Title ELEC, California Elec. Code

The provisions of this code relating to the form of petitions, the duties of the county elections official, and the manner of holding elections shall govern the petition procedure and submission of the ordinance to the voters. (Added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 312, Sec. 23. Effective Ja…

(a) Across the top of each page of the referendum petition there shall be printed the following: “Referendum Against an Ordinance Passed by the City Council” (b) Each section of the referendum petition shall contain all of the following: (1) The identifying number or title of the…

Petitions shall be accepted for filing by the elections official and the determination of the number of signatures thereon shall be made by the elections official in accordance with Section 9210. Petitions shall be filed with the elections official of the legislative body of the …

After the petition has been filed as herein provided, the elections official shall examine the petition and certify the results in the same manner as are county petitions in Sections 9114 and 9115 except that, for the purposes of this section, references to the board of superviso…

If the legislative body does not entirely repeal the ordinance against which the petition is filed, the legislative body shall submit the ordinance to the voters, either at the next regular municipal election occurring not less than 88 days after the order of the legislative body…

Signatures upon petitions, and sections thereof, shall be secured, and the petition, together with all sections thereof, shall be filed, within 30 days from the date of the adoption of the ordinance to which it relates. Petitions and sections thereof shall be filed with the elect…

Elections pursuant to this article shall be held in accordance with Sections 9217 to 9225, inclusive. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

Whenever the legislative body of a city has voted in favor of the repeal of an ordinance protested against by the voters, as provided in this article, and the mayor, or like officer, has vetoed the repeal, the failure of the legislative body to pass the repeal over the veto shall…

If approval of an ordinance by the mayor or like officer is necessary, the date of approval shall be deemed the date of its final passage by the legislative body within the meaning of this article. If an ordinance becomes law when the time for approval or veto has expired, and no…

Any duty imposed in this chapter upon the legislative body of a city with regard to calling a municipal election, or in connection with an election called pursuant to this chapter, is likewise imposed upon any officer having any duty to perform connected with the election, so far…

Article 1 (commencing with Section 9200) and this article do not apply to cities having a charter adopted under Section 3 of Article XI of the California Constitution, and having in their charters any provision for the direct initiation of ordinances by the voters; nor to proceed…

Within 14 days after the meeting at which the governing body received the certificate of sufficiency as specified in Section 11227, the governing body shall issue an order stating that an election shall be held pursuant to this article to determine whether or not the officer name…

If the governing board fails to issue the order within the time specified in Section 11240, the county elections official, within five days, shall set the date for holding the election. If the recall is to be voted on by voters in more than one county, the elections official of t…

(a) The election shall be held not less than 88, nor more than 125, days after the issuance of the order. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the election may be conducted within 180 days after the issuance of the order so that the election may be consolidated with a regularly s…

(a) The elections official conducting local, special, or consolidated elections, or statewide elections other than the direct primary, presidential primary, or general election, for the purpose of the election, may divide the territory within which the election is to be held into…

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code, the ballots to be counted by means of electronic or electromechanical devices may be of a size, composition, and texture that, and may be printed in any type of ink or combination of inks that, will be suitable for use in the cou…

The names of the candidates and the respective offices shall be printed on the ballot in parallel columns at least 2 inches wide. (Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 57, Sec. 8. (AB 2835) Effective January 1, 2019.)

Where electromechanical vote tabulating devices are used to count all or part of the ballots, the names of presidential candidates may be printed in the same column as the names of candidates for other offices. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

The ballots may contain printed code marks or punched holes that may be used for placing the ballots in correct reading position in the counting devices. The code marks or punched holes shall not be used in any way that will reveal the identity of the voters voting the ballots. (…

The county voter information guide provided pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 13300) shall include a substantial facsimile of the official ballot, including instructions to voters. (Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 422, Sec. 61. (AB 2911) Effective January 1, 2017.)

The device for marking the ballot may be of any size, shape, or form, and the impression made on the ballot may be in the form of a cross, square, circle, rectangle, or any other design that will clearly indicate the choice of the voter. Any type of ink or other substance that wi…

The statement of all measures submitted to the voters shall be abbreviated on the ballot in a ballot label as provided for in Section 9051. The ballot label shall be followed by the words, “Yes” and “No”, except for a statewide referendum measure. The ballot label for a statewide…

(a) A person offering to vote may be orally challenged within the polling place only by a member of the precinct board upon any or all of the following grounds: (1) That the voter is not the person whose name appears on the roster. (2) That the voter is not a resident of the prec…

A piece of mailed matter returned undelivered by the post office shall not be accepted or used as evidence upon which to initiate a challenge as to residency by any member of the precinct board unless other evidence or testimony is also presented, nor shall the mailed matter, sta…

The ground for challenge set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 14240 shall not apply to any person duly registered as a voter in any precinct in California and moving from that precinct within 14 days prior to an election. (Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 811, Sec.…

If the challenge is on the ground that the person seeking to vote is not the person whose name appears on the roster, a member of the precinct board shall tender the following oath: “You do swear (or affirm) that you are the person whose name is entered on the roster.” (Amended b…

If the challenge is on the ground that the person seeking to vote is not a resident of the precinct, or in an election conducted using a voter center, not a resident of the county, the person challenged shall be sworn to answer questions, and after having been sworn, a member of …

If the challenge is on the ground that the person challenged has already cast a ballot for this election, a member of the precinct board shall tender to the person challenged this oath: “You do swear (or affirm) that you have not previously voted in this election, either by vote …

If the challenge is on the ground either that the person challenged is not the person whose name appears on the roster, or that he or she has voted that day, the challenge shall be determined in favor of the person challenged if that person takes the oath as set forth either in S…

Challenges of voters that they are not residents of the precinct or citizens of the United States shall be tried and determined by the precinct board at the time of the challenge. The precinct board may, at its discretion, also request any other person, present in the polling pla…

Before administering an oath to a person regarding his or her place of residence, a member of the precinct board shall read to the person challenged, the rules prescribed by Section 14249 and Article 2 (commencing with Section 2020) of Chapter 1 of Division 2. (Enacted by Stats. …

If any person challenged refuses to take the oaths tendered, or refuses to be sworn and to answer the questions concerning the matter of residence, that person shall not be allowed to vote. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

The precinct board, in determining the place of residence of any person, shall be governed by the rules set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 2020) of Chapter 1 of Division 2. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

Any doubt in the interpretation of the law shall be resolved in favor of the challenged voter. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

The precinct board shall compile a list showing all of the following: (a) The name and address of each person challenged. (b) The name, address, and any other identification as a voter, of each person offering information concerning any person’s qualifications to vote, or testify…

In the event that the precinct board determines that persistent challenging of voters is resulting in a delay of voting sufficient to cause voters to forego voting because of insufficient time or for fear of unwarranted intimidation, the board shall discontinue all challenges, an…

This article applies to all elections in which votes are counted by means of a voting machine at a polling place or vote center. (Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 806, Sec. 73. (SB 286) Effective January 1, 2018.)

(a) As soon as the polls are closed on election day, the precinct board, in the presence of the watchers and all others lawfully present, shall immediately lock the voting machine against voting and do all of the following: (1) Count the votes cast on voting machines and report t…

Upon receipt of the result of votes cast from the precinct boards, the elections official shall do either of the following: (a) Compile and make available to the public the received results as to the offices and measures. (b) Compare the received results to the results provided t…

(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…

From moneys appropriated by the Legislature, the Controller shall reimburse counties for additional costs incurred by counties for purging voter registration files pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 2220). (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

Any claim submitted to the Controller pursuant to this article shall state that the county had reimbursable costs and the number of registered voters in the county as determined by the Secretary of State under subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 2187. The claims shall be made to …

The Chairperson of the State Central Committee of the American Independent Party shall notify the Secretary of State on or before the 120th day preceding the presidential primary as to the number of delegates to represent the state in the next national convention of his or her pa…