Title ELEC, California Elec. Code

(a) All ballots of the same sort prepared by any county elections official, clerk or secretary of a legislative body, or other person having charge of preparing ballots for the same polling place, shall be precisely the same size, arrangement, quality and tint of paper, and kind …

At the top of the first page of the ballot shall be printed in at least 16-point bold type the words “Official Ballot.” Beneath this heading, the name of the election shall be printed in at least 12-point bold type and, in the case of a partisan primary election, the official par…

(a) The instructions to voters shall be printed below the ballot identification and above the contests to be voted on, or in the first column of the ballot as long as no contest is placed below the instructions in that column. The instructions shall be in at least 10-point type a…

(a) (1) On the partisan ballot used in a direct primary election, immediately before or above the contest for President, the following words shall be printed on ballots of parties that require registration as a member of the party to vote in the party’s primary election: “Party-N…

(a) (1) On the ballot used in a statewide general election in each year evenly divisible by the number four, immediately before or above the contest for President, the following words shall be printed: “Party-Nominated Offices Candidates for these offices are the official nominee…

(a) There shall be printed on the ballot in parallel columns all of the following: (1) The respective offices. (2) The names of candidates with sufficient blank spaces to allow the voters to write in names not printed on the ballot, except that no spaces shall be printed for vote…

(a) A voting target shall be printed next to the name of each voting option. The voting targets shall be used by the voters to express their choices as provided for in the instruction to voters. (b) The standard voting target shall be at least 0.12 inches across in either dimensi…

Whenever a foreign translation of the ballot is required by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended by Public Law 94-73, to appear on the ballot as well as the English language version, the ballot may be so designed as to place the foreign translation next to the voting…

(a) In the case of candidates for delegate to national convention, there shall be printed in at least 10-point bold type, the words, “President of the United States” and “Vote for one group only.” (b) In the case of candidates for President and Vice President, the words “Vote for…

The names of the candidates shall be printed on the ballot, without indentation, in at least 10-point bold type. (Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 676, Sec. 26. (AB 1219) Effective January 1, 2024.)

(a) Each group of names of candidates for a particular office shall be printed in immediate succession to another group of names of candidates for a particular office so as to avoid unnecessary spacing or gaps in the sequence in which each series of groups of names are listed on …

(a) (1) In jurisdictions required to provide translated ballot materials pursuant to Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10503), as that section may be amended from time to time, any ballot that provides a translation of a candidate’s name shall c…

Except for a voter-nominated office at a general election, under the designation of each office shall be printed as many blank spaces, defined by light lines, as there are candidates to be nominated or elected to the office. (Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 676, Sec. 28. (AB 1219) Ef…

Each group of names of candidates for a particular office shall be separated from the succeeding group. Each series of groups shall be headed by a caption that reads “President of the United States,” “President and Vice President,” “State,” “United States Senator,” “United States…

All sides of the columns on the ballot shall be bordered. The binding or stitching of each package of ballots shall be along the top or head of the ballot. If ballots are to be used on a ballot on demand system or another system that prints content onto ballots, ballots are not r…

(a) The ballots may be printed on the same leaf with a stub not over one inch in depth. The stub may be separated from the ballot by a horizontal perforated line or rule from side to side. Upon this stub shall be printed only the number of the ballot. (b) Stubs are not required o…

A ballot stub may be used for a ballot. The ballots may contain printed and distinguishing marks if secrecy in voting is protected. (Repealed and added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 676, Sec. 32. (AB 1219) Effective January 1, 2024.)

(a) The number on each ballot shall be the same as that on the corresponding stub, and the ballots and stubs shall be numbered consecutively in each county, or the ballots and stubs may be numbered consecutively within each combination of congressional, senatorial, and Assembly d…

(a) The Secretary of State shall establish a ballot design advisory committee to assist the Secretary of State to promulgate regulations that prescribe ballot design and format. (b) The ballot design advisory committee shall consist of the Secretary of State, or the secretary’s d…

When printed, all ballots shall be bound in stub books, of such size as the clerk may determine. A record of the number of ballots printed shall be kept by the officer authorizing the printing. If stubs are not used pursuant to Section 13216, ballots may be bound by another metho…

If two or more officers are to be elected for the same office for different terms, the terms for which each candidate for the office is nominated shall be printed on the ballot as a part of the title of the office. If at a general election an office is to be filled for a full ter…

A member of each precinct board shall cause the following voting information to be publicly posted at each polling place: (a) A sample version of the ballot that will be used for the election. (b) Information regarding the date of the election and the hours during which polling p…

(a) In counties and precincts where the Secretary of State has determined that it is appropriate, the county elections official shall provide facsimile copies of the ballot, as described in subdivision (b), with the ballot measures and ballot instructions printed in Spanish, one …

(a) Before opening the polls, the precinct board shall post in separate, convenient places at or near the polling place, and of easy access to the voters, at least one printed copy of the voter list for that polling place. The copies of the voter list shall be by street address i…

The precinct officer shall post the signs required by Section 14106 in plain view within each voting booth or compartment whenever an election has been canceled pursuant to Section 8026. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

For every election, the elections official shall conduct a semifinal official canvass by tabulating vote by mail and precinct ballots and compiling the results. The semifinal official canvass shall commence immediately upon the close of the polls and shall continue without adjour…

(a) The elections official shall transmit the semifinal official results to the Secretary of State in the manner and according to the schedule prescribed by the Secretary of State prior to each election, for the following: (1) All candidates voted for statewide office. (2) All ca…

Neither the elections official, any member of a precinct board, nor any other person shall count any votes, either for a ballot proposition or candidate, until the close of the polls in that county. After that time, the ballots for all candidates and ballot propositions voted upo…

During the semifinal official canvass, write-in votes shall be counted in accordance with Article 3 (commencing with Section 15340) of Chapter 4. (Repealed and added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 1073, Sec. 27. Effective January 1, 1999.)

(a) Any ballot that is not marked as provided by law shall be rejected. The rejected ballots shall be placed in the package marked for voted ballots or in a separate container as directed by the elections official. All rejected ballots shall have written on the ballot the cause f…

The Secretary of State shall not approve any voting system, or part of a voting system, unless it fulfills the requirements of this code and the regulations of the Secretary of State. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

(a) (1) The Secretary of State may grant conditional approval to a voting system or part of a voting system under either of the following circumstances: (A) A voting system or part of a voting system was decertified as a result of a review by the Secretary of State pursuant to Se…

(a) Except as authorized by Section 19209, a voting system, in whole or in part, shall not be used unless it has been certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State prior to any election at which it is to be used. (b) A voting system that has been tested and approv…

The Secretary of State shall not certify or conditionally approve a voting system or a part of a voting system that uses paper ballots unless the paper used for the ballots is of sufficient quality that it maintains its integrity and readability throughout the retention period sp…

The Secretary of State shall not certify or conditionally approve any voting system that includes features that permit a voter to produce, and leave the polling place with, a copy or facsimile of the ballot cast by the voter at that polling place. (Added by renumbering Section 19…

(a) The Secretary of State shall not certify or conditionally approve a voting system that cannot facilitate the conduct of a ballot level comparison risk-limiting audit. (b) (1) For purposes of this subdivision, a voting system that is “noncompliant” is a voting system that cann…

A voting system shall comply with all of the following: (a) No part of the voting system shall be connected to the internet at any time. (b) No part of the voting system shall electronically receive or transmit election data through an exterior communication network, including th…

Except as authorized by Section 19209, both of the following apply: (a) If more than one voting system is used to count ballots, the names of candidates shall, insofar as possible, be placed on the primary voting system. (b) If more than one voting system or a combination of a vo…

The governing board may adopt for use at elections any kind of voting system, any combination of voting systems, or any combination of a voting system and paper ballots, provided that the voting system or systems involved have been certified or conditionally approved by the Secre…

(a) An elections official or the governing body of any jurisdiction that administers elections shall use a voting machine, as defined in Section 361, or a voting system, as defined in Section 362, that has been certified pursuant to this division, to do all of the following: (1) …

The governing board may provide for the payment of the cost of the voting system equipment in any manner and by any method as it deems best for local interests, and also may for that purpose issue bonds, certificates of indebtedness, or other obligations that shall be a charge on…

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “Commercial off-the-shelf” means mass-produced, readily available hardware devices, including card readers, printers, or personal computers, and their firmware or software products, including o…

(a) A person, corporation, or public agency owning or having an interest in the sale or acquisition of a voting system or a part of a voting system may apply to the Secretary of State for certification that includes testing and examination of the applicant’s system by a state-app…

(a) Prior to publishing his or her decision to certify, conditionally approve, or withhold certification of a voting system or part of a voting system, the Secretary of State shall provide for a 30-day public review period and conduct a public hearing to give persons interested a…

(a) (1) No later than 10 business days after the Secretary of State certifies or conditionally approves the use of a new or updated voting system, the vendor or county seeking certification or approval of the voting system shall cause an exact copy of the approved source code for…