• For the first time, voters will be able to apply once and receive permanent absentee status. As long as the voter continues to return the ballot, s/he does not need to reapply for an absentee ballot in future elections.
• Permanent absentee benefits: workers with odd hours, stay-at-home moms, seniors, the disabled and voters who prefer to cast their secret ballot in the privacy of their own homes.

Upgrade voting systems to do away with error-plagued punch card ballots: Implement Proposition 41, a $200 million bond on the March ballot, to pay for this.

• 72% of California voters vote on punch-card machines.
• 55% still use the pre-scored "chad" producing ballots.
• Pre-scored systems have been decertified as of July 2005. That means that counties must upgrade, and more then ever, they need the assistance of Prop. 41 to make that happen.
• The most error-prone machines are located, by an overwhelming margin, in the poorest and most disadvantaged areas of the state.
• In some cases, these machines have error rates nine times higher than more modern equipment.

• One type of punch card machine, the "Votomatic" was introduced in California in 1964 - 38 years ago. That's the year before President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act.

• The result is that if you're poor in California, your vote counts less.
• Prop. 41 would match county funds 3-1 to upgrade voting systems and do away with punch card machines.
• CA voters have always invested in infrastructure. This is the infrastructure of democracy.

Fight for same-day registration.

• We should remove every impediment to voting, including arbitrary deadlines that might prevent somebody looking to be actively involved in the electoral process from going to the polls.
• In 2000, same-day registration would have put 6 million voters into play on Election Day nationwide. But because they didn't register by the deadline, they were shut out of the electoral process.

Implement AB 55, the Omnibus Vote Reform Act of 2002

• Lengthen voting hours.
  • We don't live in a 9-to-5 world any more, but poll hours are still designed for people vote before or after work.
• Improve poll worker training.
• Pollworkers need to know: how to address every situation that might arise at a polling place:
  • How to equip a voting booth for a wheelchair;
  • How to provide a ballot in another language;
  • That they have a responsibility to provide another ballot if a voter makes a mistake.
• Mandate the posting of a Voter's Bill of Rights in every polling place.
  • Every voter should know his or her rights when s/he steps into a voting booth, but many do not. Just as we want to train poll workers, we need to advise every voter of the procedures to be followed in the event of a problem that could deprive him/her of his/her vote.

• Work with all media to publicize the need for voter registration and the importance of voting.

  • California's educational campaigns work. We have changed behaviors and gotten people to:
    • Stop smoking;
    • Wear seat belts;
    • Recycle;
    • The same results could be achieved with voter participation.
  • We're at an unusual moment in time when we are focused on what it means to be an American, and one of the most crucial aspects of that is the right to be heard at the ballot box. We should take advantage of the patriotic groundswell and emphasize the importance of participating in elections.
• Partner with the state's largest non-profits to extend community-organized registration drives.
  • These groups have the on-the-ground knowledge and manpower to conduct large-scale voter registration drives. We should eliminate any barriers that these groups face when it comes to registering citizens.
  • Community groups have always been active in moving large segments of the population to civic action. They have proven to be incredible resources and should not be ignored.
• Partner with retail chains to make voter registration materials available.
  • Registration information should not be kept in an ivory tower at city or county office buildings, where few people are likely to see it. As Secretary of State, I will partner with leading retail chains to bring this information directly to the voters, rather than forcing them to take the time to seek out the information.
  • Retail chains have played a significant role in public benefit projects before, for example Target's work to raise money for the restoration of the Washington Monument two years ago.
• Create an expanded oversight division to ensure that all California elections are handled with absolute integrity and professionalism.
• Create a mechanism within the Secretary of State's office of voter fraud to monitor the integrity of elections statewide.
• Appoint monitors to watch specific districts that have had irregularities in the past and place perennially problematic districts into receivership.
• Require all polling places to be accessible to people with disabilities.

  • Ensure that all polling places meet or exceed the accessibility standards in the Americans with Disabilities Act.

  • Train poll-workers to provide appropriate assistance to voters who need it.
• Create a Youth Voting Corps, consisting of students from every California high school and university to encourage registration among students.
  • Train these in-school registrars to assist their peers with the registration process.
  • Include a voter registration form with every high school diploma.
• Allow online registration and move towards Internet voting.
  • I believe the technology exists today to allow online voter registration. That's a good first step.
• Promote early, absentee and mail-in voting.
  • Vote-by-mail reduces the cost of elections, increases participation and makes voting easier for citizens with hectic schedules who may not be able to vote on Election Day.

• Expand the "Safe at Home Program" program that protects victims of domestic violence and stalking.
  • Increase staff from two to eight. Increase budget from $200,000 to $750,000. Use additional budget for outreach, including multi-lingual support, and administration.
• Protect the voter file from misuse.
  • Criminalize the use of information gathered as part of a signature drive for any commercial purpose.
• Crack down on signature gatherers who sell information they collect to commercial users.

• Demand stricter accountability for accurate and on-time corporate filings.
• Allow business documents to be filed online with the Secretary of State's office using digital signatures.
  • Make the Secretary of State's Web site interactive, so that forms can be filled out and submitted online.
  • Bring California into compliance with the Electronic Signatures Act, signed by President Clinton in 2000, which gives "electronic" signatures intended to complete legal agreements or commercial transactions the same legal status as a formal signature scrawled out on a paper document.
• Propose and publicize exemptions from corporate fees for new businesses in high-growth industries (such as high-tech), as well as those locating in disadvantaged areas.
  • Waive filing fees.
  • Commission a study into the feasibility of tax credits, as well

• Extend the International Business Relations Program (IBRP) to work with the Governor's Trade Office and foreign companies to encourage investment in California - especially from natural partners in the Far East and Latin America.

  • The IBRP is currently under-funded and English-only. I will make this agency proactive while making all Secretary of State Web sites multilingual. This will increase California's ability to attract business from other countries.
• Expand and improve the Domestic Partners Registry.
  • Provide Domestic Partners with a certificate suitable for framing.
  • Mandate that all front-office staff receive sensitivity training

• Expand online offerings of both institutions.
  • The state's sheer size means that Sacramento is inaccessible to many Californians who may need the resources of the Golden State Museum or the State archives for research, etc. Placing this information online makes the state's resources more accessible to all Californians.
• Support Golden State Museum efforts to support operations through the use of private grants.
  • The museum is currently funded by a foundation, which is responsible for all operations: staff, volunteer programs, store, exhibits and publications