Voter registration and outreach programs.

Existing law requires the Controller to provide reimbursement to counties for the costs of complying with certain voter registration requirements. This bill would instead make the Secretary of State responsible for reimbursing counties for that purpose. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to adopt regulations requiring each county to design and implement programs intended to identify qualified electors who are not registered to vote and to register those persons to vote. This bill would also require the Secretary of State to adopt guidance for counties to design and implement civic engagement programs for high school students. The bill would authorize the Secretary of State to design a voter registration or civic engagement program for a county that does not implement or apply for funding for its own programs. The bill would require the Secretary of State to provide grants to county elections officials or other specified entities for voter registration efforts in counties where voter registration is less than 80% of eligible voters. The bill would require the Secretary of State to make grants to county registrars of voters for programs that integrate voter registration and preregistration with civic education for high school students, including programs to allow students to serve as election workers, as provided. The bill would require a student election worker to be assigned election worker responsibilities on election day or otherwise only after school hours or on weekends and would require a student election worker to receive a stipend for their work as well as credit toward a specified diploma seal recognizing student excellence in civics education and participation. The bill would also require the Secretary of State, on or before April 1, 2023, to contract with specified counties to conduct mock elections at high schools and voter registration and preregistration opportunities for eligible students. The bill would establish the Civic Learning, Outreach, and Engagement Fund in the General Fund and would make the moneys in the fund available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the grants and contracts provided for in the bill. The bill would transfer $15,000,000 from the General Fund to the Civic Learning, Outreach, and Engagement Fund and would appropriate those moneys for purposes of the bill.