AB 646:
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Author: |
Kevin McCarty (D-007) |
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Title: |
Elections: Voter Eligibility |
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Fiscal Committee: |
yes |
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Urgency Clause: |
no |
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Introduced: |
02/15/2019 |
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Last Amend: |
03/13/2019 |
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Disposition: |
Pending |
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Location: |
Assembly Appropriations Committee |
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Summary: |
Removes the prohibition against voting by a parolee, thereby allowing a parolee to preregister, register, and vote and makes other technical and conforming changes, contingent on voter approval. |
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Status: |
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05/16/2019 |
In ASSEMBLY Committee on APPROPRIATIONS: Not heard. |
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ACA 6:
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Author: |
Kevin McCarty (D-007) |
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Coauthor |
Bonta (D), Carrillo (D), Wiener (D), Kalra (D), Gipson (D), Gonzalez (D), Weber (D), Stone (D), Mullin (D), Kamlager-Dove (D) |
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Title: |
Elections: Disqualification of Electors |
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Fiscal Committee: |
yes |
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Urgency Clause: |
no |
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Introduced: |
01/28/2019 |
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Last Amend: |
06/12/2019 |
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Disposition: |
Pending |
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Location: |
Assembly Third Reading File |
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Summary: |
Directs the Legislature to provide for the disqualification of electors who are serving a state or federal prison sentence for the conviction of a felony. Deletes the requirement that the Legislature provide for the disqualification of electors while on parole for the conviction of a felony. |
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Status: |
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07/11/2019 |
In ASSEMBLY. Read second time. To third reading. |
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AB 646 would only become operative if ACA 6 was first approved by voters. AB 646 is the statutory companion bill to ACA 6. (Attachment A is the text of ACA 6.)
AB 646 was held in Assembly Appropriations. (Appropriations Committee has a low fiscal threshold that triggers a bill going to the “suspense file,” where legislators work with the Administration and House leadership to determine priority bills that move out of the committee and off of that file.) As long as ACA 6 is on the floor, it would intuitively be the author’s priority to pass through the process first. The author, Assembly Member McCarty, is able to introduce new bills next year, any of which could be re-introductions of AB 646. Basically, ACA 6 could move through the entire process this year. It would just need a statutory companion bill to authorize its contents to become operative, upon approval by the voters.
Because ACA 6 is a constitutional amendment, it is not subject to the legislative timeline that pertains to a bill. However, as a constitutional amendment, it would require a 2/3 vote in each house to pass. ACA 6 could feasibly be taken up for a vote, passed to the Senate, and sent to the Governor before this year’s Legislative session concludes, or it could sit on the floor and be taken up next year. One could assume that the author would want it to apply to the upcoming 2020 election, so an assumption would be that the author would prefer to get it passed through the Legislature this year.
The Assembly Appropriations Committee's analysis of ACA 6 is as follows:
2019 CA ACA 6: Bill Analysis - 07/08/2019 - Assembly Appropriations Committee, Hearing Date 07/10/2019
Date of Hearing: July 10, 2019
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
ACA 6
(McCarty) - As Amended June 12, 2019
Policy Committee: Elections and Vote: 6 - 1
Redistricting
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Reimbursable: No
Program: No
SUMMARY:
This constitutional amendment permits a person on who is on parole for the conviction of a felony to register to vote and to vote. Specifically, this measure:
1) Deletes a provision in the California Constitution that requires the Legislature to provide for the disqualification of electors while on parole for the conviction of a felony.
2) Provides that an elector disqualified from voting while serving a state or federal prison term shall have their right to vote restored upon the completion of their prison term.
FISCAL EFFECT:
One-time GF costs to the Secretary of State (SOS) in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for printing and mailing costs to place the measure on the ballot in a statewide election. Actual costs may be higher or lower, depending on the length of required elements and the overall size of the ballot.
COMMENTS:
1) Background and Purpose. The California Constitution requires the Legislature to prohibit improper practices that affect elections and provide for the disqualification of electors while mentally incompetent, imprisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony.
Statute specifies a person entitled to register to vote must be a United States citizen, a resident of California, not imprisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony and at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election. Current law requires elections officials to cancel the voter registrations of individuals imprisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony. Once an individual completes parole, the right to vote is restored and the individual can re-register to vote In contrast, current law allows an individual on probation for conviction of a felony to vote.
This constitutional amendment, upon approval by the voters, returns the right to vote to otherwise eligible adults on California parole.
2) Related Legislation. AB 646 (McCarty) permits parolees to vote by deleting provisions of law that prohibit a person who is on parole for the conviction of a felony from voting, registering to vote or pre-registering to vote. AB 646 is the statutory companion for ACA 6 and becomes operative only if ACA 6 is approved by the voters. AB 646 is pending in this committee.
3) Other States and Felony Disenfranchisement. According to a 2018 report by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), in two states -Maine and Vermont-- felons never lose their right to vote, even while incarcerated. In 14 states and the District of Columbia, felons lose their voting rights only while incarcerated. In 22 states, felons lose their voting rights during incarceration, and for a period of time after, typically while on parole or probation. In 12 states, felons lose their voting rights indefinitely for some crimes, or require a governor's pardon for their voting rights to be restored, or face an additional waiting period after completion of sentence (including parole and probation) before voting rights can be restored.
According to NCSL, in states that provide an "automatic restoration" of voting rights, it does not mean that voter registration is automatic. Typically, prison officials inform election officials that an individual's rights have been restored and the individual is responsible for re-registering through normal processes. Some states, like California, require voter registration information to be provided to formerly incarcerated people upon the completion of parole.
Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
All Of Us Or None (co-sponsor) (prior version)
American Civil Liberties Union of California (co-sponsor)
Anti-Recidivism Coalition (co-sponsor)
Californians United for a Responsible Budget (co-sponsor) (prior version)
Initiate Justice (co-sponsor) (prior version)
League of Women Voters of California (co-sponsor)
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (co-sponsor) (prior version)
People Over Profits San Diego (co-sponsor)
Secretary of State Alex Padilla (co-sponsor) (prior version)
Alliance for Boys and Men of Color
Anti-Defamation League (prior version)
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - California
Asian Prisoner Support Committee (prior version)
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
Brennan Center for Justice (prior version)
California Calls
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
California Public Defenders Association
California Voices for Progress
Californians for Safety and Justice
Center for Employment Opportunities (prior version)
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (prior version)
Change Begins With ME (prior version)
Community Coalition
Community Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (prior version)
Community Housing Partnership (prior version)
Conference of California Bar Associations
Council on American-Islamic Relations, California
Democratic Woman's Club of San Diego County (prior version)
D'mos (prior version)
East Bay Community Law Center
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (prior version)
Fair Chance Project
FairVote California (prior version)
Feminists In Action Los Angeles
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Homie Universidad Popular (prior version)
Human Impact Partners (prior version)
Indivisible CA: StateStrong a coalition of the following Indivisible groups: (prior version)
All Rise Alameda
Audaz - Indivisible District 40
Building the Base Face to Face
Cloverdale Indivisible
Contra Costa MoveOn
Defending Our Future: Indivisible CA 52
El Cerrito Progressives
Feminists in Action Los Angeles
Indi Squared
Indivisible 30/Keep Sherman
Indivisible 36
Indivisible 41
Indivisible CA-3
Indivisible CA29
Indivisible CA-33
Indivisible CA-37
Indivisible CA-39
Indivisible CA-43
Indivisible East Bay
Indivisible Marin
Indivisible Media City Burbank
Indivisible Normal Heights
Indivisible North Oakland Resistance
Indivisible North San Diego County
Indivisible OC 46
Indivisible OC 48
Indivisible Sacramento
Indivisible San Bernardino
Indivisible San Jose
Indivisible Sausalito
Indivisible Sebastopol
Indivisible SF
Indivisible SF Peninsula and CA-14
Indivisible Sonoma County
Indivisible South Bay LA
Indivisible Stanislaus
Indivisible Suffragists
Indivisible Ventura
Indivisible Windsor
Indivisible Yolo
Indivisible: San Diego Central
Indivisibles of Sherman Oaks
Livermore Indivisible
Mill Valley Community Action Network
Nothing Rhymes with Orange
Orchard City Indivisible
Orinda Progressive Action Alliance
Our Revolution Long Beach
RiseUp
Santa Cruz Indivisible
SFV Indivisible
Tehama Indivisible
The Resistance Northridge
The Resistance Sacramento/Elk Grove
TWW/Indivisible - Los Gatos
Vallejo-Benicia Indivisible
Venice Resistance
Women's Alliance Los Angeles
Indivisible CA-43 (prior version)
Indivisible East Bay
Indivisible Marin (prior version)
Indivisible Project (prior version)
Indivisible San Diego (prior version)
Indivisibles of Sherman Oaks (prior version)
Indivisible South Bay - LA
Indivisible Stanislaus (prior version)
Indivisible Ventura (prior version)
Institute of Democratic Education and Culture dba SpeakOut (prior version)
Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County (prior version)
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area
LitLab (prior version)
Mi Familia Vota
National Association of Social Work, California Chapter
National Center for Youth Law (prior version)
National Immigration Law Center (prior version)
Our Revolution Long Beach (prior version)
Overpass Light Brigade - San Diego (prior version)
Pacific Beach Democratic Club (prior version)
Pasadenans Empowering Parent Participation in Education Governance (prior version)
Peace and Freedom Party of California (prior version)
Peace Resource Center of San Diego
Project Rebound, California State University Fullerton (prior version)
Public Health Justice Collective (prior version)
Resistance Northridge-Indivisible (prior version)
Rock the Vote (prior version)
Root & Rebound
Rubicon Programs
RYSE Center (prior version)
San Francisco Financial Justice Project
Showing Up for Racial Justice Bay Area (prior version)
Showing Up for Racial Justice at Sacred Heart
Smart Justice California (prior version)
STAND--White Men for Racial, Economic and Gender Justice (prior version)
Terps for Bay Area Resistance (prior version)
The Dream Corps, #cut50 (prior version)
Time for Change Foundation
Together We Will/Indivisible - Los Gatos (prior version)
Torrey Pines Democratic Club (prior version)
University of California Student Association
Vashon-Maury Showing Up for Racial Justice (prior version)
Voice of the Experienced (VOTE) (prior version)
Vote Allies (prior version)
We The People - San Diego (prior version)
White People 4 Black Lives (prior version)
Women's Building of San Francisco (prior version)
Several hundred Individuals (prior version)
Opposition
Election Integrity Project California, Inc. (prior version |