Legislation to Streamline Voter Registration to Eligible Voters Heads to the Governor

(SACRAMENTO) –SB 299, authored by Senator Monique Limón to expand voter participation passed out of the Senate today and is headed to the Governor for consideration. SB 299 seeks to register the more than 4 million Californians who are all eligible to vote but are not currently registered.

“Our democracy thrives when more voices are heard, and every citizen has the power to influence the decisions that affect their lives,” said Senator Monique Limón. “Today, over 4 million Californians are eligible to vote but are not registered. By streamlining the process to register to vote, we have the ability to empower millions more to head to the voting booth.” 

Specifically, SB 299 builds upon the current Motor Voter program by granting the Secretary of State the authority to develop a process to generate a pre-approved list of eligible voters that interacts with the California DMV. This database would include millions of DMV customers who have not registered to vote during their license transaction, but who have provided the DMV with a U.S. passport, a U.S. birth certificate, or other clear proof of U.S. citizenship and age. 

"With the passage of SB 299, California has taken a major step towards righting the wrongs created by discriminatory voter registration requirements of a bygone era. At a time when other states are doing everything they can to make it harder to vote, Governor Newsom has an opportunity to ease the remaining barriers to voter participation that we know disproportionately impact Californians who are young, low-income or of color,” said Arnold Sowell Jr., Executive Director, NextGen California.

“The passage of SB 299 has been a long time coming for California – we can take pride that California is making the critical improvements to add the 4.7 million eligible but unregistered Californians to the rolls while improving protections for non-citizens. We are proud to see this bill finally make it to Governor Newsom’s desk and are thrilled to expand participation in our democracy while strengthening elections for all eligible voters in the Golden State,” said Sam Oliker-Friedland, Executive Director, Institute for Responsive Government Action.

California is no stranger to making election improvements, in 2015 California successfully implemented the first version of automatic voter registration at the DMV. Legislation like SB 299, where the DMV transmits information to election officials for people who provide a set of specified U.S. citizenship documents, has been adopted by 10 other states and Washington, D.C..

“The passage of SB 299 marks a historic step toward creating opportunities for all eligible citizens to participate in California’s Democracy, especially for Asian American immigrant and refugee families like mine. Many children and relatives of immigrants and refugees serve as interpreters and civic navigators for our family members and communities. SB 299 will remove one more barrier to exercising our constitutional right to vote. As an advocate for voting rights, the California Grassroots Democracy Coalition has demonstrated the power of a multiracial movement committed to equity and racial justice,” said Sydney Fang, Policy Director, AAPIs for Civic Empowerment.

“Voter Registration is rooted in an ugly legacy of racism and discrimination against communities of color. We commend the California legislature for doing the right thing and taking steps to undo the aftermath of the Jim Crow-era policies and practices. This is what Democracy looks like,” said Lanae Norwood, SB 299 Campaign Manager. 

“The civic duty of voting is central to building and sustaining a multiracial democracy. Orange County Action knows firsthand the barriers that our communities face when registering to vote, with nearly 355,000 eligible unregistered voters in Orange County alone. From our countless hours in the field registering people of color and low-income communities, SB 299 is the transformative solution we have needed to remove this critical barrier in our democracy,” said Jonathan Paik, Executive Director, OC Action

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Monique Limón represents the 19th Senate District, which includes Santa Barbara, Ventura, Goleta, Buellton, Carpinteria, Guadalupe, Lompoc, Santa Maria, Solvang, Camarillo, Fillmore, Ojai, Oxnard, Santa Paula, and Port Hueneme. She currently serves as the Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus and as Chair of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee.