What is Senate Bill 299 and why do we need it to strengthen California’s democracy?

Right now there are 4.7 million Californians who are eligible but unregistered to vote. This is the largest population of eligible unregistered voters in the country. If these folks were their own state, it’d be the 25th largest in the U.S. This group is disproportionately made up of Asian American, Black, and Latinx citizens*, leading to an electorate that skews whiter than the state as a whole and diminishes the power of historically marginalized communities. This is unacceptable.

Senate Bill 299 (previously SB 846) would upgrade California’s existing automatic voter registration (AVR) system to what’s called a Secure AVR program. This will increase the state’s voter registration, creating a California electorate that reflects our state’s diverse population and providing a path to a true, inclusive democracy for all.

Voter registration was designed in the 1800s as a barrier to participation in order to keep Black, immigrant, low-income, and minority communities from accessing the ballot. By improving California’s voter registration system, we ensure that voting is not a privilege but a right. As voting rights are being attacked across the country, we need to enfranchise all eligible voters in California.

*The Census does not collect sufficient data regarding voter registration rates of Pacific Islanders and Indigenous Americans, which is another barrier to full civic participation.

A smiling woman stands at a voting booth, ready to vote

So, how does it work?

Right now, when individuals go to the DMV, they are asked whether they are eligible to register to vote.

Secure AVR streamlines the process for all eligible voters by automatically verifying an individual’s eligibility to vote based on the documents they provide to the DMV. The system incorporates multiple levels of verification to ensure only eligible individuals are registered. Following the transaction, customers receive a prepaid postcard in the mail letting them know they’ve been registered to vote.

States like Colorado, New Mexico, Minnesota, Oregon, Alaska, Massachusetts, Delaware, Washington, Nevada and the District of Columbia have all already adopted Secure AVR programs with phenomenal success.

In Colorado and Oregon, where this kind of system has been in place for years, declination rates at the DMV are 1% and 6% respectively, compared to 50% here in California. When this system was first adopted in Colorado, registration rates at the DMV doubled overall, and more than doubled for 16-17 year old pre-registrants.

By adopting a Secure AVR model in California, we would be able to register nearly all of the 4.7 million eligible unregistered individuals and remove a key barrier to participation that is disproportionately impacting communities of color across our state.

SB 299's Impact

  • Providing Protections for Non-Citizens

    This kind of truly automatic verification and voter registration system also provides key protections to non-citizens who interact with state agencies. By automatically verifying eligibility based on documentation, Secure AVR filters customers who have shown they are not eligible out of the voter registration process. This protects non-citizens from potentially severe immigration consequences that could result from innocent mistakes if the burden of determining their own eligibility was placed on them in the middle of a transaction, due to, for example, limited language proficiency.

  • Improving the Accuracy of the State Voter File

    Senate Bill 299 would not only help register new eligible voters, but automatically update information for existing voters, as well. This means voter information stays up to date, election mail is more likely to reach its proper destination, and other changes are streamlined across agencies, easing the process for, for example, LGBTQIA+ individuals seeking name changes.

  • Restoring the Freedom to Vote

    Senate Bill 299 would also go a long way to help formerly incarcerated citizens reclaim their constitutionally guaranteed freedom to vote. Many formerly incarcerated individuals often decline registration because they’re unsure if they’re eligible. Secure AVR programs, like the one SB 299 provides for, verify eligibility automatically, so registrants don’t have to worry about making a mistake on their end.

    SB 299 creates a pathway to 100% voter registration so that every eligible Californian can fully participate in a genuine democracy. Join the California Grassroots Democracy Coalition and Californians across our state to make sure that working class communities of color have a voice in our government. We know that our democracy is only as strong as our electorate. Our electorate will only be at its strongest when every eligible Californian is registered to vote.