Elections: civic outreach and voter engagement.

(1) Existing law requires the Secretary of State to provide every high school, community college, and California State University and University of California campus with voter registration forms. Existing law also expresses the intent of the Legislature that every eligible high school and college student receive a meaningful opportunity to apply to register to vote. This bill would create the High School Voter Education Pilot Program to be conducted in Yolo County. Under the pilot program, the Yolo County Elections Office and Yolo County Office of Education would be authorized to conduct mock student government elections on designated high school campuses, using, to the extent possible, the same standards, processes, and voting equipment used in the county for regularly-conducted elections. This bill would require the administering agencies to provide voter registration and preregistration opportunities for eligible students in conjunction with the program, and would require the administering agencies to report to the Legislature regarding the outcome of the program, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2027. (2) Existing law directs the Secretary of State to adopt regulations requiring each county to design and implement voter outreach programs intended to identify qualified electors who are not registered voters, and to register those persons to vote, including regulations prescribing minimum requirements for those programs. Existing law further provides that if the Secretary of State finds that a county has not designed and implemented a program meeting prescribed minimum requirements, the Secretary of State is required to design a program for the county and report the violation to the Attorney General. This bill would require the Secretary of State, in adopting those regulations, to require each county to periodically update its programs. This bill would also require the Secretary of State to periodically update the Secretary's own regulations promulgated pursuant to this provision. By imposing a new statutory duty on each county, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law authorizes the Secretary of State to provide grants for voter outreach purposes. This bill would broaden the purposes of the voter outreach grant program described above, and it would permit the Secretary of State to provide grant funding pursuant to that provision. (3) 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.