Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
My Turn: ‘Motor Voter’ Was a Disaster Waiting to Happen. And It Did.
By admin
Published 6 years ago on
December 22, 2018

Share

In his re-election statement posted on the secretary of state’s website, Secretary of State Alex Padilla boasts: “In my first term, I’ve worked to expand access to the ballot box.”


Opinion
John M.W. Moorlach
Special to CALmatters

In September, the Department of Motor Vehicles admitted it made 23,000 erroneous registrations.
Perhaps he can take credit for some gains, but his “motor voter” program is a disaster and ought to be shut until it is fixed. In September, the Department of Motor Vehicles admitted it made 23,000 erroneous registrations. Serious questions about the integrity of the program must be answered.
Expanding access is worse than worthless without voting integrity. This is not a partisan issue. It’s about protecting the righteousness of our election system, which is a sacred responsibility in a democracy and one that rests with the Secretary of State.
Although the DMV is a troubled department, Padilla must take ownership of Motor Voter’s problems. He sponsored the bill establishing the program in 2015, Assembly Bill 1461 by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher, a San Diego Democrat.
Under the bill, when a citizen obtains or renews a driver’s license or state ID card, the DMV must automatically transfer voter registration information to the Secretary of State’s office.
At hearings on the bill, ACLU representative Raul Macias testified: “I think a key part that’s missing is we haven’t heard from the DMV about if they think they are capable of doing this and what is the accuracy of their data. That’s critical information.”

Doubting DMV’s Ability to Properly Handle Data

The ACLU’s concerns were prescient. It doubted the DMV’s ability to properly handle and transfer the necessary personal data to the Secretary of State.
The ACLU also pointed out that motor voter, as originally created on the federal level, envisioned an opt-in system, not the opt-out system California was putting in place.  Huge difference. The problem with the opt-out program is it does not provide adequate protection against data errors.
The newly registered voter receives a postcard in the mail stating they have been registered to vote. If they object, they need to notify the local registrar of voters to be removed from voter rolls. In the end, large numbers of non-citizens unwittingly are added to the state’s voter files, ironically putting themselves at risk of deportation.
In hearings on the bill, Padilla actually testified twice that AB 1461 would make the registration process more secure. Asked how much confidence he had in the DMV’s record-keeping systems, Padilla replied:
“I don’t assume the incompetence of the DMV.”
Apparently, he never has spent hours in a DMV line, as many Californians have done. The situation was so bad in September that Gov. Jerry Brown ordered an audit of the DMV.

More Than 3.3 Million Lawful Permanent Residents in California

The ACLU said there were more than 3.3 million lawful permanent residents in California and that even a small margin of error could result in hundreds or more mistakenly added to the voter rolls. That scenario has now played out.

The ACLU said there were more than 3.3 million lawful permanent residents in California and that even a small margin of error could result in hundreds or more mistakenly added to the voter rolls. 
Curiously, the bill was amended late in its legislative process with provisions protecting noncitizens from prosecution under state law, although not federal law.
Another late change: cutting out a provision requiring the DMV to provide the Secretary of State with proof the newly registered person is a citizen eligible to vote. The final wording specifically said the DMV was not required to determine eligibility for voter registration and voting. Rather, the Secretary of State is solely responsible for determining eligibility.
In other words, Padilla, as our Chief Elections Officer, is responsible for ensuring the integrity of our elections system, including the registration process.
On my state website, I have posted letters related to the Motor Voter disaster. On Nov. 9, Padilla wrote to me, “I share with you my deep frustration with these persistent errors by the DMV” and the California Department of Technology, which supervises the DMV’s data systems, “and have called for an independent third-party review.”
That’s not enough. A major embarrassment was bound to happen. The Motor Voter must be suspended until it’s fixed, and it’s Padilla responsibility to fix it. And legislators should quickly take up Senate Bill 57 by Senate Republican Leader Pat Bates, of Laguna Niguel, which would change Motor Voter to an opt-in system.
About the Writer
Sen. John M.W. Moorlach is a Costa Mesa Republican representing the 37th Senate District, senator.moorlach@senate.ca.gov. He wrote this commentary for CALmatters.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Paul Atkins Sworn in as US SEC Chair

DON'T MISS

UnitedHealth Spent $1.7 Million on Executive Security in 2024, Filing Shows

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Appears Likely to Uphold Obamacare’s Preventive Care Coverage Mandate

DON'T MISS

Woman in Fresno Mansion Fraud Case Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion

DON'T MISS

California Prisoner Indicted for Exploiting Child Victim While Incarcerated

DON'T MISS

Kennedy Plans to Phase Out 8 Commonly Used Food Dyes

DON'T MISS

The Superintendent Search Document FUSD Does Not Want You to See

DON'T MISS

Trump Approval Rating Dips. Many Wary of His Wielding of Power, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

DON'T MISS

Fresno Woman, Tied to Fentanyl ‘M30 King,’ Sentenced to Federal Prison

DON'T MISS

Tesla Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit Claiming Sudden Acceleration in Ohio Crash

UP NEXT

Steeply Discounted OD-Reversal Medicine Now Available to Any Californian

UP NEXT

Zakaria Draws Parallels Between Trump’s Tariffs, Failed 1930s Economic Policies

UP NEXT

AI ‘Friend’ for Public School Students Falls Flat

UP NEXT

Progressive Icon and Ex-US Rep. Barbara Lee Wins Race for Mayor of Oakland

UP NEXT

Bakersfield Push to Restore Kern River Seeks to Revitalize City

UP NEXT

Americans Haven’t Found a Satisfying Alternative to Religion

UP NEXT

What Happens After a Homeless Person Is Arrested for Camping? Often, Not Much

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified Trustees Passed Over a National Superintendent of the Year

UP NEXT

Protest Planned in Clovis Targets the Trump Administration

UP NEXT

LA’s Schools Chief Knows What It’s Like to Be Undocumented

Woman in Fresno Mansion Fraud Case Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion

5 hours ago

California Prisoner Indicted for Exploiting Child Victim While Incarcerated

5 hours ago

Kennedy Plans to Phase Out 8 Commonly Used Food Dyes

5 hours ago

The Superintendent Search Document FUSD Does Not Want You to See

5 hours ago

Trump Approval Rating Dips. Many Wary of His Wielding of Power, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

5 hours ago

Fresno Woman, Tied to Fentanyl ‘M30 King,’ Sentenced to Federal Prison

6 hours ago

Tesla Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit Claiming Sudden Acceleration in Ohio Crash

6 hours ago

Trump Is Dismantling the Education Dept. How That Might Harm Special Ed

6 hours ago

Special Interests Pour More Than Half a Billion Into CA Lobbying

7 hours ago

Texas Walmart Shooter Who Killed 23 Avoids Death Penalty by Pleading Guilty

7 hours ago

Paul Atkins Sworn in as US SEC Chair

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Paul Atkins, who previously served as a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission member from 2002 to 2008 and wa...

3 hours ago

CEO of Patomak Global Partners Paul Atkins takes part in a strategic and policy CEO discussion with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Eisenhower Execution Office Building in Washington, U.S., April 11, 2017. (REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo)
3 hours ago

Paul Atkins Sworn in as US SEC Chair

The corporate logo of the UnitedHealth Group appears on the side of one of their office buildings in Santa Ana, California, U.S., April 13, 2020. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)
3 hours ago

UnitedHealth Spent $1.7 Million on Executive Security in 2024, Filing Shows

5 hours ago

US Supreme Court Appears Likely to Uphold Obamacare’s Preventive Care Coverage Mandate

Pilar Rose, 51, formerly of Fresno, pleaded guilty to tax evasion and obstructing an IRS audit, agreeing to forfeit her mansion and BMW after falsifying financial records to evade taxes and secure fraudulent loans. (Zillow)
5 hours ago

Woman in Fresno Mansion Fraud Case Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion

Nathaniel Ray Diaz, 21, of Greenfield, is a California state prisoner who has been indicted on federal charges on Monday, April 21, 2025, for allegedly directing a minor to send sexually explicit images while serving time for previous offenses against the same child. (Shutterstock)
5 hours ago

California Prisoner Indicted for Exploiting Child Victim While Incarcerated

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at a news conference about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest autism survey in Washington, April 16, 2025. In his first attempt to significantly change the nation’s food supply, Kennedy will direct food manufacturers to phase out eight petroleum-based food dyes that are found in hundreds of thousands of grocery-store staples, the department said on Monday, April 21. (Pete Kiehart/The New York Times)
5 hours ago

Kennedy Plans to Phase Out 8 Commonly Used Food Dyes

5 hours ago

The Superintendent Search Document FUSD Does Not Want You to See

President Donald Trump attends the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 21, 2025. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)
5 hours ago

Trump Approval Rating Dips. Many Wary of His Wielding of Power, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend