Carl DeMaio

(1) Under the California Constitution, a person may vote if the person is a United States citizen, at least 18 years of age, and a resident in the state. Existing law authorizes a person to prove citizenship for voting purposes by certification under penalty of perjury on the person's affidavit of voter registration.

This bill would repeal the authorization for a person to prove citizenship by certification and would instead require a person to provide appropriate documentation of citizenship with the affidavit of registration. The bill would prohibit an elections official from registering to vote a person who does not provide appropriate documentation of citizenship or a person whose citizenship cannot be verified based on the documentation provided. The bill would require an elections official to verify the citizenship of voters registered to vote in the county as of January 1, 2026, and would authorize the elections official to require a person to provide documentation of citizenship for that purpose. By increasing the duties of county elections officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would require the State Auditor to periodically review a random sample of a county's roster of voters to identify persons listed on the roster who are not qualified electors in that county.

(2) Existing law prohibits a local government from enacting or enforcing any charter provision, ordinance, or regulation requiring a person to present identification for the purpose of voting.

This bill would repeal that prohibition. The bill would instead require a person desiring to vote at a polling place to present a valid government-issued form of identification to a precinct board member before the person may vote. The bill would require a person voting a vote by mail ballot to include on the ballot identification envelope the last 4 digits of the voter's valid government-issued form of identification. The bill would require an elections official, before processing and counting a vote by mail ballot, to confirm that the last 4 digits of the voter's form of identification listed on the identification envelope match the voter's form of identification listed on the voter's affidavit of registration. By increasing the duties of county elections officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3) Existing law requires an elections official, upon receiving a vote by mail ballot, to compare the signature on the ballot identification envelope with the signature appearing on specified voter registration records to determine if the signatures compare, as provided. If the elections official determines that the signatures do not match, or if the envelope does not contain a signature, existing law requires the elections official, no later than 8 days before the certification of the election, to mail a notice to the voter of the opportunity to verify the voter's signature or provide a signature, as applicable.

This bill would require the State Auditor to audit elections officials by reviewing random samples of signature comparisons to determine whether the signature comparisons comply with the applicable requirements. The bill would require the State Auditor to report the audit findings no later than 90 days after each election. The bill would require an elections official, if the State Auditor determines that the elections official has a signature comparison error rate of 5% or greater, to prepare a remediation plan and submit it to the Secretary of State.

(4) Existing law requires the official canvass of all ballots received in an election to commence no later than the Thursday following the election and to continue daily, except on weekends and holidays, for not less than 6 hours each day until completed. Existing law requires elections officials to prepare a certified statement of the results of the election and submit that certified statement to the governing body of the jurisdiction within 30 days of the election.

This bill would require an elections official to count all ballots, except provisional ballots and vote by mail ballots for which a voter has the opportunity either to verify or provide a signature, by no later than 72 hours after the election. By increasing the duties of county elections officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(5) Existing law requires an elections official, no later than 29 days before the day of each election, to begin mailing a vote by mail ballot to every registered voter.

If the State Auditor determines that fewer than 98% of the persons listed on a county's roster of voters are qualified electors in that county or if an elections official fails to count all ballots, except provisional ballots and vote by mail ballots for which a voter has the opportunity either to verify or provide a signature, by no later than 72 hours after the election, this bill would prohibit the elections official from mailing a vote by mail ballot to every registered voter in the next statewide election. The bill would authorize a voter to apply for a vote by mail ballot in an election subject to that prohibition.

(6) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.