An act to amend Section 2196 of the Elections Code, relating to elections.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.
Section 2196 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
2196.
(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person who is qualified to register to vote and who has a valid California driver’s license or state identification card may submit an affidavit of voter registration electronically on the Internet Web site of the Secretary of State.
(2) An affidavit submitted pursuant to this section is effective upon receipt of the affidavit by the Secretary of State if the affidavit is received on or before the last day to register for an election to be held in the precinct of the person submitting the affidavit.
(3) The affiant shall affirmatively attest to the truth of the information provided in the affidavit.
(4) For voter registration purposes, the applicant shall affirmatively assent to the use of his or her signature from his or her driver’s license or state identification card.
(5) For each electronic affidavit, the Secretary of State shall obtain an electronic copy of the applicant’s signature from his or her driver’s license or state identification card directly from the Department of Motor Vehicles.
(6) The Secretary of State shall require a person who submits an affidavit pursuant to this section to submit all of the following:
(A) The number from his or her California driver’s license or state identification card.
(B) His or her date of birth.
(C) The last four digits of his or her social security number.
(D) Any other information the Secretary of State deems necessary to establish the identity of the affiant.
(7) Upon submission of an affidavit pursuant to this section, the electronic voter registration system shall provide for immediate verification of both of the following:
(A) That the applicant has a California driver’s license or state identification card and that the number for that driver’s license or identification card provided by the applicant matches the number for that person’s driver’s license or identification card that is on file with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
(B) That the date of birth provided by the applicant matches the date of birth for that person that is on file with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
(8) The Secretary of State shall
employ
use
security measures to ensure the accuracy and integrity of voter registration affidavits submitted electronically pursuant to this section.
(b) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall
utilize
use
the electronic voter registration system required by this section to comply with its duties and responsibilities as a voter registration agency pursuant to the federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973gg et seq.).
(c) The Department of Motor Vehicles and the Secretary of State shall develop a process and the infrastructure to allow the electronic copy of the applicant’s signature and other information required under this section that is in the possession of the department to be transferred to the Secretary of State and to the county election management systems to allow a person who is qualified to register to vote in California to register to vote under this section.
(d) If an applicant cannot electronically submit the information required pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (a), he or she shall nevertheless be able to complete the affidavit of voter registration electronically on the Secretary of State’s Internet Web site, print a hard copy of the completed affidavit, and mail or deliver the hard copy of the completed affidavit to the Secretary of State or the appropriate county elections official.
(e) This chapter shall become operative upon the date that either of the following occurs:
(1) The Secretary of State certifies that the state has a statewide voter registration database that complies with the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 15301 et seq.).
(2) The Secretary of State executes a declaration stating that all of the following conditions have occurred:
(A) The United States Election Assistance Commission has approved the use of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 15301) funding to provide online voter registration in advance of the deployment of the statewide voter registration database or other federal funding is available and approved for the same purpose.
(B) The Department of Motor Vehicles and the Secretary of State have developed a process and the infrastructure necessary to implement paragraph (5) of subdivision (a).
(C) All county election management systems have been modified to receive and store electronic voter registration information received from the Secretary of State in order to allow a person who is qualified to register to vote in California to register to vote under this section.
(f) For purposes of implementing this chapter as expeditiously as possible, if it becomes operative pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (e), the Secretary of State’s office shall be exempt from information technology requirements included in Sections 11545, 11546, and 11547 of the Government Code and Section 12100 of the Public Contract Code, and from information technology project and funding approvals included in any other provision of law.

Summary: Under existing law, operative when the Secretary of State certifies that the state has a statewide voter registration database that complies with the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 or executes a declaration stating that certain conditions have occurred, a person who is qualified to register to vote and who has a valid California driver’s license or state identification card is authorized to submit an affidavit of voter registration electronically on the Internet Web site of the Secretary of State.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.