Voter registration.

Senator Umberg's proposal to criminalize payments for voter registration in California establishes new penalties of up to five years imprisonment and $10,000 in fines for those who offer money or other valuable consideration to induce individuals to register to vote.

The legislation defines "valuable consideration" to include lottery chances and prize-drawing contests, addressing various forms of compensation beyond direct cash payments. The bill creates these provisions as a new section of the Elections Code rather than modifying existing statutes, while specifying that local agencies will not receive state reimbursement for costs associated with enforcing the new crime.

This measure adds to California's existing prohibitions on voter registration misconduct, which currently penalize paid registration workers who fail to provide required information when assisting voters with registration forms. The proposed penalties align with other election-related criminal provisions in state law while introducing specific deterrents against compensating individuals for the act of registering.