Brown Signs Same Day Voter Registration Bill

September 25, 2012 Uncategorized 3

Jerry Brown 8-04-2010 (Photo courtesy Lou Delgado)

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. yesterday signed a bill that makes it easier for Californians to vote by allowing same-day voter registration.

“Voting—the sacred right of every citizen—should be simple and convenient,” said Governor Brown. “While other states try to restrict voters with new laws that burden the process, California allows voters to register online—and even on Election Day.”

Jerry Brown 9-04-2010 (Photo courtesy Lou Delgado)

Assembly Bill 1436 (Feuer) allows same-day voter registration, giving Californians the right to vote with a provisional ballot if the conditional voter registration is deemed effective. Same-day registration will be permitted once the Secretary of State certifies California’s new statewide voter database, VoteCal. Last year, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 397 (Yee) allowing Californians to register to vote online.

In addition, Governor Brown signed the following political reform and election-related bills:

  • AB 216 by Assemblymember Sandré Swanson (D-Oakland) – Voters: residency confirmation.
  • AB 481 by Assemblymember Richard Gordon (D-Redwood City) – Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign disclosure.
  • AB 1509 by Assemblymember Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward) – Political Reform Act of 1974: statement of economic interests.
  • AB 1662 by Assemblymember Paul Fong (D-Mountain View) – County boards of education: members.
  • AB 2062 by Assemblymember Mike Davis (D-Los Angeles) – Political Reform Act of 1974: statements of economic interests: electronic filing.
  • AB 2080 by Assemblymember Richard Gordon (D-Redwood City) – Vote by mail ballots.
  • AB 2191 by Assemblymember Chris Norby (R-Fullerton) – Political Reform Act of 1974: county central committees.
  • AB 2691 by the Committee on Elections and Redistricting – Political Reform Act of 1974: online and electronic filing.
  • AB 2692 by the Committee on Elections and Redistricting – Electoral districts and precincts.
  • SB 35 by Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacioma) – Voter registration agencies.
  • SB 1001 by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) – Political Reform Act of 1974: lobbyists and committees: fees.
  • SB 1272 by Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) – Political party organization: county central committees.
  • SB 1331 by Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) – County of San Diego Independent Redistricting Commission.

For full text of the bills, visit: http://leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html.

3 Comments

  1. Maybe the Governor should worry more about our spending problems and worry less about making access to voting easier for those who can’t legally vote.

    • Mike —
      Voter fraud is NOT a problem. Even under Bush administration investigations, it’s barely a problem. Mother Jones Magazine reports people are more likely to report UFO sightings than commit voter fraud: “National UFO Reporting Center records show there were 47,000 reports of UFO sightings between 2000 and 2010. During the same period, just 13 people were convicted of impersonating someone else in order to vote in their name, according to research by Justin Levitt, associate professor of law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

      But there is one prominent case of voter fraud I can think of. Mitt Romney registered to vote using his son’s unfinished basement in Massachusetts as his primary domicile so Mitt could cast a vote for Scott Brown for Senate.

      Republicans are getting their butts kicked in voter registration. Your only prayer is to prevent Americans from legally voting. Why do Republicans want to take the right to vote away from Americans who are citizens but don’t have a government photo ID Mike? Why do Republicans hate Americans who are not Republican so much?

  2. California’s new voter registration database — whose creation the federal government once called a model for other states — may prevent thousands of eligible voters from casting ballots

    For example, 14,629 out of 34,064 voter registration forms — or 43% — were “kicked out,” or rejected, in Los Angeles County between Jan. 1 and March 15. Such results have election officials statewide fearing that the new registration system will bump eligible voters from the voter rolls.

    Same-day registration will be permitted once the Secretary of State certifies California’s new statewide voter database
    …………………..

    If the SoS certifies the database before this Nov. the polling places should packed with people have to write long hand on provisional ballots.

    and it will most likely delay certifation of the vote totals by many weeks.

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