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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 04231985 - 1.55 a"ll— Aa_?J TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: Contra Phil Batchelor, County Administrator COSta DATE: April 15, 1985 County SUBJECT: Mailing of Affidavit of Registration SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION; Acknowledge receipt of report from County Administrator, in response to Board referral of February 19, 1985. BACKGROUND: • On February 19 , 1985, at the request of Supervisor Fanden, the Board referred to our office concerns which had been expressed because the Elections Office mailed Affidavits of Registration to some residences in the County. Concerns expressed included why this was being done, even though the residents had lived at the same address for some time. Elections Code Section 800 requires the County Clerk to mail a nonforwardable postcard to each registered voter in the County prior to the primary election. If the postcard is returned indicating the person has moved and left no forwarding address , or for whom the forwarding address is outside the County, the County Clerk is required by Elections Code Section 801 to cancel the person' s registration. Elections Code Sections 801(b) and 803 then require the County Clerk to immediately mail a blank affidavit of registration "to the addresses -for which the voter registrations were canceled. . . " The idea behind this procedure, of course, is to try to contact the person who has moved into the address from which a voter registration affidavit has been canceled so that the new resident has an opportunity to register to vote. What the law does not take into account is an instance where, for instance, an adult child who has been registered to vote moves out of his/her parents ' home. In this case, the postcard will be returned, the person' s affidavit of registration will be canceled, and a blank affidavit of registration must be mailed to that address, even though the adult child' s parents may still live at that address. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: llT X RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE X APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) ACTION OF BOARD ON pry I ZJ, 1985 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED _2(— OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ' ) 1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AYES: NOES: AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN ABSENT: ABSTAIN: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. County Administrator CC: County Clerk ATTESTED Assistant County Registrar PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR M3e2/7-e9 BY DEPUTY 4 ' Page 2 In both of the cases brought to our attention, the postcard was returned by the Post Office, and it is entirely possible that this was an adult .child who had moved out of his/her parents ' home. It is important to emphasize that affidavits are not mailed to all residences; only to addresses where a registered voter has moved away from that address. The County Clerk appears to be complying with the requirements of State law in the procedures he is following. I plan to write to the two individuals who complained and explain this procedure.