Sen. Yee's Bill Expands Access to Voter Registration

On Monday, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senator Leland Yee’s (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) SB 44, which will require all state websites to add a link to the Secretary of State’s voter registration.

Yee authored the bill in order to expand access to the online voter registration system implemented last year. Since the implementation of online voter registration, over one million Californians have registered to vote online.

“Bringing voter registration online was only the first step,” said Yee. “Now we can better utilize technology and bring more people into the fold. This is a great day for making our democracy more accessible to everyone.”

Under Yee’s SB 44, each website maintained by the state would be required to have a link on the site’s homepage directing people to the online registration website.

Data collected after last year’s November election shows that those who registered to vote using the new online system were significantly more likely to cast a ballot in the November election.

It is estimated that only 76.7 percent of those eligible in California are registered to vote, leaving nearly six million Californians eligible, but unregistered.

“Eligible voters should be able to easily access online voter registration and not get lost in the maze of state websites,” said Philip Ung, Policy Advocate for California Common Cause. “SB 44 will make accessing Online Voter Registration as easy as visiting any State government website and clicking on a link. Simple, clean, and efficient.”

“Voting is a fundamental citizen right, and the state should take a strong role in making registering to vote easy and accessible,” said League of Women Voters of California President Jennifer A. Waggoner. “A voter registration link on every state website will bring more citizens into our democratic system.”

“Last November’s election showed a marked rise in participation among young people and first time voters,” said Yee.  “Expanding access to online voter registration is a sure way to see that trend continue.”

61.5 percent of those who used the online registration system were under age 35 (30.8 percent age 18-24, 30.7 percent age 25-34) and 79 percent registered to vote for the first time.

California now has over 18 million registered voters, the most in the state’s history.

The law will go into effect next year, with the links beginning to go live byJanuary 1.