PART 1. PRIMARY ELECTION NOMINATIONS [8000. - 8228.]

Part 1 enacted by Stats. 1994, Ch. 920, Sec. 2.

§§ 8000–8228 · 85 sections

CHAPTER 1. Direct Primary §§ 8000–8150 · 64 sections
1. ARTICLE 1. General Provisions §§ 8000–8005 · 7 sections
  - § 8000 This chapter does not apply to: (a) Recall elections. (b) Presidential primary. (c) Nomination of officers of cities or counties whose charters provide a…
  - § 8001 (a) A declaration of candidacy for membership on a county central committee shall not be filed by a candidate unless (1) at the time of presentation of the…
  - § 8002 If a candidate is a candidate for a nonpartisan office, all reference to party affiliation shall be omitted on all forms required to be filed.
  - § 8002.5 (a) A candidate for a voter-nominated office shall indicate one of the following upon their declaration of candidacy, which shall be consistent with what…
  - § 8003 (a) (1) A person shall not file nomination papers for more than one office at the same primary election. (2) For purposes of paragraph (1), “office” does not…
  - § 8004 (a) In the event that no candidate files for a party’s nomination for any partisan office that would appear on the ballot in a county or a political…
  - § 8005 In addition to satisfying the requirements of Sections 9083.5, 9084.5, and 14105.1, the Secretary of State shall conduct public voter education campaigns,…
2. ARTICLE 2. Nomination Documents §§ 8020–8028 · 10 sections
  - § 8020 (a) A candidate’s name shall not be printed on the ballot to be used at the direct primary unless the following nomination documents are delivered for filing…
  - § 8020.5 (a) A candidate may withdraw nomination documents for any office other than a statewide office that the candidate delivered for filing to the county elections…
  - § 8021 All nomination documents which are delivered for filing to the elections official in compliance with Section 8020 and that are not required by this chapter to…
  - § 8022 Notwithstanding Section 8020 or any other provision of the law, if nomination documents for an incumbent state Senator, Member of the Assembly, state…
  - § 8023 (a) Except in the case of a judicial office filled in accordance with subdivision (d) of Section 16 of Article VI of the Constitution, every candidate for a…
  - § 8024 Notwithstanding Section 8020 or any other provision of the law, if nomination documents for an incumbent officer of a county are not delivered by 5 p.m. on the…
  - § 8025 If a candidate who has declared a candidacy for a nomination at the direct primary election for a voter-nominated office dies after the last day prescribed for…
  - § 8026 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except for an election for a judicial office, an election shall not be conducted and no votes cast for the…
  - § 8027 (a) Filing of nomination papers for a nonpartisan office, except for a judicial office, shall be reopened when an incumbent who is a candidate for a…
  - § 8028 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a candidate shall not remove a declaration of candidacy form from the office of the elections official, and the…
3. ARTICLE 3. Form of Nomination Documents §§ 8040–8042 · 3 sections
  - § 8040 (a) The declaration of candidacy by a candidate shall be substantially as follows: DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY I hereby declare myself a candidate for nomination…
  - § 8041 (a) The nomination paper shall be in substantially the following form: NOMINATION PAPER I, the undersigned signer for ______ for nomination to the office of…
  - § 8042 The Secretary of State shall establish uniform filing forms for candidates to use when filing a declaration of candidacy pursuant to Section 8040 and…
4. ARTICLE 4. Circulation and Signatures—Nomination Documents §§ 8060–8070 · 11 sections
  - § 8060 A candidate who declares his or her candidacy shall have registered voters sign his or her nomination papers pursuant to this article.
  - § 8061 (a) If a candidate submits an in-lieu-filing-fee petition pursuant to Section 8106, any or all signatures appearing on the petition, which would be valid under…
  - § 8062 (a) The number of registered voters required to sign a nomination paper for the respective offices are as follows: (1) State office or United States Senate,…
  - § 8063 The nomination paper shall be delivered to the elections official of the county in which the signer resides and is a voter.
  - § 8064 The declaration of candidacy shall be obtained from, and delivered to, the elections official of the county in which the candidate resides and is a voter in…
  - § 8065 The elections official shall not accept for filing any nomination paper unless all blanks in the certificate are filled.
  - § 8066 Circulators shall meet the requirements of Section 102.
  - § 8067 No more signers shall be secured for any candidate than the maximum number required in this article. If, however, through miscalculation or otherwise, more…
  - § 8068 Signers shall be voters in the district or political subdivision in which the candidate is to be voted on. With respect to a candidacy for partisan office,…
  - § 8069 No signer shall, at the time of signing a certificate, have his or her name signed to any other nomination paper for any other candidate for the same office…
  - § 8070 The elections official shall transmit to the Secretary of State the nomination document for each candidate for state office, United States Senator,…
5. ARTICLE 5. Verification of Nomination Signatures §§ 8080–8084 · 5 sections
  - § 8080 No fee or charge shall be made or collected by any officer for verifying any nomination document or circulator’s affidavit.
  - § 8081 Before any nomination document is filed in the office of the county elections official or forwarded for filing in the office of the Secretary of State, the…
  - § 8082 All nomination documents that are required to be filed in the office of the Secretary of State, within five days after being left with the county elections…
  - § 8083 The county elections official’s statement to the Secretary of State of the number of signers shall be in substantially the following form: statement of county…
  - § 8084 If the number of signatures affixed to an in-lieu filing fee petition filed pursuant to Section 8106 is 100 or more, the county elections official may use a…
6. ARTICLE 6. Nomination Papers. Place of Filing. Fees §§ 8100–8107 · 9 sections
  - § 8100 All nomination documents shall be filed as follows: (a) For state offices, United States Senators, Representatives in Congress, Members of the State Senate and…
  - § 8101 All forms required for nomination and election to all congressional, state, county, and political party county central committee offices shall be furnished…
  - § 8102 No defect in any nomination document presented shall prevent the filing of another nomination document within the period allowed for presenting the nomination…
  - § 8103 (a) The following fees for filing declarations of candidacy shall be paid to the Secretary of State by each candidate: (1) Two percent of the first-year salary…
  - § 8104 The filing fee to be paid to the county elections official for filing a declaration of candidacy for an office to be voted for wholly within one county other…
  - § 8105 (a) The filing fees for all candidates shall be paid at the time the candidates obtain their nomination forms from the county elections official. The county…
  - § 8106 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a candidate, or a person authorized by the candidate, may submit a petition containing signatures of…
  - § 8106.5 (a) Notwithstanding paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 8106, if the last day to file in-lieu-filing-fee petitions pursuant to that paragraph for a…
  - § 8107 The county elections official shall pay to the county treasurer all fees received from candidates pursuant to Section 8105. Within 10 days after the direct…
7. ARTICLE 7. Certified List of Candidates §§ 8120–8125 · 6 sections
  - § 8120 At least 68 days before the direct primary, the Secretary of State shall transmit to each county elections official a certified list of candidates who are…
  - § 8121 (a) Not less than five days before he or she transmits the certified list of candidates to the county elections officials, as provided in Section 8120, the…
  - § 8122 The Secretary of State shall certify and transmit the list of candidates for nomination to each office according to Assembly districts, in the order of…
  - § 8123 The Secretary of State, at the time he or she transmits the list of candidates to the county elections official, shall inform the county elections official of…
  - § 8124 The certified list of candidates sent to each county elections official by the Secretary of State shall show all of the following: (a) The name of each…
  - § 8125 The certified list of candidates sent to each county elections official by the Secretary of State shall be in a form prescribed by the Secretary of State.
8. ARTICLE 8. Nominated Candidates §§ 8140–8150 · 13 sections
  - § 8140 Any candidate for a nonpartisan office who at a primary election receives votes on a majority of all the ballots cast for candidates for that office shall be…
  - § 8141 If no candidate has been elected to a nonpartisan office pursuant to Section 8140 or if the number of candidates elected at the primary election is less than…
  - § 8141.5 Except as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 8142, only the candidates for a voter-nominated office who receive the highest or second highest number of…
  - § 8142 (a) In the case of a tie vote, nonpartisan candidates receiving the same number of votes shall be candidates at the ensuing general election if they qualify…
  - § 8143 If the number of candidates elected at a primary election to any nonpartisan office is less than the number of persons to be elected to that office, there…
  - § 8144 The candidates for election to membership on the county central committee, equal in number to the number to be elected, receiving the highest number of votes…
  - § 8145 It is the duty of the officers charged with the canvass of the returns of any primary election in any county or city to issue certificates of nomination to…
  - § 8146 Certificates of nomination or election issued by county or municipal officers shall be issued immediately upon the completion of the canvass of the returns at…
  - § 8147 The Secretary of State shall issue certificates of nomination to candidates nominated for Representatives in Congress, Members of the State Senate and…
  - § 8147.5 Not less than 73 days, and not more than 90 days, before the general election, the Secretary of State shall notify each candidate for partisan office and…
  - § 8148 Not less than 68 days before the general election, the Secretary of State shall deliver to the appropriate county elections official a certificate showing: (a)…
  - § 8149 The Secretary of State shall certify and transmit the list of candidates for each office according to Assembly districts, in the order of arrangement…
  - § 8150 The certificate of the Secretary of State showing candidates nominated or selected at a primary election, and justices of the Supreme Court and courts of…
CHAPTER 1.5. June 2, 2026, Statewide Direct Primary Election §§ 8160–8166 · 7 sections
- § 8160 This chapter applies only to the June 2, 2026, statewide direct primary election.
- § 8161 For purposes of this chapter, “statewide direct primary election” means the June 2, 2026, statewide direct primary election.
- § 8162 (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 8106, forms for securing signatures on an in-lieu-filing-fee petition shall be made available beginning December…
- § 8163 Not later than December 19, 2025, the Secretary of State shall determine whether it is feasible to include the number of voters, by party preferences, in each…
- § 8164 Not later than the date that forms for securing signatures on an in-lieu-filing-fee petition are made available in accordance with Section 8162, the Secretary…
- § 8165 (a) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 13107, a candidate for the office of Representative in Congress shall not choose the word…
- § 8166 This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2027, and as of that date is repealed.
CHAPTER 2. Judicial Officers §§ 8200–8228 · 14 sections
1. ARTICLE 1. Distinguishing Number on Ballot §§ 8200–8204 · 5 sections
  - § 8200 In any election at which two or more judges or justices of any court are to be voted for or elected for the same term, it shall be deemed that there are as…
  - § 8201 (a) A declaration of candidacy for election or a nomination by the Governor, made pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 16 of Article VI of the California…
  - § 8202 The numerically designated offices shall be grouped and arranged on all ballots in numerical order. No person may be a candidate nor have his or her name…
  - § 8203 (a) In any county in which only the incumbent has filed nomination papers for the office of superior court judge, his or her name shall not appear on the…
  - § 8204 (a) If an incumbent of a judicial office dies on or before the last day prescribed for the filing of nomination papers, or files a declaration of intention but…
2. ARTICLE 2. Adoption of Subdivision (d) of Section 16 of Article VI of the California Constitution §§ 8220–8228 · 9 sections
  - § 8220 The voters of any county may adopt subdivision (d) of Section 16 of Article VI of the Constitution of this state as applicable to the judge of the superior…
  - § 8221 Subdivision (d) of Section 16 of Article VI may be adopted: (a) In pursuance of an ordinance or resolution adopted by the board of supervisors of the county,…
  - § 8222 The petition shall state the name and address of a person to whom notice of the insufficiency of the petition shall be sent in the event the petition has not…
  - § 8223 The petition shall be signed by 10 percent of the voters of the county, computed upon the total number of votes cast therein for all candidates for Governor at…
  - § 8224 Within 20 days after the filing of the petition, the county elections official shall examine it and ascertain from the record of the registration of the voters…
  - § 8225 Upon the completion of his or her examination, the elections official shall forthwith attach to the petition his or her certificate, duly dated, showing the…
  - § 8226 If it appears by the certificate that the petition has not the required number of signatures, the elections official shall so notify the person designated as…
  - § 8227 Upon the adoption of the ordinance or resolution or the presentation of a petition, the board of supervisors shall submit the proposal to the voters at the…
  - § 8228 If the proposal is approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon, the board of supervisors shall file a certificate, signed by the chairman of the board and…