Title ELEC, California Elec. Code

(a) If a voter does not have sufficient time outside of working hours to vote at a statewide election, the voter may, without loss of pay, take off enough working time that, when added to the voting time available outside of working hours, will enable the voter to vote. (b) No mo…

Not less than 10 days before every statewide election, every employer shall keep posted conspicuously at the place of work, if practicable, or elsewhere where it can be seen as employees come or go to their place of work, a notice setting forth the provisions of Section 14000. (E…

Sections 14000, 14001, and 14004 shall apply to all public agencies and the employees thereof, as well as to employers and employees in private industry. (Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 223, Sec. 2. (AB 17) Effective January 1, 2020.)

Except in time of war or public danger, no voter is obliged to perform militia duty on any election day. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

(a) An employer shall not require or request that an employee bring the employee’s vote by mail ballot to work or vote the employee’s vote by mail ballot at work. (b) This section does not prohibit an employer from encouraging an employee to vote. (Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 223, …

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the last day for the performance of any act provided for or required by this code shall be a holiday, as defined in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 6700) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, the act may be performed up…

No later than seven days prior to any election conducted pursuant to this code, the elections official shall conduct a test or series of tests to ensure that every device used to tabulate ballots accurately records each vote. The exact methods employed in this test shall conform …

(a) A copy of each election computer vote count program for a statewide election or state special election to fill vacancies shall be deposited with the Secretary of State. The copy of the election computer vote count program shall be received by the Secretary of State no later t…

No later than January 1 of each even-numbered year, the Secretary of State shall review, and if necessary amend, administrative procedures for use with each of the voting systems pursuant to Division 19. (Repealed and added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 1073, Sec. 23. Effective January 1, …

Elections officials shall adopt semifinal official and official canvass procedures to conform to the applicable voting system procedures that have been approved by the Secretary of State. These procedures shall be available for public inspection no later than 29 days before each …

(a) Each qualified political party may employ, and may have present at the central counting place or places, not more than two representatives to check and review the preparation and operation of the tabulating devices, their programming and testing, and have the representatives …

(a) (1) The Attorney General shall provide guidance and information to county elections officials regarding how elections officials, precinct boards, election workers, and election volunteers should respond to requests by an agent of a law enforcement agency to access areas where…

(a) A peace officer shall not interfere in any manner with the administration of any election in this state and in the discharge of duties by the Secretary of State, a county elections official, an election worker, or a volunteer performing required elections-related tasks prescr…

A copy of Section 84305 of the Government Code shall be provided by the elections official to each candidate or his or her agent at the time of filing the declaration of candidacy and to the proponents of a local initiative or referendum at the time of filing the petitions. (Enac…

The general election contest provisions of this division, exclusive of Article 1 (commencing with Section 16700) of Chapter 8, Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 16800), and Article 1 (commencing with Section 16900) of Chapter 10, shall also apply to the recount of votes cast on …

When used in this division, “contestant” means any person initiating an election contest. “Defendant” means that person whose election or nomination is contested or those persons receiving an equal and highest number of votes, other than the contestant, where, in other than prima…

In a contest of the election of presidential electors the action or appeal shall have priority over all other civil matters. Final determination and judgment shall be rendered at least six days before the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December. (Amended by Stats. 20…

The Secretary of State shall establish and maintain administrative complaint procedures, pursuant to the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 21112), in order to remedy grievances in the administration of elections. The Secretary of State shal…

(a) The elections official shall preserve all canceled original affidavits of registration for a period of five years, after which they may be destroyed by that officer. (b) In lieu of preserving the canceled original affidavit of registration, the elections official may, by film…

The elections official shall keep a copy of the roster described in Section 2183 on file as a public record for election, political research, and governmental purposes for a period of five years. (Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 806, Sec. 78. (SB 286) Effective January 1, 2018.)

This division applies to all elections. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

Upon a conviction for any crime punishable by imprisonment in any jail or prison, in relation to which no fine is herein prescribed, the court may impose a fine on the offender not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) in cases of misdemeanors or up to twenty-five thousand doll…

(a) Every person charged with the performance of any duty under any law of this state relating to elections, who willfully neglects or refuses to perform it, or who, in the person’s official capacity, knowingly and fraudulently acts in contravention or violation of any of those l…

This division shall be liberally construed so that the real will of the electors will not be defeated by any informality or failure to comply with all of the provisions of the law. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

Any provision of this division, insofar as it is inconsistent with any other provision of this code relating to the same subject matter, shall be controlling as to any election or precinct for which the provisions of this division are adopted. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Se…

Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, including any city or county ordinance, unless that other provision of the law is deemed consistent with this division, this division shall govern voting systems. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

Voting equipment may be loaned or rented for any purposes with the consent of the board of supervisors, if payment for the expenses incident to the use of the machine is made. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

In the case of electrical failure or other emergency, the official conducting the election may direct that ballots may be marked by pencil or ink. In that event, the elections official may duplicate the voted ballot cards as provided in Section 15210 and count the duplicate ballo…

It is the intent of the Legislature that: (a) All voting systems be certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State, independent of voluntary federal qualification or certification, before they are used in future elections to ensure that the voting systems have the …

The provisions of this code, insofar as they are substantially the same as existing statutory provisions relating to the same subject matter, shall be construed as restatements and continuations, and not as new enactments. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

(a) A person shall not be considered a candidate for, and is not eligible to be elected to, any state or local elective office if the person has been convicted of a felony involving accepting or giving, or offering to give, any bribe, the embezzlement of public money, extortion o…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Truth in Endorsements Law. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

The Legislature hereby finds the following to be true: (1) The major political parties have become an integral part of the American governmental system requiring regulation as to their structure, governing bodies, and functions by state government in the public interest. (2) The …

The superior court, in any case brought before it by any registered voter, may issue a temporary or permanent restraining order or injunction against the publication, printing, circulation, posting, broadcasting, or telecasting of any matter in violation of this chapter, and all …

No candidate or committee in his or her behalf shall represent in connection with an election campaign, either orally or in campaign material, that the candidate has the support of a committee or organization that includes as part of its name the name or any variation upon the na…

Any paid political advertisement that refers to an election or to any candidate for state or local elective office and that is contained in or distributed with a newspaper, shall bear on each surface or page thereof, in type or lettering at least half as large as the type or lett…

(a) Every simulated ballot or simulated county voter information guide shall bear on each surface or page thereof, in type or lettering at least half as large as the type or lettering of the statement or words or in 10-point roman type, whichever is larger, in a printed or drawn …

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a person, committee, as defined in Section 82013 of the Government Code, or other entity shall not, within 60 days of an election at which a candidate for elective office will appear on the ballot, distribute, with actual malice, materia…

(a) The Legislature finds and declares as follows: (1) California has now experienced its first-ever artificial intelligence (AI) election, in which disinformation powered by generative AI can pollute our information ecosystems like never before. Voters often do not know what ima…

(a) Within three court days after a state or local agency or political subdivision files or is served with a court action relating to elections that contains a claim arising under federal law, the state or local agency or political subdivision shall provide written notice to the …

The county elections official in each county shall compile and make available to the Legislature or any appropriate committee of the Legislature any information and statistics that may be necessary for use in connection with the reapportionment of legislative districts, including…

(a) Upon receipt of certified final maps from the Citizens Redistricting Commission setting forth the district boundary lines for congressional, Senatorial, Assembly, and State Board of Equalization districts in accordance with subdivision (g) of Section 2 of Article XXI of the C…

Each house of the Legislature shall be a proper party to, and, if not originally named as a party, shall have the right to intervene in, any action involving the validity or application of any statute that provides for changes in the boundaries of any legislative districts of mem…

(a) (1) In 2030 and in each year ending in the number zero thereafter, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall furnish to the Legislature and the Citizens Redistricting Commission, in the form of a single electronic file for each database maintained by the departme…

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “Certified voting technology” has the same meaning as defined in Section 17600. (2) “Election records” include, but are not limited to, any records that must be kept, retained, preserved, or se…

If any provision of this code or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the code and the application of that provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)