Section 2103 Of Article 1. General Provisions From California Elections Code >> Division 2. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 1.
2103
. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the election
board of each county, in order to promote and encourage voter
registrations, shall establish a sufficient number of registration
places throughout the county, and outside the county courthouse, for
the convenience of persons desiring to register, to the end that
registration may be maintained at a high level.
(b) It is also the intent of the Legislature that county elections
officials, in order to promote and encourage voter registrations,
shall enlist the support and cooperation of interested citizens and
organizations, and shall deputize as registrars qualified citizens in
such a way as to reach most effectively every resident of the
county. The persons so deputized shall be permitted to register
voters anywhere within the county, including at the places of
residence of the persons to be registered, and the county elections
official shall not deny deputy registrars the right to register
voters anywhere in the county.
(c) It is also the intent of the Legislature that
non-English-speaking citizens, like all other citizens, should be
encouraged to vote. Therefore, appropriate efforts should be made to
minimize obstacles to registration by citizens who lack sufficient
skill in English to register without assistance.
(d) Where the county elections official finds that citizens
described in subdivision (c) approximate 3 percent or more of the
voting age residents of a precinct, or in the event that interested
citizens or organizations provide information which the county
elections official believes indicates a need for registration
assistance for qualified citizens described in subdivision (c), the
county elections official shall make reasonable efforts to recruit
deputy registrars who are fluent in a language used by citizens
described in subdivision (c) and in English. That recruitment shall
be conducted through the cooperation of interested citizens and
organizations and through voluntarily donated public service notices
in the media, including newspapers, radio, and television,
particularly those media that serve the non-English-speaking citizens
described in subdivision (c). Deputy registrars so appointed shall
facilitate registration in the particular precincts concerned and
shall have the right to register voters anywhere in the county.
(e) In furtherance of the purposes of this section, the governing
board of any county, city, city and county, district, or other public
agency may authorize and assign any of its officers or employees to
become deputy registrars of voters and to register qualified citizens
on any premises and facilities owned or controlled by those public
agencies during the regular working hours of the officers or
employees. With the exception of firefighters, any compensation to
which the officer or employee may be entitled in payment for the
services of the officer or employee as a deputy registrar may be paid
by the authority that appointed the officer or employee as a deputy
registrar to the public agency that regularly employs the officer or
employee.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that no limitation be
imposed on the number of persons appointed to act as deputy
registrars of voters.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that county elections
officials be permitted to distribute affidavits of registration and
voter registration cards, in all languages required by Section 203
(42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973aa-1a) or Section 4(f)(4) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973b
(f)(4)) of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, by using the county'
s Internet Web site.