Title ELEC — California Elec. Code

(a) At least 29 days prior to the election, the elections official shall do all of the following: (1) Establish a convenient number of election precincts within the affected jurisdiction. (2) Define the precinct boundaries. (3) Designate a polling place for each precinct. (4) App…

A candidate’s residence shall not be designated as a polling place for an election at which that candidate’s name will appear on the ballot.

A single-family residence shall not be designated as a polling place if elections officials determine that it has the registered address of a person who is required to register pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act. Elections officials shall, not more than 60 days prior t…

A polling place shall not be accessible by a door, window, or other opening to any place where any alcoholic beverage is sold or dispensed while the polls are open.

Ballots not printed in substantial compliance with this chapter shall not be cast nor counted at any election.

The ballots of each political party’s central committee shall be designed so that each ballot may be easily and clearly distinguished from, and not confused with, a ballot of any other political party.

(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.

(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.

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.

(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) If the county elections official determines that, due to the number of candidates and measures that must be printed on the ballot, the ballot will be larger than may be conveniently handled, the county elections official may provide that a nonpartisan ballot shall be given to…

If the elections official of any county finds it necessary in connection with the use of any approved method of vote counting, the elections official may provide for any of the following changes in the format of ballots in one or more precincts at any election: (a) Ballots may be…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for the purpose of conducting the Democratic Party Presidential Primary Election, the Secretary of State may, if it is reasonably necessary to accommodate the limitations of a voter system or vote tabulating device, authorize the county…

In a municipal election, if the number of candidates for an office is such that all of the names will not fit in one column of reasonable length, a double column may be used, and all of the following provisions shall apply: (a) The space between the two halves of the double colum…

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.

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.

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…

Whenever the Attorney General prepares a condensed ballot title and summary, the Attorney General shall file a copy of the condensed ballot title and summary with the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall make a copy of the condensed ballot title and summary as require…

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.)

The members of each precinct board shall distribute the duties devolving upon the precinct board, which are in addition to their individual duties, in a manner they deem most advantageous. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

The polling places shall be arranged so that neither the ballot containers nor the voting booths or compartments shall be hidden from the view of those present. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

The polls shall be open at 7 a.m. of the day of any election, and shall be kept open until 8 p.m. of the same day, when the polls shall be closed, except as provided in Sections 4005 and 14401.

Before the precinct board receives any ballots, it shall proclaim aloud at the place of election that the polls are open. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

Voting shall commence as soon as the polls are opened and shall be continued during the time the polls remain open. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

Before receiving any ballots, the precinct board, in the presence of any persons assembled at the polling place, shall open and exhibit and close the ballot container or containers. Thereafter, the ballot container or containers shall not be removed from the polling place or pres…

(a) Any person desiring to vote shall state or provide his or her name and address and, upon the precinct officers finding the name in the roster, the voter shall then sign his or her name in the space provided or, if the voter is unable to sign, shall have his or her name signed…