The Board of Supervisors on Wednesday opted to support a state bill on sex trafficking while a call to back voter ID requirements failed.
Supervisors threw their support behind proposed state legislation aimed at protecting teenage sex trafficking victims after a motion by Jim Desmond regarding Assembly Bill 379, which was introduced by Assemblywoman Maggy Krell, D-Sacramento.
Current law states that children up to age 15 are protected as minors in felony sex trafficking cases. Krell’s bill would fix a loophole “by extending that protection to include 16- and 17-year-olds, according to Desmond’s office.
Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe said she favors the bill, but took issue with one section that featured language making it a crime for someone who may simply be talking to a person with no ill intentions, or just driving down a street because they’re lost.
Desmond said he supported her amendment asking the county’s chief administrative officer to urge the Legislature to “redraft this language such that the elements of the offense are defined with clarity and specificity as to the proscribed conduct.”
Meanwhile, supervisors rejected another Desmond proposal, for the county to issue a formal statement in support of voter ID requirements.
He also wanted the county to urge the state to reverse SB 1174, signed into law last year, which bars local governments from requiring people to present identification to vote.
Desmond and Supervisor Joel Anderson voted yes, while Montgomery Steppe was opposed and Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer abstained. The proposal required three yes votes to pass and the District 1 seat remains vacant pending a July special election.
According to Desmond, SB 1174 “strips local control and opens our elections to potential abuse, undermining confidence in the democratic process.”
Desmond’s office contended this week that there is strong national support for voter ID requirements, based on public opinion polls and actions in other states.
He added that he would amend his proposal to support any laws that would allow easier access to ID cards including making them free of charge.
During public comment, some residents argued that Desmond’s proposal was necessary to stop fraudulent voting, while others were concerned about voter suppression.
Montgomery Steppe said she appreciated Desmond mentioning that voter fraud is rare, with between one and 11 convictions for fraud in California on a yearly basis in recent history.
“We don’t need any kind of voter ID requirement to prevent mass voter fraud,” Montgomery Steppe said. “The data does tell us that.”
Montgomery Steppe also noted that there are studies showing that certain communities of color are disproportionately affected by ID requirements. She also said that too often in recent national history, lawmakers have put forward voter ID laws in bad faith, and with the intent to disenfranchise voters because “they don’t like who those voters are likely to vote for.”
As an example, she pointed to Republican lawmakers in Florida, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin who in 2016 bragged privately that voter ID laws would suppress turnout and help their candidates win.
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