Existing law requires an elections official, upon receiving a vote by mail ballot, to compare the signature on the identification envelope with either the signature appearing on the voter's affidavit or other signature appearing on a form that is part of the voter's registration record. Existing law prohibits an elections official from reviewing or considering a voter's party preference, race, or ethnicity when comparing signatures. Existing law requires an elections official, if it is determined that the signatures do not compare, to notify the voter of the opportunity to verify the voter's signature, as specified. Existing law prohibits an elections official from rejecting a vote by mail ballot with signatures that do not compare if the voter delivers a signature verification statement and the signature on the verification statement compares with the signature on file in the voter's record. Existing law prohibits an elections official from rejecting a vote by mail ballot with an unsigned identification envelope if, no later than 5 p.m. two days prior to the election, the voter signs the envelope at the office of the elections official or completes and submits an unsigned identification envelope statement, as specified.
This bill would additionally prohibit an elections official, when comparing signatures, from considering a voter's identifying information, including gender, name, and address, and the amount of time spent reviewing a signature. The bill would provide that an elections official is required to notify the voter when the signatures do not compare after a specified determination is made that the signatures differ. The bill would authorize a voter to work with a nongovernmental entity to complete a signature verification statement and unsigned envelope statement. The bill would require a signature verification statement and unsigned envelope statement to contain a statement that the county elections official is required compare the voter's signature with the signatures appearing in the voter's registration record, which may include the signature appearing on the voter's driver's license or state identification card. The bill would require an elections official to post the regulations or procedures used on their internet website or provide them upon request at their office if the regulations or procedures used differ from those promulgated by the Secretary of State.
The bill would require the Secretary of State to publish on their internet website a standard form that a voter can use to complete a signature verification statement or unsigned identification envelope statement. The bill would require an elections official to only accept the standard form, or a form developed by an elections official meeting the same requirements, for purposes of a voter providing a signature verification statement or unsigned identification envelope statement, and would require an elections official to post the form, or a link to the form, on their internet website.
Existing law requires a member of the county grand jury, and at least one member each of the Republican county central committee, the Democratic county central committee, and of any other party with a candidate on the ballot, and any other interested organization, to observe and challenge the manner in which vote by mail ballots are handled. Existing law requires these individuals be allowed sufficiently close access to enable them to observe the vote by mail ballot return envelopes and the signatures thereon and challenge whether established procedures are being followed for, among other things, verifying signatures on the vote by mail return envelopes.
This bill would additionally allow vote by mail observers to observe and challenge the manner in which those individuals handling vote by mail ballots are following procedures for verifying signatures on signature verification statements and unsigned envelope statements.
Existing law requires elections officials, beginning no later than the Thursday following an election, to post updated information regarding an election on their internet website at least once per week until publication of the certified statement of results or until the only ballots left to count are vote by mail ballots for which a voter has the opportunity either to verify or provide their signature. Existing law requires the information at a minimum include updated results for any candidate for office or measure appearing on the ballot, the number of ballots processed and an estimated number of outstanding unprocessed ballots, according to specified categories, and the date and time when it is expected that the next results will be posted. Existing law authorizes the elections official to stop posting the results when either a certified statement of results is published or the only ballots left to count are vote by mail ballots for which a voter has the opportunity to cure their ballot by verifying or providing their signature.
This bill would instead require an elections official, beginning no later than the Thursday following an election, to post updated information regarding the election on their internet website at least two times by the following Thursday and at least twice a week thereafter until publication of the certified statement of results or until the only ballots left to count are vote by mail ballots for which a voter has the opportunity either to verify or provide their signature. The bill would revise the categories for reporting the number of ballots processed and estimated number of outstanding ballots remaining unprocessed. The bill would require the date and time when it is expected that the next results will be posted to be on the homepage of an elections official's internet website or on the stand-alone webpage for the specific election on an elections official's internet website. The bill would specify that posting a hyperlink to a separate file does not satisfy the requirements of these provisions.
By imposing new duties on local elections officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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.

Statutes affected:
03/03/25 - Amended Senate: 15306 ELEC, 15306 ELEC
03/13/25 - Amended Senate: 15306 ELEC
04/21/25 - Amended Senate: 3011 ELEC, 3011 ELEC, 3019 ELEC, 3019 ELEC, 15104 ELEC, 15104 ELEC, 15306 ELEC
05/06/25 - Amended Senate: 3011 ELEC, 3019 ELEC, 15104 ELEC, 15306 ELEC
05/23/25 - Amended Senate: 3011 ELEC, 3019 ELEC, 15104 ELEC, 15306 ELEC