(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), a person who receives money or other valuable consideration to assist another to register to vote by receiving the completed affidavit of registration from the elector, and fails to comply with Section 2159, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months or if the failure to comply is found to be willful, not exceeding one year, or both.
(b) A person who receives money or other valuable consideration to assist another to register to vote by receiving the completed affidavit of registration from the elector, upon a third or subsequent conviction, on charges brought and separately tried, for failure to comply with Section 2159 shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or both.
(c) This section does not apply to a public agency or its employees that is designated as a voter registration agency pursuant to the federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20501 et seq.), if an elector asks for assistance to register to vote during the course and scope of the agency’s normal business.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 86, Sec. 123. (SB 1171) Effective January 1, 2017.)