California Elections Code Changes, 2008

• Sections throughout. "Absentee ballot" and "absentee voter" have been changed to "vote by mail ballot" and "vote by mail voter". This required changing about 115 sections of the Elections Code.

• Sections 340, 1000(e), 1001, 1201, 1202, 10400. These changes move the Presidential primary to the first Tuesday in February.

• Section 2150. Affidavits of registration will include a box to check for permanent vote by mail status, once current supplies are used up.

  2150.
     (e) The affidavit of registration shall also contain a space to
  permit the affiant to apply for permanent vote by mail status.
     (f) The Secretary of State may continue to supply existing
  affidavits of registration to county elections officials prior to
  printing new or revised forms that reflect the changes made to this
  section by the act that added this subdivision.
  

• Section 14299. If additional ballots are needed, the elections official must supply them to the polling place within 2 hours (previously, it was by 10 pm), and provide alternate method to vote.

  14299.  (a) If a precinct board is unable to furnish a ballot to a
  qualified voter because there is an insufficient number of ballots at
  the precinct, the elections official shall deliver to the precinct
  additional ballots to ensure that all eligible voters can cast their
  ballots within two hours.
     (b) While awaiting the delivery of additional ballots, the
  precinct board shall provide each voter with the option of casting
  his or her vote immediately using an alternative procedure
  established prior to the election or waiting for the delivery of the
  additional ballots.
     (c) The alternative procedure required by this section shall be
  subject to approval by the Secretary of State. The elections official
  shall submit the alternative procedure to the Secretary of State for
  approval by a date to be determined by the Secretary of State.
  

• Section 14300. When DREs are used, the elections official must provide the number of paper ballots specified in 14300(a) to each polling place. Every voter has a right to a paper ballot, 14300(c), as long as supplies last, and these will be treated as regular ballots, 14300(d).

  14300.  (a) In the case of an election for a state or federal
  office, each polling place using a direct recording electronic voting
  system, as defined by Section 19251, the elections official shall
  provide paper ballots equivalent to the following percentages:
     (1) For a statewide general election, no less than 10 percent of
  the registered voters in the polling place.
     (2) For a statewide direct primary election, for each partisan
  ballot form for which at least 10 percent of the registered voters in
  the polling place are eligible to request, no less than 5 percent of
  the registered voters in the precinct eligible to request that
  ballot form at the polling place. For nonpartisan voters, the total
  number of paper ballots among all ballot forms that they are eligible
  to request shall be no less than 5 percent of registered nonpartisan
  voters at the polling place.
     (3) For any other state or federal election contest, no less than
  5 percent of registered voters at the polling place.
     (4) For purposes of this section, the number of registered voters
  shall be based on the registration on the 88th day prior to the day
  of the election.
     (b) The elections official shall establish procedures for the use
  of the paper ballots described in this section in the event the
  direct recording electronic voting system becomes nonfunctional.
     (c) Upon request, the precinct board shall provide a paper ballot
  to a voter, regardless of the availability of the direct recording
  electronic voting system, as long as supplies remain available.
     (d) The paper ballots described in this section may consist of
  provisional ballots.
     (e) Any vote cast on a provisional ballot subject to this section
  by an otherwise qualified voter shall be counted as a regular ballot
  and shall not be subject to the requirements of Section 14310.
  

• Section 19251(f) and 19255. If multiple DREs are used in precincts, The Secretary of State must do parallel monitoring of the DREs on election day.

     (f) "Parallel monitoring" means the testing of a randomly selected
  sampling of voting equipment on election day designed to simulate
  actual election conditions to confirm that the system is registering
  votes accurately.
  

  19255.  (a) For each statewide election, the Secretary of State
  shall conduct parallel monitoring of each direct recording electronic
  voting system on which ballots will be cast. This section shall only
  apply to precincts that have more than one direct recording
  electronic voting system.
     (b) The results of the parallel monitoring shall be made available
  prior to the certification of the election.
  

June 7, 2008: Jerry Berkman