Voter registration: residency confirmation.
SB 408
California Bills
20250SB__040898AMD INTRODUCED 2025-02-14 AMENDED_SENATE 2025-04-03 2025 SB AMD Introduced by Senator Choi (Coauthor: Senator Alvarado-Gil)</caml:AuthorText>"?> (Coauthors: Senators Alvarado-Gil and Ochoa Bogh) LEAD_AUTHOR SENATE Choi <caml:Contribution>COAUTHOR</caml:Contribution><caml:House>SENATE</caml:House><caml:Name>Alvarado-Gil</caml:Name></caml:Legislator>"?> COAUTHOR SENATE Alvarado-Gil COAUTHOR SENATE Ochoa Bogh
An act to amend
Section of the Elections Code, relating to elections. elections Voter registration: residency confirmation. Existing law requires a county elections official to take various actions to confirm voters’ residency, including by, among other things, mailing a postcard to each registered voter of the county. This bill would instead require the Secretary of State or the county elections official, in addition to mailing a residency a postcard to each registered voter of the county, to contract with the United States Postal Service or its licensees to obtain use of postal service change-of-address data.
By requiring county elections officials to provide a higher level or service, this 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, 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.
MAJORITY NO YES YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section of the Elections Code is amended to read: 2222. In addition to mailing a residency confirmation postcard, as prescribed in subdivision (
a) of
Section 2220, the Secretary of State or a county elections official shall contract with the United States Postal Service or its licensees to obtain use of postal service change-of-address data, such as the National Change of Address System (NCOA) and Operation Mail. The data received by the Secretary of State pursuant to this
section shall be shared with county elections officials through the statewide voter registration database. <caml:Num/><caml:Content/></caml:BillSection><caml:BillSection id="id_668FD183-EC3D-4BF4-B548-BB86265E67A5"><caml:Num>SEC. 2.</caml:Num><caml:ActionLine action="IS_AMENDED" xlink:href="urn:caml:codes:ELEC:caml#xpointer(%2Fcaml%3ALawDoc%2Fcaml%3ACode%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'DIVISION'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'2.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'CHAPTER'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'3.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'ARTICLE'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'2.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawSection%5Bcaml%3ANum%3D'2223.'%5D)" xlink:label="fractionType: LAW_SECTION" xlink:type="locator">Section of the <caml:DocName>Elections Code</caml:DocName> is amended to read:</caml:ActionLine><caml:Fragment><caml:LawSection id="id_24D8EEED-630C-4B36-B28D-FA519072A18C"><caml:Num>2223.</caml:Num><caml:LawSectionVersion id="id_94A84268-2343-4852-B5C0-5A95DD6256CC"><caml:Content><xhtml:p>(a)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>In addition to mailing a residency confirmation postcard to each registered voter in the county, the county elections official shall include the return address of the county elections official’s office on the outside portion of the county voter information guide or county voter information guide envelope mailed to the voter for an election conducted within the last six months preceding the start of the confirmation process, along with the statements “Address Correction Requested” and “Notice: If the person named on the county voter information guide is not at the address, please help keep the voter rolls current and save taxpayer dollars by returning this county voter information guide to your mail carrier.”</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(b)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>A voter not eligible for an election during the last six months preceding the start of the confirmation process, or a voter not mailed a county voter information guide with an address correction requested, shall have their address confirmed by either a residency confirmation postcard or an address verification mailing conducted pursuant to this
article using NCOA/Operation Mail data pursuant to
Section or consumer credit reporting agency data pursuant to
Section 2227.</xhtml:p></caml:Content></caml:LawSectionVersion></caml:LawSection></caml:Fragment></caml:BillSection><caml:BillSection id="id_2FCDE748-C72A-465B-9F83-9E9AD2DB7F58"><caml:Num>SEC. 3.</caml:Num><caml:ActionLine action="IS_AMENDED" xlink:href="urn:caml:codes:ELEC:caml#xpointer(%2Fcaml%3ALawDoc%2Fcaml%3ACode%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'DIVISION'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'2.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'CHAPTER'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'3.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'ARTICLE'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'2.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawSection%5Bcaml%3ANum%3D'2224.'%5D)" xlink:label="fractionType: LAW_SECTION" xlink:type="locator">Section of the <caml:DocName>Elections Code</caml:DocName> is amended to read:</caml:ActionLine><caml:Fragment><caml:LawSection id="id_C9ED8F9B-B935-48BC-9DDD-D20EA4586780"><caml:Num>2224.</caml:Num><caml:LawSectionVersion id="id_546E31CE-FDFF-4C15-81B4-D505AA0947ED"><caml:Content><xhtml:p>(a)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>If a voter has not voted in an election within the preceding four years, and the voter’s residence address, name, or party preference has not been updated during that time, the county elections official shall send an alternate residency confirmation postcard.
The use of this postcard may be sent subsequent to NCOA or county voter information guide returns, but shall not be used in the residency confirmation process conducted under
Section 2220.
The postcard shall be forwardable, including a postage-paid and preaddressed return form to enable the voter to verify or correct the address information, and shall be in substantially the following form:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>“If the person named on the postcard is not at this address, PLEASE help keep the voter rolls current and save taxpayer dollars by returning this postcard to your mail carrier.”</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>“IMPORTANT NOTICE”</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>“According to our records you have not voted in any election during the past four years, which may indicate that you no longer reside in ____ County.
If you continue to reside in California you must confirm your residency address in order to remain on the active voter list and receive election materials in the mail.”</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>“If confirmation has not been received within days, you may be required to provide proof of your residence address in order to vote at future elections.”</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(b)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The use of a toll-free number to confirm the old residence address is optional.
A change to a voter’s address shall be received in writing.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(c)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>A county using the alternate residency confirmation procedure shall notify all voters of the procedure in the county voter information guide or in a separate mailing.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(d)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>This
section shall become inoperative on January 1, 2020, and, as of January 1, 2029, is repealed.</xhtml:p></caml:Content></caml:LawSectionVersion></caml:LawSection></caml:Fragment></caml:BillSection>"?>
SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to