Title ELEC — California Elec. Code

(a) The Secretary of State may seek all of the following relief for an unauthorized change in hardware, software, or firmware in a voting system certified or conditionally approved in California: (1) A civil penalty from the offending party or parties, not to exceed ten thousand …

(a) The Secretary of State may seek injunctive relief requiring an elections official, or any vendor or manufacturer of a voting machine, voting system, or vote tabulating device, to comply with the requirements of this code, the regulations of the Secretary of State, and the spe…

For purposes of this division, “state-approved testing agency” means a person or entity that is authorized by the Secretary of State to conduct the testing and examination of a voting system in connection with certification or conditional approval of the voting system pursuant to…

The Secretary of State shall do all of the following: (a) Publish requirements for the approval of state-approved testing agencies that are authorized to conduct the testing and examination of voting systems. Until the requirements are published, federally accredited voting syste…

The person, corporation, or public agency applying for certification of a voting system is responsible for all costs associated with the testing of the voting system.

The Secretary of State shall use a state-approved testing agency or expert technicians to examine and test voting systems or parts of voting systems proposed for use or sale in this state. He or she shall furnish a complete report of the findings of the examination and testing to…

(a) The elections official of any county, city, or city and county using a voting system shall inspect the machines or devices at least once every two years to determine their accuracy. Any county, city, or city and county using leased or rented equipment shall determine if the e…

(a) If the Secretary of State has reason to believe that a local inspection of equipment is not adequate, he or she may cause the equipment to be reexamined, at any time prior to six months before a statewide election, to ensure that the voting system or parts of the voting syste…

The Secretary of State shall review voting systems periodically to determine if they are defective, obsolete, or otherwise unacceptable. The Secretary of State has the right to withdraw his or her certification or conditional approval previously granted under this chapter of any …

The Secretary of State shall conduct random audits of the software installed on direct recording electronic voting systems, as defined in Section 19271, to ensure that the installed software is identical to the software that has been approved for use on that voting system. The Se…

It is the intent of the Legislature that California voting system standards and elections comply with the provisions of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20901 et seq.) that require voting systems be accessible for individuals with disabilities, including …

As used in this article: (a) “Access” means the ability to receive, use, select, and manipulate data and operate controls included in voting technology and systems. (b) “Nonvisual” means synthesized speech, braille, and other output methods that do not require sight.

(a) The Secretary of State shall adopt and publish rules and regulations governing any voting technology and systems used by the state or any political subdivision that provide voters with disabilities the access required under the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C.…

In requiring access for voters with disabilities pursuant to this article, the Secretary of State shall obtain recommendations from representatives of blind consumer organizations, experts in accessible software and hardware design, and any other individual or organization the Se…

Compliance with this article in regard to voting technology and systems purchased prior to the effective date of this article shall be achieved at the time of procurement of an upgrade or replacement of existing voting equipment or systems.

(a) A person injured by a violation of this article may maintain an action for injunctive relief to enforce this article. (b) An action for injunctive relief shall be commenced within four years after the cause of action accrues. (c) For purposes of this section, a cause of actio…

This article does not apply to voting by vote by mail ballot.

This article shall be known and may be cited as the Voting Modernization Bond Act of 2002 (Shelley-Hertzberg Act).

The State General Obligation Bond Law (Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 16720) of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code), except as otherwise provided herein, is adopted for the purpose of the issuance, sale, and repayment of, and otherwise providing with respe…

As used in this article: (a) “Board” means the Voting Modernization Board, established pursuant to Section 19256. (b) “Bond” means a state general obligation bond issued pursuant to this article adopting the provisions of the State General Obligation Bond Law. (c) “Bond act” mean…

(a) The Voting Modernization Finance Committee is hereby established for the purpose of authorizing the issuance and sale, pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law, of the bonds authorized by this article. (b) The committee consists of the Controller, the Director of Fin…

(a) The committee may create a debt or debts, liability or liabilities, of the State of California, in the aggregate amount of not more than two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000), exclusive of refunding bonds, in the manner provided herein for the purpose of creating a fund …

The Legislature may amend subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 19254 and Section 19256 by a statute, passed in each house of the Legislature by rollcall vote entered in the respective journals, by not less than two-thirds of the membership in each house concurring, if the statute …

The Voting Modernization Board is hereby established and designated the “board” for purposes of the State General Obligation Bond Law, and for purposes of administering the Voting Modernization Fund. The board consists of five members, three selected by the Governor and two selec…

(a) All bonds authorized by this article, when duly sold and delivered as provided herein, constitute valid and legally binding general obligations of the State of California, and the full faith and credit of the state is hereby pledged for the punctual payment of both principal …

Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, there is hereby continuously appropriated from the General Fund, for purposes of this article, a sum of money that will equal both of the following: (a) That sum annually necessary to pay the principal of, and the interest on,…

For purposes of this article, the Director of Finance may, by executive order, authorize the withdrawal from the General Fund of a sum of money not to exceed the amount of the unsold bonds that have been authorized by the committee to be sold pursuant to this article. Any sums wi…

The board may request the Pooled Money Investment Board to make a loan from the Pooled Money Investment Account, in accordance with Section 16312 of the Government Code, for the purpose of carrying out this article. The amount of the request shall not exceed the amount of unsold …

Upon request of the board, supported by a statement of its plans and projects approved by the Governor, the committee shall determine whether to issue any bonds authorized under this article in order to carry out the board’s plans and projects and, if so, the amount of bonds to b…

(a) The committee may authorize the Treasurer to sell all or any part of the bonds authorized by this article at the time or times established by the Treasurer. (b) Whenever the committee deems it necessary for an effective sale of the bonds, the committee may authorize the Treas…

Out of the first money realized from the sale of bonds as provided by this article, there shall be redeposited in the General Obligation Bond Expense Revolving Fund, established by Section 16724.5 of the Government Code, the amount of all expenditures made for purposes specified …

Any bonds issued and sold pursuant to this article may be refunded in accordance with Article 6 (commencing with Section 16780) of Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The approval of the voters for the issuance of bonds under this article includes…

Notwithstanding any provision of the bond act, if the Treasurer sells bonds under this article for which bond counsel has issued an opinion to the effect that the interest on the bonds is excludable from gross income for purposes of federal income tax, subject to any conditions w…

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that, inasmuch as the proceeds from the sale of bonds authorized by this article are not “proceeds of taxes” as that term is used in Article XIII B of the California Constitution, the disbursement of these proceeds is not subject to the l…

(a) The Secretary of State shall not certify or conditionally approve a direct recording electronic voting system unless the system includes an accessible voter verified paper audit trail. (b) On and after January 1, 2006, a city or county shall not contract for or purchase a dir…

As used in this article: (a) “Accessible” means that the information provided on the paper cast vote record from the voter verified paper audit trail mechanism is provided or conveyed to voters via both a visual and a nonvisual method, such as through an audio component. (b) “Dir…

To the extent that they are available for expenditure for the purposes of this article, federal funds or moneys from the Voting Modernization Fund, created pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 19254, shall be used. No moneys from the General Fund shall be expended for the purpo…

(a) On a direct recording electronic voting system, the electronic record of each vote shall be considered the official record of the vote, except as provided in subdivision (b). (b) (1) The voter verified paper audit trail shall be considered the official paper audit record and …

The Secretary of State shall not certify or conditionally approve a direct recording electronic voting system unless the paper used for its voter verified paper audit trail is of sufficient quality that it maintains its integrity and readability throughout the retention period sp…

(a) For each statewide election, the Secretary of State shall conduct parallel monitoring of each direct recording electronic voting system on which ballots will be cast. This section shall only apply to precincts that have more than one direct recording electronic voting system.…

As used in this article “person” includes a firm, association, corporation, campaign committee or organization. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

It is unlawful for any person that includes in any part of its name the name of any political party that was qualified to participate in the last preceding primary election, to directly or indirectly solicit funds for any purpose whatsoever upon the representation either express …

It is unlawful for any person who solicits funds for the purpose of supporting or promoting any candidates or committees to include in any part of its name the name of that candidate or committee unless that person shall have previously obtained the authorization of the candidate…

Any person who solicits or receives contributions on behalf of any candidate or committee for the purported and exclusive use of that committee or the candidate’s election campaign and who is not authorized by the candidate or committee or the candidate’s or committee’s designate…

The registration of a voter is permanent for all purposes during his or her life, unless and until the affidavit of registration is canceled by the Secretary of State or the county elections official for any of the causes specified in this article.

(a) The county elections official shall cancel the registration in the following cases: (1) At the signed, written request of the person registered. (2) When the mental incompetency of the person registered is legally established as provided in Sections 2208, 2209, 2210, and 2211…

(a) The county elections official shall preserve all uncanceled affidavits of registration in a secure manner that will protect the confidentiality of the voter information consistent with Section 2194. The affidavits of registration shall constitute the register required to be k…

The local registrar of births and deaths shall notify the county elections official not later than the 15th day of each month of all deceased persons 16 years of age and over, whose deaths were registered with him or her or of whose deaths he or she was notified by the State Regi…

The Secretary of State shall adopt regulations to facilitate the availability of death statistics from the State Department of Health Services. The data shall be used by the Secretary of State or county elections officials in canceling the affidavit of registration of deceased pe…

(a) A person is presumed competent to vote regardless of the person’s conservatorship status. A person shall be deemed mentally incompetent, and therefore disqualified from voting, if, during the course of any of the proceedings set forth below, the court finds by clear and convi…