Voter registration: California New Motor Voter Program.

Existing federal law, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, requires a state to, among other things, establish procedures to register a person to vote for federal office by an application made simultaneously with a driver's license application. Existing state law requires, in conformance with federal law, that the Secretary of State and the Department of Motor Vehicles establish and implement the California New Motor Voter Program for the purpose of increasing opportunities for voter registration for qualified voters. Existing state law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to transmit to the Secretary of State specified information related to the person's eligibility to vote, which the person provides when applying for a driver's license or identification card. Existing state law provides that this information transmitted to the Secretary of State constitutes a completed affidavit of registration, and the Secretary of State is required to register the person to vote, unless the person affirmatively declines to register to vote or the person is ineligible to vote, or other specified conditions exist. This bill would require a driver's license or identification card application, renewal, or change of address notification, as specified, to include a voter registration application and would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to transmit the application to the Secretary of State according to specified deadlines. The bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to monitor the timeliness of its transmittals to the Secretary of State, and to provide the Secretary of State information regarding delays and irregularities in its ability to do so. The bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Secretary of State each to designate an employee to undertake specified responsibilities to ensure compliance with the California New Motor Voter Program and the National Voter Registration Act. The bill would require the Secretary of State to convene a task force that would provide advice and perform other duties with respect to implementing the California New Motor Voter Program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 5100 of the Elections Code proposed by AB 446 to be operative only if this bill and AB 446 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.