AB 504 — Voter registration: residency confirmation.

Summary

(1) Existing law requires a county elections official to conduct a preelection residency confirmation procedure before a primary election by mailing a nonforwardable postcard to each registered voter of the county. However, existing law authorizes the county elections official to exclude from this residency confirmation procedure a voter who has voted at an election held within the last six months preceding the start of the procedure, or a person who has preregistered but will not be 18 years of age on or before the date of the primary election. This bill would authorize a county elections official to exclude from this residency confirmation procedure a voter who has confirmed the voter's voter registration record on the internet website of the Secretary of State within the year preceding the start of the confirmation procedure. This provision would become operative on the date that the Secretary of State certifies that the state's statewide voter registration database has been modified to notify county elections officials when a voter confirms the voter's registration record on the internet website of the Secretary of State. (2) Existing law authorizes a county elections official, in lieu of mailing a residency confirmation postcard, to contract with the United States Postal Service or its licensees to obtain use of postal service change-of-address data. This bill would extend this contracting authority to the Secretary of State, and would require the Secretary of State to share this data with county elections officials through the statewide voter registration database. (3) Based on the change-of-address data received from the United States Postal Service or its licensees, existing law requires a county elections official to send a forwardable notice to enable a voter to verify or correct address information. If the change-of-address data indicates that the voter has moved to a new address in California, the forwardable notice must notify the voter that the voter will be registered to vote at the new address unless the voter notifies the county elections official's office within 15 days that the new address is not the voter's permanent residence. If postal service change-of-address data received from a nonforwardable mailing indicates that a voter has moved and left no forwarding address, the forwardable notice must be sent, in substantially the form prescribed, to attempt to verify that the voter has moved and left no forwarding address. Existing law does not require the county elections official to mail a forwardable notice to a voter if the official receives a notification through the National Change of Address System (NCOA) or Operation Mail that the voter has moved and has given no forwarding address. This bill would change that 15-day response time for a voter to notify the county elections official's office to 15 days prior to the date of the next election and would revise the form of the forwardable notice. The bill would require that the form of forwardable notice sent to a voter who has moved and left no forwarding address be in substantially the same format prescribed by federal law. The bill would expand the latter forwardable notice requirement to include a voter who has moved out of the state. The bill would delete the exception described above and, instead, would require the county elections official to send a forwardable notice, in substantially the same format prescribed by federal law, to a voter for whom a notification was received through NCOA or Operation Mail indicating that the voter has moved and has given no forwarding address or has moved out of the state. By imposing new duties on county elections officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law authorizes a county elections official to send an alternate residency confirmation postcard to a voter who has not voted in an election within the preceding four years and whose residence address, name, or party preference has not been updated during that time. If the voter fails to confirm the voter's address as directed in the alternate residency confirmation postcard, the county elections official may place the voter's name on the inactive file of registered voters. This bill would make the former provision inoperative on January 1, 2020, and would repeal it as of January 1, 2029. The bill would require the county elections official to send a forwardable address verification mailing to a voter whose registration status is inactive based on the voter's failure to confirm the voter's address as required by the alternate residency confirmation postcard. The bill would require the cancellation of the voter registration record of a voter who fails to respond to the address verification mailing and who does not offer to vote or vote at an election between the date of the mailing and two federal general elections after that date. By imposing new duties on county elections officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) The bill would make other clarifying and nonsubstantive changes. (6) 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Bill Text

• Chaptered 09/06/19 - Chaptered Current pdf September 06, 2019
• Enrolled 08/27/19 - Enrolled pdf August 27, 2019
• Amended 06/19/19 - Amended Senate pdf June 19, 2019
• Amended 06/04/19 - Amended Senate pdf June 04, 2019
• Amended 05/28/19 - Amended Senate pdf May 28, 2019
• Amended 03/19/19 - Amended Assembly pdf March 19, 2019
• Introduced 02/13/19 - Introduced pdf February 13, 2019
• AB504 View text html

Action History

1. September 06, 2019

   Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 262, Statutes of 2019.

2. September 06, 2019

   Approved by the Governor.

3. September 03, 2019

   Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3:30 p.m.

4. August 26, 2019

   Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 2835.).

5. August 22, 2019

   In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 24 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.

6. August 22, 2019

   Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 2240.).

7. July 02, 2019

   Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

8. July 01, 2019

   From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.

9. June 19, 2019

   Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

10. June 18, 2019

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 18).

11. June 04, 2019

    In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

12. June 04, 2019

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on E. & C.A.

13. May 28, 2019

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on E. & C.A.

14. May 16, 2019

    Referred to Com. on E. & C.A.

15. May 02, 2019

    In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

16. May 02, 2019

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 76. Noes 0. Page 1475.)

17. April 25, 2019

    Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.

18. April 24, 2019

    From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 18. Noes 0.) (April 24).

19. March 27, 2019

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (March 27). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

20. March 20, 2019

    Re-referred to Com. on E. & R.

21. March 19, 2019

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on E. & R. Read second time and amended.

22. February 21, 2019

    Referred to Com. on E. & R.

23. February 14, 2019

    From printer. May be heard in committee March 16.

24. February 13, 2019

    Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

• Marc Berman · Primary

Votes

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