(a) Except as provided in Chapter 4.5, a person shall not be registered as a voter except by affidavit of registration. The affidavit of registration shall be mailed or delivered to the county elections official and shall set forth all of the facts required to be shown by this chapter. A properly executed affidavit of registration shall be deemed effective upon receipt of the affidavit by the county elections official if received on or before the 15th day before an election to be held in the registrant’s precinct. A properly executed affidavit of registration shall also be deemed effective upon receipt of the affidavit by the county elections official if any of the following apply:
(1) The affidavit is postmarked on or before the 15th day before the election and received by mail by the county elections official.
(2) The affidavit is submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles or accepted by any other public agency designated as a voter registration agency pursuant to the federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20501 et seq.) on or before the 15th day before the election.
(3) The affidavit is delivered to the county elections official by means other than those described in paragraphs (1) and (2) on or before the 15th day before the election.
(4) The affidavit is submitted electronically on the Internet Web site of the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 2196 on or before the 15th day before the election.
(b) For purposes of verifying a signature on a recall, initiative, or referendum petition or a signature on a nomination paper or any other election petition or election paper, a properly executed affidavit of registration shall be deemed effective for verification purposes if both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The affidavit is signed on the same date or a date before the signing of the petition or paper.
(2) The affidavit is received by the county elections official on or before the date on which the petition or paper is filed.
(c) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the affidavit of registration required under this chapter shall not be taken under sworn oath, but the content of the affidavit shall be certified as to its truthfulness and correctness, under penalty of perjury, by the signature of the affiant.
(d) A person who is at least 16 years of age and otherwise meets all eligibility requirements to vote may submit his or her affidavit of registration as prescribed by this section. A properly executed affidavit of registration made pursuant to this subdivision shall be deemed effective as of the date the affiant will be 18 years of age, if the information in the affidavit of registration is still current at that time. If the information provided by the affiant in the affidavit of registration is not current at the time that the affidavit of registration would otherwise become effective, for his or her registration to become effective, the affiant shall provide the current information to the proper county elections official as prescribed by this chapter.
(e) An individual with a disability who is otherwise qualified to vote may complete an affidavit of registration with reasonable accommodations as needed.
(f) An individual with a disability who is under a conservatorship may be registered to vote if he or she has not been disqualified from voting.
(Amended (as amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 364, and Stats. 2014, Ch. 909, Sec. 6.5) by Stats. 2015, Ch. 736, Sec. 3.5. (SB 589) Effective January 1, 2016. Amendment by Stats. 2009, Ch. 364, with text revised by this amendment, became operative on September 26, 2016, when the Secretary of State issued the certification prescribed by Sec. 7 of Ch. 364.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018