Title ELEC, California Elec. Code

The vote by mail ballot shall be available to any registered voter. (Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 508, Sec. 15. Effective January 1, 2008.)

A county elections official shall place a notice in an office within the county where applications are taken for federal passports or where military enlistments are received to inform potential military or overseas voters of their right to a vote by mail voter’s ballot and where …

(a) Whenever, on the 88th day before the election, there are 250 or less persons registered to vote in any precinct, the elections official may furnish each voter with a vote by mail ballot along with a statement that there will be no polling place for the election. The elections…

(a) The elections official shall deliver all of the following to each qualified applicant: (1) The ballot for the precinct in which the voter resides. In primary elections, this shall also be accompanied by the ballot for the central committee of the party for which the voter has…

(a) The identification envelope shall contain all of the following: (1) A declaration, under penalty of perjury, stating that the voter resides within the precinct in which the voter is voting and is the person whose name appears on the envelope. (2) The signature of the voter. (…

Whenever the elections official is required to mail a vote by mail voter’s ballot to any elector and the address to which the ballot is to be mailed is a point outside the territorial limits of the United States, the elections official shall mail the vote by mail voter’s ballot t…

Upon delivering or mailing a vote by mail voter’s ballot, the elections official shall enter on the affidavit of registration the type of ballot and the date of delivering or mailing. Before the election the elections official shall send to the inspector of each precinct in their…

(a) The elections official shall provide a replacement ballot to any voter upon receipt of a replacement ballot request from the voter. Both of the following apply to a request made pursuant to this subdivision: (1) The voter making the request shall provide to the elections offi…

(a) Notwithstanding subdivision (f) of Section 14310, vote by mail voters who return to the polling place designated for their home precincts on or before election day, or go to a vote center established pursuant to Section 4005, or to the office or satellite office of an electio…

Vote by mail voters who return to the polling place designated for their home precincts on or before election day, or go to a vote center established pursuant to Section 4005, or to the office or satellite office of an elections official where voting is permitted, shall be issued…

(a) No later than 29 days before the day of the election, any voter using a vote by mail ballot may, prior to the close of the polls on election day, vote the ballot at the office of the elections official or a satellite location. The voter shall vote the ballot in the presence o…

(a) A voter may vote their vote by mail ballot, without the identification envelope, in person at the office of the county elections official, a satellite location, the polling place designated for the voter’s home precinct, or a vote center established pursuant to Section 4005, …

(a) The Secretary of State shall promulgate regulations setting forth procedures that a county elections official shall follow to allow a voter to vote their vote by mail ballot in person pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 3016.3 and Secti…

The county elections official shall permit any voter to cast a ballot using a certified remote accessible vote by mail system, regardless of whether the voter is a voter with disabilities or a military or overseas voter. (Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 312, Sec. 3. (AB 37) Effective…

(a) (1) All vote by mail ballots cast under this division shall be voted on or before the day of the election. After marking the ballot, the vote by mail voter shall do any of the following: (A) Return the ballot by mail or in person to the elections official who issued the ballo…

(a) (1) Upon receiving a vote by mail ballot, the elections official shall compare the signature on the identification envelope with either of the following to determine if the signatures compare: (A) The signature appearing on the voter’s affidavit of registration or any previou…

(a) A county elections official shall establish a free access system that allows a vote by mail voter to learn if the voter’s vote by mail ballot was counted and, if not, the reason why the ballot was not counted. For each election, the elections official shall make the free acce…

(a) The Secretary of State shall maintain a system to allow a vote by mail voter to track the voter’s vote by mail ballot through the mail system and as the vote by mail ballot is processed by the county elections official. A county elections official shall use this system unless…

(a) All vote by mail ballots cast under this division shall be received by the elections official from whom they were obtained or by the precinct board no later than the close of the polls on election day. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), any vote by mail ballot cast under th…

(a) Upon the declaration of an out-of-state emergency by the Governor and the issuance of an executive order authorizing an out-of-state emergency worker to cast a ballot outside of their home precinct, a county elections official shall, upon request of an out-of-state emergency …

Each ballot that is delivered pursuant to this chapter shall be accompanied by a state voter information guide, unless the voter has already been provided a state voter information guide. The state voter information guide shall display the Internet Web site address for a voter to…

The cost to administer vote by mail ballots where issues and elective offices related to school districts, as defined by Section 17519 of the Government Code, are included on a ballot election with noneducation issues and elective offices shall not be fully or partially prorated …

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “Vote by mail ballot drop box” means a secure receptacle established by a county or city and county elections official whereby a voted vote by mail ballot may be returned to the elections offic…

(a) (1) A county that does not conduct an election pursuant to Section 4005 shall provide at least two vote by mail ballot drop-off locations within the jurisdiction where the election is held or at least one vote by mail ballot drop-off location for every 30,000 registered voter…

(a) A county that conducts a statewide primary or statewide general election in accordance with Section 3025.5 or 4005 shall, in addition to the vote by mail ballot drop-off locations required by those sections, provide the following vote by mail ballot drop-off locations: (1) Th…

(a) The Secretary of State shall promulgate regulations establishing guidelines for county elections officials relating to the processing of vote by mail ballots. (b) The Secretary of State shall evaluate the necessity for procedures that will protect voters’ personally identifyi…

Unless the provision or the context otherwise requires, these general provisions, rules of construction, and definitions shall govern the construction of this code. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

A local, special, or consolidated election may be conducted wholly by mail provided that all of the following conditions apply: (a) The governing body of the local agency authorizes the use of mailed ballots for the election. (b) The election is held on an established mailed ball…

Notwithstanding Section 4000, a special district may conduct its elections by mail in accordance with Sections 1500, 4104, 4105, and 4108. (Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 86, Sec. 1. Effective July 19, 2005.)

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever any district has adopted the all-mailed ballot procedure for conducting general district elections pursuant to Section 4104 and any other election is scheduled to be held in territory that is the same or partly the territory of…

(a) “Small city” means a city with a population of 100,000 or less, as determined by the annual city total population rankings by the Demographic Research Unit of the Department of Finance. (b) “Eligible entity” means a school district or a special district. (c) Notwithstanding S…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 4000 or any other law, any county may conduct any election as an all-mailed ballot election if all of the following apply: (1) (A) At least two ballot dropoff locations are provided within the jurisdiction where the election is held or the number of ba…

The Secretary of State shall assist each county conducting an election in 2018 pursuant to Section 4005 in providing voter education and community outreach in addition to the voter education and outreach required by Section 4005, including, but not limited to, direct contact with…

An election conducted pursuant to Section 4005 is subject to the following requirements: (a) The provisions of Sections 14200 and 14201 that apply to polling places also apply to vote centers. (b) Prior to every election, the county elections official shall determine if a voter h…

For any election conducted pursuant to Section 4005, the county elections official shall make a reasonable effort to inform a voter of either of the following: (a) If the voter’s vote by mail ballot envelope is missing a signature. (b) How the voter can correct the missing signat…

(a) The Secretary of State shall establish a taskforce that includes representatives of all of the following: (1) County elections officials. (2) Individuals with demonstrated language accessibility experience for languages covered under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 …

Division, part, chapter, article, and section headings do not in any manner affect the scope, meaning, or intent of this code. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

(a) For purposes of this division, the definition of “party” in Section 338 is applicable. (b) This chapter shall apply to political bodies and to parties not otherwise provided for in Division 7 (commencing with Section 7050). (Amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 1081, Sec. 6. Effective…

Whenever a group of electors desires to qualify a new political party meeting the requirements of Section 5100 or 5151, that group shall form a political body by: (a) Holding a caucus or convention at which temporary officers shall be elected and a party name designated. The desi…

Upon receipt of the notice specified in Section 5001, the Secretary of State shall notify each county elections official of the name of the political body, its intent to qualify as a political party, and whether it intends to qualify for the next primary election or for the next …

A political body within the first 70 days after filing the formal notice required by Section 5001 is entitled, upon request to the Secretary of State, to have counted toward its qualification as a political party affidavits of registration in which voters declared affiliation wit…

(a) If by the 135th day before any primary election, a political body filing notice of its intent to qualify for a primary election pursuant to Section 5001 has not qualified as a political party pursuant to Section 5100, the political body shall be considered to have abandoned i…

(a) Until otherwise provided for by statute, a political party newly qualified pursuant to Section 5100 shall carry on its activities in accordance with procedures applicable to any other political party that has detailed statutory provisions applicable to its operation as shall …

Any political party newly qualifying pursuant to Section 5100 shall conduct its presidential primary election in accordance with procedures applicable to any other political party that has detailed statutory provisions applicable to its presidential primary as shall be designated…

Whenever a power is granted to, or a duty is imposed upon, a public officer, the power may be exercised or the duty may be performed by a deputy of the officer or by a person authorized, pursuant to law, by the officer, unless this code expressly provides otherwise. (Enacted by S…

The term “elector” or “presidential elector” as used in this chapter means an elector of President and Vice President of the United States, and not an elector as defined in Section 321. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)