status of the National Guard or state militia.

“Affiliated with a political party” as used in reference to a voter or to a candidate for a voter-nominated office means the party preference that the voter or candidate has disclosed on his or her affidavit of registration.

voting system, certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State, upon which the names of the candidates for each contest and the ballot titles of measures to be voted on are selected by touching the screen or using other physical controls. The electronic voting system shall print the selections made by the voter, which may be in the form of a list or facsimile of a marked preprinted ballot.

“Ballot card” means a card or a number of cards upon which are printed, or identified by reference to the ballot, the names of candidates for nomination or election to one or more offices or the ballot titles of one or more measures. The ballot card shall also contain blank spaces to allow the voter to write in names not printed on the ballot.

“Ballot label” means:

specified in Section 13119 or the question specified in Section 13120, as applicable.

Notwithstanding Section 303, for a statewide referendum measure, the ballot label shall consist of the condensed title and summary which includes the ballot title in the form of a question and a condensed summary containing the chief purposes and points of the law proposed to be overturned. The condensed title shall be in the form of a question as follows: “Should California keep or overturn a law passed in [enter year statute was enacted] [followed by no more than 15 words stating the general subject or nature of the law]?” The condensed title shall be followed by a condensed summary containing the chief purposes and points of the law proposed to be overturned. The condensed title and summary shall be no more than 75 words total. Commencing January 1, 2025, the condensed title and summary shall be followed by a listing of the

names of supporters and opponents in the ballot arguments printed in the state voter information guide as described in subdivision (c) of Section 9051.

“Remote accessible vote by mail system” means a mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic system and its software that is used for the sole purpose of marking an electronic vote by mail ballot for a voter who shall print the paper cast vote record to be submitted to the elections official. A remote accessible vote by mail system shall not be connected to a voting system at any time.

“Ballot on demand system” means a self-contained system that allows users to do both of the following on an as-needed basis:

Legislature shall not exceed 100 words, not including the fiscal impact statement.

(A) The summary of the chief purpose and points of a proposed initiative measure that affects the Constitution or laws of the state, and the fiscal impact of the proposed initiative measure.

(B) The summary of the chief purpose and points of a referendum measure that affects a law or laws of the state, which includes the ballot title that is in the form of a question as follows: “Should California keep or overturn a law passed in [enter year statute was enacted] [followed by no more than 15 words stating the general subject or nature of the law]?” The ballot title shall be followed by a summary containing the chief purposes and points of the law proposed to be overturned.

“Campaign advertising or communication” means a communication authorized by a candidate or a candidate’s controlled committee, as defined in Section 82016 of the Government Code, or by a committee making independent expenditures, as defined in Section 82031 of the Government Code, or by a committee formed primarily to support or oppose a ballot measure, as defined in Section 82047.5 of the Government Code, for the purpose of advocating the election or defeat of a qualified candidate or ballot measure through any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, direct mailing, or any other type of general, public, political advertising.

bringing about the individual’s nomination or election to any elective state or local office, whether or not the specific elective office for which the individual will seek nomination or election is known at the time the contribution is received or the expenditure is made. The term “candidate” includes any officeholder who is subject to a recall election.

layout requirements and is tabulated by a separate device from the device that created the paper cast vote record.

“City measure” includes any proposed city charter, any proposed amendment to a city charter, any proposition for the issuance of bonds by the city, any advisory question, or any other question or proposition submitted to the voters of a city.

“Clerk” means the county elections official, registrar of voters, city clerk, or other officer or board charged with the duty of conducting any election.

“District elections official,” for the purposes of initiative and referendum under Article 1 (commencing with Section 9300) of Chapter 4 of Division 9, includes the county elections official or other officer or board charged with performing the duties required of the clerk of the district by that chapter.

“Committee,” as used in Article 1 (commencing with Section 20200) of Chapter 3 of Division 20, means any person or combination of persons who, directly or indirectly, receive contributions or make expenditures or contributions for the purpose of influencing or attempting to influence the action of voters for or against the nomination or election of one or more candidates, or the passage, or defeat of any measure, and who is required to file campaign reports or statements under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100) of Title 9 of the Government Code.

“County” and “city” both include “city and county.”

“County measure” includes any proposed county charter, any proposed amendment to a county charter, any proposition for the issuance of funding or refunding bonds of the county, any other question or proposition submitted to the voters of a county at any election held throughout an entire single county, any advisory question, or any bond proposal or any advisory question submitted to the voters of any public district although the boundaries of the district may be coterminous with those of the county.

“County office” means the office filled by any county officer.

“County officer” means any elected officer enumerated in Division 2 (commencing with Section 24000) of Title 3 of the Government Code.

“Direct primary” is the primary election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June in each even-numbered year that is not evenly divisible by four and on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March in each even-numbered year that is evenly divisible by four.

“District,” for purposes of initiative and referendum under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 9300) of Division 9, includes any regional agency that has the power to tax, to regulate land use, or to condemn and purchase land.

“Election” means any election including a primary that is provided for under this code.

“Election board” means the board of supervisors of each county, the city council or other governing body of a city, or any board or officer to whom similar powers and duties are given by any charter.

“Elections official” means any of the following:

a

person described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 300, who, except for the residence requirement specified in subdivision (a), is eligible to vote in this state and meets either of the following conditions:

registered to vote in any other state.

“Electoral jurisdiction,” as used in Division 11 (commencing with Section 11000), means the area within which the voters reside who are qualified to vote for the officer sought to be recalled.

“Federal election” means any presidential election, general election, primary election, or special election held solely or in part for the purpose of selecting, nominating, or electing any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, presidential elector, Member of the United States Senate, or Member of the United States House of Representatives.

“Inspector” means the supervisor of the precinct board of which he or she is a member.

“Judicial office” means the office filled by any judicial officer.

“Judicial officer” means any Justice of the Supreme Court, justice of a court of appeal, or judge of the superior court.

“Jurisdiction” means any county, city and county, city, or special district that conducts elections pursuant to this code.

“Local election” is a municipal, county, or district election.

“Measure” means any constitutional amendment or other proposition submitted to a popular vote at any election.

“Municipal election” means elections in general law cities and where applicable in chartered cities.

“Nominate” means the selection, at a state-conducted primary election, of candidates who are entitled by law to participate in the general election for that office, but does not mean any other lawful mechanism that a political party may adopt for the purposes of choosing the candidate who is preferred by the party for a nonpartisan or voter-nominated office.

“Nomination documents” means declaration of candidacy and nomination papers.

“Nonpartisan office” means an office, except for a voter-nominated office, for which no party may nominate a candidate. Judicial, school, county, and municipal offices, including the Superintendent of Public Instruction, are nonpartisan offices.

“Oath” includes affirmation.

The “official canvass” is the public process of processing and tallying all ballots received in an election, including, but not limited to, provisional ballots and vote by mail ballots not included in the semifinal official canvass. The official canvass also includes the process of reconciling ballots, attempting to prohibit duplicate voting by vote by mail and provisional voters, and performance of the manual tally of 1 percent of all precincts.

The “official summary date” is the date a circulating title and summary of a proposed initiative measure is delivered or mailed by the Attorney General to the proponents of the proposed measure.

“Out-of-state emergency worker” means a voter who is officially engaged in responding to the proclamation of an out-of-state emergency and whose vocation has been identified in an executive order relating to the state of emergency.

“Partisan office” or “party-nominated office” means any of the following offices:

“Party” means a political party or organization that has qualified for participation in any primary or presidential general election.

“Polling place” means a location where a voter casts a ballot and includes the following terms, as applicable: poll, polling location, and vote center. A polling place can serve more than one precinct.

“Precinct” means a geographical area within a county that is made up of voters and is formed pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 12200) of Division 12. All voters from the same precinct are assigned to a specific polling place for an election. In an election conducted using vote centers, eligible voters from any precinct within the county can use any vote center located within the county.

election officer.

“Presidential primary” is the primary election that is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March of any year that is evenly divisible by four.

“Primary election” includes all primary nominating elections provided for by this code.

“Proponent or proponents of an initiative or referendum measure” means, for statewide initiative and referendum measures, the elector or electors who submit the text of a proposed initiative or referendum to the Attorney General with a request that he or she prepare a circulating title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed measure; or for other initiative and referendum measures, the person or persons who publish a notice or intention to circulate petitions, or, where publication is not required, who file petitions with the elections official or legislative body.

“Proponent or proponents of a recall petition” means the person or persons who have charge or control of the circulation of, or obtaining signatures, to such petitions.

“Punchcard” means a tabulating card on which the voter may record his or her vote by punching, marking, or slotting.

“Punching” includes marking a ballot card to record a vote.

“Rebuttable presumption” shall be deemed a presumption which affects the burden of producing evidence.

“Regular election” is an election, the specific time for the holding of which is prescribed by law.

“Roster” means the official list of voters for an election, which may be in paper or electronic form. The roster becomes the official list of voters who have voted in the election once signed by the voter or marked by the elections official.

“School measure” means any proposition, including but not limited to, a proposal for the issuance of bonds by a school district or community college district, an increase in the maximum tax rate of a school district or community college district, or the acceptance, expenditure, and repayment of state funds by a school district or community college district to enable the district to construct buildings and other facilities, submitted to the voters of the district at any election held in the district.

“School office” means the office filled by any school officer.

“School officer” means the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the superintendent of schools of a county.

“Section” means a section of this code unless some other statute is specifically mentioned.

The “semifinal official canvass” is the public process of collecting, processing, and tallying ballots and, for state or statewide elections, reporting results to the Secretary of State on election night. The semifinal official canvass may include some or all of the vote by mail and provisional vote totals.

“Shall” is mandatory and “may” is permissive.

(a), or an impression made by a signature stamp as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), may serve as a signature for any purpose specified in this code, including a sworn statement.

election unless the authorized user of the signature stamp votes by vote by mail ballot. If the owner of a signature stamp votes by vote by mail ballot, he or she shall affix the signature stamp on the identification envelope in accordance with Section 3019.

official.

disability, or physical disability, as those terms are defined in subdivisions (i), (j), and (l) of Section 12926 of the Government Code.

“Software” includes all programs, voting devices, cards, ballot cards or papers, operating manuals or instructions, test procedures, printouts, and other nonmechanical or nonelectrical items necessary to the operation of a voting system.

“Special election” is an election, the specific time for the holding of which is not prescribed by law.

“Spouse” includes “registered domestic partner,” as required by Section 297.5 of the Family Code.

“Statewide election” is an election held throughout the state.

“Vote center” means a location established for holding elections that offers the services described in Sections 2170 and 4005.

“Vote tabulating device” means any piece of equipment, other than a voting machine, that compiles a total of votes cast by means of ballot card sorting, ballot card reading, paper ballot scanning, electronic data processing, or a combination of that type of equipment.

“Voter” means any elector who is registered under this code.

“Voter list” means the list of registered voters in a single or consolidated precinct or in an entire county. The voter list may be in the form of a walking list, street index list, or other format, as provided by the elections official. The voter list is updated by the elections official with public information related to who has voted in an election.

Assembly.

“Voting device” means any device used in conjunction with a ballot card or cards to indicate the choice of the voter by marking, punching, or slotting the ballot card.

“Voting machine” means any electronic device, including, but not limited to, a precinct optical scanner and a direct recording voting system, into which a voter may enter his or her votes, and which, by means of electronic tabulation and generation of printouts or other tangible, human-readable records, furnishes a total of the number of votes cast for each candidate and for or against each measure.

“Voting system” means a mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic system and its software, or any combination of these used for casting a ballot, tabulating votes, or both. “Voting system” does not include a remote accessible vote by mail system.