February 17, 2005
Dear Attorney General Lockyer:
Pursuant to Elections Code Section 9005, we have reviewed the proposed statutory initiative related to voter identification at polling places (File No. SA2005RF0036).
Current Law. Beginning in 2004, under federal law first-time voters who register by mail have to provide identification at some point in the voting process (either when registering or voting). If identification is not provided, first-time voters can still cast a “provisional” ballot. Provisional ballots are conditional ballots, with voting eligibility confirmed after the election. Other voters are not required to show identification when they vote in person at polling places.
Proposal. This measure requires all voters who vote in person at polling places to show picture identification. Pollworkers would be required to confirm a voter’s identity and record the form of identification used. Voters not providing the required identification could still cast provisional ballots. Violations or attempted violations of the measure’s provisions would be subject to election fraud felony charges.
Counties determine how many precincts and pollworkers to use at each election based on the number of expected voters and the time it takes for each voter to cast a ballot. By requiring additional information to be collected at polling places, the measure could result in some counties increasing the number of pollworkers or polling places. In addition, provisional ballots take longer to process than standard ballots. To the extent the measure increased the number of provisional ballots cast, county processing costs would increase. Any increased county costs from these factors would be incurred at each election held. These costs would probably not be significant.
Fiscal Summary. This measure would have the following major fiscal impact:
Increased county costs to verify voters’ identification at each election held. These costs probably would not be significant.