California Elections Code

This act shall be known as the Elections Code.

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.

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.

Unless the provision or the context otherwise requires, these general provisions, rules of construction, and definitions shall govern the construction of this code.

Division, part, chapter, article, and section headings do not in any manner affect the scope, meaning, or intent of this code.

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.

Writing includes any form of recorded message capable of comprehension by ordinary visual means. Whenever any notice, report, statement or record is required or authorized by this code, it shall be made in writing in the English language unless it is expressly provided otherwise.

As used in this code, the present tense includes the past and future tenses, and the future the present; the masculine gender includes the feminine; and the singular includes the plural, and the plural, the singular.

(a) Counting of words, for purposes of this code, shall be as follows: (1) Punctuation is not counted. (2) Each word shall be counted as one word except as specified in this section. (3) All proper nouns, including geographical names, shall be considered as one word; for example, “City and County of San Francisco” shal…

(a) The Secretary of State is the chief elections officer of the state, and has the powers and duties specified in this code and Section 12172.5 of the Government Code. (b) (1) The Secretary of State shall make reasonable efforts to do all of the following: (A) Promote voter registration to eligible voters. (B) Encoura…

(a) There is established within the Secretary of State the Office of Elections Cybersecurity. (b) The primary missions of the Office of Elections Cybersecurity are both of the following: (1) To coordinate efforts between the Secretary of State and local elections officials to reduce the likelihood and severity of cyber…

On written call of the Secretary of State, the county elections officials, city elections officials, and registrars of voters of this state may meet with the approval of their legislative bodies, at the time and place within this state designated in the call, to discuss matters affecting the administration of the elect…

Whenever any candidate files a declaration of candidacy, nomination paper, or any other paper evidencing an intention to be a candidate for any public office at any election in this state with either the Secretary of State or a county elections official, the candidate shall by the filing irrevocably appoint the Secreta…

(a) A person shall not be considered a legally qualified candidate for an office, for party nomination for a partisan office, or for nomination to participate in the general election for a voter-nominated office, under the laws of this state unless that person has filed a declaration of candidacy or statement of write-…

(a) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 13, a person shall not be considered a legally qualified candidate for any of the offices set forth in subdivision (b) unless that person has filed all of the following with the proper official: (A) A declaration of candidacy, nomination papers, or statement of write-i…

In case of a disaster in which a portion or all of the voting records of any county are destroyed, the Governor may appoint an election commission to outline and recommend procedures to be followed in the conduct of regular or special elections. The commission shall consist of the Governor, the Secretary of State, the…

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 upon the next business day with the same e…

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.

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 shall not require that the administrative re…

(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 or theft of public money, perjury, or con…

(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 Secretary of State and the Attorney Gene…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever an initiative, referendum, recall, nominating petition or paper, or any other petition or paper is required to be signed by voters of a county, city, school district, or special district subject to petitioning, only a person who is an eligible registered voter at…

Notwithstanding Section 100, a voter who is unable to personally affix on a petition or paper the information required by Section 100 may request another person to print the voter’s name and place of residence on the appropriate spaces of the petition or paper, but the voter shall personally affix his or her mark or si…

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition required to be signed by voters shall contain in 11-point type, before that portion of the petition for voters’ signatures, printed names, and residence addresses, the following language, in order: (1) “NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC:”…

A person shall not circulate a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition or nominating paper unless the person is 18 years of age or older.