LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 370, as amended, Runner. Elections: voting.
(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
, as of January 1, 2011, require elections officials
to cancel their voter registration upon notice from the court of the
conviction .
(2) Existing law requires that the identification envelope for
returning a vote by mail ballot contain specified information.
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 to conceal the voter's information during
mailing . The bill would require the elections official to
verify the accuracy of that information before counting the vote.
(3) Existing law requires vote by mail ballots to be received by
elections officials by the close of the polls on election day.
This bill would require that a vote by mail ballot of a member of
the Armed Forces of the United States who is stationed outside of the
United States be cast by election day and received by elections
officials no later than 25 21 days
after election day.
(4) 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.
(5) By imposing additional duties on elections officials and
creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
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.