July 7, 2011 - The California Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting passed a bill (SB 397) on Tuesday that would allow citizens in California to register to vote online. The bill passed the committee by a party line vote of 5-2, with Democrats voting in favor of the measure and Republicans voting against it.
SB 397 is supported by a cross section of unions including the SEIU, the California Teachers Association, and the California Nurses Association, as well as California Common Cause and the California National Organization for Women. MapLight was unable to find documentation of opposition to the measure.
July 5, 2011 Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee Vote (YES: 5 | NO: 2)
- The five lawmakers voting in favor of passage received on average over $36,000 in contributions connected to interest groups that support this bill (Teachers unions, Health worker unions, Women's issues, Consumer groups, etc).
- The two lawmakers voting against the measure, Dan Logue and David Valadao, did not receive any contributions connected to the interest groups supporting the measure.
June 2, 2011 Senate Floor Vote (YES: 25 | NO: 14 | 1 voted present/not voting)
- Interest groups that support this bill (Teachers unions, Health worker unions, Women's issues, Consumer groups, etc.) gave 5.4 times as much to senators who voted 'YES' ($25,106) as they gave to senators who voted 'NO' ($4,664).
Methodology: A MapLight analysis of reported campaign contributions to Assemblymembers in office on day of vote, from interest groups invested in the vote according to MapLight, January 1, 2009 – December 31, 2010. A MapLight analysis of reported campaign contributions to senators in office on day of vote, from interest groups invested in the vote according to MapLight, January 1, 2007 – December 31, 2010. Campaign contributions data source: FollowTheMoney.org.
