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WHEREAS a provision of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) mandates that voter registration be offered to public benefit applicants and clients at Medi-Cal, WIC, Food Stamps, Welfare or other public assistance offices and that these agencies be designated as voter registration offices to provide voter registration assistance that will increase voter registration rates among low income and disabled eligible voters; and

WHEREAS California public assistance agencies provide services to millions of adults annually, their compliance with the NVRA is one of the lowest in the nation with only 20,355 clients registered from November 2004 to November 2006 and that County level data for the same period indicates that Los Angeles County registered only 72 clients while Alameda, Orange, San Bernardino, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Napa and Sacramento counties reported  zero (0) clients registered; and

WHEREAS the California Democratic Party is committed to assure that all Californians, including the economically disadvantaged are able to exercise their right to vote and that public benefit clients have legal rights under the NVRA to register to vote when accessing public services and that California’s public assistance agencies have fallen short of the NVRA mandate;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the California Democratic Party advocates full compliance of the National Voter Registration Act and requests that California’s  Secretary of State and the Office of the Attorney General,  review and take all corrective measures within their respective capacities,  to assure that California’s public assistance agencies gain full compliance with the NVRA; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the California Democratic Party will transmit a copy of this resolution to the Speaker of the State Assembly, the State Senate President Pro Tem and Democratic Members of the State Legislature.  

Submitted by
Mickie Solorio Luna, Chair
Chicano Latino Caucus
Ray Gonzalez, Chief of Staff
Chicano Latino Caucus, CA Democratic Party