Title ELEC, California Elec. Code

In addition to the materials required by Section 14105, the elections official shall provide signs, or materials for making signs, advising voters that an election has been canceled pursuant to Section 8026 due to the death of the candidate-incumbent and that a special election w…

(a) The roster to be kept by each precinct board shall contain all of the following: (1) Space for the voter’s signature. (2) The residence address of the voter. (3) At the heading of each page or signature area, the following words: “WARNING: It is a crime punishable by imprison…

Notwithstanding Sections 14105 and 14107, the roster to be kept by each precinct board may be in a form of an index to the affidavits of registration for that precinct, in which case the index shall provide space of sufficient size to allow each voter to sign his or her name purs…

All officers required by law to designate polling places shall furnish the polling places with a sufficient number of places, booths, or compartments, at or in which voters may conveniently mark their ballots, so that they may be screened from the observation of others. Each plac…

Translations of the ballot measures and ballot instructions, as required by Section 14201, shall be provided by a person selected by the elections official who is one of the following: (a) A certified and registered interpreter on the Judicial Council Master List. (b) An interpre…

All voting equipment shall be transferred to the polling places in charge of an authorized official, who shall certify to their delivery in good order. (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

The containers of the ballots furnished to the polling places shall provide adequate protection for the ballots during storage and upon removing the ballots. (Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 806, Sec. 50. (SB 286) Effective January 1, 2018.)

The provisions of this chapter apply to the processing of vote by mail ballots during the 29-day period before any election, during the semifinal official canvass, and during the official canvass. (Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 508, Sec. 86. Effective January 1, 2008.)

(a) An elections official may begin to process vote by mail ballot return envelopes and vote by mail ballots on the date on which the ballots are mailed, which shall not be later than 29 days before the election. (b) (1) Processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes may include…

The official shall appoint a special counting board or boards in numbers that he or she deems adequate to count the vote by mail ballots. The official shall provide for the forms of tally books and the distribution of the duties of the members of the canvassing board. When the ta…

The elections official shall pay a reasonable compensation to each member of the canvassing board of vote by mail ballots. This compensation shall be paid out of the treasury of the agency conducting the election as other claims against it are paid. (Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 5…

(a) The processing of vote by mail ballot return envelopes, and the processing and counting of vote by mail ballots, shall be open to the public, both prior to and after the election. (b) A member of the county grand jury, and at least one member each of the Republican county cen…

Challenges to a vote by mail voter may be made for the same reasons as those made against a voter voting at a polling place. In addition, a challenge may be entered on the grounds that the ballot was not received within the time provided by this code or that a person is currently…

Except as otherwise provided, the processing of vote by mail ballot return envelopes, the processing and counting of vote by mail ballots, and the disposition of challenges of vote by mail ballots shall be according to the laws now in force pertaining to the election for which th…

If a challenge is overruled, the board shall open the identification envelope without defacing the affidavit printed on it or mutilating the enclosed ballot and, without viewing the ballot, remove it and destroy the numbered slip, if any remains, and store the ballots in a secure…

If a challenge is allowed, the board shall endorse on the face of the identification envelope the cause of the challenge and its action thereon. (Added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 1073, Sec. 25. Effective January 1, 1999.)

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the counting and canvassing of vote by mail ballots shall be conducted in the same manner and under the same regulations as used for ballots cast in a precinct polling place. (Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 508, Sec. 93. Effective Januar…

Reports to the Secretary of State of the findings of the canvass of vote by mail ballots shall be made by the elections official pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 15150) and Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 15300). (Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 508, Sec. 94. Effecti…

The elections official shall keep an accurate list of all voters who have received and voted a vote by mail ballot at each election and compare this list with the roster as provided in Section 15278. That list shall include the election precinct of the voter. (Amended by Stats. 2…

When elections are consolidated pursuant to Division 10 (commencing with Section 10000), and only one form of ballot is used at the consolidated election, the ballots cast by vote by mail voters shall be counted only in connection with elections to which vote by mail voter privil…

Any elector of a county, city, or of any political subdivision of either may contest any election held therein, for any of the following causes: (a) That the precinct board or any member thereof was guilty of malconduct. (b) That the person who has been declared elected to an off…

Any candidate at a primary election may contest the right of another candidate to nomination to the same office by filing an affidavit alleging any of the following grounds, that: (a) The defendant is not eligible to the office in dispute. (b) The defendant has committed any offe…

(a) All nomination documents and signatures in lieu of filing fee petitions filed in accordance with this code shall be held by the officer with whom they are filed during the term of office for which they are filed and for four years after the expiration of the term. (b) Thereaf…

(a) Every person who willfully causes, procures, or allows himself or herself or any other person to be registered as a voter, knowing that he or she or that other person is not entitled to registration, is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of…

Every person who knowingly and willfully completes, or causes or procures the completion of, in whole or in part, an affidavit of registration or a voter registration card, with the intent to cause the registration or reregistration as a voter of a fictitious person or of any per…

Any deputy elections official or registration elections official who knowingly registers a nonexistent person, knowingly registers a person under a false name or address, or knowingly registers a person who is ineligible to register is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdi…

Any person who knowingly or negligently (a) interferes with the prompt transfer of a completed affidavit of registration to the county elections official, (b) retains a voter’s completed registration card, without the voter’s authorization, for more than three days, excluding Sat…

An individual or organization having charge of affidavits of registration is guilty of a misdemeanor who knowingly neglects or refuses to return affidavits of registration as provided in Article 3 (commencing with Section 2138) of Chapter 2 of Division 2. The county elections off…

No affidavit of registration or voter registration card shall contain, and no person other than the registrant shall write on or affix thereto, or cause to be written on or affixed thereto, any statement urging or indicating support or opposition to any candidate or measure. Any …

Every person is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years, or in a county jail for not more than one year who, without the specific consent of the affiant, willfully and with the intent to affect t…

Every person who willfully violates Section 2158 is guilty of an infraction, punishable by a fine not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200). (Enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.)

(a) (1) A person who knowingly or willfully pays or offers to pay money or other valuable consideration to another person with the intent to induce the person to vote or to register to vote, or where the payment is contingent upon whether the person voted or the person’s voter re…

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), a person who receives money or other valuable consideration to assist another to register to vote by receiving the completed affidavit of registration from the elector, and fails to comply with Section 2159, is guilty of a misdemeanor, a…

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), a person who receives money or other valuable consideration to assist another to register to vote by receiving the completed affidavit of registration from the elector, and knowingly misrepresents himself or herself as having helped regi…

(a) A person, company, or other organization that agrees to pay money or other valuable consideration, whether on a per-affidavit basis or otherwise, to a person who assists another person to register to vote by receiving the completed affidavit of registration, or by assisting w…

(a) It is a misdemeanor for a person in possession of information identified in Section 2138.5, or obtained pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 2183) of Chapter 2 of Division 2 of this code or Section 7924.000 of the Government Code, knowingly to use or permit the use …

(a) For purposes of this section, “home address” means only street address and does not include an individual’s city or post office address. (b) Any person or public entity who, in violation of Section 2194, discloses the home address or telephone number listed on a voter registr…

Any person, individual, or organization that knowingly violates Section 2138.5 is guilty of an infraction, punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500). Prosecution for a violation of Section 2138.5 shall not prohibit prosecution under any other applicable provi…

Upon conviction of a violation of any provision of this chapter, the court may order as a condition of probation that the convicted person be prohibited from receiving money or other valuable consideration for assisting another person to register to vote by receiving the complete…

The Secretary of State shall study and adopt regulations governing the use of voting machines, voting devices, vote tabulating devices, and ballot marking systems, and shall be responsible for certifying voting systems for use in this state. (Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 602, Sec.…

(a) The Secretary of State shall adopt and publish voting system standards and regulations governing the use of voting systems that meet the minimum requirements of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 21081 et seq.) and that incorporate best practices in election te…

The Secretary of State shall study the performance of voting systems in use in the state. (Added by Stats. 2013, Ch. 602, Sec. 7. (SB 360) Effective January 1, 2014.)

The Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments and the Chairperson of the Assembly Standing Committee on Elections and Redistricting shall meet with the Secretary of State and assist the Secretary of State to the extent that the partic…

(a) The Secretary of State shall do both of the following by December 31, 2014: (1) In consultation with county elections officials, establish the procedures and guidelines for voting in the event of a natural disaster or other state of emergency. The Secretary of State shall pub…

The Secretary of State may investigate any alleged violation of this code or the Secretary of State’s regulations with the power to subpoena all necessary persons and records. (Added by renumbering Section 19102 by Stats. 2013, Ch. 602, Sec. 6.5. (SB 360) Effective January 1, 201…

(a) This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Fair And Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities And Political Subdivisions (FAIR MAPS) Act of 2023. (b) In enacting this chapter, the Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) The California Constitution g…