voter
registration agency as described in ORS 247.208; or
(c) In the case of a registration card missing a date of birth,
containing an incomplete date of birth or containing an
unintentional scrivener's error that is supplied or corrected as
described in subsection (4) or (6) of this section, on the date
that registration would have occurred if the registration card
had not been missing the date of birth, contained an incomplete
date of birth or contained the scrivener's error.
(4) Except as provided in ORS 247.125, if a registration card
is legible, accurate and contains, at a minimum, the registrant's
name, residence address, date of birth and signature, the county
clerk shall register the person. If this information is missing
from the registration card or the date of birth is incomplete,
the county clerk shall attempt to contact the person to obtain
the missing or incomplete information. The county clerk may
supply the registrant's date of birth from any previous
registration of the registrant.
(5) If a registration card meets the requirements of subsection
(4) of this section but is missing an indication of political
party affiliation, the registrant shall be considered not
affiliated with any political party. This subsection does not
apply if an elector is updating a registration.
(6) If a registration card contains an unintentional
scrivener's error, the county clerk may attempt to contact the
person to correct the error.
(7) A county clerk may appoint officials to accept registration
of persons at designated locations. The appointments and
locations shall be in writing and filed in the office of the
county clerk. The county clerk shall be responsible for the
performance of duties by those appointed.
(8) A registration card received and accepted under this
section shall be considered an active registration.
(9) A registration may be updated at any time.
SECTION 4. ORS 247.292 is amended to read:
247.292. (1) A county clerk shall update the registration of an
elector in the county upon receiving { - written - } evidence
from:
(a) The elector indicating a residence or mailing address that
is different from the residence or mailing address for the
elector as contained in the records of the county clerk;
(b) The United States Postal Service indicating a residence
address that is different from the residence address for the
elector as contained in the records of the county clerk;
{ - or - }
(c) The Secretary of State as provided in ORS 247.295 { + ; or
(d) A voter registration agency designated under ORS 247.208 or
a qualified designated voter registration agency under section 2
of this 2013 Act + }.
(2) When a county clerk updates the registration of an elector
under subsection (1) of this section, the clerk shall send a new
precinct memorandum card by nonforwardable mail to the elector as
provided in ORS 247.181. The clerk shall include a notice stating
that if the residence address or mailing address is not correct,
the elector must notify the clerk.
(3) An elector is not disqualified from voting due to any error
relating to an update of registration made under this section.
SECTION 5. ORS 247.302 is amended to read:
247.302. (1) The effective date of a voter registration updated
under ORS 247.292 is the date on which the county clerk receives
{ - written - } evidence of the change of residence or mailing
address.
(2) The effective date of a voter registration updated under
ORS 247.296 is the date on which the county clerk changes the
address information on the voter registration file.
SECTION 6. ORS 246.410 is amended to read:
246.410. (1)(a) After each federal decennial census, the
Secretary of State shall prepare detailed and comprehensive
directives providing guidelines for fixing precinct and other
electoral district boundaries based on census population figures.
(b) After the federal decennial census and before the
Legislative Assembly or Secretary of State, whichever is
applicable, apportions the state into congressional and
legislative districts, the secretary shall deliver the directives
to:
(A) Each county clerk; and
(B) Any local government, as defined in ORS 174.116, or special
government body, as defined in ORS 174.117, that fixes electoral
district boundaries based on census population figures.
(2)(a) In accordance with any directive distributed by the
Secretary of State under this section, the county clerk, not
later than the 30th day before an election, may create, combine
or divide one or more precincts. The number of electors to be
included in a precinct shall not exceed { - 5,000 - } { +
10,000 + }. The county clerk shall fix the boundaries of the
precincts and designate the precincts by numbers or names.
(b) A local government or special government body that fixes
electoral district boundaries based on census population figures
shall fix the electoral district boundaries in accordance with
any directive distributed by the Secretary of State under this
section.
SECTION 7. ORS 247.017 is amended to read:
247.017. (1) The Department of Transportation shall make a
voter registration card available to any person at any office of
the department where licenses or renewal applications are
distributed or received.
(2) When a person who is at least 17 years of age applies for
issuance or renewal of an Oregon driver license, as defined in
ORS 801.245, or issuance of a state identification card under ORS
807.400 or submits a change of address application form at a
department office where driver license issuance or renewal
applications, state identification card applications or change of
address applications are distributed or received, department
personnel shall inform the person that the person may register to
vote at the department office. Department personnel shall ask the
applicant whether the applicant is registered to vote at the
applicant's current address and if not, whether the applicant
would like to register to vote at the department office.
(3) Each office shall deliver in a timely manner the completed
voter registration cards to the county clerk or elections officer
of the county in which the office is located. The county clerk
or elections officer of the county where the office is located
shall forward the registration card to the county clerk or
elections officer of the county in which the applicant resides.
The county clerk or elections officer may reject any registration
card in accordance with ORS 247.174. The Secretary of State shall
determine by rule the time and manner the completed registration
cards are to be delivered to the appropriate county clerk or
elections officer.
(4) The department shall develop a driver license issuance or
renewal and voter registration application procedure and a state
identification card issuance and voter registration application
procedure and a change of address and voter registration
application procedure that allows an applicant for a license,
renewal, state identification card or change of address to
register to vote by providing the information required by ORS
247.171 and the information required for the issuance or renewal
of a license or for issuance of a state identification card. The
Secretary of State shall approve the voter registration portion
of each application procedure and change of address procedure.
(5) The voter registration portion of an application described
in subsection (4) of this section shall comply with provisions of
the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-31).
(6) The Secretary of State shall adopt rules establishing
procedures for meeting the requirements of subsection (3) of this
section.
(7) Information relating to the failure of an applicant under
this section to sign the voter registration portion of an
application for issuance or renewal of a driver license, issuance
of a state identification card or for a change of address may not
be used for other than voter registration purposes.
{ + (8) The department is not subject to this section if the
department is a qualified designated voter registration agency as
defined in section 2 of this 2013 Act. + }
SECTION 8. ORS 247.016 is amended to read:
247.016. (1) Subject to { - subsection (2) - }
{ + subsections (2) and (3) + } of this section, an otherwise
qualified person who is at least 17 years of age may register to
vote.
(2) A person who registers to vote under subsection (1) of this
section may not vote in an election until the person attains the
age of 18 years.
{ + (3) If a person who registers to vote under subsection
(1) of this section will be under 18 years of age on the date of
the next election held on a date listed in ORS 171.185 or the
next special election, the person's voter registration
information, including but not limited to the person's name and
any identifying information, may not be disclosed as a public
record under ORS 192.410 to 192.505. + }
SECTION 9. { + For purposes of maintaining status as a minor
political party under ORS 248.008 (4)(b) for the general election
to be held in November 2014, the total number of registered
electors in this state is the total number of registered electors
in this state on July 1, 2013. + }
SECTION 10. { + (1) Section 2 of this 2013 Act applies to:
(a) Voter registration agencies designated by the Secretary of
State under ORS 247.208 before, on or after the effective date of
this 2013 Act; and
(b) Data and signatures in the possession of qualified
designated voter registration agencies under section 2 of this
2013 Act before, on or after the effective date of this 2013 Act.
(2) The Secretary of State and a qualified designated voter
registration agency that exists as a voter registration agency
designated under ORS 247.208 on the effective date of this 2013
Act shall implement section 2 of this 2013 Act and ORS 247.012,
as amended by section 3 of this 2013 Act, no later than January
1, 2014. + }
SECTION 11. { + Notwithstanding any other law limiting
expenditures, the amount of $300,000 is established for the
biennium beginning July 1, 2013, as the maximum limit for payment
of expenses for administration of the provisions of this 2013 Act
from federal funds collected or received by the Secretary of
State. + }
SECTION 12. { + This 2013 Act being necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an
emergency is declared to exist, and this 2013 Act takes effect on
its passage. + }
----------
