{"id":2570,"date":"2020-02-28T10:30:45","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T17:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=2570"},"modified":"2020-02-28T13:38:54","modified_gmt":"2020-02-28T20:38:54","slug":"senators-patricia-bates-and-john-moorlach-author-voter-roll-accuracy-act-to-increase-election-integrity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=2570","title":{"rendered":"Senators Patricia Bates and John Moorlach Author \u201cVoter Roll Accuracy Act\u201d to Increase Election Integrity"},"content":{"rendered":"

SACRAMENTO\u2014Senators Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) and John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) announced that they have jointly introduced the \u201cVoter Roll Accuracy Act\u201d (Senate Bill 994<\/a>) to increase the accuracy of county voter rolls by requiring jury commissioners to share relevant changes in a prospective juror\u2019s voter registration data with county election\u00a0officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cElection integrity is integral to a thriving democracy,\u201d\u00a0said Senator Bates. \u201cIt is paramount that county voter rolls be carefully and accurately maintained to ensure only eligible citizens can vote. County voter rolls that include duplicate names and deceased individuals are susceptible to fraud and abuse, and SB 994 presents a simple fix to that problem.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

SB 994 would require jury commissioners to share relevant updates in voter registration data, as received from prospective juror questionnaires during the jury selection process, with county election\u00a0officials. Jury commissioners currently use county voter lists as one method to randomly select potential jurors.<\/p>\n

\u201cJury Commissioners have access to data that could effectively be utilized by county election officials to maintain and clean up the voter rolls,\u201d\u00a0said Senator Moorlach.\u00a0\u201cSB 994 is a common sense solution that allows for communication and collaboration between the officials tasked with upholding two of the most critical civic duties: voting and serving on a jury.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Senators Bates and Moorlach authored SB 994 because state courts disqualify thousands of people summoned for jury service each year after determining they do not meet basic requirements. Disqualifying factors include death, not being a U.S. citizen, not being a resident of California or the county issuing the summons, and for being under 18 years of age.<\/p>\n

According to 2017-18 Jury Data Report numbers obtained from the California Secretary of State\u2019s office, state trial courts sent at least 8,976,414 jury summons. Of that amount:<\/p>\n