Elections: voting procedures.

(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 require elections officials to cancel the voter registration of persons convicted of a felony upon notification of the conviction from the court. (2) Existing law requires that the identification envelope for returning a vote by mail ballot contain specified information and that a vote by mail ballot be received by the issuing elections official or the precinct board no later than the close of polls on election day. This bill would additionally require that the identification envelope include 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 that would conceal voter's identification information during mailing. The bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to waive the fee for an identification card requested to satisfy this provision. The bill would require the elections official to verify the accuracy of the identification information before counting the vote. The bill would make an exception from the deadline for returning a vote by mail ballot for specified members of the military stationed outside of the United States, instead requiring that their vote by mail ballot be postmarked on or before election day and received by their elections official not later than 21 days after election day. Because the bill would impose additional duties on elections officials, it would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) 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. By imposing additional duties on elections officials and creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) 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.