Title ELEC — California Elec. Code

(a) (1) The Secretary of State may grant conditional approval to a voting system or part of a voting system under either of the following circumstances: (A) A voting system or part of a voting system was decertified as a result of a review by the Secretary of State pursuant to Se…

(a) Except as authorized by Section 19209, a voting system, in whole or in part, shall not be used unless it has been certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State prior to any election at which it is to be used. (b) A voting system that has been tested and approv…

The Secretary of State shall not certify or conditionally approve a voting system or a part of a voting system that uses paper ballots unless the paper used for the ballots is of sufficient quality that it maintains its integrity and readability throughout the retention period sp…

The Secretary of State shall not certify or conditionally approve any voting system that includes features that permit a voter to produce, and leave the polling place with, a copy or facsimile of the ballot cast by the voter at that polling place.

(a) The Secretary of State shall not certify or conditionally approve a voting system that cannot facilitate the conduct of a ballot level comparison risk-limiting audit. (b) (1) For purposes of this subdivision, a voting system that is “noncompliant” is a voting system that cann…

A voting system shall comply with all of the following: (a) No part of the voting system shall be connected to the internet at any time. (b) No part of the voting system shall electronically receive or transmit election data through an exterior communication network, including th…

Except as authorized by Section 19209, both of the following apply: (a) If more than one voting system is used to count ballots, the names of candidates shall, insofar as possible, be placed on the primary voting system. (b) If more than one voting system or a combination of a vo…

The governing board may adopt for use at elections any kind of voting system, any combination of voting systems, or any combination of a voting system and paper ballots, provided that the voting system or systems involved have been certified or conditionally approved by the Secre…

(a) An elections official or the governing body of any jurisdiction that administers elections shall use a voting machine, as defined in Section 361, or a voting system, as defined in Section 362, that has been certified pursuant to this division, to do all of the following: (1) …

The governing board may provide for the payment of the cost of the voting system equipment in any manner and by any method as it deems best for local interests, and also may for that purpose issue bonds, certificates of indebtedness, or other obligations that shall be a charge on…

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “Commercial off-the-shelf” means mass-produced, readily available hardware devices, including card readers, printers, or personal computers, and their firmware or software products, including o…

(a) A person, corporation, or public agency owning or having an interest in the sale or acquisition of a voting system or a part of a voting system may apply to the Secretary of State for certification that includes testing and examination of the applicant’s system by a state-app…

(a) Prior to publishing his or her decision to certify, conditionally approve, or withhold certification of a voting system or part of a voting system, the Secretary of State shall provide for a 30-day public review period and conduct a public hearing to give persons interested a…

(a) (1) No later than 10 business days after the Secretary of State certifies or conditionally approves the use of a new or updated voting system, the vendor or county seeking certification or approval of the voting system shall cause an exact copy of the approved source code for…

Within 60 days after the completion of the examination of a voting system, the Secretary of State shall make publicly available a report stating whether the voting system has been certified or conditionally approved, or whether certification has been withheld. The report shall al…

Within 10 days after issuing and filing a certification decision and associated testing reports, the Secretary of State shall make available to the public a full and complete copy of the certification report and all associated documentation, except that portions of the report or …

If a voting system or a part of a voting system has been certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State, the vendor or, in cases where the system is publicly owned, the jurisdiction shall notify the Secretary of State and all local elections officials who use the s…

If a voting system or a part of a voting system has been certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State, it shall not be changed or modified until the Secretary of State has been notified in writing and has determined that the change or modification does not impair…

The Secretary of State may seek injunctive and administrative relief if a voting system or a part of a voting system has been compromised by the addition or deletion of hardware, software, or firmware without prior approval or is defective due to a known hardware, software, or fi…

(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 …