BILL NUMBER: SJR 6CHAPTERED BILL TEXT RESOLUTION CHAPTER 94 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 29, 2013 ADOPTED IN SENATE APRIL 15, 2013 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 26, 2013 INTRODUCED BY Senator Yee FEBRUARY 25, 2013 Relative to the Lines Interfere with National Elections Act of 2013. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SJR 6, Yee. The Lines Interfere with National Elections Act of 2013. This measure would proclaim the Legislature's support for the federal Lines Interfere with National Elections Act of 2013, and would memorialize the Congress of the United States to promptly pass the act and President Barack Obama to sign the act. WHEREAS, The right to vote is a fundamental right of citizens of the United States; and WHEREAS, It is a fundamental principle of our representative democracy that citizens shall not be required to overcome unreasonable obstacles in order to exercise their right to vote; and WHEREAS, At the presidential election on November 6, 2012, voters in Florida, Virginia, Ohio, and other states waited in line for up to seven hours to cast ballots, and some voters were required to wait in line well after the polls were closed; and WHEREAS, More than 200,000 voters in Florida likely decided not to vote in the election held on November 6, 2012, because of their frustration with long lines; and WHEREAS, United States Senator Barbara Boxer has introduced in Congress the Lines Interfere with National Elections Act of 2013, which would amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 15301 et seq.) to ensure that voters in elections for federal office do not wait in long lines in order to vote; and WHEREAS, The Lines Interfere with National Elections Act of 2013 would require the United States Attorney General, in consultation with the Election Assistance Commission, to issue standards by January 1, 2014, regarding the minimum number of voting systems, poll workers, and other election resources needed on election day and during early voting periods to prevent a waiting time of more than one hour at any polling place; and WHEREAS, The Lines Interfere with National Elections Act of 2013 would require states where a substantial number of voters waited longer than 90 minutes to cast a vote in the presidential election held on November 6, 2012, or any election for federal office held after that date, to comply with a remedial plan to minimize the waiting times of voters and to ensure voters do not face similar delays in the future; and WHEREAS, An election system with fair access provides the greatest guard to our rights and liberties; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California supports the Lines Interfere with National Elections Act of 2013 and respectfully memorializes the Congress of the United States to promptly pass the act and President Barack Obama to sign the act; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.