DIVISION 15. SEMIFINAL OFFICIAL CANVASS, OFFICIAL CANVASS, RECOUNT, AND TIE VOTE PROCEDURES [15000. - 15702.]
Heading of Division 15 amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 1073, Sec. 21.
§§ 15000–15702 · 143 sections
CHAPTER 1. Preparation for Canvass §§ 15000–15007 · 7 sections
- § 15000 No later than seven days prior to any election conducted pursuant to this code, the elections official shall conduct a test or series of tests to ensure that…
- § 15001 (a) A copy of each election computer vote count program for a statewide election or state special election to fill vacancies shall be deposited with the…
- § 15002 No later than January 1 of each even-numbered year, the Secretary of State shall review, and if necessary amend, administrative procedures for use with each of…
- § 15003 Elections officials shall adopt semifinal official and official canvass procedures to conform to the applicable voting system procedures that have been…
- § 15004 (a) Each qualified political party may employ, and may have present at the central counting place or places, not more than two representatives to check and…
- § 15006 (a) (1) The Attorney General shall provide guidance and information to county elections officials regarding how elections officials, precinct boards, election…
- § 15007 (a) A peace officer shall not interfere in any manner with the administration of any election in this state and in the discharge of duties by the Secretary of…
CHAPTER 2. Vote by Mail Ballot Processing §§ 15100–15112 · 13 sections
- § 15100 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…
- § 15101 (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…
- § 15102 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…
- § 15103 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…
- § 15104 (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…
- § 15105 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…
- § 15106 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…
- § 15107 If a challenge is overruled, the board shall open the identification envelope without defacing the affidavit printed on it or mutilating the enclosed ballot…
- § 15108 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.
- § 15109 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…
- § 15110 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…
- § 15111 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…
- § 15112 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…
CHAPTER 3. Semifinal Official Canvass §§ 15150–15290 · 40 sections
ARTICLE 1. General Provisions §§ 15150–15154 · 5 sections
- § 15150 For every election, the elections official shall conduct a semifinal official canvass by tabulating vote by mail and precinct ballots and compiling the…
- § 15151 (a) The elections official shall transmit the semifinal official results to the Secretary of State in the manner and according to the schedule prescribed by…
- § 15152 Neither the elections official, any member of a precinct board, nor any other person shall count any votes, either for a ballot proposition or candidate, until…
- § 15153 During the semifinal official canvass, write-in votes shall be counted in accordance with Article 3 (commencing with Section 15340) of Chapter 4.
- § 15154 (a) Any ballot that is not marked as provided by law shall be rejected. The rejected ballots shall be placed in the package marked for voted ballots or in a…
ARTICLE 2. Automated Count in a Central Location §§ 15200–15213 · 13 sections
- § 15200 If paper ballots are used in conjunction with this system, counting shall be as provided in Article 5 (commencing with Section 15270) and Article 6 (commencing…
- § 15201 (a) As soon as the polls are closed, the precinct board shall, in the presence of the public do all of the following: (1) Seal the container used to transport…
- § 15202 If the ballots are to be counted at a central counting place, no fewer than two precinct board members shall, following the close of the polls, deliver the…
- § 15203 The vote tabulating device may be located at any place within the state approved by the elections official of the county or other political subdivision using…
- § 15204 All proceedings at the central counting place, or counting places, if applicable, shall be open to the view of the public but no person, except one employed…
- § 15205 (a) A person may be employed to count, tally, and certify the ballots if he or she is not a candidate at the election and if he or she satisfies either of the…
- § 15206 The elections official or any deputy authorized by the elections official may excuse or dismiss any person from any counting board and enforce the order.
- § 15207 The elections official or authorized deputy shall segregate the persons employed to count the ballots into counting boards. These counting boards shall be…
- § 15208 (a) Each container of ballots shall be opened and its contents removed. The ballots shall be checked to ascertain if the ballots are properly grouped and shall…
- § 15209 Any magnetic or electronic storage medium, or copy thereof, used for the ballot tabulation program and any magnetic or electronic storage medium, or copy…
- § 15210 In preparing the voted ballots for processing, any ballot that is torn, bent, or otherwise defective shall be corrected so that every vote cast by the voter…
- § 15212 If voting at all precincts within a county is not conducted using the same voting system, the result as to the precincts not subject to this article shall be…
- § 15213 In case of an emergency in which it becomes impossible to transport the ballots from the precinct to a central counting place, the elections official may…
ARTICLE 3. Automated Vote Count in Precincts §§ 15250–15251 · 3 sections
- § 15250 This article applies to all elections in which votes are counted by means of a voting machine at a polling place or vote center.
- § 15250.5 (a) As soon as the polls are closed on election day, the precinct board, in the presence of the watchers and all others lawfully present, shall immediately…
- § 15251 Upon receipt of the result of votes cast from the precinct boards, the elections official shall do either of the following: (a) Compile and make available to…
ARTICLE 4. Establishing Election Return Centers and Multiple Counting Centers §§ 15260–15261 · 2 sections
- § 15260 (a) The elections official of the jurisdiction shall establish one or more election return centers for the purpose of facilitating the compilation of election…
- § 15261 The elections official may establish one or more centers to count ballots from designated precincts and transmit the results via voice telephone connection or…
ARTICLE 5. Manual Vote Count in the Precinct §§ 15270–15281 · 16 sections
- § 15270 This article applies to all elections in which ballots are counted by hand.
- § 15270.1 (a) An elections official shall not conduct a manual vote count pursuant to this article or Article 6 (commencing with Section 15290) in any election unless…
- § 15270.2 The Secretary of State shall adopt regulations regarding manual vote counts.
- § 15270.3 Notwithstanding Section 15270.1 or subdivision (a) of Section 19207.5, an elections official may conduct a manual vote count in the event of a natural disaster…
- § 15271 As soon as the polls are finally closed, the precinct board shall commence to count the votes by taking the ballots cast, unopened, out of the box and counting…
- § 15272 The count shall be public and shall be continued without adjournment until completed and the result is declared. During the reading and tallying, the ballot…
- § 15273 Unless otherwise provided in this code, the precinct board members may not constitute themselves into separate squads in an attempt to conduct more than one…
- § 15274 The members of the precinct board may relieve each other in the duties of counting ballots.
- § 15275 Those ballots not rejected shall be placed in one pile, and the board shall proceed to count by tallying the vote for one or more offices or measures at a time.
- § 15276 The precinct board members shall ascertain the number of votes cast for each person and for and against each measure in the following manner: One precinct…
- § 15277 (a) Two of the precinct board members shall each keep a tally sheet in a form prescribed by the elections official. Each tally sheet shall contain all of the…
- § 15278 On completion of the canvass of the returns for each election, the elections official shall compare the vote by mail voters’ list with the roster for each…
- § 15278.5 No precinct board member may make any tally of votes in any other manner than is provided in this article, nor in any place other than on the tally sheets…
- § 15279 The ballots, as soon as all of the names and measures marked on them as voted for are read and tallied, shall not thereafter be examined by any person, but, as…
- § 15280 The precinct board shall complete, sign, and return to the elections official all furnished forms requiring its signatures. When votes are counted at the…
- § 15281 The precinct board shall sign and post conspicuously on the outside of the polling place a copy of the result of the votes cast. The copy shall remain posted…
ARTICLE 6. Manual Vote Count in a Central Place § 15290 · 1 section
- § 15290 Ballots that are to be counted manually in a central place shall be transported as provided in Sections 15201 and 15202. Each counting board shall proceed to…
CHAPTER 4. Official Canvass §§ 15300–15377 · 24 sections
ARTICLE 1. General Provisions §§ 15300–15307 · 8 sections
- § 15300 This chapter applies to all elections.
- § 15301 (a) The canvass shall commence no later than the Thursday following the election, shall be open to the public, and, for state or statewide elections, shall…
- § 15302 The official canvass shall include, but not be limited to, the following tasks: (a) An inspection of all materials and supplies returned by poll workers. (b) A…
- § 15303 If the returns from any precinct are incomplete, ambiguous, not properly authenticated, or otherwise defective, the elections official may issue and serve…
- § 15304 In jurisdictions using a central counting place, the elections official may appoint not less than three deputies to open the envelopes or containers with the…
- § 15305 (a) For purposes of this section, “unprocessed ballot” means a voted polling place ballot, voted vote by mail ballot, voted provisional ballot, or voted…
- § 15306 (a) Beginning no later than the Thursday following an election, and until the time specified in subdivision (b), an elections official shall post updated…
- § 15307 (a) On or before the 13th day following the election, an elections official shall finish counting all ballots, except those described in subdivision (b), and…
ARTICLE 2. Processing Vote by Mail Ballots and Mail Ballot Precinct Ballots §§ 15320–15321 · 2 sections
- § 15320 Vote by mail ballots and mail ballot precinct ballots returned to the elections office and to the polls on or before election day that are not included in the…
- § 15321 For any statewide election or special election to fill a vacancy in a congressional or legislative office, votes cast by vote by mail ballot and votes cast at…
ARTICLE 3. Processing Write-In Votes §§ 15340–15342.5 · 4 sections
- § 15340 Except for a voter-nominated office at a general election, each voter is entitled to write on the ballot the name of any candidate for any public office,…
- § 15341 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no name written upon a ballot in any election shall be counted for an office or nomination unless the candidate…
- § 15342 Any name written upon a ballot for a qualified write-in candidate, including a reasonable facsimile of the spelling of a name, shall be counted for the office,…
- § 15342.5 In the event of a manual recount conducted pursuant to Section 15610 or requested pursuant to Section 15620 or 15621, the process set forth in Section 15342…
ARTICLE 4. Processing and Counting Provisional Ballots § 15350 · 1 section
- § 15350 Provisional ballots cast pursuant to Section 14310 shall be processed and counted in accordance with the provisions outlined in Chapter 2 (commencing with…
ARTICLE 5. One Percent Manual Tally § 15360 · 1 section
- § 15360 (a) During the official canvass of every election in which a voting system is used, the elections official shall conduct a public manual tally of the ballots…
ARTICLE 6. Ballot Security and Reporting of Results §§ 15370–15377 · 8 sections
- § 15370 After ballots are counted and sealed, the elections official may not open any ballots nor permit any ballots to be opened except as permitted in Sections 15303…
- § 15371 (a) Upon completion of the count, the elections official shall add to the results as so determined, the results of the write-in votes and any paper ballots…
- § 15372 (a) The elections official shall prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit it to the governing body within 30 days of the…
- § 15373 When ballots are counted under this article, the result of the vote shall be shown by precinct.
- § 15374 (a) The statement of the result shall show all of the following: (1) The total number of ballots cast. (2) The number of votes cast at each precinct for each…
- § 15375 (a) The elections official shall send to the Secretary of State within 31 days of the election in an electronic format in the manner requested one complete…
- § 15376 The elections official shall deliver a duplicate of the certified statement of the result of votes cast to the chairperson of the county central committee of…
- § 15377 (a) The elections official shall identify and provide to the Secretary of State within 31 days of the election the number of vote by mail ballots rejected,…
CHAPTER 5. Announcement of Results §§ 15400–15402 · 3 sections
- § 15400 (a) It is the ministerial and nondiscretionary duty of the governing body to declare elected or nominated to each office voted on at each election under its…
- § 15401 The elections official shall make out and deliver to each person elected or nominated, as declared by the governing body, except those elected to a central…
- § 15402 (a) Whenever a candidate whose name appears upon the ballot at any election for an office other than a voter-nominated office dies after the 68th day before…
CHAPTER 6. Determination of Elected or Nominated Candidates §§ 15450–15490 · 7 sections
ARTICLE 1. General Provisions §§ 15450–15452 · 3 sections
- § 15450 A plurality of the votes given at any election shall constitute a choice where not otherwise directed in the California Constitution, provided that it shall be…
- § 15451 The nominees for a voter-nominated office shall be determined in accordance with Section 8141.5 and subdivision (b) of Section 8142.
- § 15452 The person who receives a plurality of the votes cast for any office is elected or nominated to that office in any election, except: (a) An election for which…
ARTICLE 2. Democratic Central Committee Conditions for Election of Candidate § 15460 · 1 section
- § 15460 In each county the number of candidates for membership in a county central committee in each Assembly or supervisorial district who receive the highest number…
ARTICLE 3. Republican Central Committee Conditions for Election of Candidate § 15470 · 1 section
- § 15470 In each county the number of candidates for membership in a committee in each Assembly or supervisorial district who receive the highest number of votes shall…
ARTICLE 4. American Independent Central Committee Conditions for Election of Candidate § 15480 · 1 section
- § 15480 In each county the number of candidates for membership in a county central committee in each Assembly or supervisor district who receive the highest number of…
ARTICLE 5. Peace and Freedom Central Committee Conditions for Election of Candidate § 15490 · 1 section
- § 15490 In each county the number of candidates for member of central committees to be elected in each central committee election district who receive the highest…
CHAPTER 7. Duties of the Secretary of State §§ 15500–15505 · 7 sections
- § 15500 The Secretary of State, commencing with the first results from the semifinal official canvass received from the elections officials, shall compile the results…
- § 15501 (a) Except as to presidential electors, the Secretary of State shall compile the results for all of the following: (1) All candidates for statewide office. (2)…
- § 15502 Within 120 days of the filing of the statement of the vote, the Secretary of State, upon the basis of the information provided, shall compile a supplement to…
- § 15503 On the 38th day after the election, or as soon within that time as the returns have been received from the entire state or a congressional district, as the…
- § 15504 The Secretary of State shall make out and deliver, or transmit by mail, a certificate of election or nomination to each person elected or nominated.
- § 15504.5 Whenever the Secretary of State transmits a certificate of election or unofficial election results to the State Senate or State Assembly regarding a person who…
- § 15505 No later than the 32nd day following the election, the Secretary of State shall analyze the votes given for presidential electors, and certify to the Governor…
CHAPTER 8. Disposition of Ballots and Supplies by the Elections Official §§ 15550–15553 · 3 sections
- § 15550 The records and supplies of any election when received by the elections official shall be disposed of in the manner set forth in this chapter.
- § 15551 (a) If a contest or any such criminal prosecution has been commenced before the date fixed for its destruction, the package containing the voted ballots shall…
- § 15553 (a) In no event shall any individual permit an agent of a law enforcement agency to access, disrupt, modify, or take possession of rosters, combined rosters,…
CHAPTER 9. Recount §§ 15600–15649 · 27 sections
ARTICLE 1. General Provisions §§ 15600–15601 · 2 sections
- § 15600 Except as provided in this chapter, this chapter applies to all elections. The recount of votes cast for candidates for presidential electors shall be governed…
- § 15601 (a) The Secretary of State, within the Secretary of State’s existing budget, shall adopt regulations no later than January 1, 2008, for each voting system…
ARTICLE 2. Elections Official-Ordered Recounts § 15610 · 1 section
- § 15610 If no election contest is pending wherein a recount of the ballots in a precinct has been or will be ordered, the elections official may order that the ballots…
ARTICLE 3. Voter-Requested Recounts §§ 15620–15634 · 16 sections
- § 15620 (a) Following completion of the official canvass, any voter may, within five calendar days thereafter but not later than 5 p.m. on the fifth day, file with the…
- § 15621 (a) Following completion of the official canvass any voter may, within five calendar days beginning on the 31st day after a statewide election, file with the…
- § 15621.5 If more than one voter requests a recount of the same office or measure pursuant to Section 15620 or 15621, and at least one request is for a manual recount,…
- § 15622 The request may specify the order in which votes are recounted by precinct or by the batch in which the ballots were scanned. In the case of a recount that…
- § 15623 Any time during the conduct of a recount and for 24 hours thereafter, any other voter may request the recount of any precincts in an election for the same…
- § 15624 The voter or the campaign committee, as defined in Section 82013 of the Government Code, represented by the voter filing the recount request, or the voter’s…
- § 15625 (a) The recount shall be conducted under the supervision of the elections official. The elections official shall convene special recount boards consisting of…
- § 15626 (a) The recount shall be commenced not more than seven business days following the receipt by the elections official of the request or order for the recount…
- § 15627 (a) If the votes subject to recount were cast or tabulated by a voting system, the voter requesting the recount shall, for each set of ballots cast or…
- § 15628 Not less than one day prior to commencement of the recount, the elections official shall post a notice as to the date and place of the recount and shall notify…
- § 15629 The recount shall be conducted publicly.
- § 15630 (a) All ballots, whether voted or not, and any other relevant materials, as specified in regulations adopted by the Secretary of State, may be examined as part…
- § 15631 On recount, ballots may be challenged for incompleteness, ambiguity, or other defects, in accordance with the following procedure: (a) The person challenging…
- § 15632 In lieu of the returns as reported in the official canvass, upon completion of the recount showing that a different candidate was nominated or elected, that a…
- § 15633 Not more than one day after the conclusion of the recount, the elections official shall post a copy of the results of any recount conducted pursuant to this…
- § 15634 This chapter does not: (a) Authorize the opening or recounting of ballots for any precinct except for the purposes specified in this chapter. (b) Limit other…
ARTICLE 4. Court-Ordered Recounts §§ 15640–15642 · 3 sections
- § 15640 (a) When requested by the board of supervisors or the grand jury, the district attorney may petition the superior court for an order directing a public recount…
- § 15641 Section 15001 shall apply unless a court orders the program held pending the conclusion of litigation challenging the outcome of an election. If court action…
- § 15642 Any tape, diskette, cartridge, or other magnetic or electronic storage medium used in the programming of vote totals shall be kept in a secure location and, if…
ARTICLE 5. State-Funded Recounts §§ 15645–15649 · 5 sections
- § 15645 (a) (1) Within five days after the Secretary of State files a statement of the vote, as required by subdivision (b) of Section 15501, the Governor may order a…
- § 15646 (a) Upon the Governor or Secretary of State ordering a recount pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 15645, the Secretary of State shall notify the elections…
- § 15647 All the provisions of Article 3 (commencing with Section 15620), except Sections 15620, 15621, 15622, 15623, 15624, and 15627, shall apply to this article…
- § 15648 The Secretary of State may adopt, amend, and repeal rules and regulations necessary for the administration of this article.
- § 15649 A county elections official shall only be required to conduct a recount pursuant to this article to the extent funds are appropriated for purposes of this…
CHAPTER 10. Tie Votes §§ 15650–15673 · 9 sections
ARTICLE 1. Elections Other than Primary Elections §§ 15650–15654 · 5 sections
- § 15650 This article does not apply to any primary election.
- § 15651 (a) If at any election, except as provided in subdivision (b) and an election for Governor or Lieutenant Governor, two or more persons receive an equal and the…
- § 15652 If the tie vote has been determined pursuant to Section 15651, the person declared elected by the Secretary of State or the election board is entitled to a…
- § 15653 When two or more persons have an equal and highest number of votes for either Governor or Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of State shall deliver a…
- § 15654 In case any two or more persons have an equal and highest number of votes for either Governor or Lieutenant Governor, the Legislature shall, by a joint vote of…
ARTICLE 2. At Primary Elections §§ 15670–15673 · 4 sections
- § 15670 This article applies only to: (a) Candidates for delegates to a national convention for the nomination of party candidates for President and Vice President of…
- § 15671 In case of a tie vote for member of a county central committee, where the office is to be voted for wholly within one county, the election board shall…
- § 15672 In the case of a tie vote for an office other than a judicial or school office to be voted on in more than one county, the Secretary of State shall forthwith…
- § 15673 The summons mentioned in this article shall in every case be mailed to the address of the candidate as it appears upon his or her affidavit of registration, at…
CHAPTER 11. Extension of Deadlines §§ 15700–15702 · 3 sections
- § 15700 It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to provide guidance in interpreting Section 2.5 of Article II of the California Constitution.
- § 15701 If a postelection deadline imposed by this code prevents the proper tabulation or recounting of ballots, the county elections official of the affected county…
- § 15702 For purposes of Section 2.5 of Article II of the California Constitution, “vote” includes all action necessary to make a vote effective in any primary,…