Voter registration: residency confirmation.

Senator Choi's voter registration legislation mandates that California election officials employ multiple methods simultaneously to verify voter residency, departing from current law that allows officials to choose between sending confirmation postcards or using postal service data. The proposal requires both county election offices and the Secretary of State to contract with the U.S. Postal Service to obtain change-of-address information while continuing to mail residency confirmation postcards to all registered voters.

The bill establishes additional verification requirements for county election officials, who must include return address information and specific forwarding instructions on voter information guide mailings. Officials must also send alternate confirmation postcards to voters who have not participated in elections or updated their information within the previous four years. The postal service data obtained through these contracts would be shared with county officials through California's statewide voter registration database.

These expanded requirements constitute a state-mandated local program. The legislation specifies that if the Commission on State Mandates determines the new provisions create costs for local agencies, reimbursement will occur through existing statutory mechanisms. The alternate confirmation procedures would remain in effect through January 2029.