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Assembly committee advances SB 3 to standardize signature-curing forms and ballot notices
Summary
The Assembly Elections Committee on July 16 approved SB 3, which would limit signature-curing forms to those produced by the Secretary of State or county registrars and add a notice to vote-by-mail envelopes about signature comparison practices.
The Assembly Elections Committee on July 16 voted to pass SB 3 as amended and re-refer the bill to the Committee on Appropriations. The measure, authored by Senator Cervantes and presented to the committee, would require county registrars to accept only signature-curing forms that come from the Secretary of State or the county registrar and add a notice on vote-by-mail envelopes informing voters that signatures may be compared with other signatures the county has on file.
Senator Cervantes told the committee the bill grew out of a March informational hearing on signature curing and is a companion to Assembly Bill 827. "SB 3 is a manifestation of what we learned from senate elections' March informational hearing about the signature curing process," Cervantes said, and she told members she accepted the committee's suggested amendments.
The bill's principal changes aim to reduce the proliferation of campaign-created curing forms and the resulting inconsistent practices by county registrars. Cervantes said the envelope notice could remind voters that their ballot signature may be compared with signatures on file, which may include a driver's license signature.
There were no primary witnesses in support or opposition in the hearing room. Assemblymember Bennett moved the bill and Assemblymember Stephanie seconded. The clerk called the roll and recorded the committee's action as "do pass as amended and be re-referred to appropriations." The clerk announced the bill was out "4 to 0" at the time of that roll call and that the roll would be kept open for absent members.
The committee record shows the bill's amendments were accepted and staff worked with the author on technical changes. No formal opposition testimony was presented at the hearing.
If enacted, SB 3 would constrain which signature-curing forms county registrars may accept and require an envelope notice to voters about signature comparison; the bill does not change the underlying rules for how registrars adjudicate signature validity.
