Election crimes: payment based on voting or voter registration.

Senator Umberg's elections integrity measure would establish criminal penalties for offering financial or prize-based incentives to induce voting or voter registration in California. The legislation creates a new offense for knowingly providing or promising money or other valuable consideration, including lottery entries, contingent on a person's voting status or registration.

The bill outlines specific exemptions to preserve legitimate voter assistance activities, including transportation to polling places, government-provided compensation, and employer-granted voting leave. Violations would be punishable by fines up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to three years, or both. The measure explicitly defines "valuable consideration" to encompass both direct payments and indirect benefits like contest entries or prize drawings.

While creating this new criminal offense requires involvement from local law enforcement agencies, the bill stipulates that local jurisdictions will not receive state reimbursement for associated costs, as the changes fall under established exemptions for new crime definitions in the California Constitution. The provisions would take effect immediately upon enactment, requiring political organizations, voter outreach groups, and law enforcement to adapt their practices accordingly.